In just six short months, Sunday for Sammy, unofficially known as the Geordie Command Performance, will delight packed audiences at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena. A major part of the show’s appeal is the surprise element where you just don’t know who will appear or what will happen next.
That level of secrecy requires a lot of planning, fine tuning and an element of skill which the Sunday for Sammy planning team have acquired over the last 18 years.
Their inaugural ‘secret’ planning meeting took place at Newcastle’s Vermont Hotel and included ex Lindisfarne members Billy Mitchell and Ray Laidlaw, comedian Jason Cook, comedy writer and playwright Ed Waugh and award winning director and producer Geoff Wonfor.
The show, held as a tribute to the late Geordie actor Sammy Johnson has been presented at Newcastle City Hall for nearly every performance. However, in recent years the demand for tickets has far out-stripped supply. The last shows almost two years ago sold-out in a day and thousands of disappointed fans couldn’t get tickets.
The switch of venue to the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena has proven popular with the North-East public as already more tickets have been sold than the two City Hall shows combined.
Show producer Ray Laidlaw although giving nothing away, is promising a few big surprises for the audiences on the night.
“Sunday for Sammy is a celebration of North Eastern culture and many of the region’s most popular and successful performers have taken part in the past. This year, we are at a much bigger venue and we are going to make sure that the performances are bigger and better than ever to match the location. I can’t say any more than that but those lucky ones with tickets are in for a real treat.”
Since the first Sunday for Sammy in 2000, young local performers have benefitted from over £400,000 in grants to help with their professional development. The shows and subsequent DVD’s raise much needed funds to help support the next generation of North Eastern performers with training, expenses and equipment.
In recent years artists such as Tim Healy, Denise Welch, Mark Knopfler, Kevin Whately, Charlie Hardwick, Jimmy Nail, Jill Halfpenny, Timothy Spall, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Christopher Fairbank, Stephen Tomkinson, John Miles, Angie Lonsdale, Jason Cook, Lindisfarne, Joe McElderry, Brendan Healy, Donna Aire, Ant and Dec, Chelsea Halfpenny, Billy Mitchell, Brendan Foster, Pam Royle, Bob Moncur, Julia Tobin, Glenn McCrory, Kathryn Tickell, Chris Ramsey, Peter Peverley and many, many more have given up their time to take part in the show.
South Tyneside based Ed Waugh’s extensive talent for comedy writing will ensure that the audiences will be rolling in the aisles.
“Each time we put on a show the bar is raised and it becomes harder to live up to the audience’s expectations however, we do it time and time again and in our new venue we’ll make sure it’s the show that everyone’s talking about next February and saying “did you see the bit with……”’
Sunday for Sammy February 18th 2018 PM Show and Evening Show Booking information:
Tickets costing £35 plus 55p facility fee and bookings fees, are available online at www.metroradioarena.co.uk and from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or in person from the Metro Radio Arena Box Office.
Tickets are also be available from Newcastle Theatre Royal.
Online www.theatreroyal.co.uk or call the Box Office on 08448 11 21 21. (All calls are charged at 7p a minute plus your phone company’s access charge, calls from mobiles may vary, please contact your operator for details.) For Groups of 10+, please call Group Bookings on 08448 11 21 22.
Ends
Photo shows: L to R: Billy, Ray, Geoff, Jason, Ed ( See no evil pic)
Pic 2 – L to R Ray, Billy, Geoff, Jason, Ed
www.sundayforsammy.org www.mawson-wareham.co.uk
For further info contact Ray Laidlaw on 07710 596 749 – ray@lindisfarne.co.uk
PR by Highlights PR Contact Keith Newman 07814 397951