I was in a punk band called Heavy Load. The band was made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities and we got fed up with seeing our fans leave our gigs early because their support workers worked inflexible staff shifts. So we decided to start the Stay Up Late campaign.
We decided to turn the campaign in to a charity. Stay Up Late is a tiny charity but thanks to the feature documentary that was made about us we've managed to get our message to thousands of people. This is amazing for us but also has it's downside.
People assume that we're a big outfit when in effect the charity existed on my back table for a couple of years (and still does) - and although we now have 2 awesome staff a lot of my work is done late in to the night still at my back table.
I don't reckon I'm along in this though, I reckon loads of small charities are being run off of kitchen tables the length and breadth of the UK. People like us start charities because we have a passion for a particular cause and want to change something.
This blog is my way of sharing our way of working so you can learn from our mistakes, successes and ideas and it'll also help explain the way we work, and the reason why I'm not always that quick at replying to emails.And it's called Pressure Drop because The Clash's version of that song was on a mix tape a mate gave me and was my introduction to punk as a kid. The song has lived me through my whole life and I think says a lot about starting up a charity...
I say when it drops, oh you gonna feel it
Pressure pressure pressure pressure
(Know that you were doing wrong)
Pressure drops, oh pressure pressure pressure pressure
(Know that you were doing wrong)
Toots And The Maytals
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