Bandmates battle for £10,000 tribute to Max
FRIENDS and classmates of a talented young musician who died from leukaemia paid tribute to him as they took part in a Battle of the Bands competition raising more than £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Max Morrison, from Macclesfield, was diagnosed with the disease on his 15th birthday.
But the Fallibroome Academy pupil refused to let the illness get in the way of his dreams of making music, and did so right up until his death earlier this year, aged 17.
And Max was remembered at an 80s-themed gala ball in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
A video telling his story, narrated by his friends and classmates, was screened to more than 400 people.
The event, which was at Manchester Airport’s Runway Visitor Centre raised more than £75,000 for the charity.
It featured a Battle of the Bands competition which saw three schools - Fallibroome Academy, Cheadle Hulme School and Wellington School - go head-tohead to win the title of Best Band.
The contest was judged by Leee John, lead singer of soul band Imagination; Former Dead or Alive band member Mike Percy, who went on to write for the likes of S Club 7, Blue and Florida; and Smooth Radio’s Jamie Griffiths.
Max lost his battle with leukaemia in May.
He was part of indie rock band The Down, with school pals Sam Gordon and Dan Walters, and the group arranged practice sessions around Max’s treatment.
At the Battle of the Bands Cheadle Hulme School’s ‘The Schrutes’ were crowned winners for their cover of Prince’s Purple Rain.
Together the schools raised more than £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, with the special ‘Thumbs Up’ trophy for best fundraising school going to Max’s former classmates at Fallibroome Academy.
It was presented by Jane Sutton, mother of champion fundraiser Stephen Sutton, whose Thumbs Up campaign raised more than £5m for the charity before his death in 2014 aged 19.
The event also saw other young musicians supported by the Teenage Cancer Trust receive a standing ovation for their performance of Together in Electric Dreams.
Organiser Margo Cornish said: “We had an incredible and emotional evening celebrating the 80s.
“Some young people are forced to press the pause button on their lives to have treatment for cancer and don’t get to enjoy their teenage years.
“Around 500 young people are diagnosed with cancer each year here in the north west and raising such a significant amount of money will help us to reach out to more of them who need our support at this difficult time.”