Pete Shelley: Weekend of events planned in tribute to Buzzcocks frontman

Pete Shelley, frontman of The Buzzcocks, pictured on Top of the Pops

Members of the Pete Shelley Memorial Campaign are hosting a number of fund-raisers as part of the ongoing bid to place a permanent memorial of The Buzzcocks’ frontman in his hometown of Leigh.

The group was formed following his death in December, aged 63.

From Friday to Sunday The Gardeners in Atherton will be the centre of the action - which includes free events for people of all ages.

Pink Shirts for Pale People are one of the local bands who will be performing at the Pete Shelley weekender

On Friday there will be a music evening with performances from guests and an open mic night, where anyone and everyone can get up and play.

Paul Lally, one of the organisers and co-founders of the campaign group, said: “We are aiming for it to be a great family evening with a good old sing along and join-in party atmosphere, with raffles and prizes to win.”

The event starts at 7pm at the pub on Lovers Lane.

On Saturday, actor Will Travis will open the day’s event at 10.30am.

The family fun event will include a craft fair, face painting, a barbecue and live music beginning at 12.30pm which will continue until the end of the evening.

There will be outdoor stage performances from local bands including Spitfire, Pink Shirts for Pale People, Hyena, Great Reckoning, The Gus Glynn Band and Crush.

There will be a hook a penguin stand as well as raffles and prizes and an ice cream and slushie van.

Police and fire services will also be in attendance to speak and engage with people.

On the final day there will be a bowling competition starting at 1pm.

The tournament itself has a £5 entry fee. The winner will take home a large trophy donated by the trophy rooms in Atherton and £10 in prize money. Following this there will be a DJ set and a pub quiz with prizes galore.

Mr Lally said: “This weekend is a great opportunity for everyone of all ages to get involved with and an opportunity to learn about who Pete was and what he achieved for anyone who doesn’t know.

“One thing that inspires us to fund-raise is the great support and love shown towards Pete and the willingness of everyone to be involved, be it from the bands who perform, the event hosts, everyone who has supported the events and all the people who have contributed to the campaign.

“It is all truly inspiring and from what members of Pete’s family tell me, it is something that would mean a lot to Pete.

“He would have been truly humbled by this outpouring of love towards him.

“It would be really nice to have a permanent memorial of Pete, something that would allow his legacy to live and continue to inspire other people for many years to come."