Father and sons rap it out to end racism

A father and son returned to their roots in Pendle for a concert to stamp out racism.
Matthew Bennett on stage at the Love Music Hate Racism concert with his sons Callum and Logan.Matthew Bennett on stage at the Love Music Hate Racism concert with his sons Callum and Logan.
Matthew Bennett on stage at the Love Music Hate Racism concert with his sons Callum and Logan.

Matthew Bennett (38) and his eighteen-year-old son Callum took to the stage last Friday to perform all their own material at the Love Music Hate Racism event at The Muni Theatre in Colne.

And the duo were joined on stage by surprise guests, Matthew’s stepson, Logan Smith (10) who danced for the entire set and Callum’s brother, Reuben Lawless (13) who also busted a few moves.

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The concert was organised by the East Lancashire branch of the Stand Up To Racism group.

Performing under the name FMA + 12 Gage the talented duo are both writers and rap artistes.

Matthew was a pupil at the former Edge End High School in Nelson and he grew up in Burnley. He moved to Preston at the age of 21 and was diagnosed with autism three years ago.

A scriptwriter who was recently in the top 10 of a competition to write the story for a horror film, Matthew and Callum performed together at Autism’s Got Talent in London.

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The event was put on by the autism charity Anna Kennedy Online and is a showcase of talent from those that are on the autistic spectrum.

Matthew said: “I have always been very creative and once I had learned to harness that it has helped me to use my creativity as a writer.”

They shared the stage with a range of other acts including groups The Ragamuffins, The Sentimentalists and All Hail Hyenas.

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