Whitby Goth Weekend
Whitby Goth Weekend logo and image of Whitby Abbey
GenreGothic rock, dark wave, synth-pop, future pop, gothic metal
DatesTwice yearly (April and October/November)
Location(s)Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Years active1994 – present
Founded byJo Hampshire
Websitewhitbygothweekend.co.uk.

Whitby Goth Weekend, abbreviated to WGW or nicknamed Whitby, is a twice-yearly music festival for the gothic subculture, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, organised by Jo Hampshire.

Summary

Whitby Goth Weekend is an alternative music festival held in Whitby. The event consists of two nights of live bands, and three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) of alternative trade stalls at the Whitby Leisure Centre, and Whitby Brunswick Centre.

The term "Whitby Goth Weekend" is sometimes used as a generic term to describe events during the week in Whitby as a whole, although the name of the event and its associated logo are registered trademarks of Jo Hampshire of Top Mum Promotions.[1][2][3][4]

History

Screaming Banshee Aircrew on stage at Whitby Goth Weekend, April 2005
Uninvited Guest on stage at Whitby Goth Weekend, October 2006

The origins of WGW are in a meeting of around forty of Hampshire's pen-pals in 1994.[5] The first meeting was held in the Elsinore public house in Whitby, which, with the Little Angel, continues to be a meeting point during the weekend.[6] Hampshire said Whitby was chosen for its Dracula connections, although probably more so because the connection had already fostered a sense of acceptance on the part of locals and businesses rather than any inherent romanticism regarding the location.[6]

The festival was held yearly until 1997, when it became twice-yearly in April and October. It has grown into one of the world's most popular goth music events with thousands of attendees from across the UK and beyond. The main event was held in the town's largest venue Whitby Spa Pavilion[7] (known as the Spa) and the Bizarre Bazaar 'Goth Market' is also held there and at Whitby Leisure Centre and the Brunswick Centre.[5] Access to the Spa in the evening required a ticket and live bands played on both Friday and Saturday from 08:00 until about midnight.

The Metropole was often used as an overspill venue for the Spa, with bands due to play the next evening/or playing from the previous evening. In recent years it has been used as a venue for the markets as well as the clubs, Manic Monday and Sexy Sunday. RAW Nightclub and Abbey Wharf are used for official fringe events; other venues including The Resolution, The Rifle Club, and The Metropole are used for unofficial events.

For many years there was an 80's night held at Laughtons, a genuine venue from the 1980s. The night would traditionally end with the song Vagabonds. In 2010 this venue became a Wetherspoons Hotel, but the lineal descendant of the 80's night continues to take place on the Sunday night.

The "weekend" starts during the day on Friday and fringe events are held on Thursday, Sunday and Monday including club nights, markets, and a charity football match between visiting goth team Real Gothic, and local team Stokoemotiv Whitby. During the October/November event there is an independent custom car show, 'Whitby Kustom' in the grounds of West Cliff School. There are also several "meet ups" aimed at goths with a particular interest, e.g. Gothic Lolita.

Newbies who have not attended the event before are referred to as "Whitby Virgins". To help introduce them to the event, there was a WGW Virgins Meet Up on the Friday morning at the Spa until about 2014.

In June 2018 there was a breakdown in the relationship between WGW and SIV Live, who operate the Spa. WGW was therefore unable to book the Spa for bands for October 2018.[8] In July a new promoter was found to put bands on at the Spa in October. Subsequently, WGW announced a different set of 2019 dates to those announced by the Spa and the new promoter,[9] with bands at Abbey Wharf, a large pub in Whitby.[10]

Economy

The event results in business for the town in general, with attendees spending around 10,000 bed-nights in Whitby and the weekend contributing £1.1 million per annum to the local economy.[11]

Sophie Lancaster

The October 2007 festival was dedicated to the memory of the murdered Goth Sophie Lancaster (who had attended three Whitby Goth Weekends) and a collection of more than £3,000 was raised from various events to fund a memorial bench to her in the town.[12][13][14]

Halloween

Visitors to Whitby in November 2016

In the mid-2000s the October weekend on or near Halloween began to attract large numbers of non-goths in Halloween, horror, historical, fantasy and sci-fi costume, which has led to an increase in photographers and visitors. The weekend now attracts other alternative subcultures, including Victorian vampires, rockers, punks and members of the steampunk subgenre. Some regulars consider it no longer a purely "Goth" weekend, and it was acknowledged by Hampshire in the 2014 Whitby Goth Weekend Guide that in order to survive the event would have to diversify into other areas that have influenced Goth.

Concerns have grown about disrespect being shown to the graves in St. Mary's Churchyard by photographers using them for photographic purposes which has resulted in a petition to have the area closed during the event. The proposal was supported by Whitby Goth Weekend, saying that "behaviour displayed in the churchyard is disrespectful and offensive".[15] In 2016 The Bram Stoker Film Festival, which also took place in the town, rehashed a proposal to build a film set graveyard which photographers would be charged to use.[16]

Whitby Goth Weekend acts by year

(*) indicates headline act for each night/event

Event #TitleDate Bands (split into nights where applicable)
1Whitby 12–4 September 1994 Friday:
Manuskript*		 Saturday:
Inkubus Sukkubus*, 13 Candles, Nightmoves, All Living Fear

[17] [18]

2Whitby 21–3 September 1995 Saturday:
Children On Stun*, Shadowmaker, Suspiria, The Horatii, Manuskript
3Whitby 327–29 September 1996 The Marionettes*, Die Laughing, Midnight Configuration London After Midnight*, Corpus Delicti
4Whitby 425–26 April 1997 Friday:
James Ray's Gangwar*, Dream Disciples, Libitina		 Saturday:
Stun*, The Merry Thoughts, Judith		 Sunday:
Emma Conquest, Robed In Desire, The Tortured, Violet Times
5Whitby 4.531 October – 1 November 1997 Inkubus Sukkubus*, Manuskript, Psycho TV Rosetta Stone*, The Horatii, Sunshine Blind
6Whitby 524–25 April 1998 Die Laughing*, Nekromantik All Living Fear*, These Crimson Dreams, Isobels Shrine
7Whitby 5.530–31 October 1998 Sunshine Blind*, Funhouse, Nervosa, Dream Disciples (at overspill venue), Passion Play (at overspill venue) Rosetta Stone*, Emma Conquest, Faithful Dawn, Sunshine Blind (at overspill venue), The Sisters Of Murphy (tribute act at overspill venue)
8Whitby 623–24 April 1999 Switchblade Symphony*, The Last Dance, Denyze & Ed Alleyne-Johnson Manuskript*, This Burning Effigy, Star 80
9Whitby 6.55–6 November 1999 Dream Disciples*, Manuskript, Passion Play, The Breath Of Life (band) (at overspill venue), Sneaky Bat Machine (at overspill venue) The Breath Of Life*, The Narcissus Pool, The Chaos Engine, Sneaky Bat Machine, Manuskript (at overspill venue), Dream Disciples (at overspill venue), The Chaos Engine (at overspill venue)
10Whitby 728–29 April 2000 Mesh*, Saints of Eden, The Chaos Engine Sigue Sigue Sputnik*, VNV Nation, Putra-Chic
11Whitby 7.53–4 November 2000Clan of Xymox*, Screaming Dead, Mist Of Avalon Inkubus Sukkubus*, Emma Conquest
12Whitby 827–28 April 2001Dream Disciples*, Attrition, Adfinem Je$us Loves Amerika, The Last Days, Seize, The Faces Of Sarah
13Whitby 8.52–3 November 2001Andi Sex Gang*, Sorrow D.U.S.T., Finger Puppets, Swarf, Rome Burns, Cauda Pavonis
14WGW 926–27 April 2002 Paradise Lost*, Manuskript, Passion Play, Je$us Loves Amerika Action Directe, Arkam Asylum, Little Match Girl, Synthetic
15WGW 9.51–2 November 2002 Last Rites*, The Narcissus Pool, Swarf Beautiful Deadly Children, Ordinary Psycho, Season's End, Spermwhale
16WGW 1011–12 April 2003 Belisha, deadfilmstar, Scary Bitches, The Ghost Of Lemora, Torsohorse Red Lorry Yellow Lorry*, Spares, Synthetic, Psychophile
17WGW X30 October – 1 November 2003 Thursday:
Inkubus Sukkubus*, Faith and the Muse, DeathBoy		 Friday:
Wayne Hussey*, The Chaos Engine, All Living Fear		 Saturday:
Icon of Coil*, Sheep on Drugs, Goteki		 Sunday:
All About Eve*, Manuskript, Rose McDowall
18WGW 1123–24 April 2004 The Damned*, Earth Loop Recall, Zombina and the Skeletones The Mission*, Dream Disciples, Libitina
19WGW 11.529–31 October 2004 Manuskript*, The Last Dance, Corrosion, Faetal Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction*, Claytown Troupe, Beautiful Deadly Children, Torsohorse Alien Sex Fiend*, Glass, Ovni[19]
20WGW 1222–23 April 2005 Gene Loves Jezebel*, Voltaire, Psychophile, Screaming Banshee Aircrew In the Nursery*, QueenAdreena, Devilish Presley, Greenhaus[20]
21WGW 12.528–29 October 2005 Doctor and the Medics*, NFD, DeathBoy, Katscan Rico*, Mechanical Cabaret, The Modern, Neon Zoo[21]
22WGW 1321–22 April 2006 Manuskript*, Swarf, Misty Woods & GDM, History Of Guns The Breath Of Life*, Frankenstein, Zombina and the Skeletones, Spares[22]
23WGW 13.527–28 October 2006 The Damned*, Vampire Beach Babes, Trauma Pet, Xykogen XPQ-21*, Katzenjammer Kabarett, Inertia, Uninvited Guest[23]
24WGW 1427–28 April 2007 The Last Dance*, Sohodolls, D.U.S.T., RazorBladeKisses The Crüxshadows*, Bella Morte, Machine Gun Symphony, Rome Burns[24]
25WGW 14.526–27 October 2007 The Cassandra Complex*, Crud, Ghost of Lemora, Voices of Masada The Birthday Massacre*, Sins of the Flesh,[25] All Living Fear, Pro-jekt[26]
26WGW 1526–27 April 2008 Star Industry*, Skeletal Family, Cauda Pavonis, Dyonisis Clan of Xymox*, Mercurine, Screaming Banshee Aircrew, Snuff Radio[27]
27WGW 15.531 October – 1 November 2008Specimen*, Christian Death, Rezurex Wayne Hussey*, Voltaire, The Beauty of Gemina[28]
28WGW 1624–26 April 2009Abney Park*, The Last Dance, Zeitgeist Zero[29]Diary of Dreams*, The House of Usher, RazorBladeKisses[30]
29WGW 16.530 October – 1 November 2009The Eden House*, Zombina and the Skeletones, Grooving In Green Faith and The Muse*, Adoration, Rhombus[31]
30WGW 1722–25 April 2010 Justin Sullivan*, Deviant UK, In Isolation Anne-Marie Hurst*, Pretentious Moi?, Vendemmian[32][33]
31WGW 17.529–31 October 2010 Wayne Hussey (with special guests Simon Hinkler, Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls)*, Autumn Cannibals, The Last Cry[34] Manuskript*, The Stripper Project, Pro-jekt[35]
32WGW 1825–27 March 2011[36] Red Lorry Yellow Lorry*, Fuzzbox, Dr Arthur Krause, Black Moth, Dutch Order The Damned*, Frankenstein, The Beauty Of Gemina, Luxury Stranger, Pink Hearse
33WGW 18.54–6 November 2011[37] Abney Park*, The Mist of Avalon, Devilish Presley, Cryogenica, Berlin Black Chameleons vox*, Voltaire, Rhombus, The Dark Shadows, The Death Notes
34WGW 1927–29 April 2012[38] In The Nursery*, Ugly Buggs, The Spiritual Bat, Last July Gene Loves Jezebel*, Die Laughing, The Bellwether Syndicate, Red Sun Revival, Dead Eyes Opened
35WGW 19.52–4 November 2012[39] Mesh*, Fangs On Fur, Inertia, Dutch Order, Last July Alien Sex Fiend*, Blitzkid, All Living Fear, The Last Cry, Bad Pollyanna
36WGW 2026–28 April 2013 Voltaire*, Doctor and the Medics, Zombina and the Skeletones, Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons Clan Of Xymox*, Skeletal Family, The Danse Society, Deviant UK, William Control
37WGW 20.51–3 November 2013 William Control*, Fearless Vampire Killers, Ashestoangels, Bad Pollyanna Diary Of Dreams*, Bella Morte, Rabia Sorda, Method Cell
38WGW 2125–27 April 2014 Toyah*, Vince Ray & The Boneshakers, Cold In Berlin, Alexa De Strange New Model Army*, The Last Cry, UK Decay, Jordan Reyne
39WGW 21.531 October – 2 November 2014 Heaven 17*, Visage, Deviant UK, Black Volition Voltaire*, Hugh Cornwell, Rhombus, Bad Pollyanna, Lesbian Bed Death
40WGW 2223–26 April 2015 Thursday:
The Birthday Massacre*, Abney Park*, The Red Paintings, Ashestoangels		 Friday:
The Crüxshadows*, Bella Morte*, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic, The Last Dance		 Saturday:
Sex Gang Children*, Andi Sex Gang*, The Chameleons Vox*, Manuskript, Jordan Reyne		 Sunday:
The Damned*, William Control*, Doctor And The Medics, Pussycat And The Dirty Johnsons
41WGW 22.530 October – 1 November 2015 Altered Images*, Fearless Vampire Killers, Bad Pollyanna, Chasing Dragons Spear of Destiny*, The Last Cry, Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, In Isolation
42WGW 2322–24 April 2016 Therapy?*, The Red Paintings, Lene Lovich, Hands Off Gretel Wayne Hussey*, Fuzzbox, Rhombus, She Made Me Do It
43WGW 23.54–6 November 2016 Heaven 17*, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic, Manuskript, Kitty in a Casket The Mission*, Skeletal Family, Children On Stun, Chasing Dragons
44WGW 2421–23 April 2017 Toyah*, Bad Pollyanna, Deviant UK, Healthy Junkies[5] Voltaire*, Abney Park*, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Magic Eight Ball[5]
45WGW 24.527–28 October 2017 Theatre of Hate*, The Membranes, Hands Off Gretel, Pussycat and the Johnsons[5] The Birthday Massacre*, Fuzzbox (cancelled), Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, Massive Ego[5]
46WGW 2527–29 April 2018 Dr Haze's Circus of Horrors, Desmond O'Connor, Rayguns Look Real Enough[40] Aurelio Voltaire, The Last Cry, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronica, 1919[40]
47WGW 25.525–28 October 2018 Thursday @ Abbey Wharf:
As Sirens Fall		 Saturday @ Abbey Wharf:
Soraya Vivian, Dead Ringers
48WGW 2611–14 April 2019 Thursday @ Abbey Wharf:
Chasing Dragons		 Saturday @ Abbey Wharf:
David Live (David Bowie tribute)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Case details for trade mark UK00002598441: Whitby Goth Weekend". IPO. 3 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Case details for trade mark UK00002608916: WGW". IPO. 18 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Case details for trade mark UK00002608920: logotype". IPO. 1 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Case details for trade mark UK00003016493: Whitby Gothic Weekend". IPO. 8 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Richardson, Andy, ed. (28 April 2017). "Goths descend on town to celebrate weekend". Darlington & Stockton Times. No. 2017–17. p. 22. ISSN 2040-3933.
  6. 1 2 "Whitbygothweekend.co.uk". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  7. ↑ Love, Laura (16 June 2018). "Fears it's 'the beginning of the end' for Whitby Goth Weekend". Gazette Live. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Pavilion parts ways with Whitby Goth Weekend promoter". The Blogging Goth. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Fields of the Nephilim, Paradise Lost to headline new Whitby event". The Blogging Goth. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "WHAT'S ON AT WGW".
  11. ↑ "Whitby's goth visitors' £1m seaside bounty". BBC News Online. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "Memorial planned for murdered goth girl". Whitby Gazette. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Goths unite in tribute bid for tragic Sophie". Halifax Evening Courier. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "Sophie's memory to live on". Whitby Gazette. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Whitby Goth Weekend". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  16. ↑ Burgess, Kaya (17 May 2016). "Whitby to make a scene for the goths". The Times. No. 71912. p. 21.
  17. ↑ "Matthew North". Facebook. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  18. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ wgw, Axwrote in (18 August 2004). "Oct 2004 WGW Line Up Addtion [sic]". wgw.livejournal.com. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  20. ↑ wgw, Axwrote in (11 February 2005). "WGW Band Line Up". wgw.livejournal.com. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  21. ↑ "band lineup". wgw.livejournal.com. 28 September 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  22. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 28 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 26 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  27. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  28. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  29. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  30. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  31. ↑ "Full Line Up - the latest from WGW". whitby.livejournal.com. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  32. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 5 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 1 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 21 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ↑ Wgw.topmum.co.uk Archived 5 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  36. ↑ "Myspace". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  37. ↑ "Britishfantasysociety.co.uk". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  38. ↑ "NEWS". Whitby Goth Weekend. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  39. ↑ "NEWS". Whitby Goth Weekend.
  40. 1 2 "Reviews from Whitby Goth Weekend April 2018". The Blogging Goth. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.

Bibliography

  • Waters, Colin (2009). Gothic Whitby. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-5291-3.
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