Ed MacFarlane, lead singer of Friendly Fires. Pic: Gergely Csatari
Friendly Fires will perform a charity gig next Wednesday to commemorate Adam Connolly, the Hackney man who recently took his own life.
The event will be headlined by the Mercury Prize-nominated band whose drummer, Jack Savidge, was Connolly’s flatmate.
Friends and family of the deceased man have teamed up to raise awareness of suicide among young men.
Connolly’s girlfriend, Juliette Hughes, said in a statement: “Perhaps it sounds a tad predictable in these kind of circumstances but we wanted to do something that celebrates Adam’s life, his amazing creativity, and his beautiful warm, kind soul as well as showing how much we deeply love and miss him.
The gig will be hosted at XOYO on December 12. In addition to Friendly Fires, there will be live performances and DJ sets from The Horrors, Cheatahs, Chapel Club, Erol Alkan, plus a special guest.
Savidge launched an appeal on Twitter and Facebook following Connolly’s disappearance in November – gaining support from the public as well as high profile musicians like Florence Welch and Bloc Party.
After hearing of his death, Friendly Fires took to Facebook to thank fans: “The search for Adam Connolly has been called off and the news is bad. Thank you for all your help in spreading his picture and info.”
Connolly took his own life on November 14 and his funeral was held at the end of the month.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably is an award-winning organisation that deals with male suicide prevention in the UK. Oli Mosse, CALM’s Outreach Coordinator, highlighted the need to raise awareness of the problem: “As the single biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK, it is an issue that effects many of us.
“The stereotype of a strong, silent man who does not show emotions is still upheld by many as how a man ‘should’ act.”
Mosse said that CALM is “working to break these stereotypes and the surrounding stigma that stop young men feeling able to ask from help.”
Tickets for the event have now sold out and all funds will go to a charity chosen by the Connolly family.
