Campaign launched to name Coventry’s favourite song
Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre Theatre has launched a campaign to name Coventry’s number one song.
The campaign is in celebration of the countdown to Godiva Rocks, a new musical featuring songs by Coventry artists, premiering on the Main Stage in October.
The city is best-known as the birthplace of 2 Tone, with artists such as The Specials and The Selecter both originating from Coventry, but it has also been home to Hazel O’Connor, The Enemy, Frank Ifield and many other famous artists who helped put Coventry on the musical map.
Locals can vote for their favourite Coventry song from a list of the 34 top ten hits by Coventry & Warwickshire artists, by visiting the theatre’s website, or voting in person at the Coventry Music Museum in Ball Hill. The list includes hits from The Specials, The Enemy and many more.
Pete Chambers BEM, Coventry Music Historian and Owner of the Coventry Music Museum said, “This is an opportunity for Coventry to shout about its achievements. Visitors to the Museum are always surprised to hear about the breadth of Coventry’s musical history.
“So often you hear them say “I didn’t know they came from Coventry” We have a tendency of underplaying our cultural achievements in Coventry and now at a time when we are bidding to be UK City of Culture in 2021, it is crucial that we spread the word.”
Godiva Rocks will highlight Coventry’s rich and vibrant musical history with a soundtrack of over 20 classic songs performed by a live band, and tells the story of boy meets girl on a fateful night at the Orchid Ballroom in 1964.
The production, which is written by Alan Pollock and directed by Hamish Glen, reunites the same creative team behind the Belgrade’s smash-hit Coventry Blitz play, One Night in November.
Writer Alan Pollock said, “At one level it’s a simple girl-meets-boy story with a massive twist. But really it’s a play about a search of a boy for his father, and for a missing tape that encapsulates the perfect Coventry sound, the distillation of everything that makes this melting-pot city unique. And of course, an excuse to highlight some of the greatest pop sounds ever to come out of Coventry with twenty classic songs from the city.”
With the shortlist soon to be announced for UK City of Culture in 2021, the Theatre is hoping that the new musical will help residents reclaim ownership and a sense of pride for Coventry’s musical history, and promote the city on a national level.
Godiva Rocks will run on the Main Stage at the Belgrade Theatre from Sat 7 to Sat 21 October. Locals have until Thursday August 31 to vote for their favourite song, with the winning song being announced on Friday September 1.
