Big names to take to stage at York's Grand Opera House for St Leonard's Hospice
YORK'S most famous drag queen is hosting a charity concert in memory of his mum and in support of St Leonard's Hospice.
Ian Stroughair (aka York drag queen Velma Celli) has joined forces with his friend Sarah Walker - daughter of the late Heartbeat author Peter Walker - to organise the show, titled Voices United: Rubies for our Angels.
It will take place at York's Grand Opera House on Friday July 18 at 7.30pm and star Velma Celli as well as Jess Steel, Stuart Allan, Joanne Theaker-Spencer, Laura Castle, and Jonny and the Dunebugs, among others.
Tickets are available from atgtickets.com
The evening of music will be in honour St Leonard's Hospice which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
York drag queen Velma Celli is organising a fundraiser for St Leonard's Hospice in July. Image supplied
Ian said: "My dear mum Pauline Kennington passed away after her battle with cancer eight years ago in St Leonard's Hospice. A horrible time made much easier by the wonderful kindness of the angels at St Leonard's.
"By awful freaky coincidence, my dearest friend Sarah Walker and her family lost their legendary dad and husband Peter Walker just weeks before my mum and then devastatingly so her precious sister Tricia Walker just months later. An utterly heartbreaking time for all."
Peter and Tricia Walker
Retired policeman Peter was better known as writer Nicholas Rhea, whose Constable series of books was turned into the hugely popular TV series Heartbeat.
Sarah said: "This will be a charity fundraising concert in memory of my dad, sister, and my Ian's mum who all died in St Leonard's Hospice York within months of each other. It is also the hospice's 40th anniversary, so we felt it a fitting time to do it this year."
She added: "Both Ian and I have long wanted to repay the hospice for the support our families received at the most difficult of times. Ian came up with the idea of a charity show after learning that St Leonard's receives just a quarter of its annual running costs from the NHS. The other six million pounds has to come from fundraising. We want to do our bit to help.'
All of the artists are donating their time and talent for free so as much money as possible will go directly to the hospice, added Ian.
Sarah Atkinson, community and events manager at St Leonard's said: "We're really excited about the upcoming Voices United evening at the Grand Opera House as we celebrate our 40th anniversary.
St Leonards Hospice in York Image: Supplied
"The compassionate care we provide at St Leonard's Hospice is only possible thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, and we very much appreciate the continued support. So, book your tickets for a glittering evening of entertainment and join us in celebrating both the talent and spirit that make our work possible."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
🎥 England celebrate EURO 2025 triumph with London bus parade
The EURO 2025 champions are back home and celebrating with their fans. It's been a packed 48 hours for the England squad having touched down on Monday following their win over Spain for a reception at 10 Downing Street. But the party isn't over with the Lionesses now on an open top bus parade down The Mall in central London and heading towards Buckingham Palace. Are some of the best clips from the parade so far ... Early vibes on the bus ... Sunday's goalscorer has her say ... It came home ... Heading down The Mall ... What a way to toast the queens of Europe. 📸 Alex Pantling - 2025 Getty Images
Vogue
7 hours ago
- Vogue
Here's Your First Look at Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman in Netflix's New Pride & Prejudice
I firmly believe that, like Little Women and Wuthering Heights, every generation gets the Pride & Prejudice they deserve. For those who came of age in the mid-'90s, that was the glorious BBC adaptation starring a note-perfect Jennifer Ehle and a wet-white-shirt-wearing Colin Firth. For those, like me, who grew up in the aughts, it was Joe Wright's ravishing, Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen-led effort. (This is still, in my humble opinion, the best take on this literary classic.) And now, Gen Z is about to have their own: a six-part limited series reimagining of Jane Austen's scintillating romp is coming to Netflix. And the cast is to die for. On April 10, it was announced by the streamer that Golden Globe-winning period drama regular Emma Corrin (The Crown, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Nosferatu) would be taking the hotly contested part of Elizabeth Bennet, while Jack Lowden (Saoirse Ronan's husband and the star of War & Peace, Mary Queen of Scots, Benediction, and Slow Horses), would be the inscrutable Mr. Darcy. And as for the role of the wonderfully silly (and increasingly desperate) Mrs. Bennet? None other than Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Corrin's fellow Crown alumni, will slip into her frilly bonnet. More casting news followed on July 29: The Holiday, Scoop, and The Diplomat's Rufus Sewell will be the wry Mr. Bennet; Industry's Freya Mavor will be the angelic Jane Bennet; Heartstopper's Rhea Norwood will be the flighty Lydia; and recent graduates Hollie Avery and Hopey Parish will make their screen debuts as the giggly Kitty and the somber Mary, respectively. Then there's internet boyfriend Louis Partridge as the dastardly Mr. Wickham; Fleabag's Jamie Demetriou as the humorless Mr. Collins; Bad Sisters' Daryl McCormack as the kindly Mr. Bingley; and the formidable Fiona Shaw as the terrifying Lady Catherine de Bourg, so memorably embodied by Dame Judi Dench in the 2005 version. The supporting cast is rounded out with Domino Day's Siena Kelly as the glamorous Caroline Bingley; We Are Lady Parts' Anjana Vasan as the Bennet sisters' aunt, Mrs. Gardiner; The Tudors' Sebastian Armesto as her husband, Mr. Gardiner; Rosie Cavaliero as Lady Lucas; Justin Edwards as Sir William Lucas; Saffron Coomber as Mrs. Hurst, Bingley's other sister; James Dryden as Mr. Hurst; James Northcote as Colonel Forster; Eloise Webb as Harriet Forster; and Isabella Sermon as the luminous Georgiana Darcy.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Black Sabbath bassist reflects on rehearsing with 'frail' Ozzy Osbourne for farewell show
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler is sharing emotional reflections on the last time he ever saw his bandmate Ozzy Osbourne. In an essay for The Sunday Times published on Sunday, July 27, Butler paid tribute to the rock icon and wrote about performing with him for the last time during Black Sabbath's farewell show on July 5. Weeks after the performance, Osbourne died on July 22 at age 76. "Nobody knew he'd be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show," Butler wrote. "But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans. The love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince. I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him." Butler, who founded Black Sabbath with Osbourne in 1968, said rehearsals for the farewell show started about a month prior, and he was taken aback when he saw Osbourne struggling with health issues. Surprise! Johnny Depp joins Alice Cooper for Ozzy Osbourne tribute "I knew he wasn't in good health, but I wasn't prepared to see how frail he was," he wrote. "He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones. He didn't really say much beyond the usual greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair." Rock star Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76, weeks after final Black Sabbath show Butler said Osbourne seemed exhausted after they played six or seven songs during rehearsal, and although they "had a bit of a chat," he "was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old." The musician shared that he wishes he "had more time backstage with Ozzy" at their final show. "I didn't realize then that I would never see Ozzy again after that night," he wrote. Butler also remembered his former bandmate as a "born entertainer" who "had a heart of pure gold." Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi previously paid tribute to Osbourne on Instagram, writing that "there won't ever be another like him." Drummer Bill Ward also wrote in his own tribute, "Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you're forever in my heart." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ozzy Osbourne death: Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler reflects
