On Wednesday, Save the Children held A Night of Reggae at the Roundhouse in London sponsored by RB.
Attended by over 500 guests including Helena Bonham Carter, Sir Michael Caine, Colin Firth, Livia Firth, Damian Lewis, Helen McCrory, Dominic West, Jon Snow, Ali Bastian, Alexander Armstrong and Helen Fielding, the event raised over £1.4 million pounds for the charity through ticket sales and auction items.
Made up of cornerstone artists of the influential genre of reggae, the phenomenal bill included performances and collaborations from Ernest Ranglin whose guitar playing defined the genre, the incredible Jimmy Cliff who remains an unmistakeable music figure, legendary rhythm section Sly and Robbie, Suggs lead singer of ska band Madness, lead singer and founding member of UB40 Ali Campbell, and the Queen of Reggae, Dawn Penn, most known for her hit single No, No, No.
Dawn Penn and Ali Campbell joined forces to sing ‘I Got You Babe’ – a truly unique collaboration with Sly & Robbie on drums and bass respectively.
Suggs and Sly & Robbie performed ‘Cecilia’ for the first time since they produced it back in the 1980s, and were joined on stage by the father of Reggae, Ernest Ranglin as well as the other artists to perform the hit track by Madness ‘It Must Be Love’.
As well as joining their peers on stage, these established legends also performed with new kids on the block Max Stone and Elli Ingram who have just recently been signed by Island Records.
In addition, Henry Wyndham, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, conducted a live auction. A Marc Quinn painting proved to be the most popular lot with the successful bid reaching £150,000, attracting the highest figure of the evening for Save the Children. A silent auction also ran throughout the evening with luxury experiences and items up for grabs including a private dinner for 12 with Harry Redknapp, a magnificent 12ft by 12ft portrait of Bob Marley by Alex Young of Heavy Artillery Crew and a holiday for four at the Golden Eye Resort in Jamaica.
Hosted by Sir Alan Parker, Chairman of Save the Children and actress Helena Bonham Carter, and sponsored by the charity’s longstanding partner RB, this special evening raised significant funds which will help the international charity Save the Children give every child around the world the chance to fulfil their potential.
