Press release -
Close encounters of the heard kind
Popstars have been turning flying saucers into gold discs for more than 70 years, according to one of Britain’s leading UFO experts.
Dave Hodrien, Chairman and lead investigator of the Birmingham UFO Group, will unveil the findings of his extensive study into the connection between UFOs and the music industry at the inaugural Scottish Paranormal Festival.
Supported by VisitScotland and taking place in Stirling from 30 October to 2 November, the festival is a huge celebration of the scary and the unexplained, featuring everything from mediums and UFO experts to classic frightening films and even the first ever Caledonian Vampyre Ball. As part of the Homecoming Scotland 2014 programme the festival is set to draw visitors from Stirling, Scotland and beyond.
Dave’s particular interest in the subject stemmed from his attendances at many conferences which would focus on the cultural links between UFOs and movies. Realising there was gap of investigation into similar links that could be made with the music-industry, Dave has closely researched connections between UFOs and music identifying hundreds of examples of songs, themed-bands, as well as artists who have had experiences with UFOs themselves.
In his talk, UFOs & The Music Industry on Saturday 1 November in the Albert Halls, Stirling, Dave will present a thorough and lively discussion about the persevering subject of UFOs in music all the way from the 1940s to the present day.
Examples will include the first ever UFO-themed song from the Buchanan Brothers in 1947 featuring one of the first recorded uses of the phrase ‘flying-saucer’, to David Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardurst’ alien alter-ego in the 1970s, all the way through to present day examples across a huge range of music genres including hip-hop, progressive rock, metal and pop.
Dave, through his experience with the Birmingham UFO Group, has investigated hundreds of UFO sightings in the UK and internationally including cases from a far afield as Germany, Switzerland and Australia. He has even experienced two sightings himself, and is looking forward to his visit to Scotland which has many well-known UFO hotspots including Bonnybridge, just twenty minutes from Stirling where the Paranormal Festival takes place.
Dave Hodrien said: “I can’t wait to come to Stirling for the first ever Scottish Paranormal Festival and am hugely looking forward to presenting on the connections between UFOs and the music industry.
“I think people could think it’s a very niche area with only a few select songs on UFOs on aliens but really that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are hundreds of diverse examples, and some particularly incredible cases of musicians having their own experiences which have directly influenced their songs including John Lennon and Robbie Williams.
“It really is an absolutely fascinating subject area, whether you’re a UFO enthusiast, a music-lover, or just intrigued by the connections between the two!”
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said:
“The Scottish Paranormal Festival is set to be a mystifying and intriguing few days. From ghosts to aliens, UFOs to vampires it will be a chance to discover the fact behind the fiction and see if the truth really is out there and I would urge everyone to make the trip to Stirling for this fantastic Homecoming event.”
Dave Hodrien is Chairman and lead investigator for the Birmingham UFO Group and has appeared widely across television and radio and spoken at several conferences. Find out more about his work at http://www.bufog.com/.
Find out more about the Scottish Paranormal Festival at http://www.paranormalscotland.com/
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- homecoming 2014
- corporate communications
- eventscotland
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors:
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
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- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
