If you happen to be in Derry, in Northern Ireland this weekend, and suddenly feel compelled to start jumping and jiving, you may just have wandered into a performance of one of England's premier Jive & Swing bands, the Jive Aces. The group was recently featured at the St George Festival at Covent Garden and they are headliners again at the 6th Annual City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, taking place from Thursday May 3rd to Sunday, May 6th.
 | The Jive Aces, who play this weekend at the Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, are ardent supporters of the "Say No to Drugs" campaign. |
But the Jives are not only famous for their upbeat music and contagious sense of humor, but for their commitment to creating a drug-free world as well. If the fun-loving Jives take anything seriously, it's the drug problem, and their message is you don't have to get high to have fun.
With estimates of £13 billion of drug-related crime in England and Wales each year, Great Britain has a tremendously serious drug problem. However, the Home Office released news last month that drug misuse in the country has been reduced by 21 percent over the past nine years, and one of the three factors credited for this improvement is drug education.
These figures show that the hard work of the Jives Aces and all the many dedicated individuals and groups who educate the youth of the country about drugs is starting to pay off.
The Jive Aces have been performing "Say No to Drugs" concerts and passing out publications and flyers on the truth about drugs year in and year out for the past decade. As spokesmen for the "Say No To Drugs, Say Yes To Life," campaign, sponsored by Churches of Scientology in the UK, the Jive's have taken their message throughout Great Britain and Europe and as far away as the USA over the past ten years, with free concerts in which the six irrepressible entertainers are themselves living examples of their belief that life is much more fun when you are drug-free.
"In my career as a performer I saw too much unhappiness generated by drugs," said Ian Clarkson, lead singer of the Jives, who points out the irony that although drug proponents may claim these substances make the person happy, the reverse is actually true.
 | The Jive Aces are dedicated to helping youth live drug-free lives and are proud to be part of the drug education movement in the UK, credited as one of three crucial factors in the 21 percent drop in drug misuse in the UK over the past nine years. |
In his research into the drug problem, American humanitarian and writer L. Ron Hubbard once wrote. "I have even found that there is such a thing as the 'drug personality.' Drugs can apparently change the attitude of a person from his original personality to one secretly harboring hostilities and hatreds he does not permit to show on the surface. While this possibly is not always the case, it does establish a linkage between drugs and increasing difficulties with crime, production, program execution and the modern breakdown of the social and industrial culture."
For more information on the Jive Aces, their upcoming concerts and their work on the "Say No to Drugs—Say Yes to Life" campaign, visit their web site at www.jiveaces.com.
Spread the News:
|
Vote for or comment on this story:
|
|
