So the weekend is over, and so too is the Thirtieth Anniversary of Whitby Goth Weekend, the best-known UK Goth event in the world. Looking back, I realise a lot of pretty unique things occurred to me thanks to attending on and off since 2007, and I thought I’d revisit them as my own celebration of WGW – and to make up for not attending this year! Sadly, Nick Cave made me a better offer…
Whitby Goth Weekend, conveniently acronym’d as WGW, or just ‘Whitby’ to any longstanding attendee, loomed large over my emerging years as neophyte. I too was on the Yorkshire coast, but penniless and awkward as I was, it might as well have been in Chicago. I sated myself pouring over articles and websites describing it as the biggest gathering of goths in the country, and sighed to myself as I moped through sixth-form with a couple of oddball friends who also liked the same gloomy music as me. Oh, we found various sanctuaries – including legendary nightspot Spiders in Hull, but Whitby remained the sought-after Valhalla of the scene.
So, I followed the well-trodden pilgrim’s path, moved to Leeds Six in 2007 and shortly after tagged along with friends to that windy jewel of the North Yorkshire coast. I don’t even think we made it to the Spa to catch the bands, the nominal heart of WGW – instead, I vaguely recall pinballing between house parties and Whitby’s broad array of pubs, marvelling all the while at a welcoming if slightly tipsy atmosphere with a wicked sense of style.
The trap snapped shut, and I was in love with this quirky, beautiful place full of the bonkers members of my tribe, a gamut of shopping and gigs to attend, all fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol. I’d make the trek up-county twice a year, squeezing into overflowing rentals packed with holidaymaking goths and shopping all day before partying all night, with occasional trips up to the still-majestic Abbey to blow away those pesky hangovers with that swift North Sea gale.
So then, a whirlwind tour of my Whitby Goth Weekend highlights, why not? As early as 2012, I knew I had a powerful streak of creativity running right through me, and the blog had just gotten started on Tumblr of all places. When a friend approached me with a bizarre idea for a parody video – and I had access to the professional video facilities at Leeds Trinity University – I leapt at it! The end result was the impossibly popular ‘Whitby Gothic Style’, as inspired by the viral K-Pop hit of the same year. All the credit – or the blame – should attach to Graeme, who is now a successful and popular podcaster – so it didn’t slow him down at least!
My first reviews of the bands at the Spa started getting uploaded in 2015, which gave me the golden opportunity to meet Craig Adams, bassist with goth-rock titans Spear of Destiny, The Mission and of course The Sisters of Mercy. I stepped up to help with some PR for the WGW organisers in this period as well, and was exceptionally lucky enough to travel and see The Mission rehearse in Dublin in 2016 – ahead of a tour that would bring them to Whitby. So I got the chance to meet Wayne Hussey, singer with The Mission and of course guitarist with The Sisters of Mercy! Halfway through the line-up that made First and Last and Always in 1985 already…
2017 was crammed with unique crossover events – the Live Theatre in my hometown of Newcastle put on a play inspired by Goth Weekend, and invited me to sit on a Q&A panel for the audience directly after the debut performance, which was a lot of fun! In a more bizarre development, a WGW review I wrote in 2015 was included in an exam sat by A-Level students in the UK – which they took on World Goth Day, May 22nd! My Twitter feed was full of bemused teenagers struggling to unpick my rather random writing style. Apologies again!
From 2018, the relationship between the official WGW organisers and the owners of the Whitby Pavilion venue began to fall apart, and my article covering this is now cited on the Wikipedia entry for Whitby Goth Weekend. Once Tomorrow’s Ghosts had arrived and established themselves – and I had found my feet as a public speaker on goth! – I was delighted to be invited as host of a Q&A session with distinguished guests, a task I would return to a few more times. I’d do it again as well, in a heartbeat!
Also in 2018, I helped coordinate and spoke to an independent film-maker who wanted to do a proper documentary on the goth scene. Goths Own Country was very well put together, and focused a great deal on interviews with various participants including myself – it was a joy to take part in, and I hope it’s available for public consumption one day!
In the same vein, I was delighted to speak to the local BBC News Service about the weekend, and they were incredibly generous with their time, letting me waffle for quite some time and not being too sharp with the editing knife! Again, this was a truly enjoyable experience for me – the blog has been running all the years precisely because I love speaking about my passion for goth, overturning inaccurate stereotypes and celebrating all that’s creative and fun about it. Bear me in mind if you need a talking head!
Of particular pleasure was taking a very small part in the infamous Charity Match between locals Stokoemotive, and the world’s finest goth football team, Real Gothic F.C.! Deftly utilising my big flapping gob, I offered to livestream the match for those unable to be with us on the day due to absence (or hangover). It was a hilarious and heartwarming experience, and also an opportunity to swill yet more drink and observe good friends hurtle around the pitch sustaining injury in the arctic gales for our entertainment – and some very good causes. I’ve been lucky enough to sit in the commentator’s box a few times over the years, and it’s quite possibly the most fun I’ve had, and the best thing I’ve given back to Goth Weekend since I started going.
Ah, I’ve written pages here and could go on for much longer. The band I sing with has played both the Brewery and the Metropole Hotel during the Weekend, true highwater marks for us as goth musicians! I was thinly parodied in a notorious blog about the vicious and petty internecine battles that have marred the history of Whitby and its goth festival – a dubious yet hilarious badge of honour. And finally, ultimately, I was married seven years after meeting a woman in Whitby and spending a fascinating weekend finding out all about her, and us, against the backdrop of a goth holiday by the sea.
Despite the contentious history of the event, despite the crippling cost of attending and the occasionally very mixed experiences with the bands, Whitby has always held a special place in my heart. And whilst I do fret about the future of a small town with bad transport links and an increasingly-expensive array of accommodation, being able to sustain a well-rounded music festival in the middle of what appears to be a ComiCon – well, the key promoters aren’t having any trouble. Despite all my doom-laden prophecy, there will likely be a goth weekend in Whitby for many years to come. I wish it all the luck in the world, and with all the thanks for how significant it has been to me.
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Vaughan Allen
Claire Victoria
Mark Chisman
The Blogging Goth 