Chris Martin mocks One Direction at 12-12-12 show

Chris Martin joked One Direction didn't join the Hurricane Sandy 12-12-12 benefit because it was "way past their bedtime".

A concert held in New York City last night raised more than $30 million for those affected by the superstorm in October.

Rock royalty got the party going at Madison Square Garden, among them Coldplay's frontman who made the quip about the popular teenage boyband.

"I know you really wanted One Direction, but it's way past their bedtime. That's why you get one-quarter of Coldplay," he deadpanned to the audience as he joined REM frontman Michael Stipe for a rendition of Losing My Religion.

Surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were joined on stage by The Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney to perform a brand new song.

Dave spoke about deciding to showcase the track rather than one of their classic tracks.

"It's funny because I think people were expecting us to do a Beatles song or a Nirvana song but when I first called Paul to see if he would jam with us, none of us wanted to do a Beatles song or a Nirvana song," he explained to Billboard.

"We wanted to do a new song, so we wrote and recorded a new song in a day and it's heavy as..."

Tickets to the concert were sold for between £100 - £1,500 and the performances were also streamed online, aired on radio and shown in theatres worldwide.

Celebrities such as Kristen Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg took time out of their busy schedules to accept donations during the telethon.

Other acts taking to the stage included Kanye West, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.

The Rolling Stones performed hits such as Jumping Jack Flash, with frontman Sir Mick Jagger telling the crowd, "This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden. If it rains in London, you've got to come and help us."

The concert came to a close after almost six hours with Alicia Keys singing Empire State of Mind.

Hurricane Sandy caused death and destruction when it hit the east coast of America earlier this year.

The 12-12-12 benefit is just one example of celebrities doing their bit to restore the damage done.

Recently A-listers including Sarah Jessica Parker and Selena Gomez auctioned off once-in-a-lifetime experiences to help raise money for the cause.