Red Hot Chilli Pipers announce charity gig

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers concert will take place at the O2 ABC in Glasgow on 13 February 2015. Picture: TSPL

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers concert will take place at the O2 ABC in Glasgow on 13 February 2015. Tickets cost £20 and are available from the box office or www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/SDH1302.

Willie Armstrong plays bagpipes with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and is also a watch manager based at SFRS College Cambuslang. He said: “The people in the band like to do a lot for charity and this seemed like a great way of helping.

“The concert in February isn’t some token thing — it will be an outstanding event and it will raise a lot of money for the two very good charities.

“We’ve all spoken about it and everyone in the band will be taking an Anthony Nolan test so that we can be added to the list of people who are willing to help someone with a blood disorder.

“It’s great to have the support of the fire service’s senior officers and hopefully we can build on this partnership and make a big, big difference.”

Amy Bartlett, Anthony Nolan’s regional register development manager, added: “On behalf of Anthony Noland I would like to say a very heartfelt thank you to the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“For every person we get onto the register it costs us £100 to do the tissue typing needed to see if they are a match for someone with a blood disorder, so funding is absolutely crucial.

“Unfortunately there are 2,000 people each year who need a bone marrow transplant and Ailsa is shining testament to how important that is and how successful it can be.

“We are so grateful to the fire service for all the work they do to raise awareness and help find potential donors, and to the band for doing this amazing thing for us.”

Assistant Chief Officer Dave Boyle, the SFRS director of service delivery, was grateful to the charities for their hard work and also to the band for agreeing to do the gig. He said.

“The work of Anthony Nolan and the Family Support Trust helps a great many people and it’s fantastic that these partnerships, which began under Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, are now being expanded throughout the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“I would like to express our very sincere thanks to The Red Hot Chilli Pipers for their incredible generosity in staging a concert to support these two great charities.”

• To find out what you can do to save the life of someone with a life-threatening condition, visit http://www.anthonynolan.org/SFRS.