URGH! A Band Lotto show and URGH! A Music War documentary
Director: Derek Burbidge Run Time: 121 min. Format: DCP Release Year: 1981
Starring: Andy Summers, Danny Elfman, Jello Biafra, Stewart Copeland, Sting
Urgh! A Band Lotto! Register into a music war this summer with a band lotto at the Hi-Pointe Theatre! Registrants will be organized into bands of 4-5 members with a balance of instruments. Please list any instruments (including vocals) that you have access to and are interested in playing in a band. We welcome participants who are new to playing music or who are interested in trying out a new instrument!
Register HereOnce band lineups are released, participants will have about 6 weeks to meet, practice, and figure out a 10-15 minute set. The band lotto will culminate in a band lotto fest extravaganza on August 2nd, featuring live performances, local vendors, and a late-night screening of the iconic ’80s documentary URGH! A Music War, which showcases performances from the best of the era’s new wave, punk, reggae, and rock bands. Have a look at the list of artists on the doc’s wikipedia for inspiration when starting out with your new band!
We are also excited to host local artists, artisans, crafters, resellers, and others who would like to sell their wares during URGH! A Band Lotto via a vendor application on the same website. Posters, prints, tees, pins, vintage clothes, tapes and records, comics, zines, instruments, snacks, beverages and other locally produced/DIY/handmade products are especially encouraged. Due to space constraints, we may be limited in the number of applications we can accept. Please expect to hear back from us with an update within two weeks of your application.
Proceeds of the evening will go directly to ACTION STL for ongoing relief efforts for the May 2025 Tornado Disaster in North St. Louis.
Key Dates:
May 20: Registration Opens
June 10: Registration Closes
June 15: Bands Announced
August 2: URGH! A Band Lotto show and URGH! A Music War documentary screening at Hi Pointe Theatre
About the movie
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Magazine, The Go-Go’s, Toyah Willcox, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, X, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead Kennedys, Gary Numan, Klaus Nomi, Wall of Voodoo, Pere Ubu, Steel Pulse, Surf Punks, 999, UB40, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Police. These were many of the most popular groups on the New Wave scene; in keeping with the spirit of the scene, the film also features several less famous acts, and one completely obscure group, Invisible Sex, in what appears to be their only public performance.