The cream of Northern Ireland’s rock and metal scene are coming together to raise funds for Cancer Research. A dozen or so of our top rock and metal acts are generously donating tunes for a compilation CD, to be entitled ‘Dancing In the Moonlight’. The project is the brainchild of local music journo and Paradise City promoter Mark Ashby. He explains: “Last September, my partner Carolyn was told that the cancer she had fought on several occasions in the past had returned: fortunately, the diagnosis was made early and Carolyn underwent eight weeks of radiotherapy at the Royal Victoria Hospital to beat this horrible disease.
Early in her treatment, we were both struck by one thing: the support and solidarity shown by our countless friends in the rock and metal community, not only here in Belfast, but across Northern Ireland – and further afield. Even at that early stage I made myself a promise: to do something to celebrate not only Carolyn’s triumph over the disease, but that of every other survivor – and, at the same time, celebrate the spirit and strength of our own beloved rock and metal community.
So far, we have almost a dozen bands involved. Some of them are contributing songs from their back catalogues, and some of them have offered to record new songs exclusively for this album. We can promise you that there will be quite a few surprises thrown in…”
So far no release date has been set for this mammoth undertaking. To date, three bands have been announced: Stormzone, whose immense album ‘Three Kings’ was released last summer, the recently reformed No Hot Ashes, and Trucker Diablo, whose ‘Songs of Iron’ was nominated for Album of the Year in the inaugural Northern Ireland Music Awards in November. More names are expected in the coming weeks.
For further details on this worthy and exciting project, check out the dedicated Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DancingInTheMoonlightNI
