South Shields pub set to host its own rock festival

Rod Parkin, Ross Hope, Paul Trotter, Paul Maughan, Lou Taylor, David Winter and Paul Hood who are taking part in the Lost Legends of Rock Festival.'

The event called the ‘Lost Legends of Rock Festival’ will be held at the Queen Vic pub, Victoria Road, South Shields this summer - featuring a line up of nine bands from the borough and further afield.

More than 100 people have already snapped up tickets for the one day festival, which will take place on Saturday, May 19, and organisers are hoping for a sell-out event.

The Lost Legends of Rock Festival coming to South Shields.

Organiser Paul Maughan, who is also the guitarist in Ronnie James Dio tribute band ‘Heaven or Hell?’ said the event aimed to get bands together where the original artist had passed away and are no longer available to be seen.

The 45-year-old from South Shields, who runs Sapphire Security Systems Ltd, said: “There will be two stages, one upstairs and one downstairs.

“Upstairs there will be the original bands and downstairs there will be the tribute bands, but nothing is going to clash.

“The event is called the ‘Lost Legends of Rock’ because everybody is dead, and our band Heaven or Hell?” pays tribute to the music of Ronnie James Dio, who was the singer with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell and his solo band ‘Dio’.

“We started as a few friends having a bit of fun at my 40th birthday party on March 3, 2012, where we got up and played four songs by Ronnie James Dio as a bit of fun.

“But after people saw it, they said we should keep it going and expand on it.

“We have been together six years this year and every year on May 16 we have put on a bit more of an elaborate show in memory of Ronnie James Dios passing.

“This year we thought why not go one bigger, so we have organised this festival along with Warren Ridley the owner of the Queen Vic pub.”

The line up for the event will feature the likes of Fallen Mafia; The Fifth Hounds; Wildthorn and G-Force among others.

All the bands are from the North East of England apart from Stone Deaf Forever, a tribute to Motorhead, who are from Liverpool and Hybrid Theory a tribute to Linkin Park who are from Edinburgh.

Sets will last from 40 minutes to one hour 30 minutes.

Doors for the event will open at 12 noon and the last band will take to the stage at 10pm.

Tickets are £12 in advance and £15 on the door.

They can be bought from the venue or online at www.ents24.com