Puppet Rockin’ Walter rolls up to meet stars and make dreams come true for sick children

ROCK and pop stars are backing a charity appeal led by a puppet.

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BEER WE GO: Walter joins Captain Sensible of The Damned (L) and Ricky Wilson (R)

Adele, Robert Plant and the Kaiser Chiefs are among those who posed with hand-puppet Walter to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

They have also raised tens of thousands of pounds for the charity which makes dreams come true for seriously ill children.

The campaign is the brainchild of ex-musician Andy Mount, who went to 390 gigs with his girlfriend Sharbrena – and Walter – last year.

The puppet, later joined by his “stupid American cousin” Eustace, was pictured snogging Anastacia, swigging beer with Captain Sensible of The Damned and playing drums live with the Fun Lovin’ Criminals.

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FANS: Sharbrena and Andy with puppets

“We took in 390 gigs”

Andy Mount

Andy said: “The whole thing started by accident at the Shine On festival in 2015. My girlfriend loves puppets and we decided to take Walter. We were at the front when Inspiral Carpets were on.

“Clint Boon spotted him dancing on the stage and asked us to pass him up to sit on his keyboards. And it’s all grown from there.

“I was talking to Clint after the show about Make-A-Wish Foundation and he suggested we should use Walter to help raise awareness.

“We went to around 180 gigs the following year, but we decided that we should aim at getting to 365 gigs in 2017 – and we did! We took in 390 gigs, 37 major festivals and saw 1,350 bands in total, taking pictures of everyone along the way.” 

Bristol-based Andy added: “The great thing is the stars understand that the foundation is special. They don’t just throw money at things.

“They find out about each individual child and do things like find a scholarship that suits them. That’s what I find amazing. And the stars’ response is heartwarming.

“Take Peter Hook, ex of New Order. He has a reputation for being grouchy, but he met a kid with cancer and spent 45 minutes talking to him and teaching him how to play bass. Fast Eddie Clarke from Motorhead took me aside when we met him and said, ‘If there’s anything you want, anything at all, just ask’.

“The older guys are really amazing, maybe because most of them are grandparents now. The likes of Robert Plant genuinely care.” 

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DEBUT: Andy, Walter & Clint Boon

Andy, 57, has been a musician since his teens and now works as a PA in the music business.

He said: “All the bands and artists we saw have given permission to use any of the pictures in the media to show support for Make-A-Wish.

“Many of them have made individual donations to the foundation, too, independent of my justgiving page, which is why it’s hard to put a figure on how much we’ve raised. A conservative estimate would be tens of thousands.”