7 February 2025

Band goes from Blue Light to Welly night

by Sam Hawcroft

A band that was “born” at Withernsea’s Blue Light Weekend has secured a headline gig at one of Hull’s most popular nightclubs.

The Alternative Solution turned heads when supporting Withernsea legends Them Naked Men at the Willows Holiday Park during the Blue Light Weekend in August. The band were formed after lead singer Sgt Dave Walker – aka Para Dave – put in a memorable cameo with the Zynx at the inaugural Blue Light Weekend in 2023.

Punk fan Dave, a serving member of the Parachute Regiment and Blue Light Weekend air show director, proved to be a natural frontman, and after going down a storm with the Zynx, many people asked when he would perform again.

The name for the new band arose from one of the committee meetings earlier this summer, involving fellow bandmate and Blue Light Weekend music director, Chris Morfitt.

Chris, also a member of Them Naked Men, was still looking for a support act and told Dave he’d found the “alternative solution”.

“Who’s that, then?” said Dave.

“It’s you!” Chris replied, and the rest is history.

Dave said he hoped the band would take off after this year’s Blue Light Weekend, but he was still gobsmacked to receive a call from the Welly a few weeks ago after sending the club the Gazette article about their Willows gig.

He said: “I’m at work in uniform, and I get a call saying, ‘Hey, can you headline the Welly Club for us?’ I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ So now the Alternative Solution is hitting a Saturday night mainstream club – and it’s all come out of Blue Light.”

The Welly gig will be on Saturday, November 16, and the band has also been booked to play Hull’s popular Queens pub the previous week – Saturday, November 9.

Proceeds from both gigs will go towards the Blue Light Weekend and another cause close to Dave’s heart – military veterans and armed forces charities, including Hull 4 Heroes.

The Alternative Solution describe themselves as “a bitter and twisted feral punk group formed from chaos” and “not for the weak-minded or the politically obsessed”.

Welly manager Cameron Gwilliam, aka Gwill, said: “Para Dave got in contact with us, and from what he told us about the band and the fundraising, we thought the Welly would be the best fit because upstairs at the Welly is the home of a lot of punk in Hull.

“Dave has been so eager throughout the whole process, and I’ve done what I can to help put the gig on, such as the ticketing and technical side of things. And because it’s for charity, to help wounded soldiers and veterans, we thought doing it near Remembrance just felt right.

“From the videos Dave sent me, it looks like the band can rally a crowd, so we hope it’ll be a great night.”

The band also wanted to thank Hull’s Fisk Printers for producing gig posters and leaflets free of charge to help the cause.

Dave added: “Some of the other acts coming up at the Welly include Bad Manners and the Lightning Seeds – and then there’s us from Withernsea. It’s crazy!

“Their main audience is students – and we think they’ll love us. Who knows where this journey will take us next?”

Admission to the Queens pub gig is free. Welly tickets are £5 plus the booking fee, and available to book online HERE – or visit bluelightweekend.com and click the link on the gig poster.