Guitar Signed By Oasis Is Big Hit For Charity

A Guitar signed by rock giants Oasis raised £2600 for charity when it was sold at a Bothwell auction.

Band members - including guitarist Noel and singer Liam - signed the Martin six-string guitar for the Street Child Africa charity before their recent gigs at Glasgow’s SECC.

The five-man band agreed to put their signatures on the instrument after receiving a request from Glasgow-based guitar distributors Westside, run by Bothwell man Philp Hay.

The group of village women, who organise the annual Street Child Africa ball at the Bothwell Bridge Hotel, expressed delight this week at the success of the guitar auction.

Street Child Africa befriend children living on city streets across the continent and give them guidance and support to change their way of life.

One of the ball’s organisers, Nicola Hay, admitted this week that she had been unsure if the famously-temperamental Gallagher brothers would co-operate.

“To be honest, I doubted whether they would sign the guitar,” she said.

“I thought it was a long shot but we decided to give it a try.

“However, when Oasis were told what the charity was about they agreed to help out. It’s brilliant that they did sign it.

“In fact, Noel Gallagher wrote ‘God bless the kids’ on it, which I thought was quite touching.”

This year’s auction raised £1600 more than last year’s, which featured a guitar signed by the popular Glasgow-band the Fratellis.

Nicola added: “We were very excited when we learned we had a guitar signed by Oasis.

“We knew it had the potential to raise a lot of money for the charity.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the amount of money it has raised.”

The sought-after instrument signed by Oasis was bought by Bothwell man Tony McCabe.

Last year’s Street Child Africa Ball at the hotel, which also featured raffles and a tombola, raised a total of £24,565.

Organisers hope that the proceeds from last weekend’s event will match that figure.

Source: www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk