November 2024
On Friday the 18th of October 2024, musicians ‘One Eyed God’ performed at The Citadel Theatre in St. Helens, to pay tribute to their friend and founder, Stephen ‘Buz’ Burrows, who sadly passed away last year.
The band’s current line-up features Davi (Bass), Vars (Bouzouki), Ste (Guitar), Dave (Sax/ Whistle/ Clarinet/ Vocals), Daz (Drums) Rob (Fiddle) and Daryl (Vocals), all of whom were keen to celebrate the life and musical talents of their friend.
In the early stages of their event planning the band decided that they would like to raise some funds for a charitable cause, in Buz’s name, and learnt about ‘Music for All’ (a UK charity dedicated to changing lives, by improving access to music making). Buz’s wife, Lin, helped in the decision making too: “He loved music and would be proud to provide the opportunity for others.”
Tickets were sold in advance and a JustGiving page was set-up for anyone who wanted to make an additional contribution.
Psychedelic post-punk musicians and friends of One Eyed God, Poisoned Electrick Head, lent their support and offered to open the show. Their singer, Damo, has his own special connection to One Eyed God, as he was the band’s original singer in 2011.
In addition to raising money from ticket sales and the JustGiving page, supporters donated some fantastic prizes, and volunteers held a raffle on the night to raise some additional funds. Friends lent their time and energy to making ‘A Gig for Buz’ the success it deserved to be, and some individuals gave cash donations on the night, towards the charity.
The event sold out the theatre. Gig-goers gathered for a sweaty, spectacular night of psychedelia, dub, ska-punk reggae – with a touch of klezmer, and lots of dancing. One Eyed God’s performance featured tracks from their 2022 album ‘A Land Fit for Heroes’ and their 2015 album ‘First and Last Freedom’.
There was an incredible response:
“Emotional and amazing in the same breath. A gig that I will remember for a lifetime. Everyone was just amazing and, as for the bands, nailed it!” (Martin)
“Great to see so many people show up and go mental on the dancefloor for a great cause!” (Keira)
In all, including JustGiving donations and the accompanying gift aid, the event raised a total of £2,313.35 for Music for All.
Vars from One Eyed God spoke for the band:
“Thank you to everyone who helped make ‘A Gig for Buz’ such a special event. Whether you were there, donated to the cause, gave prizes to the raffle, shared our posts, or just showed some love; we can only offer our heartfelt gratitude for what went down at The Citadel for Buz.”
The charity’s representative Ross Morris responded, to say:
“We are so happy that you chose to raise funds for Music for All in memory of your friend Buz, thank you! All the money raised will go directly into helping our mission of creating music making opportunities.”
By Frank Badham, SUYD (free for press use)