An all-star charity concert has raised a further £1000 for upkeep of the new “people’s piano” at Dundee train station.
The gig, held at Clarks on Lindsay Street, saw musicians from across the city come together to perform to ensure the instrument’s future maintenance costs are covered.
The piano had been donated to the new £38 million station by local Dave Patterson in memory of his late wife Jean, a former Scotrail employee, who died earlier this year after a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Performances at the Sunday night concert included acoustic sets from The Collective, Revolver, The Mess Arounds, Abandon, The Interceptors and Julie & Claire from the Funkin’ Idiots.
Also playing were the Love Puppets, David Webster, Gavin McGinty, Alice Marra & Colin Reid, George Harris, Kieron Smart, and Stephen Knight.
Mr Patterson and his family spent most of the night at the bar and said the atmosphere was “beyond belief”.
He said: “It was a special night and the performances were all fantastic.
“It’s not the kind of thing I usually go to but you couldn’t help have a good night. The atmosphere was amazing and the whole night was beyond belief.
“Some of the artists performed the song Piano Man at the end for me which was so touching.”
The event was organised by Kit Clark, of 1980’s pop group Danny Wilson, who wanted to “make something beautiful” out of the double tragedy of Jean’s death and the original piano’s destruction.
The cash will be kept in a charitable trust to be used when needed with any excess being donated to Alzheimer’s Scotland.
It is predicted the new piano will need to be tuned around four times a year.
Dave added: “The piano is seemingly being well used so it will need a fair bit of tuning. That’s a good thing of course.
“I mentioned in my speech on the night that I hoped the piano would become an icon in the city — much like others such as the Hilltown Clock.
“That seemed to go down really well. Everyone has bought into the whole thing.
“The reaction from when it was vandalised has totally eliminated all the bad feeling.
“I really hope it can be a symbol of the city.”
Mr Clark added: “The crowd were absolutely amazing. Their generosity was mind blowing. There were between 80 and 100 people coming and going across the overall event and the 19 musicians gave amazing performances – way beyond what I’d expected or originally asked of them.
“Thanks to all of them, the audience and the staff and volunteers (with their collection jars) we raised £1,085.”
British Transport Police recently confirmed there will be no further action in the probe into the vandalism, which took place in July.
