Graduation Ball tickets were released on sale on Monday, Week Two of Summer Term, with the simultaneous announcement of the acts who will be performing. The theme of the evening has been confirmed as Seven Deadly Sins and will be taking place on Monday, Week Nine. The headliner for the event will be indie rock band Noisettes who are most famous for their second single Don’t Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go), which was released in January 2009 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Also appearing at the event will be Radio 1 DJ Greg James, who occupies the afternoon slot between Fearne Cotton and Scott Mills.
Joining these acts will be much-loved and well-known DJ Simba. In order to accommodate different tastes in music, Engine Earz Experiment, who have been described as ‘Massive Attack for the dubstep generation’ will also be performing, as well as Indie-Pop band Frankie and the Heartstrings. The acts will be distributed between the Great Hall and the Nuffield Theatre, where there will be further appearances from Stevie Starr, also famously known as ‘The Regurgitator’ from his appearance on popular television programme Britain’s Got Talent, and local companies, the Pancake Man and Lakeland Picnic as well as a hog roast.
Also playing on the main stage will be up-and-coming local band, Tailored to Fit. When asked about how they felt about playing at one of the university’s biggest events of the year, lead guitarist Richard Jenkins said “We’re very excited to play at Grad Ball. It’s a really good opportunity to play to a large crowd and showcase some of our new material. We’re looking forward to a great night and playing with some top bands, especially a well-known band like Noisettes”. Tailored to Fit are currently recording their debut album and hope that recognition at events such as Gradation Ball will elevate their future success.
When asked about where the idea for the theme of Seven Deadly Sins came from, VP FEDS Matt Windsor said “The idea merely came from a long session of random ideas that we threw together to be honest. The theme of an event is always seen to be the ‘big thing’ in Lancaster, but after being involved in these things for a long time, they really aren’t! We were more concerned with making a decent event in general rather than the theme.”
Windsor also divulged how difficult it was to acquire each act in saying “All acts are difficult to get. Everyone has an agent, and some have multiple agents. Working with agents can be odd if you’ve never done it before, so we had to learn fairly quickly! Many people will assume that the process is simple – it’s not. Some bigger names cost more than a house – just for a 30 minute set! We approached a lot of big names but we were always keen to have both the Noisettes and Greg James.”
In previous years, Graduation Ball tickets have never sold out, but there has been speculation that this year could be Lancaster Gradation Ball’s first sell-out. Windsor said “They have sold very quickly. We have never seen them sell that fast before!” Windsor seemed less certain that this year could be a sell out, saying “I’m not too sure. We have very few tickets left, but to be honest I’m just going to try and make it the best we can for whoever we have sold tickets to.” It has been confirmed that 1000 tickets out of a possible 1500 were sold on the first day the tickets went on sale.
Third year Criminology student Victoria Ferri expressed her excitement toward Grad Ball in saying “I’m looking forward to Grad Ball, although I think I’m more looking forward to getting dressed up and spending the evening with all my friends one last time. I am slightly disappointed in the price as I would have thought for nearly £40 we would have at least got some drinks vouchers or food. However, the event was always going to be expensive, but for some of us we’ll only ever graduate once, so it’s a must.”
Ali Corkill, a third year Geography student said “I am really excited for Grad Ball. I think it will be a really good chance to spend one last good night with friends I have made over the years. I think it’s really good value for money compared to previous years and I’m really looking forward to Stevie Starr”.
