Hit the 'Play' button on the slideshow above to see the action from the evening.
On Saturday 15th September 2012, we had a party, and what a party it was. A truly momentous evening of comedy, live bands and DJs at Passing Clouds, a wonderful venue in East London. What was the occasion I hear you ask? Well, 40 years of Greenpeace that's what, and we wanted to celebrate!!
At just after 8pm we kicked off the night with comedy. Fresh from winning the Edinburgh Fringe's prestigious 'So You Think Your Funny' award, our compere Aisling Bea deftly kept things moving along. We enjoyed routines from among others, Nick Revell, who gave us a medieval history lesson, Jamie Glassman who entertained us with a somewhat revealing little number (!) and Mr Susan, an alien (apparently) who looked like he'd stepped straight out of a 70s glam rock band! We then moved downstairs to the main stage for some musical comedy from Gary Le Strange, an angst ridden poetry toting 'new romantic' with a love of eyeliner and tight leather trousers!
After that, the live music began with 'Felix Hagan and the Family', a 7 piece beast made up of makeup, hairspray and staggering musicianship. Under the captaincy of bandleader Felix, they brought their unique brand of musical theatre-flavoured rock and roll along to entertain us.
We briefly drew breath to draw the raffle; yes, we had a raffle on a club night, which I have to admit is unusual, but we did have some very cool prizes, many of which were of the alcoholic persuasion!
Then it was time for 'Tankus The Henge', a six piece powerhouse of a band, drawing visual and musical influences from old time fairgrounds to modern day circus. With their charismatic frontman Jaz Delorean, playing not only the accordion, but a piano emitting steam, the music was so lively it was impossible to stand still. They bill themselves as 'the most fantastic band in the world', which is a massive statement indeed, but do you know what, I think they might, just might be right!
As the clock ticked into Sunday, it was the turn of our DJs to keep the place jumping. King Toby, Fly like a Spigel, DJ Embassy and The Bastard Brothers spun the 'wheels of steel' and our polar bear, orang-utan and Storm Trooper even got in on the act and mingled with the crowds!
Everyone partied till 3am and once it was all over, we counted the door takings and realised we'd raised nearly £3000 for Greenpeace campaigns, which was more than we ever could have hoped for!!!
Enormous thanks go to the venue and to all the comedians, musicians, DJs and Greenpeace volunteers who helped make the night such a success! Special thanks too to Mr Bob Pipe of the Forgery Club for organising the comedy. You were all amazing and we simply couldn't have done it without you!
So, until next time, thank you and goodnight!
For more info on the folk who helped make the night what it was, please check out:
The Forgery Club: http://www.theforgeryclub.com
Felix Hagan & The Family: http://www.felixhagan.com/
Tankus The Henge: https://www.facebook.com/tankusthehenge
Passing Clouds: http://www.passingclouds.org/
NB. This isn't our first fundraiser! To read about our last one, 'Rock The Boat', where we raised £1000, please take a look here:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/groups/camden/blog/we-rocked-boat
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