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Pop superstar Sting was joined on stage by Jimmy Nail at a glittering party to help raise £10m for the arts on their native Tyneside. Sting, 74, and Jimmy, 71, belted out the Beach Boys classic 'God Only Knows' at the £1,000-a-head star-studded do at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. Artist Jim Moir, aka Vic Reeves, his wife Nancy Sorrell, Alan Shearer, and Sting's siblings Angela and Philip were on the guest list to hear a collection of his hits. Artists Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor donated their work for a charity auction. There was also a holiday up for grabs at Sting and his wife Trudie Styler's home in Tuscany, Italy, which raised tens of thousands of pounds at auction. Vic Reeves, 66, aka the artist Jim Moir, told the Mirror : "I am going to butter him up so I get an invite and see if we can go to his place in Italy. I've got some Lurpak in my back pocket." Sting told the audience the stories behind the songs before he performed them, including his hits 'Englishman in New York' and 'Every Breath She Takes', the latter inspired by the early days of his romance with Trudie. He joked that he had 'been around to see a mate who was on his deathbed' and persuaded him to perform as he introduced Jimmy Nail, who had also been suffering with a bug. One guest told the Mirror: "It was intimate and Sting's voice is still amazing. To be so close up and personal is a great experience. "The holiday at his place was listed at more than £90,000 and came in just shy of that. The event will have raised hundreds of thousands for a very good cause." Jim Moir told how he met Sting before the gig when the singer had a 'hot toddy' to protect his voice before his performance. Local business leaders, including the Sage founder Graham Wylie, rubbed shoulders with the stars, including singer Nadine Shah. Sting and Shearer, 55, watched Newcastle Utd beat Spurs 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final on Wednesday. The England legend said: "It is always good to see a win. He played at an event for my charity foundation, and he was great. He is a lovely guy." After the gig, Sting said: “When I was a kid my Dad used to bring me down to the quayside on a Sunday morning and I’d look at this building and wonder what it was. "If we lose cultural venues due to a lack of funding, the entire industry disappears, so I’m here to say we have to protect the Baltic. This area is a hotbed of talent and it needs to be encouraged." Sarah Munro, Director of Baltic, said: “The Gala was the first step in our campaign to create a £10m Endowment Fund for Baltic. The evening was a poignant reminder to everyone in the room of the power of arts, culture and creativity.” Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.
