There is a day full of live music for the family coming up in Wickford.

Wickford people are good folk. You could say they're all heart, and many of them owe their hearts, or at least the on-going health of them, to the London Chest Hospital.

It was for this reason that the president of the town's Rotary club, Peter Yeo, chose the hospital as the charity to benefit from his year in office.

Now Peter is known around Wickford for setting his sights high. He is, after all, the man who took lorry loads of aid to Croatia, not just once or twice but so often that he risked ruining his own business, a denture repair firm on the London Road, Wickford.

Now he wants to raise £20,000 for a monitor for London Chest Hospital's intensive care unit, where much of the existing equipment is up to 20 years old.

When Peter took a look around the hospital to ask doctors what they really, really want, not surprisingly it was the Spice Girls who sprang to mind.

So, knowing that the girls were a bit on the busy side, what with split-ups, marriages and babies, the Rotary club thought to call on their spicey sisters the All Spice Girls instead.

Then they thought about Abba, but everyone knows that they've sworn never to appear on the same stage again, but Abba UK have no such qualms. Likewise the Moondog Beatles have been signed up for a tribute day which is unlike anything that has ever come to Wickford before.

Essex FM will be running a roadshow with wacky morning DJ Martin Day taking the mic - or should that be Micky - as the tribute bands and other local musicians make it a day to remember.

Adrian Rondeau, owner of the Wickford store Adrian's Records, said: "I'm told that the bands are three of the most successful tribute bands in the country.

"It promises to be a good day out and tremendous entertainment for the family."

The musical extravaganza, will be held on Saturday, June 5 from 3pm at Barleylands Farm, on the A129 between Wickford and Billericay.

Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children under 12, available from Adrian's record and video stores, Sutton's Furnishing, Rona Estate Agency and First Choice all in Wickford High Street.

They are also available on Adrian's ticket hotline on 01268 735373 which can accept credit cards.

Banding together - Abba UK plus fellow tribute bands All Spice Girls, and the Moondog Beatles play in a fundraiser in Wickford next month

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.