A SOLD OUT concert in Port Erin, Isle of Man, raised £1,475 for Manx mental health causes.

Unplugged: A Celebration of the Acoustic Guitar and Other Instruments, was held at the Erin Arts Centre last Saturday (February 22).

A total of £1,000 has been presented to the Manx mental health charity the Service Users’ Network while £475 will be available when needed for a not-for-profit guitar tuition group concert organiser John Gregory runs for people who have – or have had – mental health problems.

The concert featured performances from John, Matt Creer, Pete Woodman, Tim Cass, Chris Gray and Luke O’Reilly plus special guests Tony Knowles, Simon Smith and Kel Smith.

It featured a diverse range of musical styles and in addition to the guitar there were performances on other stringed instruments and the harmonica.

John said: “I am absolutely thrilled at the amount of money we managed to raise at this concert for Manx mental health causes. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a memorable evening. I must thank all the musicians who gave their time for free – all of them were superb.

“As well as money generated by ticket sales there was a lot of interest in the raffle we held on the night as the top prize was an acoustic guitar signed by blues rock guitarist and singer Davy Knowles.”

The guitar group for people who have – or have had – mental health problems is called GuitarWorks and takes place every Tuesday at the Archibald Knox pub meeting room in Onchan from 4pm to 4.45pm (apart from if John is on holiday). There is suggested donation of £2 per session to help with running costs. Anyone interested in attending can contact John on (07624) 204320 or email him at Bluejohnmedia@hotmail.co.uk