Ronnie rolls in to make Mod Aid

Just as Band Aid did, the mods got together again 20 years on to record a charity single. Local musician Mark Le Gallez appears on both records, as Jo Reeve reports AFTER weeks of preparation, Mark Le Gallez was getting ready to fly to London to play his part in Mod Aid 20. But with 36 hours to go, disaster threatened the project.

The producer, who was also arranging the video production, pulled out.

Ian Page, from Secret Affair, stepped in to produce the recording and an independent firm producing a BBC documentary on Ronnie Lane, former bassist with the Small Faces, stepped in to make the video.

With that, Mod Aid 20's luck swung around.

The icing on the cake was the arrival at the east London studios of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.

'I was really worried the day before the session was due to start that none of the musicians would turn up, but as soon as Ronnie Wood walked in, I knew we had pulled it off,' said Le Gallez, the frontman of The Risk and Thee Jenerators.

He was co-organiser with John Hellier of the project to raise money for Band Aid and charities working to provide relief to people in areas affected by the tsunami. The main organiser was Paul Hooper-Keeley, of Bigg Bang Pow Records.

'It was just an amazing day; the atmosphere in the studio was electric. It was like stepping back in time and making honest rock 'n' roll music again,' he said.

Wood was one of more than 50 musicians crammed into the tiny studio with mods and scooterists from the length and breadth of the UK.

They gathered on the weekend of the birthday of the late Steve Marriott, guitarist and singer with The Small Faces, to make a charity single with a difference: it features fantastic songs.

Twenty years ago saw the release of the Band Aid single and support from the mod scene came via the first Mod Aid single, All or Nothing, a Marriott/Lane song, by Spectrum.

When the mod scene again wanted to do its bit, the record company put together Mod Aid 20 to record covers of two more Small Faces classics, What'cha Gonna Do About It? and Afterglow.

Both singles have a strong Guernsey link through Le Gallez and frequent musical partner Colin Leach.

Le Gallez was part of the team organising the new single as well as the bass player on Afterglow.

The original Mod Aid single featured Marriott, PP Arnold and Chris Farlowe.

The last two were back again with Steve Cradock, of Ocean Colour Scene,

Mollie, Marriott's daughter, and recent chart star Mark Joseph.

The artists were as excited about the day as Le Gallez was. 'I jumped at the chance to get involved as soon as I found out about Mod Aid 20,' said Joseph, who propelled himself into the Top 40 twice before signing a record contract.

'The track features great musicians, great songs and it's all for a great cause; I am really proud to have taken part.'

The fact that charity singles from a range of profiles, from celebrities to unsigned artists, are being released regularly shows everybody's desire to help rebuild the lives of those affected after the unexpected devastation and horror of the Asian tsunami.

The mods have rallied round, sung their hearts out and put it on record.

Mod Aid 20 has not jumped on the bandwagon of charity singles and is not just a platform to raise its profiles; it is a rock 'n' roll gem in its own right.

* The single will be available from 7 March. For more information, see www.modaid.com