Blues boss takes centre stage as gig raises £4,000 (From Bucks Free Press)
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Wycombe Wanderers boss sings at gig that raises £4,000
7:30am Thursday 11th October 2012 in News By Andy Carswell
Gareth Ainsworth on stage with Subrosa5. Pic by Paul Dennis
WANDERERS' caretaker manager Gareth Ainsworth swapped the football pitch for the stage as he took the mic at a fundraising gig on Saturday.
He belted out a series of rock classics along with Wycombe band Subrosa5 at a fundraising concert that raised more than £4,000 for six charities nominated by the club he's in temporary charge of.
Having guided Blues to a 2-1 win over Torquay in the afternoon, Ainsworth swapped his tracksuit for jeans and a Mick Jagger-inspired t-shirt at the KenDarComm event.
More than 150 fans turned up to the Vere Suite at Adams Park and rocked out to the 39-year-old belting out songs such as The Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’, Oasis’ ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ and ‘I Fought The Law’ by The Clash.
The gig, which also included a pub quiz, stand-up comedy from Darren Willis and Paul Moynihan, a raffle and an auction, was recorded for a piece on the weekend's Football League Show on BBC1.
Organiser Darren Willis said: "Gaz was a class act on stage – as we all knew he would be – and he had the place well and truly rocking. We all would have understood if he’d been unable to honour the gig due to his role as caretaker manager, but he stayed true to his word and we really appreciate his efforts."
The funds will be split between the club’s Community Trust and its ongoing project in a poverty-hit region of Kenya, as well as causes selected by the families of Blues fans Steve Maguire, Jonny Saunders and Graham Cadle, who all passed away this autumn.
A share of the proceeds will also benefit GKs For GOSH, an initiative set up by the club’s goalkeeping coach Lee Harrison in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital where his 10-year-old son Luke is undergoing treatment for cancer of the kidney.
Ainsworth first joined forces with Subrosa5 at a similar event at the club last July and they then headlined the High Wycombe Christmas Parade in November, rekindling the footballer’s rockstar ambitions having regularly performed gigs in the mid-00s with his band Dog Chewed The Handle.
