Comedian and Town fan Richard Jay is organising a night of comedy at Portman Road on Friday 31st May to raise funds for the Kevin Beattie statue, and he wants TWTD readers to come up with a name for the event.
Full details and tickets will be available soon for the evening which will take place in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite with all profits going to The Beat Goes On, the campaign for a statue for Beattie.
"The room is booked and the line-up is chosen — four hilarious comedians and an MC - a few of whom were regulars at Portman Road when Kevin was gracing the turf there,” Richard told TWTD.
"The headliner said to me, ‘It’s an honour to be asked — I lived for a while in Lowestoft and loved watching Kevin and the other greats of Sir Bobby Robson’s day’.”""
But before the details of the event are made public Richard wants his fellow TWTDers to come up with its name.
"Suggest, in the comments section below, a name for the night. We’ve thought of Comedy for Kevin and Banter for The Beat but they’re a bit cheesy. No prizes but you might see your idea on all of our publicity.”
Richard is also after sponsorship for the event. "There’s still a little time for a sponsor to step forward — loads of publicity in exchange for a sum that will enable us to ensure every penny of ticket money goes to the statue appeal.”
More information on this opportunity can be obtained from Richard by email: richard@wimbornecomedy.co.uk.
Richard, real name Richard Farrow, he performs his comedy as Richard Jay, describes himself as "a fat 65-year-old with a gag-filled set based around my life experiences with a bit of darkness thrown in”.
He’s performed gigs all over the UK, in pubs, clubs and attics — with the waiting room of a disused bus station in Colchester being a particularly memorable night.
Richard now lives and runs comedy nights down on the south coast of Dorset but he grew up in Ipswich and was a regular at Portman Road until he left the area in 1979.
He moved away for work reasons ("people kept trying to make me do some!”) and did all the usual things — marriage, children and a career in IT — until he did his first stand-up comedy set at the age of 60.
He sees this comedy night as an opportunity to help keep alive the memory of the club’s greatest player and as his "one chance in life to play at Portman Road!”.
Led by the EADT and Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and TWTD, The Beat Goes On was launched on December 18th last year on what would have been Beattie’s 65th birthday.
The current target is £110,000, although it is hoped that figure will be reduced as the campaign progresses, with £49,000 already having been raised.
You can make a donation online via the Go Fund Me page or send a cheque made payable to ‘The Beat Goes On’ to Kevin Beattie Statue Appeal, EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS.
There are also collection buckets at reception at the EADT’s offices and at BBC Radio Suffolk and in the FanZone on matchdays.
You can find The Beat Goes On campaign website here.