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A brave Hartlepool fundraiser is lining up two huge DJ events despite needing a transplant.

Richard Griffiths went into kidney failure late last year and now has dialysis three times a week.

But he has revealed plans to hold a music and family fun day, called At The Beach, at Seaton Reach in Seaton Carew on Saturday, August 20.

There will be 8 hours of entertainment from 3pm at Hornsey’s Bar with a barbecue, games and a line-up of DJs on the schedule.

Retrofest is on the way back and organiser Richard Griffiths is doing his bit despite suffering kidney failure.

Then comes the Retrofest festival event on Friday, November 4, in Middlesbrough with a through-the-night line-up of entertainment on the way from 8pm at Stereo nightclub.

Richard, 42, is organising both events with the excellent help of Hartlepool pals Mally Hubbert and Kelly Lerigo.

He said it would not have been possible without their support, or without the help of numerous Hartlepool companies which have ‘dipped into their pockets’.

But Richard, who was not expected to live beyond 25 years old, has told why he is taking on two huge new events when last year’s Retrofest took so much out of him.

DJ Richard Griffiths in his Hartlepool home. Picture by FRANK REID

“I needed something to get my teeth into and my happy place is entertaining and being behind the decks.”

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Around 300 people turned up for the first ever Retrofest which was held at the Mayfair Centre in Seaton Carew last October.

Ten DJs provided more than 12 hours of entertainment and around £1,500 was raised for the Hartlepool charity Miles for Men.

Richie Griffiths, the organiser of the Retrofest DJ Festival.

But just five days before the festival, doctors at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, told Richard his kidneys were only functioning at around 12 per cent of their capacity.

He still played his part in Retrofest, with the top help of his back-up team, but four days after Retrofest 2021, his kidneys failed completely and Richard said: “I pushed myself to make sure Retrofest went ahead and it probably did not help me.

"I was in hospital for a week and a half. I had to have dialysis to get the toxin levels down.

"They gave me 48 hours to see if the kidneys would kick back in but they didn’t. It was a shock to the system and I am now waiting for a transplant.”

Happy faces at the Retrofest DJ Festival last year.

Richard has regularly made the Hartlepool Mail headlines for his battling spirit against the odds which has stretched over decades.

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 42.

At The Beach will have free entertainment for all the family. Special guest is DJ Spuddy with support from Liam Dunning, Phaze, Ainsley Fawcett, Richie G, and Bellini Beats.

Retrofest itself has Allister Whitehead as the headline act as well as Neil Foreel as a special guest. There are numerous support acts and tickets are £15 on the early bird scheme, or £20.

Richie is hoping to raise money for Kidney Research UK. To find out more, visit the Retrofest squad Facebook page.

Hartlepool man who is organising two huge DJ events - while he waits for a kidney transplant