A FINCHAMPSTEAD man is taking to the stage next month in memory of his sister.
John Camidge will be joined by his Blondie tribute band, Atomic Rapture, at a special fundraising event in Bracknell live music venue, The Acoustic Couch.
He will be on the keyboards, with partner Barbara Brice on lead vocals.
Also on the line up are Zeppelin Kids, a Led Zeppelin tribute, and ska, new wave and punk covers band The Fanzines.
The event is raising money for the Diana Camidge Foundation. It is the charity John set up after his sister Diana died in 2016 from a rare genetic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).
Diana began to experience the symptoms of Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSS), the medical name for the genetic disorder, in January 2016. She died at home on September 4 the same year.
“My grandmother, mother and two of my uncles have also died from the illness,” John says.
“The gene is always passed on, it doesn’t skip a generation.
“There is currently no cure for CJD or the genetic disorder.”
John has been tested and does not carry GSS. He set up the charity to remember his family members and help support national charity Cure CJD fund research into finding a cure. A former marketing manager, he now volunteers for Cure CJD.
“It’s been quite hard for me to bring so much personal information in to the public domain through the foundation,” he explains.
“But I knew that I needed to do something to raise awareness and help find a cure.”
The band night is the first such event John has organised. Cure CJD is expecting the results of the first trials of a drug soon, and are currently fundraising for the second phase.
“It’s quite an exciting time,” John adds.
The Diana Camidge Foundation tribute band night takes place on Saturday, March 12.
Doors open at 6pm, first act on stage at 7pm.
Tickets are £20, with all proceeds going to the charity.
For more information on the foundation, log on to: dianacamidgefoundation.org
For tickets, visit: wegottickets.com/event/529571
