Business leaders and commercial property professionals from across the Solent region gathered to roar on their support for stage-strutting colleagues in a charity battle-of-the-bands gig.
Attended by more than 350 ticket-paying supporters, the Solent Rocks! event, organised by law firm Blake Lapthorn, took place at The Brook live music venue in Southampton
Thousands of pounds have been raised, with donations earmarked for local charities nominated by seven competing bands.
They were, with companies in brackets:
Arcadians (accountancy firm BDO)
Contraband (commercial property agency Primmer Olds)
Eclectic Zoo (Blake Lapthorn)
Five Bar (barristers 3PB)
Hughe Fighters (commercial property agency Hughes Ellard)
Mid Life Crisis (business advisers James Cowper)
Unnatural Justice (solicitors Lamport Bassitt)
The six charities that benefitted from the event are Alzheimer’s Society, Naomi Hospice, Rainbow Centre, Rose Road Children’s Appeal, Seward Cancer Foundation and Wessex Cancer.
A panel of judges made X Factor-style comments following the performance of each act before naming eventual winner Eclectic Zoo and providing it with a £500 prize, which will go to Blake Lapthorn’s nominated charity, Naomi House, and be shared with the other bands for them to do the same for their chosen charities.
Russell Mogridge, a director at Hughes Ellard and the drummer for Hughe Fighters, said: “The crowd were at times suitably wild, with plenty of dancing, roaring appreciation and tumultuous applause – it was a great night to play at being rock stars while raising money to help six great causes. The atmosphere was electric and the crowd kindly forgiving.”
