A message from
Jo Whiley
My sister Frances has learning disabilities, so it makes sense for me to use my name and connections to help Mencap. As an ambassador, I want to stop prejudice against people with a learning disability, particularly among young people, and encourage acceptance.
When Mencap first suggested organising a series of acoustic gigs in 2006 at the Union Chapel to help them raise money and awareness, how could I refuse? It’s like getting to organise my own mini Glastonbury.
Our original aim was to mix established acts with some new faces and the response that first year was extraordinary. We had over 30 artists play, including Kasabian, Mika, The Kooks, Amy Winehouse, Bat for Lashes, Lily Allen – and my two biggest coups that year – Chris Martin and Noel Gallagher. Noel came on alone and did his first ever acoustic set, something he later told me he’d always wanted to do. He was just amazing. You can see for yourself – his gig’s on YouTube!
There was such a fantastic response to the first year that we decided we’d chance our arm and make it an annual event and so far so good. Indeed, here we are, three years’ later, proudly presenting our fourth Little Noise Sessions!
I’m incredibly touched by the number of artists who have offered to take part – with no fee – in what is, for many, a radically different set from what they’re used to: drumsticks swapped with brushes or hot rods, string quartets instead of electric guitars and everything stripped down to the bare minimum (council noise restrictions imposed on the church mean that the sound levels must not exceed 85 decibels!).
The Union Chapel is exquisite, very ordinary from the outside, but ornate within, with beautifully carved pews and an arched ceiling that seems to curve up to the sky. It’s awe-inspiring, yet intimate at the same time. I love the atmosphere here – it gives you that magical, tingly feeling, like a Christmas Eve service. The bands are usually more nervous performing here, they’re more used to stadiums and clubs and I think the bigger the act, the more they feel it. The first row of pews is just a foot or so from the stage – the audience can see the whites of your eyes – and often, when they’re just about to go on stage, the bands look like they’re off to face a firing squad!
It’s a unique thing, for artists, playing in this space. It’s acoustic, so there’s no masking your playing or your voice – it’s so remarkable that so many great musicians have agreed to take part.
One of my biggest achievements this year has been helping my mum set up The Rockin’ Roadrunner Club, a club night in Northampton for people with learning disabilities. It’s just like any normal club night with loads of people dancing and having a great time, but for many people the club is a totally new experience – they’ve never had access to anything like it before. Mum has had such moving thank you letters from parents and carers – I’m so proud of her. Frances DJs at the club. She really looks forward to it and takes it incredibly seriously. It’s totally her gig – in fact I can barely get near the decks to put a record on!
It’s club nights like these, and other arts-based projects, that money raised from Little Noise Sessions will help fund – so huge thanks to everyone who has supported this project, whether that be performing on stage, or buying a ticket for the shows.
We hope you have enjoyed watching them as much as we’ve enjoyed putting them together and hope to see you in 2009!