EVER woken up, got dressed, grabbed those concert tickets off the night stand, and left to see the ‘best band in the world’ play live? This would be nearly impossible for 18-year-old Luke Hanson, from Launceston.

Luke is possibly the world’s biggest fan of ‘Avenged Sevenfold’ and has dreamt of sitting in the stands, watching his favourite band play live.

However, Luke has autism and Cohen’s syndrome, along with night blindness, thyroid problems, a heart defect and a poor immune system, and all this added together would make it very difficult for him to go and see his favourite band play live in Cardiff — but through the help of ‘Given To Live’, a donation-funded organisation, that is exactly what Luke is going to do.

Luke has been offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Cardiff, stay over night in a hotel and see his favourite band, Avenged Sevenfold, otherwise known as ‘A7X’, live, along with a number of other support bands.

When he was just six-months-old, Luke’s parents, Steve Hanson and Amanda Bromfield, were told he would never walk or talk. Well, Luke obviously didn’t agree with that diagnosis and walks and talks just fine, and is now very excited by the prospect of going to see the A7X gig in Cardiff on January 19.

It all started with a simple message from Amanda’s partner, Carl Gray. He is a friend and supporter of Given To Live and sent the founder, Tom Pugh, a message asking if he knew that A7X’s tour had been announced.

Tom told the Post: “When I received the message from Carl I was very confused, not being ‘down with the kids’, as they say, I didn’t really know who A7X was at the time and why we were being asked about their tour. However, after speaking with Carl and receiving an application for Luke it all made sense and we set to work straight away to organise a ticket for Luke.”

When Tom went along to meet Luke and his family to tell them the good news, Luke expressed how grateful he was and explained why the band is so important to him.

Luke has depression and he told Tom that listening to A7X’s music has helped him to get through the tough times by giving him a chance to escape, just for a while, from the problems every day life can bring.

Like many people with autism Luke finds it hard to express himself, so going to his room to listen to his favourite bands can be a release for him, giving him his own freedom.

This exciting opportunity for Luke is being made possible by the work of Given To Live. The organisation was started about two and a half years ago by founder Tom, who told the Post he set the organisation up in order to help those — like Luke — who would ordinarily find it difficult to go to a concert themselves.

The organisation relies entirely on donations to fund the concert trips. Tom explained that during the week a number of young volunteers go around Bristol with their buckets collecting donations to help fund the service they provide. The ‘UK Foo Fighters’ tribute band also held a benefit to raise funds for Given To Live, helping them provide more days out to concerts for those who deserve it.

Speaking about the aims of Given To Live, Tom said: “We aim to make seeing live music possible for those who would otherwise not have the chance. These types of gigs are very inclusive; the bands I have worked with in the past, like Slipknot and now Avenged Sevenfold, have been great, they are always welcoming because to them the people we bring along are just another fan in the crowd, they don’t see that they are different, they just treat them equally.

“We have taken people to concerts before who have a disability but we also help those who have depression and even young carers, because at the end of the day who thinks about them? Sometimes they need time away from it all as well. We use live music as a vehicle, as we believe everyone deserves a day in the sun. It makes no difference to us whether they have a disability or not, we will spoil them rotten because it is what they deserve!”

The organisation has helped many people who have been in a difficult situation to get back on their feet and have a second chance. One of those people Given To Live has helped is Darren, who will be making Luke an A7X show poster as part of the service.

Tom said: “Darren is one of the artists who creates pieces for the people we take to shows. I met Darren when he was sleeping rough a little over two years ago and I saw a genuine desire in him to get off the street and quit drinking.

“We made a deal. Once he was sober and in accommodation Given To Live would support his artwork. Since then Darren has created a few pieces for us and will be doing Luke’s A7X show poster.”

Now the countdown has begun and to help Luke visualise when the ‘big day’ will be Given To Live had a special calendar created for him.

Luke struggles with the concept of dates and time and although Given To Live had everything in place for his trip back in August, Luke’s mother decided it was best to keep it a secret until closer to the date.

Much to Luke’s delight he was told a week before Christmas, and what a fabulous Christmas present that was. Not only will he have the chance to travel up to Cardiff and see his favourite band — and buy some more merchandise to add to his already enormous collection of t-shirts and hoodies — another favourite of Luke’s, the band ‘Disturbed’, will be playing in support, making this a doubly special trip.

So from now on January 19, 2017 no longer exists; Luke has renamed it A7X day — and he can’t wait to go.