Exhibition Centre needs £50 man to return + £50 woman too !
Fifteen years ago the phrase “£50 man” first came into use coined by the former NME journalist and founder of WORD magazine David Hepworth. This was a man who thought nothing of wandering into a record shop and spending £50 on whatever took his fancy. £50 man now of course is in his fifties and let us not forget there were indeed £50 women too.
When the idea of fundraising was first mooted £50 man again surfaced as the sort of person who would love to see a centre dedicated to the music he had grown up with and still loved. One hundred of these individuals and the initial £5K was assured.Add in others making smaller but no less valuable contributions and the seed money needed to get the centre off the ground seemed attainable.
Given it was 15 years ago some even joked there would now be a “£100” man ready to get involved. I was sceptical but we had a £100 donation almost straight away and I must say thank you to that gentleman. Since then however things have been slow and I very much appreciate it would be easier if I could name a home and opening date. That announcement however is not far away.
The GoFundMe page was set up more in anticipation of a future push than expecting an immediate response but now the time has come to get things over the line and donations are crucial. The page has actually been a huge success in that it has attracted both offers of help and potential sponsors so much so that I’m completely confident that when we get the green light I will have both the expertise and finance in place.
The blog below has more details on where we are at and I really do hope to say more by the end of the week. Every little helps and I appreciate £50 is far too much for most but hopefully £50 man will do his bit. It doesn’t even need to be a donation as a voucher purchase helps with cash flow too. I’m certain that once open the support will be there as it was with the Fruitmarket Gallery exhibition but this last bit is proving tricky.
I shall be back looking through cupboards tonight seeing what records I can cull from an already diminished collection but needs must. In terms of time and real cash I have put in myself I am indeed £50K man and I don’t begrudge a penny.
I do have an idea going forward of how to fund both my time and others but for now getting the exhibition centre over the line is the priority. Now back to the cupboard !