Belgrade Theatre Launches Campaign to Name Coventry's Number One Song

The Belgrade Theatre has launched a campaign to name Coventry's number one song in the countdown to Godiva Rocks, a new musical featuring songs by Coventry artists, premiering on the Main Stage in October.

YOU can now vote for your favourite Coventry song from a list of the 34 top ten hits by Coventry & Warwickshire artists, by visiting www.belgrade.co.uk/covsong or vote in person at the Coventry Music Museum in Ball Hill.

Voting closes on Thursday 31 August and the winning song will be announced on Friday 1 September.

Pete Chambers BEM, Coventry Music Historian and Owner of the Coventry Music Museum said, "This is an opportunity for Coventry to shout about its achievements. Visitors to the Museum are always surprised to hear about the breadth of Coventry's musical history, and so often you hear them say "I didn't know they came from Coventry!" We have a tendency of underplaying our cultural achievements in Coventry and now at a time when we are bidding to be UK City of Culture in 2021, it is crucial that we spread the word."

Godiva Rocks will highlight Coventry's rich and vibrant musical history with a soundtrack of over 20 classic songs performed by a live band, and tells the story of boy meets girl on a fateful night at the Orchid Ballroom in 1964.

Girl meets boy in Coventry - but nothing, and nobody, is what they seem, all because of one extraordinary night at the Orchid Ballroom, back in December '64. Shady financier Leo Freeman's decision to knock down the Orchid ballroom has far-reaching consequences - as daughter Nell meets the extraordinary Patrick Vernon - and the hunt for a missing tape reveals a history of musical passions and romantic jealousies stretching back to the dawn of musical time.

The production, which is written by Alan Pollock and directed by Hamish Glen, reunites the same creative team behind the Belgrade's smash-hit Coventry Blitz play, One Night in November.

Writer Alan Pollock said, "At one level it's a simple girl-meets-boy story with a massive twist. (Massive!) But really it's a play about a search - of a boy for his father, and for a missing tape that encapsulates the perfect Coventry sound - the distillation of everything that makes this melting-pot city unique. And of course an excuse to highlight some of the greatest pop sounds ever to come out of Cov - twenty classic songs from the city."

Godiva Rocks continues the Belgrade's commitment to staging productions that reflect the stories of the city and region, such as Nick Walker's FA Cup play, We Love You City and, more recently, Bob Eaton's 2 Tone Musical Three Minute Heroes.

With the shortlist soon to be announced for UK City of Culture in 2021, the Theatre is also hoping that the new musical will help residents reclaim ownership and a sense of pride for Coventry's musical history, and promote the city on a national level.

The city is best-known as the birthplace of 2 Tone, with artists such as The Specials and The Selecter both originating from Coventry, but it has also been home to Hazel O'Connor, The Enemy, Frank Ifield and many other famous artists who helped put Coventry on the musical map

Godiva Rocks will run on the Main Stage at the Belgrade Theatre from Sat 7 to Sat 21 Oct. Tickets are available now priced from £19.75 by calling the Belgrade Box Office team on 024 7655 3055 or visit www.belgrade.co.uk.

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