A LOCAL working men’s club honoured one of their regular performers – who took his own life two years back – with a charity concert where they raised more than £1,000.
Hoyland Belmont WMC hosted the memorial concert on August 25 as a tribute to local solo artist Darren Atkinson – better known by his stage name Darren York – who died in 2022.
The packed out event – which featured performances from The Downbeats and Steve Holly – saw the community turn out in force to show their support, with a total of £1,145 raised for the mental health charity MIND.
The club’s treasurer, Ray Sidebottom, said: “Darren was here all the time performing.
“So we thought we’d get a few acts together to perform and raise some money for MIND.
“We had originally planned to start at 4pm, but I suggested we start at 3pm instead and do some games of bingo.
“We couldn’t believe it, but we actually reached full capacity before 4pm – there weren’t enough seats so we had to put a few banquet tables on the dance floor.
“It was a brilliant night.”
