FOR years classical music lovers have enjoyed visiting Dorchester Abbey to hear piano concertos by classical composers including Grieg and Rachmaninov.

Now seventies rock ‘n’ roll band Showaddywaddy are set to shake up the tranquil surroundings by performing their classic hits for charity.

They will belt out catchy singles including Remember Then, Under the Moon of Love and Pretty Little Angel Eyes to raise funds for Aids orphans in Kenya.

The concert on January 28 will raise funds for Christian charity the Nasio Trust, which helps hundreds of children in Africa.

The idea came from retired Thames Valley Police officer John Cornelius, who worked in Berinsfield, near Dorchester.

Mr Cornelius runs his own youth initiative, called Operation Noah’s Ark, in Berinsfield, and arranges for 14- to 17-year-olds to fly out to Kenya to work on charity projects with the trust.

He said: We asked the teenagers if they wanted to be involved in fundraising and they were really interested.”

The first group of youngsters went to Kenya in 2004. Another trip is planned in March.

The Nasio Trust was established by the daughter of the late Irene Mudenyo, who became inspired after finding an abandoned baby in a sugarcane plantation on her farm in western Kenya.

The baby was malnourished but survived and inspired the opening of a roadside kiosk providing one meal a day for 15 children.

The trust now runs two purpose-built day care centres.

Showaddywaddy drummer Romeo Challenger said: “I hadn’t been aware of the amazing work that the Nasio Trust has been doing until we were asked to play at Dorchester Abbey.

“HIV is a huge problem all over Africa but these children, until recently, were very much the forgotten ones.

“We are only too happy to lend our support to the Nasio Trust to try and help in any small way possible.”

Trust spokesman Nancy Hunt said: “We are delighted the band agreed to play for us and we hope the concert will raise thousands of pounds.”

Showaddywaddy were formed in a Leicester pub in the early 1970s and built up a large following, performing 250 shows a year, including Oxford.

The band specialised in reworking old rock ‘n’ roll classics.

Their single Under the Moon of Love reached number one in 1976.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk * Tickets are £15 from dorchester-abbey.org.uk. For more information about the trust, visit nasiotrust.org