A FUNDRAISING gig for World Mental Health Day will be held tonight at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom.

Guests performing at the event, named, The Power of Music, will include ex-Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes, singer-songwriter Jill Jackson, The Modests and Clanadonia. Doors are at 7pm and tickets cost £15 plus booking fee.

The gig has been organised by Music On Prescription, a new, free online service which promotes music as an aid in battling depression, in association with Nordoff Robbins Scotland and Playlist For Life.Music on Prescription was founded by mental health activist Maureen O’Kelly and her husband Iain.

The service provides “free emotional first aid” to anyone, anywhere, anytime, who is suffering from depression.

Partnered by Breathing Space (NHS 24) Scotland’s mental health phone service, and medical professionals, the ultimate aim of the service is to reduce the number of global suicides by bridging the critical time gap between people needing and receiving professional treatment, through both the power of music and additional self-help resources.

Maureen O’Kelly, Founder of Music On Prescription, said: “One in four of us will experience mental ill-health at some point in our lifetime.

“Therefore, our aims for the service are to validate and soothe our users’ emotional pain, bridge the critical time gap between needing and receiving professional help and to reduce the stigma of mental ill-health, helping sufferers live in a more understanding society.”