It is with more than a little pride that I pen this piece as September draws to a close in fine sunny style.
Firstly I am immensely proud to have been part of the wonderful Worcester Music Festival which has been deemed to be a resounding success from all the venues, punters and musicians we have heard from. Certainly this was most definitely the case at the fabulous Marrs Bar Slap Night and here as reported from all over, everywhere was packed out and joints were truly jumpin'!
Suffice to say that as a promoter, musician and advertiser I would like to say a Big Thanks to all the people who gave up their valuable time gratis and free of charge to make the festival such a success and support the very worthy charitable cause which was (and is as you can keep donating) Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre.
A special mention must go to a man who has been instrumental in the continuing success of Worcester Music Festival and who we tragically lost just prior to the beginning of this year's festival.
I am of course talking about John Taylor, a man who was universally loved and respected by all who knew and met him and someone who will be terribly missed but whose tirelessly enthusiastic spirit and warm welcome pervaded the festival which this year was dedicated to the great man. A full obituary is printed elsewhere in this issue.
Another great loss to our music scene was the passing of Steve Pilcher, co-owner of the marvellous Scarycanary: The Venue in Stourbridge. Steve's musical knowledge was legendary as was his eclectic taste and he was still booking bands from his hospital bed before he lost his battle with cancer recently. His vision and spirit will be continued determinedly by his wife Stacey and the Scarycanary team: again there is a fuller tribute in this issue.
