Hampton Pool Concert Success
By Julie Sewell, Marketing Director of Hampton Pool Trust

Hampton Pool Trust promised that concerts would return in 2012 – and they did so in style!

The artists

The concerts ran over three weekends in July, beginning with Turin Brakes supported by Slim Chance and followed on the first Saturday by Brit Floyd who put on a spectacular show.

Click on an image to see more from each concert

Opening act Turin Brakes

Brit Floyd

The second weekend saw Bellowhead and Dan Raza and the Ghouls followed by a welcome return visit from Kid Creole & The Coconuts. Vintage Trouble supplied the support that evening and followed their set by an impromptu dive into the pool. As with the previous weekend, rain didn't stop everyone dancing.

Bellowhead

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

However, we were delighted that the final weekend was dry and warm for Paul Carrack and his band, ably supported by The River. The final night – a sell out with 1,178 people attending – was a suitable climax with The Illegal Eagles and Rumours of Fleetwood Mac.

Paul Carrack

The Illegal Eagles

Rumours of Fleetwood Mac

Customers were very complimentary, sending us messages about how much they had enjoyed the occasion – and our bands were equally complimentary about the lovely venue and the friendly folk.

Teamwork

Obviously, successful concerts rely on a big team of people, from those involved 'behind the scenes' organising the staging, generator, loos and sending out tickets to those more visible on the night, managing the events, running the bar and looking after the bands, but all of these involve more behind the scenes work, from choosing and buying the beer and wine to washing up the wine jugs. Hampton Pool staff are also integral to the success, providing life guarding, security, ticket facilities for local sales and providing much needed sustenance to all involved – so a special thanks to Dabbie Hollis for that.

The whole team deserve credit: it was very much a group effort that began back in the autumn last year with Tim Lawes suggesting bands and a small group investigating staging options, sound and light provision and putting together a marketing plan, including the Hampton Pool Road Show, and finding a ticketing solution. Thanks are due to the following (not previously mentioned) – and many more too numerous to mention here: Daphne, Tony and Harriet Wharton, the Butterfields, Paul Campbell, Jane Yelland, Alistair Brightwell, Kevin Rice, John Sewell, Caroline Curd, Barbara Perry and Jenny Bevan as well as the valiant people at the YMCA LSW who dealt with invoicing and such like. As the project manager, I couldn't have hoped for a better team.

And finally, what it's all for...

It looks as if we will have raised nearly £30K which is a huge success given the appalling weather and the gloomy economic times.

So thanks to all involved and all our amazing customers who came and had such a good time.