Biffy Clyro backs tour - and Worthing is first on list

Bryan Leitch, a lighting designer in the music industry for more than 30 years, will cover 105 towns and cities from Inverness to Truro on the Cancer Bonus Tour, starting on Monday.Many of his industry supporters, including Biffy Clyro, Elbow and Gabrielle, will contribute to an array of interviews and road trip anecdotes along the way.Bryan will be raising money for Sussex Cancer Fund and the blood cancer research charity Bloodwise and has already collected nearly £40,000. He said: "“In 2009, I was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the following year had a successful bone marrow transplant."I have been very lucky over the past seven years and it is thanks to cancer research and the efforts of the NHS medical staff that I am alive today.” As well as raising money, Bryan, with the help of his wife Tracey, wants to promote a positive message about public health care in this country and cancer survival. Yvonne Dickson, head of regional fundraising at Bloodwise, said: “The challenge that Bryan and Tracey have set themselves is no mean feat but one which is going to be so memorable for them both. "The support that we receive from people like Bryan allows us to continue to fund life-saving research, and their total so far is simply incredible."Blood cancer kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer, so every penny counts in ensuring we can save the lives of even more patients. We can’t wait to hear the stories and see their photo album grow after visiting each venue.”During his career in live music production, Bryan has worked at 332 venues in 105 different towns and cities. The Cancer Bonus Tour will take him to every one of these venues, in the 1963 Vauxhall Victor.Along the way, he will be meeting some of the wonderful artistes and touring personnel he has worked with along the way. Dr Tim Chevassut, consultant haemotologist at Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, said: "The Sussex Cancer Fund has been supporting cancer patients in Sussex for the past 30 years. "The charity also supports research projects at the Sussex Cancer Centre and at Brighton and Sussex Medical School that aim to improve treatment for cancer patients, both locally and nationally. "We are enormously grateful to Bryan and Tracey for their inspirational fundraising and the generosity of their supporters that will raise much-needed funds to continue to help future patients."Visit www.thecancerbonustour.com to follow the Cancer Bonus Tour.