Dorset Echo Tuesday 8 November 2005
RED TAPE MAY SCUPPER CHARITY RECORD BREAKER
By Martin Lea
martin.lea@dorsetecho.co.uk

Organisers of a charity concert which aimed to establish a new world record may pull the plug on the gig, blaming council bureaucracy.

Five-piece Weymouth pub band Methane 57 aimed to perform the same song in 30 different venues on Children in Need day on Friday, November 18. But a letter from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has thrown a spanner in the works.

Licensing manager Sue Moore read a Dorset Echo article about the fundraiser and wrote to remind the band they can only perform in bars which have a public entertainment licence. Venues which haven't can only host two musicians under the current rules and Mrs Moore suggested the band slim down to a two-piece if they want to play at these premises.

The letter came as a shock to event organiser and Methane 57 guitarist Pete Smith, who says the direction is unnecessary and has created an embarrassing situation for the band. The concerts, in which the band would perform rocker Bryan Adams' classic anthem Summer of '69' 30 times over 10 hours, take place less than a week before the licensing laws change and the public entertainment licence disappears.

Mr Smith, who is landlord of the Park Hotel in Weymouth, argues the band would only play for three-and-a-half minutes at each venue and the sole aim would be to raise money for charity. He said; Sue Moore has enclosed a list of the places we are allowed to play. With respect to those venues most of them will be empty or closed during the day or are so far out of town that it's not worth going. "We need to be hitting places in the town centre where the punters are going to be. "This is about supporting Children in Need and at the same time raising the profile of the town. "We've got lots of support and I've got 25 people ready to take the day off but I'm thinking of cancelling now. "I would have hoped the council would enter into the spirit of the event rather than going by the letter of the law".

Ms Moore was not available for comment.

I have just heard today that November 18 is also the day set for my meeting with the officers to discuss the local enforcement of the Licensing Act 2003. I had hoped that some of the officer's old way of thinking could be placed behind us.........................