The video was premiered at virtual festival ‘The Night Owl & NHS Joint Birthday Shindig’ on Saturday 11th July raising money for NHS charities
On Saturday, July 11th, The Night Owl joined forces with University Hospitals Birmingham Charity (UHB) to hold an all-day event online celebrating their 5th birthday and the NHS’s 72nd birthday. The aim was to raise money for UHB to support local hospitals. You can still donate to this worthy cause here.
The video, which was premiered at the event, features Bobby Brooks Wilson, son of soul music legend Jackie Wilson, singing the classic ‘Higher and Higher’ as well as featuring staff from both The Night Owl and NHS singing and dancing.
The event was hosted by promoter and DJ Mazzy Snape who invited Bobby Brooks Wilson to get involved.
I’d played Bobby on my radio show in the past so dropped an email to his agent. Both his agent and Bobby were lovely, they didn’t ask for any money and were happy to help out a good cause and celebrate both birthdays. The Night Owl is known for offering discounts and benefits to NHS staff long before the lockdown kicked in and we have a longstanding relationship with NHS staff regularly frequenting the club to let their hair down.
The Night Owl have been livestreaming DJ sets, cocktail classes and even their own ‘Northern Soul Championships’ online since early April. One regular, Sharon Aspinall (Community Midwives, City Heartlands Good Hope) has found The Night Owl livestreams particularly uplifting during lockdown.
I have been a frequent ‘Night Owler’ since they opened their fabulous doors 5 years ago. It’s a wonderful venue, the atmosphere is always a friendly, happy vibe. The DJs and live bands that play at the club are second to none. During lockdown it has been a huge blessing to be able to enjoy the live streams. Bringing the Night Owl into my lounge raising a smile and lifting the energy after a working week. As an NHS employee I want to thank all my front line colleagues for all the hard work they are doing during these unprecedented times.
The Night Owl will be opening to the public for the first time in over four months this Saturday 18th July, the music venue and club will be operating as a bar opening from 2pm to midnight applying social distancing and corona safety measures such as table service only, contactless payments, limited numbers and social distance signage. They are also looking to launch live music outside from Saturday 25th July following the recent government advice.
You can still donate to University Hospitals Birmingham Charity here and see the event stream on Twitch here.