SCOTS rockers Biffy Clyro were due to surprise thousands of people sleeping out for charity in Glasgow last night as they joined Frightened Rabbit in an emotional tribute to singer Scott Hutchison, who took his own life in May.
The Selkirk band, founded by Scott and his brother Grant, were making their first appearance since the singer’s body was found on the banks of the Firth of Forth. Frightened Rabbit were signed up for the gig at Kelvingrove Park before the tragedy.
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It was part of the huge Social Bite Sleep in the Park event which took place simultaneously in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee last night with stars KT Tunstall and Amy MacDonald travelling to each city to perform for the fundraisers sleeping out in the wind and rain.
Around 12,000 people across Scotland signed up for the event, following what was thought to be the world’s largest sleep out last year in Edinburgh which was supported by 8000 people and raised £4 million to help the homeless.
Although Grant said he was “more nervous” about performing last night than he had ever been before, he added it seemed the best opportunity for the band’s first performance without his brother.
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“It’s an honour to play for such a special event again and we felt it would be the perfect time for us to play together again and share this special night with some of our favourite artists,” he said.
“We had agreed to play Sleep in the Park before Scott passed and we felt that since it was something for such a great cause that we should stick to our decision and honour Scott in the best way we know – to play the songs he wrote and continue spreading his message of kindness whilst supporting Social Bite and the amazing work they do.”
The band were thanked by Josh Littlejohn MBE, co-founder of Social Bite, who said their performance was “incredibly special and poignant”. He also paid tribute to the other acts that took part, including Lulu in Edinburgh, Kyle Falconer in Dundee and Eddi Reader in Aberdeen.
It is the first time the sleep out has been held in all four cities and Littlejohn said he was “relieved and delighted” at the turnout.
“You never know how it will go so I feel relieved as well as grateful,” he told The National. “It was a big challenge but to try and tackle homelessness head on we’ve got to think big and Sleep in the Park 2018 is Social Bite’s biggest ever campaign, raising funds so homeless people around Scotland are housed and given the support they need to get back on their feet.”
Stuart Brown, head of business banking in Scotland for Barclays, was one of the fundraisers taking part in Aberdeen.
“It’s very sad and very unfortunate that in this day and age so many people are homeless on the streets for a variety of reasons,” he said.
“You never know what is round the corner and hardships come in very different ways so you can find yourself in this sort of situation very quickly. However, I have heard various stories about people who have had support and have managed to make their lives better so that inspires you to try to make a difference.”
In Edinburgh, Alexandra Hayden from South Africa braved the cold alongside 14 other students from the University of Edinburgh’s Prosper Social Finance group to raise just over £1000.
“It is such a stark problem in Edinburgh,” she said. “We are faced with it every day.”
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