The Black winter day festival was an idea that came to Andy Barker one morning in 2003 on the bus to work. It started life as a small gig for a Christmas party for his web site www.total-metal.co.uk , featuring some of the best bands from Bradford (The Enchanted, Bloodstream and Khang).
By the time Andy had got to work this idea was a full blown all day metal festival with hopefully bands from all over the UK. The venue was an obvious choice. The Empress. It may not have had the capacity of Bradford Rio’s but it did have the benefits of cheap ale, cracking jukebox (free BTW) and a 2am licence on Saturdays. There had already been a few all day / weekend festivals been held there in the past.
Having formed this idea Andy needed some help in executing this cunning stunt. So he contacted Tony Wildwood, Simon Webster and Jay, the three jesters of Metal and very good friends of his. Between them they had arranged many gigs and festivals in the past so they were perfect for the job.
2003 was quite a success.
2005 The festival was held at The Colours Bar at Bradford University. The venue has a 1300 capacity so it's big enough to accommodate almost any underground band. The event had been timed to coincide with Andy's fathers 60th Birthday and John and Rick from Bloodstream's 30th Birthdays, so there was definitely a party atmosphere.
The event showcased some of the most important UK talent along with special guests from Sweden and the USA.
2006 Andy embarked on a charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro so Black Winter Day was put on hold while he was in training for this.
2007 see's the return of Black Winter Day bigger and better than ever! Andy has now passed the festival organisation over to Thousand Lakes Promotions but will still keep his hand in helping out when he can.
2007 will also see the mighty SABBAT headline along with the Dutch metallers DETONATION and UK Thrashers EVILE. Also special guests LOATHE will be joining the bill all the way from Malta plus 5 other quality metal bands from the UK.
We hope to see you all there and please keep watching out for bulletins and updates in this years festival and the planning of 2008's big event.
Cheers 'n' Beers
The Black Winter Day Team
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