With the help of other local musicians (Mark Bratton, Stephen Smith, Matthew Lennon, Sarah Vallely, Mark McCrilly and Eoin Kelly), Marty Rafferty and his team have now provisionally broken the Guinness World Record for the longest busking marathon… with the final result still to be ratified.
The attempt was part of a cross-community fundraising appeal in partnership with the West Armagh Consortium for this year’s Secret Santa Toy Appeal, which raises money and provides gifts for low-income families.
The official record sits at 24 hours, with the unofficial record at 26 hours and four minutes, but Marty and his team have outshone both by playing for a total of 27:01:00 hours straight.
The idea was sparked after Marty had a conversation with Liam White of Philip White Tyres, one night at the gym.
Last year, Philip White Tyres teamed up with the West Armagh Consortium to organise the Christmas appeal, and it didn’t take much convincing to get Marty involved! Wanting to do something extraordinary, the two businessmen put their heads together and came up with something many would deem impossible.
The busk-a-thon took place at the Bandstand in Market Street, Armagh, beginning on Wednesday, August 27 at 12pm, and ran through to 3pm on Thursday, August 28.
The team had many rules and regulations to follow… the biggest one is that Marty had to remain on stage playing an instrument for the full 30 hours. Other rules included, one person must be playing at all times throughout the attempt, Marty could take a 20-minute break after each four-hour block, a 30-second break only between each song, the same song couldn’t be played within four hours of each other, the attempt had to be videoed 24/7, with at least two witnesses present at all times and a timer clock had to be displayed clearly in the background.
And to make matters harder, Marty also endured the full 27 hours with a broken thumb after an accident in Nashville just last week!
Once The Guinness World Record officials have thoroughly examined the effort, Marty and his team will be informed of whether or not they are now the official world record holders for the longest busking marathon!
To donate to this year’s toy appeal, click here.
