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It’s been more than four years but an REM-flavoured music event for a Harrogate charity is finally happening next week.
Taking place at Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen in Harrogate, REM – Automatic for the People & Extras! is a free event with donations for Harrogate Hospital Community Charity.
Automatic for the People was the eighth studio album by the American alternative rock band who went from cult status in the 1980s to the biggest band on the planet in the 1990s.
The volunteers behind Harrogate’s Vinyl Sessions, which famously hosted a Q&A with Beatles and David Bowie producer Ken Scott, expected the event to happen a long time ago.
Organiser and vintage hi fi aficiando Colin Paine said: “We’d originally planned to do this event on March 18, 2020 and, of course, that was when the world suddenly changed.
“Automatic for the People” is from an era when vinyl was losing momentum at an alarming rate as the CD was hailed as the new hero.
“Not at Vinyl Sessions, though. We will be playing the full album and some well-known bonus tracks from the REM Greatest Hits as well on our fave format.
“If hi-fi is your thing – you are in for a treat.”
Spawning five singles when the original line-up of Michael Stope, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry was at the height of mainstream success, this classic album has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide since its release in 1992.
The best known tracks include Drive, Man on the Moon, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Nightswimming and, of course, Everybody Hurts.
The event will start at 7.30pm with a full album profile from the team’s music expert Graham Chalmers of the Harrogate Advertiser plus an amazing video show by Jim Dobbs.
Colin Paine will MC and operate the audio, in this case, a Technics SL1210 GR Turntable, Hana SH Cartridge, Rega Fono3, Marantz PM8005 Amplifier and Wharfedale Evo 4-4 Speakers.
Ticket places are free to reserve but a donation of £5 on admission is advised.
Every penny goes to Harrogate Hospital Community Charity.
