Cash pours in to help closure-threatened Doncaster club hit by theft of music gear

The Roots Music Club, which is based at the Ukrainian Centre in Beckett Road, was targeted by thieves who made off with amps, desks and cables. Now a crowdfunding appeal to help replace the lost gear has been launched - with more than Â£830 already pledged by music lovers in the first few hours of the campaign. Club spokesman John Willis said the theft last week had put the club and its regular weekly music gigs under serious threat. He said: "All our PA equipment was stolen and we have no money to replace it and carry on our club. We have bookings into late 2017 and these would have to be cancelled and the club closed." Since the GoFundMe appeal was launched, music lovers from all corners of Britain have pledged cash to the appeal to support the folk and roots club which was first established in 1974 in Wentworth. The campaign aims to raise Â£2,500 to replace the stolen PA gear so the club can carry on. Added John: "We need some funds funds very urgently so that we can carry on. Currently we are hiring and borrowing PA gear for current gigs. "This means so much to us because we have kept this live music club running for 43 years and we rely on a lot of volunteers to keep us solvent." He added: "The response has been very positive and it has been amazing to see how many people have already come forward to help." The club won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Club of the Year Award in 2016 and has welcomed a host of big names in the world of roots and folk music from across Britain and the globe in recent years. People can donate to the campaign HERE at the GoFundMe page. Last week, local musicians were put on alert via a Facebook appeal in a bid to track down the culprits. The message from Doncaster music store Electro Music read: " All our musician friends please keep a look out for the following stolen gear which was sadly burgled from The Roots Music Club in Doncaster. - a non-profit organisation we are very closely linked with that regularly puts on gigs for the people of Doncaster and beyond. "Most of the gear belongs to our in-store luthier Stuart Palmer who has helped many musicians over the last 35+ years in their times of crises. If you get a sniff of any of the following please let Electro Music, Stuart or the police know." The stolen equipment was listed as follows Allen Heath Zed 22 fx desk Allen Heath PA 12 desk Yamaha 1500 power amp Proel 1000 power amp Studio Master power amp Peavey cross over 2 x Studio Master Bass bins 18 5 x SM58 1 x SM57 1 x C1000 5 x DI boxes 4 x silver case full of leads Samson 500 powered desk The club isoffering a Â£200 reward for information leading to the prosecution of the thieves. Anyone with information should call John Willis on 07939148603.