Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason spared some time this month to take part, unannounced, in a charity concert in aid of the Tsunami appeal. The concert, held at the Olympiad in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, on February 5th, was a big draw, despite the presence of Nick not being known until he walked on stage.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald who supported the event, reported that "a thousand people enjoyed an entertainment fest in the name of charity at The Olympiad... raising £38,000 and bringing the weekend total for the Tsunami appeal to £50,000." All tickets sold out, at £20 a head (which included a buffet, as well). Their report went on:

Chapter 13, The Wurzels, The Specials and Iron The Cat entertained the crowd with musical mastery. Even Nick Mason, formerly of Pink Floyd, and Andy Scott, of The Sweet, joined in the festivities playing alongside each other for the first time.

Mr Mason said: "I was approached by Chris McCormack and I didn't know if I could make it. It's a great idea. If I knew I was going to be playing I would have practiced."

Mr Scott said: "The band are about to go on a UK tour and this is my first weekend off in about nine months but I couldn't sit at home when there's something like this going on."

Andy Scott's Sweet performs the hits of early 1970's UK glam-rock band Sweet, who scored hits with songs such as Blockbuster, Hell Raiser and Ballroom Blitz, headed famously by the late Brian Connolly. Andy Scott was part of the "classic" lineup of the band at the peak of their success.

Scott and Mason live close to each other, near Chippenham in Wiltshire. Co-organiser and lead singer of Iron The Cat, Richard Ellis, said he was humbled by the turnout, and said that pulling in Nick Mason was a great coup for the event.

Mason replied to a hand delivered letter saying he would like to attend but was not sure if he could. Ellis remarked: "We didn't know until the night if he would turn up. I had a message on the walkie talkie saying, 'Confirmed, Nick Mason is in the building.' I just said, 'repeat, repeat.' We couldn't believe it."

Our grateful thanks to Henrik and to Stewart Roney, of TheSweet.com for the information, and for letting us use the pictures from the event. Thanks Stewart!