Saturday 10 December 2011
Praise The Load: Brighton Disability Rock Band Win National Award
There is a man in London so dedicated to Brighton punk band Heavy Load that he has had Praise the Load tattooed on his leg.
Commitment? Absolutely, and if you were to meet this band or hear them play, you would quickly understand why their fans are so passionate about them. The band has now secured a top award from learning disability and autism support provider Dimensions. The annual awards were set up to recognise inspirational people with learning disabilities and autism who are dedicated to making a difference to the lives of others with learning disabilities and autism.
Heavy Load describe themselves as; Brighton's answer to The Ramones. The band are uniquely made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities. Simon Barker (vocals), Jim Nicholls (guitar and vocals), Michael White (drummer), Mick Williams (guitar and vocals) and Paul Richards (bassist) formed the band 14 years ago after meeting through Southdown Housing either as tenants or workers. Drummer Michael White explains what it is like as a man with learning disabilities, to travel the world and play in front of hundreds of people: "The atmosphere at gigs is really great. We have been to Holland, Germany and Denmark. ?We played in Scotland which was really good. Scotland is nice. It is important to play music and also to talk about our Stay up Late campaign." The band were announced runners-up in the groups category of this year's is 2011 Erica Awards. Dimensions recognised the dedication of Heavy Load in making a difference to the lives of others with learning disabilities. Bassist and band organiser Paul Richards of Southdown Housing said: "It means a lot to get awards like the Erica Award and to have a provider like Dimensions help us to spread the word, not only about our band but also in our ongoing mission to say that all people with learning disabilities have the right to full and active social lives." After more than a decade of gigging, Heavy Load has toured across the UK, Europe and as far afield as New York City. This summer they played to hundreds at Glastonbury and their popularity shows no signs of slowing down after a BBC documentary explored their journey from social care to stardom. Their strap-line disability rocks is the inspiration for their Stay up Late campaign; where they challenge the status quo which denotes that people with learning disabilities find themselves having to leave venues and gigs early because support workers are finishing their shift. Heavy Load want social care providers to be more person-centred when planning support worker shifts. The campaign aims to get providers to think about what people with learning disabilities want in terms of support, to consider their rights to socialise later, and organise their support around this.
by: Mike Cobley
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It really should be ridiculous, but it isn't. Somehow concocting a seemingly obnoxious stew that includes such tasty ingredients as incest, violence, mutilation, and nudity - at Theatre Royal Brighton, no less - all comes together in the mix to serve up one of the tastiest treats of Brighton Festival.
With tongues firmly in cheeks, Spymonkey brought Oedipussy onto the hallowed Brighton stage and unravelled the tale o...
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 The Temper Trap pic by Andy Sturmey
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It was difficult to get a foot in many-a venue, let alone an eye on the performers, as vast queues snaked the...
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Mariella Frostrup is both the intellectual kingpin and host of The Book Show, on Sky Arts. Featuring an array of A-list authors and other big-name guests, it was great to see the channel's flagship programme leave its studio setting and head to the Brighton Festival for two special recordings.
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I have seen work enacted well out of any theatrical context in warehouses, theatre in a theatre but with a gla...
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With every seat taken, the house lights dipped and a screen came to life with the image of the recently depart...
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Ashley Varney from Leonards-on Sea accomplished an incredible 30-race running feat when he recently crossed the London Marathon finishing line.
The 42 year old Sussex swimming pool engineer took on 30 races, which he named &...
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Once, all the standing-ups cheered loudly, like football fans, as Edmund the Bastard was finally killed off i...
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“I don’t know, whatever you like I suppose”, I answered<...
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The Bee Detective must have looked, to the assembled band of worthies from the cultural Olympiad, to be just up their street. As they clutched their list of 'things we need from our attempt to show that sports people are intelligent too and that the Olympics is actually not a boring load of expensive shit, a fitness contest sponsored by McDonald's and Coca-Cola, a drug-fuelled cheats paradise with mind numbing events like rifle shooting and wrestling actually CHARGING money to get in' they must have thought like this.
It is about the death of bees, a modern issue with environment relevance… tick!
It is c...
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