Cats Protection Fundraiser at The Donkey
27 March 2024
A recent charity night in support of Cats Protection, was held at The Donkey, a live music venue, on Welford Road in Leicester. The evening, which featured four bands as well as DJs, raised £900.00 for local cats, and was organised by Nick Whitfield, whose band, Drugstore Cowboys, were part of the line-up.
Arranged as a tribute evening to American band The Cramps, whose lead singer Lux Interior died 15 years ago, Whitfield, explained “I called into the Donkey to speak with bar manager ‘Blink’, who is also a big fan of the band. I had the idea that we’d have four bands paying tribute and performing five or six songs each, with DJs in between.”
“I suggested we should, maybe, do the show for a chosen charity, so being a cat lover myself (Nick has two of his own) it didn’t take much thought to come up with a plan. It was Blink who quickly came up with the name ‘Can your pussy do the Cramps’, a twist on their popular song ‘Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?”
“So the night was born and there were plenty of cat owners and lovers within the four bands and the DJs we lined up, so it was purrfect!” quipped Whitfield. The complete line-up featured Drugstore Cowboys, Kings of Hong Kong, Empress of Fur and ‘Mystery Action’. The Cramps, perhaps best known for their single Bikini Girls with Machine Guns, which reached 35 in the UK charts in 1989.
Whitfield himself is Leicester born and bred. “I got into playing music from an early age and progressed from my first musical venture in a secondary school band to now, at age 52, being a semi pro musician rather than the full on professional musician lifestyle I enjoyed in my earlier years. I still find myself involved with many bands but my favourite thing is own creation that is my Roots country/rockabilly band the Drugstore Cowboys who formed in 1996.”
“I’m a guitarist and vocalist with the Cowboys, but I also play double bass and get the bulk of my work from that. My musical influences are varied but my main passion is roots music such as 50’s Rock n Roll, Rockabilly, Country and vintage Rhythm and Blues. I’d been wanting to do a tribute night The Cramps for a long time, so this was the perfect opportunity.”
“The night was a huge success, selling out quickly with a long waiting list for any cancellations. We set the ticket price fairly low as we wanted a packed house to help the Donkey along too as grass roots venues are suffering, especially in the quieter first months of the year. We were overwhelmed by the attendance and atmosphere.”
“We were also able to sell the gig posters to raise extra funds. After minimal expenses we raised £900. Bearing in mind the many that missed out on tickets, we plan to do another two nights, repeating the whole thing at the Donkey on the 11th and 12th of October 2024.”
“My conversations with Donna and Angela at Cats Protection were a grim reality of how bad things are at the moment. Unwanted and un-neutered cats left to roam, with animal cruelty at an all-time high, I take my hat off to these ladies and their colleagues for their amazing work.”