news release
    4th September 2003

Friday 29TH of Aug brought the UK's hottest live band The Darkness on a journey to the South West to headline at the 14th SAS Ball.

The band wearing their trademark spandex, played to a crowd of 3500 equally outrageously dressed partygoers, in a marquee on the clifftops of the North Cornish Coast.

Promising to return next year, the band said afterwards that the gig rated right up there as one of the highlights of there amazing year so far!!

"we always try to provide something for everyone at the Ball, which is harder than you might think!. This year we surpassed all expectations by bringing the awesome Darkness in as headliners, this has moved the event into another league altogether, which bodes well for the events future" Katy Thomas, SAS Events

Opening the Ball were newcomers 'the loveGods' a band that we are sure to hear more from (touring with Fun Lovin' Criminals this month), lead singer Deah (an exotic antipodean) captured the crowd with her stunning vocals and awesome stage presence.

Following on were Southampton based 'Smerrins Anti-social Club' whose blend of 'live' funky brass & percussion saw the dancefloor grooving!

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Radio One's Rob Da Bank had the daunting task of following headliners 'The Darkness' which he did in true style, tailoring his 'Blue Room' vibe and taking the partygoers from rock to dance!

The Cuban Brothers lived up to their reputation for being the 'funniest men alive', originally from Scotland, Miguel, Archerio and DJ Clemente entertained us with naked body popping, cuban breakdancing and the odd Lionel Ritchie track thrown in for good measure….you had to be there!!

Ground breakers in audio visual entertainment Hexstatic kept the dance floor packed into the early hours culminating with an unique version of the Beach Boys 'Wouldn't it be nice' coupled with dramatic pollution orientated visuals.

Between the bands SAS brought some of the UK's & Southwest's finest DJ's, Vasey (with his funky fat frolicking beats), Luke Gledhill (with his funky, latin disco & house tunes), DJ Verdi (who left the crowd grinning from ear to ear!), Andy Smith (Portishead DJ, funk, hip hop and soul - faultless mixing & cutting) and finally finishing off in the main tent was Pete Isaac from Jelly Jazz with his selection of dancefloor jazz, hardfunk and afro latin beats!

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Over in the Dance Tent, Rob Da Bank, Luke Gledhill, Verdi, Simon G, DJ Max kept the dancefloor heaving from 11pm til 6am offering an alternative vibe to the main tent.

Transforming what has to be the biggest wedding marquee in the UK, Chaos Design worked tirelessly to bring the underwater realm of Atlantis to life with UV fish and a giant octopus that could be seen from miles!!!
Hybrid's stiltwalkers, firejugglers and anglegrinders entertained and thrilled!

Adding a new dimension to the audio visual feast, were Tom Harding (AV3) and the acclaimed film/visuals producers 'Yeast' (Nitin Sawhney, Cirque de Soleil & Burning Man) who ensured that SAS's environmental message was communicated to all partygoers!

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During the night a pre-recorded message from Fame Academy student and local girl Alex Parks was played out to the crowd, who responded with the loudest cheer of the night!!

St John Ambulance were on site providing first aid cover, they were pleased to report that despite the size of the event, there were only literally a handful of minor incidents.

SAS would like to thank everyone who came to the Ball, particularly those who helped clean up and who took the time to recycle!

We'd also like to thank our Production team (headed by Katy Thomas and Ruth Trevenna) who worked non-stop for days to bring us a quality event. Thanks also to our Sponsors whose support is vital to the financial success of the event.

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Special thanks to Mark and Sharon Doble for letting us use their land and finally, to all the bands, DJ's, production and crew who worked for a much reduced fee all in the name of environmental pressure group SAS!!

SAS are an environmental campaign organisation - every penny raised from this production will be used to fund the ongoing work of the organisation, for further details contact us.

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Check out the 2004 Ball

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