Some people love the buses and some people hate them, however one musician from Glastonbury took his love for a scenic service route by tattooing the service number onto his chest. Inspired by their love for the 376 FirstBus service which runs between Bristol and Glastonbury, Charlie ‘CHAS23’ Chamberlain has had the service number inked across his chest.
Charlie, 26, is one quarter of DJ group 3SEVEN6 who are celebrating their one year anniversary this month. Alongside Harley ‘CUB’ Kingham (22, from Street), Hayden ‘HAINS’ Salter (24, from Wells) and Josh ‘DOUBLE VISION’ Herridge (28, from Frome), the group will be performing on top of the 376 bus during Glastonbury carnival this weekend (Saturday, November 16), outside Glastonbury Town Hall between 3pm and 5.30pm.
The 376 bus service, running from Bristol to Street, has inspired the group of DJs and they said it was a “dream come true” to be performing on the bus. Charlie, who builds timber-framed marquees by day and recently got the tattoo, said: “My parents used to have a bus when we were kids and we used to do festivals and go on holiday in it – so that’s where my love for buses really started.
“We were already DJing under different names before we formed a group and the boys said ‘let’s call it 3SEVEN6 ’. We needed a logo, and Hayden drew a bus shelter with 3SEVEN6 on it on the back of a receipt then Harley edited it on his laptop and we said ‘that’s it’, and we turned it into stickers, flyers and t-shirts.
“There is such a massive local cult following for the 376 bus. It’s part of a lot of people’s lives when they want to go out. Some of the best nights of my life have started on the back of the bus.
“Most people’s idea of getting the bus is sitting down in silence; we like to treat it as more of a social, to have a laugh. We have joked about DJing on the actual 376 for so long; we still can’t actually believe we have been given the opportunity to do that. When I told the rest of the guys we had the chance to do it they lost their minds.”
The DJ group won’t be the only 376 super fans performing, as they will be joined by The Bad Cowboys. Formed by Steve Bilsborough (aged 57, from Glastonbury) and John Carroll (57, from Wells), a song written by the duo, who have performed at Glastonbury Festival, has hundreds of fans across Somerset. The song is a comedic take on the journey from Glastonbury to Bristol, including the names of several towns and villages along the route.
Steve, who lives in Glastonbury and works as an aerospace project manager, explains that The Bad Cowboys’ love of the 376 also comes from it providing freedom from the countryside to the city as a teenager. He said: “Most of the music we do is nostalgic, and in the early days John said he really wanted to write a song about the bus because when we were growing up in the 1980s it was your escape; you’d go to Bristol – the big city.
“It was a time when we didn’t have cars and your parents weren’t prepared to drive you to Bristol, so the story is all about that with all the 80s references. It definitely isn’t a mickey take, because we both love the 376.”
Christian Lockyer, PR Manager for First West of England, said: “There’s bus fans and then there’s bus fans, and these guys have taken it to the next level. The DJs naming themselves after the bus service is one thing but getting a tattoo and showing the bus route on a big screen is another, and we love it! And The Bad Cowboys writing and performing a song dedicated to the 376 is just genius – it’s also a great catchy tune.
“But there is a more serious side to this; their story of using the 376 bus service to find freedom from the rural parts of Somerset to the bright lights of Bristol is really inspiring. It shows the freedom that bus travel can offer, especially to those living in more isolated areas or with limited access to transport. We can’t wait to see them climb aboard the 376 at Glastonbury Carnival and perform on the bus which has been such an inspiration to them.”
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