A former DJ who dusted off his turntables to beat coronavirus lockdown boredom has raised £3,000 for a West Yorkshire hospice by hosting a 24-hour online music marathon.
Music-lover Lee Shaw, who comes from Southowram, near Halifax, and works as a shift leader at Lubrizol in Leeds Road, Huddersfield, came up with the idea to non-stop to an online audience to kill some time and raise some money after the Government restrictions confined him to his home last month.
The last time Lee had used his decks was years ago, when he DJ’d for his friends and family’s weddings and birthdays, while he also DJ’d his own 40th birthday celebration two years ago.
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Before then he had a regular DJ slot at a nearby pub, but in recent years family commitments, work and other activities meant that, while he still enjoyed listening to music, he put his turntables into storage.
That changed last month, when Lee had the brainwave to get them down from the loft and host a 24-hour online DJ set, while taking requests from followers in return for donations to Overgate Hospice in Elland.
He began at 11.30am on a Friday and, within a short time of setting himself up on the live streaming app Periscope, he became indebted with song requests and money started rolling in from people who were tuning in from all over the world.
By the time Lee finished, having played everything from pop to punk and reggae to rock, his JustGiving page had topped the £2,000 mark – while many more people had donated directly to the hospice too.
Lee, who also received a £400 donation from Lubrizol, doesn’t have a precise figure for the amount he has raised but estimates it’s well over £3,000 – a timely sum for a good cause that Lee has supported before and which, due to the coronavirus, is in dire need of funds.
He said: “The whole thing started off as an idea because I was bored one day and I wasn’t able to go out and do the kind of things I usually do, so I got my decks and my vinyl records out to amuse myself.
“I went from that to deciding to do a 24-hour DJ challenge and, once I started it, it all grew very quickly. I thought I’d raise about £200 and play a few songs for friends, but at the height of it I had people getting in touch from places like India and Canada, while other people had put the live pictures of me on their TVs and were dancing along to the music.
“It was brilliant, everyone was so friendly and I must have played every single kind of music there is during the event. I was amazed by the donations that were coming in for a cause that I really believe in and which is having a difficult time.
“I didn’t flag at all during the 24 hours because there was always someone online and their energy kept me going. I love music and I love making people happy by playing music, so I was buzzing at the end of it and really happy that I’ve raised so much just by doing something I enjoy.”
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