We Shall Overcome

Thousands of people in communities across Britain are coming together to organise weeks of live music and arts events that will give much needed support to foodbanks and other causes. ‘We Shall Overcome’ is a community effort led by musicians and music promoters who want to do something practical to help people being hit hard by homelessness and poverty.

On Saturday 21 October We Shall Overcome comes to The Doll @ The Black Bull, Gateshead to raise awareness and much needed funds for our very own Gateshead Foodbank.

There will be a day of music from 12 noon with ten bands giving their time for free to support Gateshead Foodbank.

Paul Frear the event organiser, aka. Uncle PAF, will deliver his Braggesque style tunes that hold no punches when it comes to picking holes in the government’s anti-austerity programme.

Audiences around the Northeast will be more than familiar with the bands, such as Loudmouth, The Relitics, LoGOz, Nomihodai, What about Eddie and many more.  It’ll be a great day of music!

Entry is by voluntary cash and food donations.

Paul hopes as part of this national show of solidarity we will highlight the human cost to the politics of austerity. “ I joined the WSO movement immediately it was formed in 2015 because I was deeply frustrated with what I was seeing locally with hardship and poverty was not what was being spun from Westminster”, said Paul.  

Jackie Beeley who Coordinates Gateshead Foodbank said “we really appreciate WSO supporting the Foodbank, like us WSO is a community effort.  We are a community based charity with a small army of around 100 regular local volunteers who have come together to help those hit hard by austerity, because we all believe that “together we can make a difference”

In the last 5 years Gateshead Foodbank has provided food for over 19,000 people who reside in Gateshead.  On average 125 people per week currently receive food who have all been assessed as in crisis by one of our local referral agencies.  It is estimated that around 1million children are fed by foodbanks in the UK.

People need the support of Gateshead Foodbank for a number of reasons including; Low pay/unemployment which is recognised as the main cause of poverty in the UK, welfare reform where changes such as Bedroom Tax, lengthy processing of new benefits claims, Job Seekers Allowance and ESA sanctions are leaving people with little or no money for food for weeks on end.  

Several thousand musicians will perform across the country as audiences are encouraged to bring food for foodbanks or make donations to homelessness and other projects

Musician Joe Solo from Scarborough, the brain child behind the national event, said “We Shall Overcome is an anti-austerity movement but it is also very much pro-community. From a handful of musicians organising just two or three gigs We Shall Overcome has already grown into a movement”