Lisburn man sets drumming world record in memory of partner

Allister Brown has twice before broken the world record for longest drumming marathon by an individual

A Lisburn man has smashed the world record for the length of time spent drumming.

Allister Brown, who is 45, surpassed his previous record of 134 hours and five minutes, by drumming for more than 150 hours.

He finished his "drumathon" on Saturday afternoon, after starting last Sunday.

Mr Brown took on the challenge in memory of his late partner Sharon Deegan, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in January 2021, aged 49.

Speaking on Saturday afternoon, at the Lisburn Music Centre where he secured his third world record, Mr Brown said it had been a "massive undertaking".

He said that the memory of Ms Deegan, as well as the support of his friends, kept him going during the attempt.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me," he said.

"I always had it in my mind I wanted to do this in Sharon's memory."

A third world record

Mr Brown has twice before broken the world record for longest drumming marathon by an individual, first in 2003 when he drummed for 58 hours, and again in 2008 when he lasted just shy of 103 hours.

He said that his previous attempts had prepared him well for this latest marathon.

"The experience has been absolutely phenomenal for me; to have that knowledge of how to prepare, how to deal with certain situations during the marathon," he told BBC News NI.

"This one has ran really well and I'm so thankful to the team that I've had that wanted to help me out."

The Guinness World Records rules state that for every hour of drumming Mr Brown is allowed a five-minute break.

He was able to save up these breaks, allowing him to take slightly longer periods of respite.

Allister Brown (right), had support including from his friend and event coordinator Duncan Campbell

But by Friday morning, five days into his record attempt, Mr Brown's friend, and event coordinator, Duncan Campbell, said the drummer had only slept for about two hours during the attempt.

"Certainly this is a challenge where you are doing an endurance against the mind," said Mr Brown.

"At certain points I'm going to be hallucinating and the team are there to help me out.

"My body will maybe want to try and make me sleep in the early hours of the morning, so the team again will be trying to keep me awake and make sure that my breaks are allocated correctly and that I'll be able to get the rest when needed."

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The attempt was livestreamed and held in aid of charity.

"With Sharon passing away from pancreatic cancer I'm raising money for [pancreatic cancer charity] NIPANC, and I'm also raising money for Mind, a charity which is for mental health, because I suffered a bit with mental health issues after Sharon's passing so I thought it would be best to coincide the two together in this event," he said.

Mr Brown's attempt was livestreamed

Over the past two decades the world record for longest drumming marathon by an individual has been traded between Mr Brown and a few other drummers around the world.

While his latest total is impressive, he does not think it is unbeatable.

"Nothing is impossible if you have the right mindset and people around you. If anyone wants to try and beat the record, I'm willing to help them," he said.

As for his plans on completing the marathon, he said: "The first thing I'll be looking to do is find somewhere comfortable to sit down and probably just fall asleep."