The region’s brightest stars are returning home for Sammy in a sell-out entertainment extravaganza at Newcastle’s prestigious City Hall.
The celebrity favourites are back in Toon to appear in the fifth bi-annual Sunday for Sammy show to commemorate the life of their friend and local hero, Sammy Johnson.
The event returns on the 7th February 2010 for two performances with a star-studded line-up including Tim Healy, Denise Welch, Kevin Whately, Brendan Healy and many more. As usual, the 2010 Sunday for Sammy shows will be packed with music, stand-up comedy and sketches.
Sunday for Sammy raises money for the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund set up by Tim Healy and Jimmy Nail in memory of co-star and close friend Sammy Johnson, best known for his portrayal of ‘Stick’ in the Spender TV series. Sammy died suddenly in 1998.
The fund was established to assist performers from Tyneside to get a start in the entertainment business. Since its inception it has raised £270,000 and donated over £115,000 in grants to talented groups and individuals to help them develop their performing skills.
Chairman of the Sammy Johnson Fund Tim Healy said: “Sunday for Sammy has become one of the most celebrated events in the North East entertainment calendar. The 2010 concerts sold out in record time and we have a fantastic cast of North East based actors, singers and musicians taking part. In addition to the established performers, space will be made on the bill to feature some of the incredibly talented young people we've helped recently. This is a way of showing the public exactly where their money goes.”
The two shows at 2:00pm and 7:00pm are a celebration of Northern Wit and everything Geordie. The full cast and content is kept under wraps and as usual there will be lots of surprises. One confirmed element is the latest Auf Wiedersehen Pet sketch specially written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and based on the Geordie comedy series which made stars of Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Chris Fairbank and Sammy Johnson.
Ray Laidlaw, producer of the show said: “Sunday for Sammy is a phenomenon, it regularly sells out 4,000 seats with very little publicity. The audience know it is going to be a great night with big names taking time out of their busy schedules to take part. The Sunday for Sammy website will be launched on 4 February and will have loads of great features for fans of the show to keep updated in the run up to the performance such as a blog kept up to date by members of the cast and video clips and photographs from previous years shows.” www.sundayforsammy.org
As in previous years the 2010 shows will be filmed and released on DVD soon after the event. All previous Sunday for Sammy DVD’s are available via the website: www.sundayforsammy.com
To find out more about the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund, how to make a donation or how to apply for a grant contact the Community Foundation on 0191 222 0945.
The Sunday for Sammy concert is financially supported by the Port of Tyne Authority with grateful thanks to BBC Radio Newcastle, Hilary Florek PR, NB Group, The Vermont Hotel, Newcastle City Hall, The Community Foundation and Nitelights.
For further information:
Jo Beddows
Account Manager
Hilary Florek PR
Telephone: 07860 601434
Notes to editors:
The first Sunday for Sammy concert was staged in February 2000 at the City Hall in Newcastle, performers who had worked with Sammy gave their time voluntarily to raise money to set up the Fund. Over £36,000 was raised and £30,000 of this was invested to provide a permanent endowment fund to support creative talent on Tyneside, where Sammy grew up. Similar performances in February 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 plus DVD sales have raised further revenues for the fund which now stands at over £270,000.
The Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund is administered by the Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The Foundation provides a service to families, individuals and companies in the region who want to make a lasting difference to the communities in which they live and work. It manages charitable funds on their behalf for specific areas and interest, some of which have been established through legacies or in memory of a loved one.
