Sir Paul McCartney has been a long-time supporter of the Nordoff Robbins charity and this year is generously donating an exclusive signed Hofner bass violin guitar to auction and raise money for the life changing music therapy charity.

Whilst performing with The Beatles, the Hofner bass became Sir Paul McCartney’s signature instrument. This exceptionally rare piece of music memorabilia is a unique piece and has been generously donated by Sir Paul for auction at the charity’s annual Silver Clef Awards, the aim being to raise vital funds for their work transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults through music.

The Guitar will be auctioned at the annual O2 Silver Clef Event that raises money for Nordoff Robbins at the Hilton, Park Lane, on June 29th. To bid for the one-off McCartney signed guitar, you can do so by phone or in person.  For more derails please visit –

http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/

Paul says:

“I am delighted to have signed and donated this very special left-handed Hofner bass in order to raise funds for Nordoff Robbins. They work they do with music therapy transforms the lives of vulnerable children and adults across the UK, and I hope the sale of this guitar raises lots of money!  Rock on!”

This is the second time that McCartney has so generously donated a signed guitar to Nordoff Robbins. In 2007 he raised £60,000 for the charity when the giant guitar was auctioned at the O2 Silver Clef, and with the help of the public, we hope to match or even better this amount.

The life transforming work at Nordoff Robbins allows people who can feel isolated by autism or dementia to communicate and share through music. It’s an incredible charity that helps thousands of people across the UK every year and is hoping to help more. It is a charity with one of the most impressive list of supporters including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Who, Tom Jones, Take That, Coldplay, Muse, U2 and so many more from the 37 years that it has been in action. This year, the O2 SIlver Clef will be celebrating Jessie J, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael Buble, Emeli Sande, Conor Maynard, Laura Wright and there are still more to be announced.

David Munns, Chairman, Nordoff Robbins says:

“Sir Paul McCartney is a living legend and we couldn’t be happier about this huge act of generosity for the second time. McCartney was awarded the Silver Clef Award himself in 1988 and has since been extremely supportive. The O2 Silver Clef Awards began 37 years ago, and through that event alone we have raised over £8m for Nordoff Robbins, allowing us to use music to transform the lives of many thousands of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Our music therapy work is life changing but we need to raise more funds to continue to reach those who need it the most.”

For further information please contact:

Nordoff Robbins
Robin Robinson
Robin.Robinson@nordoff-robbins.org.uk
07730 096 461

Nordoff Robbins is a national specialist music charity delivering music therapy services across the UK to transform the lives of vulnerable people of all ages.

Established in the UK in 1974, they are the largest private provider of music therapy in the UK. No other organisation uses music to reach so many people, in so many contexts, with such consistently high levels of expertise.

Since 1974 music therapists have been trained to diploma level at Nordoff Robbins and in 1994 a Masters degree programme was implemented now recognised as a leader in its field. Nordoff Robbins also has a world-renowned training and research programme to ensure work is delivered to the highest standard.

Many thousands of people are helped each year and suffer from a range of challenges including autism, dementia, mental health problems, stroke, brain injury, depression and, in some cases our clients have a life-threatening or terminal illness, such as cancer. All of these people have one uniting factor – music dramatically improves their quality of life.

Delivering over 50,000 sessions per year in centres, units, schools, day centres, hospitals and care homes their work is expanding to meet the vision of reaching as many people in as many settings as possible.

The Nordoff Robbins centre in north London is the largest specialist music therapy centre in the world. As well as London, units in Croydon and Newbury are able to accept referrals from any source and offer a musical ‘lifeline’ to anyone who needs it. Nordoff Robbins also collaborate delivering music therapy services with over 100 national organisations across the UK. As one of our service users recently said, “I simply couldn’t live without this music every week.”

Through music, Nordoff Robbins gives individuals the ability and confidence to express themselves and communicate where they may have not been able to do so previously. The results have a profound impact on individuals and their families and all those around them.

Music therapists at Nordoff Robbins are trained professionals, regulated by the Health Professions Council. They are skilled in using music to help all kinds of people, in all kinds of places.

Nordoff Robbins receives no statutory funding and the organisation is reliant on fundraising income to support their work.

About O2

·       Telefónica UK Limited is a leading communications company for consumers and                    businesses in the UK, with 23 million mobile, fixed line and broadband customers as            at 31 December 2011.

·       Telefónica UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc, a business division of                           Telefónica S.A. which uses O2 as its commercial brand in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia,             Germany and the Czech Republic, and has 58.1 million customers across these                       markets.

·       Telefónica UK employs around 11,000 people in the UK and has 450 retail stores.

·       O2 is the naming rights partner of The O2, the world-class entertainment venue.

·       O2’s UK 2G mobile network provides voice and data services which are available to               99% of the UK’s population.

·       O2’s UK 3G (HSPA+ 900 / 2100 MHz) network currently provides voice and high                  speed data services to over 84% of the UK population at speeds of up to 14.4Mbp and              21Mbps in major cities.

·       O2 was the first UK operator to deploy a 4G/LTE trial network which has                                 demonstrated peak speeds of over 100Mbps to a mobile device.

·       Telefónica Europe also owns 50% of Tesco Mobile, which operates in the UK and                  Ireland, and 50% of Tchibo Mobilfunk in Germany.

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