Sadly due to COVID-19, the much anticipated end-of-term Fruity was cancelled. There is a silver lining though because tonight, on Friday 27th March, starting at 9pm, Leeds Student Radio (LSR) will be hosting a 3 hour long, contact-free, edition of Fruity. You can listen on listen.thisislsr.com from 9pm-Midnight.
Last week, following the closure of pubs, clubs, and bars across the country, LSR hosted the first virtual Fruity, which 6,000 fans of the beloved club night tuned in to. Listeners ranged from that self-isolating in Leeds, to alumnus to those self-isolating in other countries.
On why LSR decided to host Virtual Fruity, Station Manager Vicky Wright said the idea came about because “so many of our student members having to leave their Uni houses at such short notice” and so they “wanted to brighten everyone’s spirits, and there’s no better way to do that than trashy pop and throwback tunes”.
The night ended up being incredibly successful with over 1000 people saying they were interested or going and 6000 listeners. Wright put it down to introducing “Virtual Fruity at just the right time as every other event was now being cancelled. It was the little bit of positivity that everyone needed.”
She went on to say “every Leeds student has been to (and probably regretted) Fruity and we wanted to remind everyone that although things are a bit rubbish now, they haven’t always been. That gross pit everyone ends up in at the end of the night will still be there in a few months’ time.”
If you’re dying to hear what you missed from last week, or just wanting to re-live it, then you’re in luck because you can catch up right here.
Speaking to The Tab Leeds, Seb Cheer, Head of Production at LSR and one of the organisers of the event, said: “People love the music, people love the club night and the idea of all coming together. I was buzzing last night; I didn’t go to bed until four hours after the show had ended”.
Alec Feldman, who also helped to put the event together said: “I was expecting maybe high double digits, low triple figures for listeners, but it totally blew up- I was blown away.” He added: “I’m genuinely made up about the whole thing; it was incredible.”
Virtual Fruity was very much an international affair with Wright saying they “had listeners from quite literally all over the globe which was completely unexpected. We heard from people who had left Leeds over 5 years ago and were reuniting just for Virtual Fruity”
They even “got some parents enjoying their first club night since the 80s and listeners of all ages bopping along together to MIKA, Katy Perry and Girls Aloud”.
After the strict instructions from the government to stay inside, LSR is bringing a little bit of light and comfort to everyone during this dark time by hosting this. They are encouraging everyone to get dressed up, have some drinks and get involved with virtual Fruity. LSR is also encouraging those who tune in to send in voice notes, pictures, and videos to their Twitter and Instagram.
On what Round 2 might have in store for listeners, Vicky said:
We’ve got to live up to round 1! We’ve been working all week to curate an even better playlist, track down even more listeners and take even more requests. But really, the aim is to just brighten people’s day as much as we can.
Virtual Fruity Returns begins at 9 pm tonight. Be there or be square.