A club night in memory of Cream legend, Tony Barton, is expected to attract a crowd of more than 1,000, with all proceeds going to the MacMillan nurses who helped care for him in his final days.
Three local lads have enlisted the help of DJs from all across Europe as the perfect tribute to their friend and brother, Tony Barton, who died nearly three years ago, aged 47. The ‘Team Tony Barton’ event will take place in Circo at the Albert Docks on March 18th.
Friends, Tony Clarke, Joe Boggo and Tony Barton’s brother Dwayne, got together for the first time nearly three years ago to remember the Cream legend in a small pub called the Victoria Cross, with 100 people or so packed in.
Mr Clarke told JMU Journalism: “When he died me and the others came together and said ‘Let’s use his connections’. This has snowballed so much. Everyone wants to get involved.”
The dad of three lost his battle to cancer on Saint Patrick’s Day 2013 after beating Leukaemia 15 years earlier. It was then that CEO of Cream, James Barton, who donated bone marrow to Tony to help save him.
Tony was always a keen charity fundraiser, having run the New York, Liverpool and London marathons, raising thousands in the process.
Dwayne Barton said: “A random guy phoned me recently and told me that he used to phone Tony when he felt down. That’s just the kind of bloke Tony was. At his funeral you couldn’t get into the church, he was that popular.”
Mr Clarke, 40, added: “I recently found out that Tony used to go into hospitals in his own time and sit and talk to the sick kids. What a guy. He never even said a word to us, never looked for credit.”
He added: “I have dozens of people contacting me asking how they can help. Some great DJs have got involved free of charge, all for a good cause.”
Creamfields, Steven Gerrard and local boxer Paul Smith Jr have also donated tickets, jerseys and gloves to be auctioned. Paul Smith Jr will also be one of the headline DJs at the March event.
Mr Barton said: “The MacMillan nurses were fantastic – they did everything they could, so we are doing this for them. Even though he was my brother, he was also my best mate.”
Tickets cost £10 and can be found on Skiddle, with every penny going to MacMillan nurses.