john spencer fund


The John Spencer Appeal Fund was established in 1989, with a remit to provide funds for musical projects in the Dorset area of the UK .

John Spencer was the founder member pianist with Custer’s Last Blues Band, a seminal Chicago-style blues outfit in South West England. John died suddenly in tragic circumstances in late 1988, prompting friends and musical colleagues to organise a concert to celebrate his life. It was planned to use profits from the concert to pay for his children’s music studies.

The concert was massively over-subscribed, reflecting the popularity of this warm-hearted, larger-than-life character, so it was decided to use the surplus funds to establish a charity to promote musical activities throughout Dorset. The John Spencer Memorial Concert became an annual event and must-see event in Dorset’s social calendar, outgrowing its original home at Bridport Arts Centre, which quickly sold out year after year. The concert now takes place at Freshwater Holiday Park , Burton Bradstock, Dorset on the first Friday in February each year. It’s an evening of non-stop highest-quality live music, featuring Custer’s members past and present and musical friends.

Last year’s event featured Custer’s, the Steamer Ducks (fronted by ex-Pretenders and Paul McCartney Band guitarist Robbie McIntosh, now with Norah Jones’s band), Marianas Trench, the Fat Marrow Blues Band and Gothic Chicken.

Sadly, in 1999 we lost another founder member of Custer’s when guitarist Mike Gallop succumbed to cancer after a long illness. The Appeal Fund and the annual concerts now celebrate Mike’s life alongside John’s. Mike’s family have loaned his beloved Gibson Les Paul to the fund, which presents it annually to the most promising guitarist on Weymouth College’s Creative Music course for a year’s use. We’re sure that Mike would want his guitar to be out there gigging and helping aspiring musicians.

Then in May 2005 another founder member, Rex Trevett, an accomplished saxophonist and trumpeter, also fell victim to cancer. Rex almost single-handedly created Bridport’s thriving music scene, guiding generations of young people into a career in music. As a member of Custer’s, his band the Skyliners, the Colfox Big Band, the Bridport Town Band and others he was a central figure in the West Dorset music scene and he is hugely missed. There will be a series of memorial concerts for Rex around 25th November 2005 .

With proceeds from its annual fundraising concert, the John Spencer Appeal Fund has bought instruments for aspiring musicians, paid for individual instrumental and vocal lessons and for music studies, equipped schools, colleges and other institutions with musical equipment, funded music therapy and much more besides. Each case is taken purely on its own merits.

The next John Spencer Memorial Concert is scheduled for 3rd February 2006, at Freshwater Holiday Park, Burton Bradstock, Dorset.

Fund contacts:

David Miles: 01308 421996 email david@theanchorinn.co.uk

Chris Lonergan: 01305 772944 email chrislonergan@dsl.pipex.com

 

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