A MAN who describes himself as “an old hippie” is throwing a mini-festival on Royston Heath.

Andy Blackford, who played in cult rock band Spreadeagle and toured with Genesis and Lindisfarne, is organising The Big Scary Face Show in aid of Unicef on May 15.

The Litlington resident said: “It’s a great reason to have a great time on a summer’s day and raise some money for charity while where at it.

“All the bands involved are performing for free, and all the taking throughout the day will go straight to Unicef. We’ve even got a marquee just in case it rains!”

Mr Blackford, who is performing at the bash with his band Big in Litlington, has roped in some of his musical contacts to help draw the crowds.

“We have Van Morrison’s keyboard player Paul Moran coming down to play with his band, as well as Jim Rodford who was bass player with The Kinks for years,” said the former music publisher.

“Adrian Nation, a great folk singer who is a regular at Cambridge Folk Festival and several other great acts should make it a day to remember, especially for an old hippy like me.

“We’ve even got Sue Marchant from BBC Radio Cambridgeshire down to compare the thing and Paul Nickson – a sound engineer who has worked at Glastonbury.”

The unusual name for the show comes from a painting drawn by Andy’s son Tom a professional artist.

“I saw Tom’s drawing, which is on display at Waterloo Station, and found it a really striking image,” said Mr Blackford, who wrote the theme for the Um Bongo advert.

“I decided to use it as the theme for the day and want as many face-painters and scary looking characters to come along.”

The Big Scary Face Show will take place on Therfield Heath, from 2pm until 10pm.