Stuart Gillan Benefit Concert

For the first time, 'The Upbeats' choir is collaborating with 90's pop/rock band  'This Lonely Heart' and funk/soul band 'The Groovediggers' for a heartful musical event: the Stuart Gillan Benefit Concert.

4 years in the making, this concert has been organised jointly to raise funds for a cause close to our heart. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to ‘Stuart Gillan Spinal Fund’ to aid the hopeful recovery from paralysis of our good friend Stuart Gillan.

We want to fundraise to help Stuart improve his quality of life and his ability to work.

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LIVE AT THE DRYGATE - STUART GILLIAN BENEFIT CONCERT

Doors open at 7pm

Concert starts at 7:30pm and will end around 10:30pm, with an interval.

Bar accessible from 5pm to 11pm.

Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

Drygate Accessibility Statement

BOOK NOW

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Stuart's story

In 2019, Stuart was returning from a business trip and was on his way to Glasgow Central Station when he tripped and fell forward. He was concussed but when he was roused, it transpired that he couldn’t move. He’d lost all movement.

His paralysis was not going to resolve by itself and long-term hospitalisation was essential, so he was transferred to the Spinal Unit at the QEUH.

There, with the right amount of physio and support from the staff, his progress was slow but apparent. Just before the end of 2020 he had recovered some control of one hand, had some movement of some fingers on the other hand, and had been able to stand unsupported. The next step, literally, was to try walking.

Then Covid hit and Stuart got discharged from the place where he had been making some progress and where there was hope of getting better.

Stuart’s home was not suited for all the equipment he requires on a daily basis. So he had to live in a care home whilst he and his wife tried to find a new home that could be converted to meet his new needs. 

Access to physio and other therapies all but dried up. Some of this was due to the Covid situation, but it was also down to logistics and cost. The expertise and resources to which he had access in the Spinal Unit simply does not exist in the community.

Stuart is doing his best to fund the physio he needs but it’s not enough. He can only work a few hours a day due to a whole range of factors; his dependence on carers to assist him, hospital visits, and so on. This causes a great burden on his mental health. And his wife has gone beyond the point of exhaustion in trying to fill the gaps in his care whilst maintaining her own work.

So, a group of his friends who’ve played in bands with Stuart over many years have decided to put on a gig/concert to try to raise some funds to relieve a little bit of the financial pressure.