Whitby Goth Weekend

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox music festival

Whitby Goth Weekend, abbreviated to WGW or nicknamed Whitby, is a twice-yearly music festival for the goth subculture, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, organised by Jo Hampshire. The event is an alternative music festival, consisting 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

HistoryEdit

File:Screaming Banshee Aircrew WGW April 2005.jpg

Screaming Banshee Aircrew on stage at Whitby Goth Weekend, April 2005

File:Uninvited Guest WGW October 2006.jpg

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.<ref name=":DS:">Template:Cite news</ref> The first meeting was held in the Elsinore public house in Whitby along with the Little Angel, which continues to be a meeting point during the weekend.<ref name="wgwhistory">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="wgwhistory"/> Until 1997, the festival was held yearly, after which it became twice-yearly in April and October. It has since grown into one of the world's most popular goth music events with thousands of attendees from across the UK and beyond.

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 led to an increase in photographers and visitors. The weekend now attracts other alternative subcultures, including Victorian vampires, rockers, punks and steampunks. 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. In recent years the costumed attendees now outnumber the goth attendees. Whitby Goth Weekend is now not as relevant on the Goth scene as it was 10-15 years ago.

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 2016, concerns were raised by locals 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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with bands at Abbey Wharf, a large pub in Whitby.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

EconomyEdit

File:Whitby Goth Weekend (30147715104).jpg

Visitors to Whitby in November 2016

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Location and eventsEdit

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.

The main event was held in the town's largest venue, the Whitby Pavilion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (known as the Spa) and the Bizarre Bazaar 'Goth Market' is also held there and at Whitby Leisure Centre and the Brunswick Centre.<ref name=":DS:" /> 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. Crafty Cove (formerly RAW Nightclub) holding Shadow Factory and Monster Mash (Dead Skool Disco) and Abbey Wharf are used for official fringe events; other venues including The Resolution, The Rifle Club,The Metropole and the Whitby Rowing Club housing an official SOPHIE Lancaster Fundraising Event, Dark Souls and INVASION on the Sunday are used for unofficial events.

For many years there was a 1980's music night held at Laughtons. 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.

LineupsEdit

(*) indicates headline act for each night/event

Event #	Title	Date	Bands (split into nights where applicable)
1	Whitby 1	Template:Nowrap	Friday: Manuskript*	Saturday: Inkubus Sukkubus*, 13 Candles, Nightmoves, All Living Fear <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> <ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
2	Whitby 2	Template:Nowrap		Saturday: Children On Stun*, Shadowmaker, Suspiria, The Horatii, Manuskript
3	Whitby 3	Template:Nowrap	The Marionettes*, Die Laughing, Midnight Configuration	London After Midnight*, Corpus Delicti
4	Whitby 4	Template:Nowrap	Friday: James Ray's Gangwar*, Dream Disciples, Libitina	Saturday: Stun*, The Merry Thoughts, Judith	Sunday: Emma Conquest, Robed In Desire, The Tortured, Violet Times
5	Whitby 4.5	31 October – Template:Nowrap	Inkubus Sukkubus*, Manuskript, Psycho TV	Rosetta Stone*, The Horatii, Sunshine Blind
6	Whitby 5	Template:Nowrap	Die Laughing*, Nekromantik	All Living Fear*, These Crimson Dreams, Isobels Shrine
7	Whitby 5.5	Template:Nowrap	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)
8	Whitby 6	Template:Nowrap	Switchblade Symphony*, The Last Dance, Denyze & Ed Alleyne-Johnson	Manuskript*, This Burning Effigy, Star 80
9	Whitby 6.5	Template:Nowrap	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)
10	Whitby 7	Template:Nowrap	Mesh*, Saints of Eden, The Chaos Engine	Sigue Sigue Sputnik*, VNV Nation, Putra-Chic
11	Whitby 7.5	Template:Nowrap	Clan of Xymox*, Screaming Dead, Mist Of Avalon	Inkubus Sukkubus*, Emma Conquest
12	Whitby 8	Template:Nowrap	Dream Disciples*, Attrition, Adfinem	Je$us Loves Amerika, The Last Days, Seize, The Faces Of Sarah
13	Whitby 8.5	Template:Nowrap	Andi Sex Gang*, Sorrow	D.U.S.T., Finger Puppets, Swarf, Rome Burns, Cauda Pavonis
14	WGW 9	Template:Nowrap	Paradise Lost*, Manuskript, Passion Play, Je$us Loves Amerika	Action Directe, Arkam Asylum, Little Match Girl, Synthetic
15	WGW 9.5	Template:Nowrap	Last Rites*, The Narcissus Pool, Swarf	Beautiful Deadly Children, Ordinary Psycho, Season's End, Spermwhale
16	WGW 10	Template:Nowrap	Belisha, deadfilmstar, Scary Bitches, The Ghost Of Lemora, Torsohorse	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry*, Spares, Synthetic, Psychophile
17	WGW X	30 October – Template:Nowrap	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
18	WGW 11	Template:Nowrap	The Damned*, Earth Loop Recall, Zombina and the Skeletones	The Mission*, Dream Disciples, Libitina
19	WGW 11.5	Template:Nowrap	Manuskript*, The Last Dance, Corrosion, Faetal	Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction*, Claytown Troupe, Beautiful Deadly Children, Torsohorse	Alien Sex Fiend*, Glass, Ovni<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
20	WGW 12	Template:Nowrap	Gene Loves Jezebel*, Voltaire, Psychophile, Screaming Banshee Aircrew	In the Nursery*, QueenAdreena, Devilish Presley, Greenhaus<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
21	WGW 12.5	Template:Nowrap	Doctor and the Medics*, NFD, DeathBoy, Katscan	Rico*, Mechanical Cabaret, The Modern, Neon Zoo<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
22	WGW 13	Template:Nowrap	Manuskript*, Swarf, Misty Woods & GDM, History Of Guns	The Breath Of Life*, Frankenstein, Zombina and the Skeletones, Spares<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
23	WGW 13.5	Template:Nowrap	The Damned*, Vampire Beach Babes, Trauma Pet, Xykogen	XPQ-21*, Katzenjammer Kabarett, Inertia, Uninvited Guest<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
24	WGW 14	Template:Nowrap	The Last Dance*, Sohodolls, D.U.S.T., RazorBladeKisses	The Crüxshadows*, Bella Morte, Machine Gun Symphony, Rome Burns<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
25	WGW 14.5	Template:Nowrap	The Cassandra Complex*, Crud, Ghost of Lemora, Voices of Masada	The Birthday Massacre*, Sins of the Flesh,<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref> All Living Fear, Pro-jekt<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
26	WGW 15	Template:Nowrap	Star Industry*, Skeletal Family, Cauda Pavonis, Dyonisis	Clan of Xymox*, Mercurine, Screaming Banshee Aircrew, Snuff Radio<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
27	WGW 15.5	31 October – Template:Nowrap	Specimen*, Christian Death, Rezurex	Wayne Hussey*, Voltaire, The Beauty of Gemina<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
28	WGW 16	Template:Nowrap	Abney Park*, The Last Dance, Zeitgeist Zero<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> \|\| Diary of Dreams*, The House of Usher, RazorBladeKisses<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
29	WGW 16.5	30 October – Template:Nowrap	The Eden House*, Zombina and the Skeletones, Grooving In Green	Faith and The Muse*, Adoration, Rhombus<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
30	WGW 17	Template:Nowrap	Justin Sullivan*, Deviant UK, In Isolation	Anne-Marie Hurst*, Pretentious Moi?, Vendemmian<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
31	WGW 17.5	Template:Nowrap	Wayne Hussey (with special guests Simon Hinkler, Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls)*, Autumn Cannibals, The Last Cry<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>	Manuskript*, The Stripper Project, Pro-jekt<ref>Wgw.topmum.co.uk Template:Webarchive</ref>
32	WGW 18	Template:Nowrap<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry*, Fuzzbox, Dr Arthur Krause, Black Moth, Dutch Order	The Damned*, Frankenstein, The Beauty Of Gemina, Luxury Stranger, Pink Hearse
33	WGW 18.5	Template:Nowrap<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Abney Park*, The Mist of Avalon, Devilish Presley, Cryogenica, Berlin Black	Chameleons vox*, Voltaire, Rhombus, The Dark Shadows, The Death Notes
34	WGW 19	Template:Nowrap<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	In The Nursery*, Ugly Buggs, The Spiritual Bat, Last July	Gene Loves Jezebel*, Die Laughing, The Bellwether Syndicate, Red Sun Revival, Dead Eyes Opened
35	WGW 19.5	Template:Nowrap<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Mesh*, Fangs On Fur, Inertia, Dutch Order, Last July	Alien Sex Fiend*, Blitzkid, All Living Fear, The Last Cry, Bad Pollyanna
36	WGW 20	Template:Nowrap	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
37	WGW 20.5	Template:Nowrap	William Control*, Fearless Vampire Killers, Ashestoangels, Bad Pollyanna	Diary Of Dreams*, Bella Morte, Rabia Sorda, Method Cell
38	WGW 21	Template:Nowrap	Toyah*, Vince Ray & The Boneshakers, Cold In Berlin, Alexa De Strange	New Model Army*, The Last Cry, UK Decay, Jordan Reyne
39	WGW 21.5	31 October – Template:Nowrap	Heaven 17*, Visage, Deviant UK, Black Volition	Voltaire*, Hugh Cornwell, Rhombus, Bad Pollyanna, Lesbian Bed Death
40	WGW 22	Template:Nowrap	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
41	WGW 22.5	30 October – Template:Nowrap	Altered Images*, Fearless Vampire Killers, Bad Pollyanna, Chasing Dragons	Spear of Destiny*, The Last Cry, Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, In Isolation
42	WGW 23	Template:Nowrap	Therapy?*, The Red Paintings, Lene Lovich, Hands Off Gretel	Wayne Hussey*, Fuzzbox, Rhombus, She Made Me Do It
43	WGW 23.5	Template:Nowrap	Heaven 17*, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic, Manuskript, Kitty in a Casket	The Mission*, Skeletal Family, Children On Stun, Chasing Dragons
44	WGW 24	Template:Nowrap	Toyah*, Bad Pollyanna, Deviant UK, Healthy Junkies<ref name=":DS:" />	Voltaire, Abney Park, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Magic Eight Ball<ref name=":DS:" />
45	WGW 24.5	Template:Nowrap	Theatre of Hate*, The Membranes, Hands Off Gretel, Pussycat and the Johnsons<ref name=":DS:" />	The Birthday Massacre*, Fuzzbox (cancelled), Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, Massive Ego<ref name=":DS:" />
46	WGW 25	Template:Nowrap	Dr Haze's Circus of Horrors, Desmond O'Connor, Rayguns Look Real Enough<ref name="blogging2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Aurelio Voltaire, The Last Cry, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronica, 1919<ref name="blogging2018" />
47	WGW 25.5	Template:Nowrap	Thursday @ Abbey Wharf: As Sirens Fall	Saturday @ Abbey Wharf: Soraya Vivian, Dead Ringers
48	WGW 26	Template:Nowrap	Thursday @ Abbey Wharf: Chasing Dragons	Saturday @ Abbey Wharf: David Live (David Bowie tribute)