WORCESTER band The Magoos are set to go out with a bang in aid of charity.
After nearly two decades together, the city musicians will play their final gig at Sixways Stadium on Saturday, February 4 in aid of Leukaemia CARE, a national blood cancer charity whose head office is in Blackpole.
In a career spanning more than 17 years, The Magoos have played for audiences across the UK.
“We have always had a decent reaction, we seem to attract a crowd wherever we go,” said the band’s front man Richard Webb.
“We’ve played at places like The Sunshine Festival in Upton and The Bridge Bash”
Career highlights have included the speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff where they played on the main stage in the Fanzone to more than 10,000 people.
Fans are expected to travel from across the UK for their final gig.
It will take place in one of the conference spaces and comes after they offered to help raise money for Leukemia Care.
It continues a long association with the charity and the band’s frontman as Richard has helped to provide sportswear for the charity’s many fund-raising events.
“Leukaemia is a terrible disease. We wanted to make sure we gave something back with this last gig, so why not?,” Richard said.
Claire Brooks, fund-raiser for the charity. explained how Leukaemia CARE helps people with a variety of blood cancers.
“The charity started as a self-help group for a group of parents whose children had leukaemia,” said Claire.
“Since then, we’ve expanded to help people of all ages with various types of blood cancer.
There is both online and phone support, access to a specialist nurse as well as help for the wider family.”
There are many different types of blood cancers which include leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma as well as rarer types such as the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).
The vagueness and non-specific nature of symptoms means that blood cancers can be hard to diagnose.
“Leukaemia has been in the news recently after the mother of Louis Tomlinson from One Direction died from the disease,” Claire added.
“People sometimes assume it only affects children but that’s not the case. Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and we want to raise awareness of this. “
Tickets for the final gig by The Magoos are £20 and are available online at www.leukaemiacare.org.uk/the-magoos-live
