Valentine's Day Massacre charity covers gig is coming to The Wedgewood Rooms for some Summer Lovin'

Yes, we know it’s five months out, but later this month, The Valentine’s Day Massacre returns to The Wedgewood Rooms.
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The annual charity event – a fixture since 2013 – went online for 2021, but was unable to take up its usual spot this February.

So for this year only (hopefully), they’re back with Summer Lovin’ on Saturday, July 23 – but the format remains the same as always, with local bands given 15 minutes to perform ‘earnest, ill-considered, surprising, and occasionally triumphant cover versions’ of their favourite love songs.

And the night raises money for Youth Music.

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With the 2020 version sneaking in just before the pandemic, a year later it went online as a two-hour spectacular, streamed as live. Organiser Matthew Tiller put together ’80s-style MTV links for the whole thing, which featured performances – as per usual – from the sublime to the ridiculous.

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Matthew says of the 2021 iteration: ‘I really enjoyed it. When we put the idea forward, I wasn't sure about it. There was already some fatigue about online events at that point, and some people had had a taste of getting back to live events that summer, so I thought for the most part, people would be sick of it!

‘But there was a part of me that felt we had to do something to plug that hole. I felt I had to do something.

Olly Simmons performing at the Valentine's Day Massacre, February 2020. as part of The Wedge's House Band.Olly Simmons performing at the Valentine's Day Massacre, February 2020. as part of The Wedge's House Band.
Olly Simmons performing at the Valentine's Day Massacre, February 2020. as part of The Wedge's House Band.

‘When we started our expectations were very modest – it'll be mostly old footage and we might raise £500. Then out of nowhere we ended up with all of this new footage and raising more than £2,000.

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‘It's definitely not a substitute for live, but it felt like we were watching it with people in the moment, and it was lovely to see the comments coming through and people reacting to certain performances. I was really pleased we took the decision to go ahead and do it, but it will never compete with doing it live, and that's the thing we're most looking forward to again.’

This year there are seven acts involved, including Waif and Stray, Glorious Bulletheads, Halliwell, South Street, and some put together just for this – Hey! Ho! Dinlo!, the VDM All Stars, and Mush Bird, Don’t Hurt Me.

‘Usually I'd be quite adamant that we had new acts involved,’ says Matthew, ‘but we're treating this as a back-to-basics night. It's mostly familiar faces, which after the last two years I think is actually quite nice to see.

‘We're just finding our feet again and relying on the community we've built up over the past few years.

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‘We’re really happy to have Waif and Stray back because we had them perform at our seventh event and we wanted them back the next year but we couldn't make it happen. What they offer musically is so different to everyone playing.

‘The band I'm playing in is a combination of people who've played in different bands through the years – the VDM All Stars – it's the cruise band from hell, basically. It's that real mish-mash and we're still trying to get more people involved in that, with as many voices and faces as possible.

‘Matt Palmer from Slug Money has put together a band with some people, and they're called Mush Bird, Don't Hurt Me. I have no idea what that means, but he's jumped in last minute and I'm really happy to have him involved because he'll add something wild and reckless.

‘It will be really nice to have South Street back too because they opened our last event and they were 13 then. It will be great to see how they've developed.’

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The Massacres have raise thousands for Youth Music over the years, and Matthew believes the work they do is more important than ever.

‘Now more than ever we need to make sure that people have access to music education and resources.

‘In the grand scheme of things, it might seem like something that people don't necessarily need, but I know for myself that I really need music. I think I can speak confidently for a lot of people playing the Massacre that music is a huge part of their lives.

‘It's not necessarily a career choice, it can be for their mental health – it's their escape from whatever.’

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As always the night will end with a raffle featuring more than 40 prizes donated by local businesses, bars, restaurants, and artists including My Dog Sighs, Victorious Festival and Staggeringly Good Beer.

‘Everyone's been really generous, and we know times are tough, so knowing that people are willing to contribute a prize has meant the world to us, and it will make a massive difference to the overall total.’

Tickets for Summer Lovin’, on Saturday, July 23, are £10. Raffle tickets will be £2 a strip, or three for £5. Go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.