Cliff Richard Tribute Charity Concert

Charity Concert Raises Much-needed Funds

Dementia is a disease which has impacted on many families and no doubt will do so on many more in the future. In John’s case, his own wife Sylvia of 49 years, suffered from vascular dementia, as did his late father Frank. It was natural therefore that John, along with his sister Joan Lane wanted to do something to raise awareness of the disease and raise funds for further research.

John and Joan, together with their close friends Allan Davis and Elizabeth Webb, plus a whole team of helpers set about organising a concert in the Solihull area. Funds were also raised for a locally-based charity called “Building 4 Hope”, which sets out to train young people, who are out of work and unskilled, with construction training and life skills, thereby enabling them to attain a national qualification, prepare for interviews and eventually into work.

The artiste booked for the evening’s entertainment was Simon Goodall, the UK’s leading Cliff Richard tribute act. Simon, ably assisted by his wife Ali, played through a whole range of cliff’s hits, a few not so well known songs and a small selection of his Gospel material. It was a sell out concert, held at The Bridge in Shirley, home of Solihull Christian Fellowship and it would appear everyone enjoyed a really good night out. IN so doing the evening raised £872.50 for each of the two charities.

The show was well compered by Allan Davis, but in essence this was a team effort and John is extremely grateful for all the people who made the night such a resounding success. For John, the highlight of the night was when Simon dedicated the song “Miss-you Nights” to him and his late wife. “That kind and sensitive touch, made it all worthwhile,” said John.

When asked if this concert would herald the beginning of other such events, John said, “Watch this space…”.


1 November 2019