Member Article

The Printworks Manchester Soul Festival A Roaring Success

The city of Manchester remains forever faithful to the iconic Northern Soul movement, as proved by the Bank Holiday buzz of the Manchester Soul Festival. Over 35,000 soulies from up and down the country made their way to The Printworks on Sunday, 30th August to enjoy live music from over 30 bands and artists, paying tribute to Motown and soul music, in aid of The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Pre-sales of wristbands on JustGiving reached an astronomical £11,000, with a further £7,000 being raised by sales on the day. Friends and supporters of the cause donated raffle prizes and silent auction gifts, including rare vinyl records and exclusive soul merchandise. Bids will remain open for the silent auction until 14th September, and details on prizes and how to enter can be found on The Printworks website. www.theprintworks.com.

Influential Northern Soul fans and BBC Radio DJs, Richard Searling and Stuart Maconie supported the event on their dedicated radio shows. The event was also attended by Emmerdale’s Adam Thomas, whose dad fronts The Dougie James Soul Train that performed on the main stage.

Manchester Soul Festival is the brainchild of Manchester DJ, Frank Byrne, a devotee to the Northern Soul scene for over thirty years. Frank was sadly diagnosed with oesophagus cancer in October 2014 and started receiving chemotherapy treatment at The Christie, a specialist hospital in Withington, South Manchester and one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe. Touched by the exceptional care he received at The Christie, Frank got in contact with the many musicians and DJs he has worked with over the years, to put on a special fundraiser.

Fred Booth, Centre Director said: “The Printworks was packed to the rafters for the Manchester Soul Festival and we have been blown away by the generosity and passion for the event. Frank is an influential part of the Mancunian music scene and it’s fantastic to see the support come flooding in for such a good cause. It was a great team effort with lots of the venues within The Printworks running special food and drink offers to celebrate the occasion. Northern Soul is a huge part of the city’s culture and we are hoping to make this an annual event.”

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rachel Conway .