Published: Thursday, 25th June, 2009 7:35am

Singer cancels Bay gig after beach slur

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SINGER-songwriter Sandi Thom will not be appearing at the after-race concert for Cancer Research UK"s first pushkart derby, to be held in Dalgety Bay this August.

Derby organiser Mark Bennett said the singer had expressed an interest but a 'factually incorrect' article in a national newspaper claiming that she would be appearing at 'a radioactive beach' had scuppered any interest she had in the event.

Fliers and posters for the event stated that Ms Thom would be appearing but they have now been pulled and new ones have been printed.

Mr Bennett said he was 'very disappointed' at the setback, which almost caused both the race and concert to be cancelled.

He said, 'It was an absolute nightmare when we saw the article and we were just sitting there with our heads in our hands.

'We had nothing to do with it, the reporter didn"t speak to us, and we later found out it had come from a barman.

'It worked against us when there was a very large possibility that she would be appearing and we weren"t even sure if we would be going ahead.'

However, thanks to 'tremendous support' from the Clubhouse restaurant and Penman Homes, the event is back on track, with 17 bands set to perform at the after-race concert.

The line-up now includes top Scottish country star Jackie Storrar and West Fife groups Beatnic Prestige, The Gillyflowers, Carbon Copy, the Stevie Agnew Band and Fire In Effect.

Also booked are the Blues Brothers Tribute Band, Johnny Rainbow, The Jack, The Alchonauts, Andy Chung, The Occasions, Audio Junkie, Calvin Laidlaw, Bruce Armour and David Hershaw.

Mr Bennett, who is organising the derby with his friend Stuart Prentice, said that it had received a high level of interest.

He said, 'We came up with the idea in April – we take part in Relay for Life every year but could not make it this year after the date was changed to 4th July.

'We were disappointed because we had done it for the last two years and we wanted to do something for Cancer Research UK.

'We were sitting around when an advert on Sky came on for "Cool Runnings" and we thought, what the hell! It was absolutely brilliant and the idea just snowballed from there.

'We had a stand at the Dalgety Bay gala and the response was amazing – we sold out our application packs for the race itself and there have been over 350 tickets for the concert sold already.

'The enthusiasm for the derby has been electric and it"s just getting ridiculous – we have had a professional pushkart team ringing us up and two rival joinery firms building their own carts.

'One lady even took the wheels off her electric chair so her grandson could use them for his cart. All I can say is watch out for your wheelie bins!'

The pushkart derby is a timed race where two people push a driver in a kart around a timed circuit, and the kart with the fastest time wins.

In the event of a tie, there is a 'push-off', with the fastest kart taking the prize.

The kart must be strictly people-powered – no engines, pedals or any other means of propulsion is allowed.

The derby will start at 10am on 8th August, starting and ending at the Clubhouse, and will go two circuits around the estate.

Application packs cost £1 and entrance is £15 per cart. Tickets to the after-race concert, to be held at the OCLI building grounds at 2pm, cost £8, with pushkart teams getting free entry.

Tickets are available from the Clubhouse, Bay Printing in Harbour Drive, The Green Witch in Aberdour and Caledonia Travel in Inverkeithing.

The organisers are also seeking volunteers and sponsors.

For further information, call 825540.