VIDEO: Amarillo charity tribute to celebrate Tony Christie homecoming gig

CONISBROUGH has marked the homecoming of its famous singing son Tony Christie in the most appropriate way - by recreating his Amarillo video.

Schools, sports clubs, businesses, councillors and community groups from across the town have all taken part in their own version of the Peter Kay Comic Relief tribute to Tony’s biggest hit.

The veteran singer will return to the stage in his home town on July 1 when he performs at Conisbrough Music Fest on the Welfare Field.

And the video tribute-cum-advert for the event is already proving an online sensation, with almost 30,000 views clocked up on Facebook after it was released on Monday.

Tony appears in the video himself asking people to donate to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, whose crew also joined in the charity stunt.

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Festival organisers Conisbrough Forward invited members of groups taking part in or sponsoring the festival this year to join them in the tribute video.

Those answering the call included Conisbrough Scouts, the town’s Mayor, Mayoress and councillors, pupils and staff from Castle Academy, students at SV Dance Studio and representatives of Ivanhoe Community Centre, St Peter’s Church, Doncaster Rovers, Denaby United under-9s, Dearne Valley College and Conisbrough Castle.

Steve Pugh, from Conisbrough Forward, said: “As this year’s headliner is legendary local boy Tony Christie, we organisers decided to commemorate this with our own version of the Amarillo charity video by comedian Peter Kay.

“We decided to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance and asked all local community groups and businesses that have sponsored this year’s event, to contribute to the video.

“Tony was also keen to get in on the act for this worthy cause with his own personal message in the video.

"The response was fantastic, with St Peters Church, Castle Academy Junior School, Conisbrough Scouts, and many local organisations joining in the fun.

“We aim to raise a minimum of £500 for the YAA, as well as raising the profile of our community event.

“We also hope people will watch the video and then do their own clip, share it on social media and then donate via the fundraising page.”

 

This year’s festival, starting at 11am, boasts four distinct stages.

The CMF Band Stage will feature not only Tony Christie, but an array of musical genres including, Jungle Lion (ska and reggae), The Inspectors (rock covers), Ginger Tom (indie pop) and The Lost Days (rock and metal).

On an adjacent acoustic Stage, there will be blues from the James Taplin Trio, indie folk from Joe McCorriston and original music courtesy of Darren Eastell and the Freaky Fingers.

Inside the Ivanhoe Centre, an all day Northern Soul and Soul Stage will feature the best of local DJs.

Conisbrough has a deep connection with the Northern Soul scene and the Fest is expecting a packed room from 11.30am till 10.30pm.

The Subset Dance Stage, now in it third year, will deliver a mix of local DJs supplemented with nationally more well-known performers like DJ Clumsy, Dyplex, and for the first time a live band called Bamba Yay.

Children will also be well catered for with their own Kidz Zone.

Highlights are children's entertainer Mr Dan, an urban beach and Punch and Judy show. Street Vibes Dance Studio from Conisbrough will be performing and there'll also be pony rides and a bus equipped with video games.

An all-day fair ground and food market featuring local vendors as well as three licensed bars complete what promises to be a must-see music fest for all the family.

Tickets are priced at £10 in advance and £15 on the day, with concessions for young people and families.

Advance tickets are available online at www.cmfonline.co.uk or from several Conisbrough outlets listed on the festival website.

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