Tonic Music were on tour with the Happy Mondays! Read the reflections from our programmes coordinator, Jeordie Shenton, about us attending their recent show in Southend.
Once again, the Tonic Music team were in my home region of East Anglia, this time accompanying the Happy Mondays at the iconic Cliffs Pavillion in Southend. For me this was particularly poignant, as my first music memory was hearing ‘Hallelujah (Club Mix)’ being blasted out of Mum and Dad’s speakers.
The history of Cliffs Pavilion is pretty special, it was the chosen location for a Sir Paul McCartney secret show, the Oasis concert film ‘Live By The Sea’, and a live version of ‘Beetlebum’ by Blur. Alongside this, the venue also boasts fantastic views of the Thames Estuary.
Tonic Music has great friends in the Happy Mondays. Bez fundraised for us by wing-walking with his maracas, as part of Barry’s Flying Circus. Rowetta also participated on our discussion panel highlighting the benefits of live music on mental health, at the Night Time Economy Summit in Manchester.
All the Southend gig-goers we met were so generous with their time, granting Tom, Jan and I many heart-warming conversations. There was interest in participating on the programmes, volunteering with the team, and fundraising for us. It was also great to see Inspiral Carpets and Stereo MC’s once again, in great form as always.
Regular gig-goer and friend of Tonic Music, Mike Gordon said:
"The show was amazing, I was at the front, taking loads of pictures. It is always great to see the Tonic Music team at gigs, I admire all the work they do, long may continue."
Thank you to everyone who gave donations, we were delighted to see so many Southend gig-goers leaving with Tonic Rider and Never Mind the Stigma pin badges on their jackets. The Cliffs Pavilion team were absolutely wonderful hosts, thank you for all the support. Of course, a big thank you goes to the Happy Mondays crew for inviting us on tour.
