Arctic Monkeys are raffling off Alex Turner‘s black Fender Stratocaster guitar to help raise money for Sheffield venue The Leadmill and other independent grassroots venues in the UK which have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The band have launched a special Crowdfunder campaign today (August 11) to raise money for stricken venues in conjunction with the Music Venue Trust.
This fundraiser is specifically focusing on The Leadmill, where the Monkeys played numerous times during the early days of their career. Other major bands such as Pulp, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Muse, Oasis, Stone Roses and The White Stripes have also played at the Sheffield venue over the years.
Arctic Monkeys have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise money for @Leadmill and other grassroots venues in the UK in conjunction with @musicvenuetrust. Enter to win Alex's Fender Guitar. Entry is £5, for more information and to enter, visit: https://t.co/eOs6l52Bvr pic.twitter.com/Td9aUhuymg
— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) August 11, 2020
Since closing its doors in March due to the coronavirus lockdown, The Leadmill has had to reschedule or cancel over 120 events. The future of the venue remains uncertain, given that there is still no clear re-opening date in sight.
Monkeys frontman Turner has donated his black Fender Stratocaster guitar — which he used for many of the band’s early performances, including gigs at The Leadmill and Reading Festival in 2006 — to the fundraiser, and fans can now win the chance to own the guitar by donating to the cause.
Fans can enter the raffle via the band’s Crowdfunder page, with each entry costing a minimum of £5. There is no limit on the amount of times you can enter the raffle, which is open to everyone worldwide over the age of 18 from today until 6PM on August 25. The winner will then be chosen at random and contacted via email to arrange delivery.
As well as having the chance to win Turner’s guitar, everyone who enters the raffle will gain access to an exclusive viewing of the band’s 2006 performance at Reading Festival, which will be broadcast on an invite-only basis at 8PM on August 26 (it’ll then be available to re-watch for 24 hours).
All funds raised from the Crowdfunder campaign will go to Music Venue Trust to support The Leadmill and other independent grassroots music venues across the UK.
Back in June, Arctic Monkeys’ video for ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ reached one billion hits on YouTube.
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