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Foo Fighters fans hit £150,000 Kickstarter target for crowdsourced Birmingham gig

The goal was reached with 53 days still to go in hope of the band coming to play

Jess Denham
Friday 26 September 2014 13:19 BST
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Foo Fighters fans are hoping Dave Grohl will be bringing his band to Birmingham next year
Foo Fighters fans are hoping Dave Grohl will be bringing his band to Birmingham next year (Getty Images)

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Foo Fighters fans are celebrating after hitting their target in a Kickstarter campaign to get the band to play a private, one-off gig in Birmingham.

Despite 53 days of fundraising remaining since the project launched on 19 September, the £150,000 goal has been reached on the crowdsourcing platform. To bag a ticket for the show, fans had to pledge £50.

The gig has yet to be scheduled, but is likely to occur after the group's new album Sonic Highways is released next year. The purpose of the fan-funded campaign is to stop touts taking tickets from fans.

“We are here to prove to the industry that rock will never die, but we hope that the ticket touting industry does!” organisers said in a promotional video.

All money raised will be going into the project, with only transaction fees and handling costs subtracted from the total.

“Every member of the team running the project will be doing so free of charge - this is a Not For Profit project,” a statement on the Kickstarter page reads.

“The aim is for this to be held in Birmingham, UK; the venue could change depending on capacity restrictions but will be clearly communicated to all backers prior to any chances.”

This recent 'Foo for the Fans' project is inspired by a similar campaign staged earlier this year by Foo Fighters fans in Richmond, Virginia. They raised $70,000 and the band agreed to fulfil their request.

“It sort of changes the game,” said frontman Dave Grohl. “For the past 20 years we always decided who we're going to play with and where we're going to play. But now, if we hear that people want us to come somewhere, maybe we'll come there.”

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Foo Fighters played several UK shows recently, including three secret club gigs and a headline slot at London's Invictus Games.

As of yet, the band have not responded to the Birmingham campaigners.

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