Interview With Danny McNamara (Embrace)

After more than 10 years in the limelight as lead singer of one of the UK’s biggest selling bands, Embrace, Danny McNamara is no stranger to the ‘can you help our charity?’ request. After setting up one of Manchester’s leading club nights, The Aftershow, Danny decided to help out a local charity with big ambitions, Versus Cancer.
 
What made you get involved with Versus Cancer?
When it is something you feel strongly about and you feel you actually will help then you find the time to get involved. Everybody has some experience with cancer affecting their lives. Also putting on a gig made perfect sense with what I am currently doing with The Aftershow. What set it apart was the local aspect as it was originally Manchester Versus Cancer. The guy who organised it worked in music so there was already a close relationship.
 
Who else has got involved with Versus Cancer?
They managed to get Hooky (Peter Hook), Ian Brown, The Charlatans, New Order...once key people were involved it snowballed locally but generally if people can help they will do but with cancer even more so.
 
What do you feel a charity should do in order to reach their audience?
Connecting by being honest, not pulling punches. There is too much spin in saying what you think people want you to hear. Bob Geldof was really obvious but he felt it with every bone in his body and it worked. Too many are blue rinse and conservative. But more than anything they need to say that “I’m a human being and these are human emotions”.
 
What are the boundaries that you wouldn’t cross in the name of charity?
Hopefully charities are getting smart that if you want celebrity endorsements then you shouldn’t put people in positions that they don’t feel comfortable with. No-one helps out a charity to look cool but nobody wants to look bad. As a charity you need to realise that people’s goodwill only stretches so far. Dressing up and saying things you have been given to say is not the way to go, people should be saying them because they believe it.

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