Success! Hartlepool DJ festival is a huge hit and it will be back again next year
and live on Freeview channel 276
Around 300 people turned up for the first ever Retrofest which was held at the Mayfair Centre in Seaton Carew.
Ten DJs provided more than 12 hours of entertainment on Saturday and estimates suggest that £1,500 was raised for the Hartlepool charity Miles for Men.
But the event came at the end of a tough week for Retrofest organiser Richie Griffiths.
Just five days before the festival, doctors at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, told him his kidneys are now only functioning at around 12 per cent of their capacity.
They also confirmed that Richie’s need for a transplant was growing and his case was being pushed forward.
Undaunted Richie refused to be downhearted. He said: “I used it as a spur. I used it as my way of making sure Retrofest went ahead and that we raised money.”
As well as organising the festival, Richie was also one of the DJs who put on a set at Retrofest.
After the event, he admitted: “I am very sore and struggling a bit but I was kind of prepared for it. I might be struggling for a few days but what is a few days of me struggling if it has raised money.”
We told how he was diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare blood disorder which he was told would limit his life to 25 years. He defied the odds to reach 40.
Although he fought back from that, Richard has now been receiving treatment at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for kidney failure.
Richie said: “The feedback about Retrofest was really positive. Considering it was the first one we have done, it was really successful.
"It will definitely be back next year with some changes to improve it.”
He praised his back-up team of Mally Hubbert, Kelly Lerigo and John Lerigo, adding: “I would not have been able to get it off the ground without them.”
