Glasgow hosts tsunami benefit gig

Fran Healy's Travis were among bands at the fundraiser

The top names in Scottish music have performed in a benefit concert in aid of the victims of the Asian tsunami.

The Tsunami Allstars - a showcase of musicians including Norman Blake and Eddi Reader - opened the gig with The Proclaimers' Five Hundred Miles.

Franz Ferdinand, fresh from their success at the Brits and NME Awards, were among the headlining acts, along with Deacon Blue and Texas.

About £300,000 has been raised so far with some cash still to be counted.

All 10,000 tickets sold out in 36 hours.

Mull Historical Society, Travis, Idlewild, Mogwai and Teenage Fanclub were among the acts.

'Electric' atmosphere

A spokeswoman from the SECC said the concert had gone very well.

"The Tsunami Allstars had the crowd cheering, clapping and dancing about wildly, " she said.

"When Deacon Blue came on, everyone was really excited and they went down a storm.

"All 10,000 people were singing along with the band and the atmosphere was just electric."

The Glasgow concert took place on the same night as a tsunami benefit show in Bristol, which saw Massive Attack and Portishead share a stage for the first time.

They followed a Cardiff gig starring Eric Clapton, Keane and Jools Holland, which raised more than £1.25m.

Franz Ferdinand sang for the victims of the tsunami

Colin MacIntyre, of Mull Historical Society, was playing another gig on the same day but said he had been determined to make the Glasgow benefit.

He said: "I think we were all affected by seeing the reports coming from the Far East.

"We all know somebody who was there, but more than that it was that we had never seen a wave of destruction, a natural disaster, like this in my generation.

"I'm lucky as an artist to be able to perform at something like this."

The Boxing Day disaster killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen countries.

Money raised from the Glasgow concert will go towards the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal.

People in Scotland have donated £30m to the fund.