Guests gathered at the Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells on Saturday (October 7) for a night of music to honour the memory of a well-known local band member.
David Keighley, who was a singer and guitarist with the Heartbeats, wanted his last gig to be for the Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre. He had been a regular visitor to the centre for four years up until his death last year, which robbed him of the chance to fulfil his wish.
However, David’s bandmates joined with Pickering to organise the dine and dance event which was attended by 150 people – many of them visitors to the centre.
Alongside them on the night was the band Shine, headed by Paul Whitehorn – a centre visitor and “great friend” of David.
Pickering, which is located on Monson Road, is run entirely by volunteers providing help and support to those whose lives are impacted by the condition, including families – all free of charge.
“This was a fun-raiser not a fundraiser,” said co-founder Polly Taylor. “And it was all done to honour the memory of our dear David.”
Music on the night came from the 60s through to the 70s.
Heartbeats leader Kevin Rendall said: “We wanted to do this gig in David’s memory and to honour his bucket list.”
Also on stage was Dave Goldberg, a member of the group Rumours of Fleetwood Mac and brother-in-law of David, who should have been on tour in America.
He said he had stayed behind to honour David through his music and support Pickering “which he loved and which in turn loved him”.
