Frank Byrne: Why I Organised The First Manchester Soul Festival
| 28th August 2015
They say music unites people, behind a cause, idea or event, and what better cause than raising funds for The Christie Hospital and cancer charity in Manchester? For that’s cause that has inspired and touched DJ Frank Byrne to organise Manchester’s very first Soul Festival at The Printworks, featuring the very best of Northern Soul and Motown tunes, with a high calibre of Soul bands, talented artists and esteemed DJs, this Bank Holiday Sunday. Kicking off at 1pm the debuting family-friendly Festival is not only brimming with popular and gifted vocalists and bands, but will also treat crowds to a special screening of the film ‘Northern Soul’, with an exclusive Q&A with the film’s director, Elaine Constantine, along with a sponsored Northern Soul Danceathon and exciting competitions and prizes with celebrities from the entertainment industry in attendance.
Launching a new event is always a thrilling experience and process but Frank Byrne, a current patient at The Christie has more reason to be excited than most. “The reason for this [organising Manchester Soul Festival] is sadly I was diagnosed in October of last year with a tumour on my esophagus. However we’ve jumped through a couple of hurdles. January, February, March of this year I was having chemo at The Christie, who did a fantastic job. I had a bit of a break down from April. Back in May this year, I went to Salford Royal where I had the operation and they did a fantastic job, the surgeons and all the staff. And to be honest I wanted to do something for The Christie and I thought the only way I can do this is to do it via music,” explains Frank his humble motivations evident in the sincerity of his voice.
Good Cause: Manchester Soul Festival organiser Frank Byrne is a patient at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, where proceeds from the festival are going to.
“When I was going to The Christie, and I’m still at The Christie now because I’m back on my chemo again, so every time I go back to Christie’s I look round there and I see children there and I think to myself ‘why are these children here? They shouldn’t be here with the ‘C word’’. It did affect me a little bit. So I thought ‘I need to do something for this.’
“So I just put a little piece on Facebook a good few months ago and all these guys, all these friends of mine that are in the music business, all the bands, all the singers, all the DJs responded and it’s just exploded. It’s gone worldwide to be honest,” he continues.
Money makers: Over £10,000 has been raised for Christie’s Hospital already via wristband sales and donations for Manchester Soul Festival.
‘Worldwide’ is certainly an apt description, with over £10,000 raised for Christie’s Hospital already via wristband sales and donations alone for the event, and thousands expected to attend. “It’s going to be mega, it’s going to be great,” enthuses Frank, intoxicated with the euphoria and anticipation of the festival.
The allure for coming to the festival is undeniable, with scores of DJs and artists that Frank has worked with over the years performing, including live bands The Soul Amigos, The Casino Allstars, The Rumble Fat Band, Twisted Soul, Soulvation, plus Ben Brierley, a singer from Sale, Wayne Allen, Mississippi Soul Man, Jonny Sax, Johnny Boy and DJs that have been in the game a long time such as: Franny Ward from Failsworth, Scott Welsby, Fay Jones, Dave Caffery, Kevin Draper and Dave Faulkner. “We’ve got a great line up, I’ve got some fantastic DJs,” Frank adds.
Soulful: Casino AllStars are among the scores of talented soul and Motown bands and artists to perform at Manchester Soul Festival this Bank Holiday Sunday.
Wanting to include everyone, Frank insists the festival has something to cater for everyone’s needs and tastes. “It’s a family orientated programme. We’re going to have children there during the day. We want to get families involved so we’ve got face painters there for the kids and we’ve got some kids coming down from Blackburn doing Northern Soul dancing.”
So infectious is the spirit of the Manchester Soul Festival, many venues are getting involved, with Tiger Tiger being the epicentre of the event, with The Pump Yard hosting a stage of soulful rhythm and beats, whilst Hard Rock Cafe are playing their part. Lots of local pubs, such as the Alliance on Rochdale Road, Strawberry Duck in Clayton and Burton Arms in Manchester, where Frank DJs, are attending the festival and then bringing the Soul and Motown sound back to their own venues.
According to Frank it’s been a team effort and he couldn’t be more grateful for everyone that’s gotten on board. “Many thanks to Steve and the team from The Printworks who have helped me so much. Paul Kidd from The Casino Allstars , a Northern tour band in Stockport, is helping me to sort all this out as well because after having my operation I’ve got to take it easy. Everyone’s been amazing, everyone, including yourselves the magazines, the media, you’ve just been amazing,” the festival organiser gushes, his voice, beaming, brimming with thanks.
“It has been a team effort. My wife Dianne has been there 24/7, she’s been my rock, she’s been my soul. I mean it’s something you don’t expect when somebody tells you you’ve got cancer it’s like somebody smacking you in the face. It’s like a wakeup call and you don’t know what’s around the corner. I thought I’d be the last person to get the big ‘C’ but fortunately we got on with it. It’s a case of having to get on with it, you can’t just sit down and cry every day, you’ve got to get on with life, get out there and fight it. The only problem that I’m having at the moment is that I’m on chemo therapy again and at the moment it really has hit me at times has chemo but I’m preserving with it,” Frank reveals insight-fully, illustrating his refreshingly optimistic and upbeat attitude.
And with Northern Soul, a music and dance movement that emerged in the 60’s, having its roots in the North West, Manchester Soul Festival has been a long time coming. “I think Manchester soul music scene is brilliant, it’s certainly got bigger. I mean Northern Soul was born here in Manchester in the North West, this is where Northern Soul came from, The Wigan Casino, the Twisted Wheel Club. There’s a lot of people coming down on Bank Holiday Sunday, a lot of good friends of mine that have had cancer themselves, some have got through it, some are still going through it like myself and these are all Northern Soul and Motown lovers and they just can’t wait for this to happen.”
To join in the Bank Holiday soul fun donate just £5 here and print your receipt!
www.theprintworks.com/the_place/news/manchester_soul_festival_the_printworks/