UK metal band Reign Of Fury, in collaboration with Intune PR, is putting the finishing touches to a new national fundraising metal/rock tour to take place in July/August 2013. The ‘Headbangers Balls’ tour has been created to help raise funds and awareness for Teenage Cancer Trust.
The ambitious event is being organised by Andy Pilkington, Reign of Fury’s manager, and Steve Shaw their PR partner:
We are putting together shows in the UK’s major cities at the best rock & metal venues, ending the tour with an all-day finalé event in Birmingham, the home of heavy metal. The tour and its associated buzz is designed to raise awareness for testicular cancer, with every penny of profit going to Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that is very close to our hearts.
WHY?
In early 2008 Reign Of Fury vocalist Matt ‘Bison’ Steed was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He was treated at Warwick Hospital, where he had surgery to remove the tumour (and the testicle), which was replaced with a prosthetic one. Bison was told that the surgery had been a success, but that he would need to undergo a course of intensive chemotherapy as a preventative measure, given that the type of cancer (seminoma) had a fairly high chance of spreading and reoccurring.
Driven by this life changing experience, Bison and his band mates are going to do something they wouldn’t have felt possible before – something that will help others who’ve been touched by it.
By combining an event for both established and unsigned rock bands, with every penny going to the Teenage Cancer Trust, Bison can turn his brush with cancer into something very, very positive. And hopefully encourage others to do so along the way.
Andy Pilkington, Reign of Fury’s manager, had the following to say:
There are few communities more male orientated than the Heavy Metal music scene, and even fewer with such an ‘infallible’ and testosterone driven image. Very little has been done to tackle awareness amongst this group and we believe that approaching this from the inside is the best way to get under the skin of what can be a very impenetrable genre. I’m hoping what we’re doing can help bring back the the sense of community in a music scene that’s lost some of its brotherhood over the years as the grass roots bands struggle to break out from their local areas through lack of support.
We are planning to play 10 Cities in the UK throughout July/Aug, hosted by only the most loved and respected rock and metal venues. Reign Of Fury will invite local unsigned metal bands to each show, with an aim to attract figurehead bands from each area to head up the shows. It’s early days, but we’ve already had some fantastic interest from key venues, as well as some very exciting sponsors.
With Reign Of Fury being a Midlands band, there are special plans for the Birmingham date of the tour, with Steve Shaw having the following to say about the plans for Birmingham:
Our plans for the Birmingham event are to look at a higher capacity venue than the ones played on the tour and hold an all day festival with a bigger band line up. We already have the commitment of a full filming crew for this event
We are looking at several established bands to headline the line-up as well as offering them the chance to come along, be interviewed and get involved to show their support for the TCT. The outlook for getting some well-known acts down to the event looks very good, judging from the early response.
Dates for the tour will follow soon but the cities we will be visiting include London, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Exeter, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham
The plan is to turn the Headbangers Balls tour into an annual event, showcasing the solidarity of the metal community and its power to provide positive change.
For further information and updates on the tour, please head to the Official Headbangers Balls Website.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
