The stained glass rattled, the medieval masonry trembled, and the pews of Hull’s Holy Trinity Church filled with 300 supporters for Gimme Shelter – a homelessness benefit.
The gig, the first rock concert of its kind to be hosted by the ancient venue, was the idea of The Black Delta Movement, Hull’s foremost psychedelic garage band.
Matt Burr, guitarist and frontman for the band, revealed to me how the idea came about.
“The band were traveling back from a gig last autumn, and we started chatting about how we might ‘give something back’ to the city and our followers. Some of the band have recently seen how homelessness affects families, so we hit on the idea of doing a homelessness benefit gig to raise awareness of the issue. We needed a venue, and thought we’d ask Holy Trinity, not knowing what the answer would be,” said Matt.
Revd Neal Barnes, vicar of Holy Trinity, takes up the story: “We at Holy Trinity were delighted to offer the ancient and magnificent building at the heart of the city for this really important cause. We see many people who are sleeping rough and who have no secure place to call home. The stories of how these people end up on the street are heart-rending. We hope the concert will bring the issues more into the open and encourage more people to help those who are sleeping rough.”
The evening was a great success, and delivered on its intentions to raise awareness about the issues around homelessness in the city, whilst entertaining visitors with some of the best indie music the region has to offer.
The Black Delta Movement were joined by 3 other bands, The Hillbilly Troupe, The Happy Endings, and This Resistance.
The gig was also a showcase for some of the city’s homelessness sector organisations, including Humber Region YMCA, Hull HARP (Homeless and Rootless Project), 1 in 4 (NHS mental health campaign), Restoration House Ministries, and Hull Street Angels.
This is the second time in recent weeks that Hull, and the Humber region, has made a bold statement of concern for local homeless people. The Humber Region YMCA Sleep Easy event, held overnight on Friday 1st February, saw 200 people sleeping rough for one night, raising over £20,000 to support various local homelessness charities.
The importance of events like Gimme Shelter and Sleep Easy cannot be overstated. Locally we’ve already seen rough sleeper numbers rise dramatically, and more families are falling into debt and poverty. Soon to be introduced ‘welfare reform’ measures will see even greater demand being put on local charities that work to support homeless people and those in poverty, especially young people at risk of homelessness.
Gimme Shelter at Holy Trinity was both a bold display of social action and a fantastic exhibition of musical talent. Its impact will reverberate around the city for months to come.
Jerome Whittingham