News

Edith Bowman, The Hoosiers and Sunday Girl Perform At Skindividual Show

• 1st Oct 2010

The Hoosiers and Sunday Girl performed at an exclusive gig for one lucky teenager – who won the chance to curate her own gig – as part of skindividual, the online music initiative from Cancer Research UK.

The acts performed on Wednesday 29th September at The Relentless Garage, London, for eighteen year-old Courtney Hicks, from Essex, as part of the skindividual initiative from SunSmart, Cancer Research UK’s skin cancer prevention campaign. The initiative, which launched in 2009, encourages people to declare themselves a skindividual – someone who recognises that their skin is unique, wants to protect it from sunburn, and is proud to do so.

The competition offered young music fans like Courtney the chance to dream up their most creative ideas for a gig. The twist was placing a message at the heart of the party about not getting caught out by sunburn <link> . The creators of the ten best ideas were then challenged to promote their gig using social networks to get as many votes as possible.

Courtney utilised all her experience of social media to promote her idea for a glamorous, glitter-filled, pop party to secure over 6,000 votes and beat off stiff competition from the other finalists. Courtney’s gig took the opportunity to promote to skindividual message.

As part of her prize, Courtney was assigned her very own dedicated team of live music experts including booking agents, gig promoters and web designers – to help turn her dream gig into a reality.

Her unique event was also supported and shaped by some of the music industry’s powerhouses including – NME editor Krissi Murison, Radio 1 Xtra presenter Max Akhtar, Bestival director Ben Turner, Jason Legg, Head of Live music at HMV, Rockness festival director Jim King, Ben Fender, MD of top event producers Drive Productions, and Sophie Epstone, founder of music and fashion youth cancer charity Trekstock.

Courtney said: “I can’t wait to see The Hoosiers and Sunday Girl play at my very own gig to help raise awareness of such an important issue for young people. I’ve always been pale and I used to get really annoyed when I was younger about not being able to tan and having to protect myself in the sun. This competition has allowed me to show other people that you can be proud of your natural skin colour whilst still enjoying the sun.”

The Hoosiers added: “We are delighted to be helping Courtney and her friends by being part of skindividual 2010. Not many young people appreciate the importance of their skin and the damage signified by sunburn and relaying the dangers through music is a fantastic way to engage people. We can’t wait for the show.”

The skindividual competition was launched in 2009 in response to rising rates of malignant melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, among young people in the UK. Rates of malignant melanoma have more than tripled among young people aged 15-34 in the past 30 years, and it is the second most common form of cancer in the UK among this age group. Sunburn is a clear sign that skin cells have been damaged by UV radiation, and increases the risk of skin cancer later in life. So enjoying the sun safely is key.

The skindividual gig built upon the success of last year, when budding teen musician Kate McGill won a chance to share the stage with her idols Ladyhawke, New Young Pony Club and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Caroline Cerny, Cancer Research UK’s SunSmart campaign manager, said: “We’re delighted with the response to this year’s skindividual competition. The finalists all made a real effort with their videos and in generating votes for them, and we were impressed with the creative approaches they came up with to raise awareness of the dangers of sunburn. Courtney’s glitter-filled pop bonanza is set to be a great night, and it’s fantastic that The Hoosiers and Sunday Girl are supporting the initiative.”

Anyone can develop skin cancer but some people have a higher risk including those with fair skin, lots of moles or freckles, a history of sunburn or a family history of skin cancer.