20th birthday party for Mr. Kite's Benefit Band
Mr. Kite's Benefit Band plays a range of rock and pop music and has a reputation for getting people on the dance floor! The band was formed after the second Sgt Pepper concert in 1990 when a number of vocalists, musicians and crew members decided that they would stay together when the show ended. They have been together ever since.
The current line up features several singers and a six or seven piece band, supported by its own technical crew providing great sound and lighting, all of whom crew are all volunteers.
The band lineup has changed over the years and over 30 people have either played or crewed with the band.
Alistair Hodgson (keyboards), Dennis Pearman (guitar/vocals), Richard Hollinshead and Martin Spence (lighting/sound) have all been with the band for its whole 20-year history and they have each received a long-serviec award from the hospice charity.
Mr. Kite's Benefit Band celebrated its 20th birthday in 2011. Staff at IRGH hosted a special party at the hospice's Tring office to say thank you for the band's long-standing support.
Robert Breakwell , founder of the Pepper Concert and now Business Development Director for IRGH, explains: “Mr. Kite's Benefit Band charges a fee for a full evening of entertainment and donates all the money it raises to charity. The band has raised over £75,000 since it started and has donated a substantial amount of this to IRHH over the years, for which we are hugely grateful.”
The party coincided with Robert Breakwell 's birthday, so he got to blow out the candles on the cake!
The band is named after a song from the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. The first Sgt Pepper concert featured an unforgettable recreation of this 1967 album to raise funds for local hospice care in 1989.
26th November 2011
