Musicians, Comedians and TV stars joined forces for charity in raising in excess of £85,000 at last night's Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser Event at London's Roundhouse.
Including stand-out performances from Paul Weller whose version of A Town Called Malice was one of the evening's high points, lifting the 3,000 capacity crowd into an adrenalin-fuelled frenzy. Seasick Steve closed the evening with his unique laidback old school bluesy persona, where he was joined onstage by KT Tunstall on flute, for what was the surely the highlight of nearly 5 hours of song, dance and even an impromptu beat box performance from comedian Marcus Brigstocke.
Pop ingénue Coco Sumner, under the stage name of I Blame Coco, joined the new breed of artists that emerged as 'one to watch' for 2010, with two beautifully crafted acoustic tracks. Fresh from winning NME's Best New Band the night before and all the requisite partying that must have followed, Bombay Bicyle Club looked positively sprightly with a barn-storming set of indie folk and pop. Somehow the youngsters from Crouch End managed to party the night away in the VIP bar til midnight!
All the acts performed free of charge giving time and effort out of their hectic schedules to help raise money for ActionAid and Médecins Sans Frontières. The ticket sales have peaked at over £85,000 with more money set to be raised from collections. A sister event at down the road at Proud, will also boost the total amount raised. The line-up at the smaller, but no less illustrious venue, which serves as a gallery by day and club by night, included DJ sets and live performances from the likes of Maxi Jazz, Simian Mobile Disco, Hexstatic, Stereo MCs, The Hoosiers, Strangeways and hot new act Chew Lips.
All stars who were present at the Roundhouse signed a rare Roy Orbison Epiphone guitar which will be raising more money for charity via the official website www.haitiearthquakefundraiser.com
It goes to show, 53 days after the first quake, that stars and members of the public alike see that, despite no longer being front page news, the disaster in Haiti remains in the hearts and minds of us all. This tiny country, one of the poorest in the western hemisphere, remains in direst need of ongoing support and care.