Blues club's first gig of 2017 raises £1,000 for Cancer Research in single night

The money has been counted from South Shropshire Blues Club's first gig night of the new year, totalling an impressive £1,090 for Cancer Research UK.

Organiser and blues club founder Maurice Arnold said the event, at Ludlow Brewing Co's The Shed venue off Station Drive last week, attracted a full house.

He said: "We had such a good attendance, I am sad to say a lot of people could not get in, apologies to them, but there was a big demand for dance floor space, so some of the seating had to go.

"The headline band was Shropshire favourites the Sultana Brothers and they played a great mix of musical styles from rocking blues to 60s and 70s standards plus some really good Gary Moore and Peter Green blues classics.

"The supporting resident band as usual was the equally brilliant Jack Brett and Blue Moon, they get better and better every month.

"In the way of a change Jack is now inviting one or two guest performers to most gigs, so that every gig is a bit different to the one before.

"This also gives performers from the Blues Jams a chance to prove themselves in front of a bigger audience, a bit like the X Factor, but this is the Blues Factor and it gets you away from the terrible telly.

"Most of the profit will go directly to the great cause and some money will go into the bank account to help pay for some bigger named bands which in turn will make more profit by the end of the year," he said.

"As usual there was a lot of hard work done behind the scenes and on the stage, many thanks to those who helped and attended.

"We already have a brilliant programme lined up for 2017," he added.

The next event for the club is a Blues Jam night at the Unicorn pub in Lower Corve Street, Ludlow, at 8pm on February 17.

The next full scale blues gig is at the Ludlow Brewery on March 24.