OLDER musicians on Teesside will dust off their musical instruments today for a one-off gig.

The free concert will take place at The Studio, Hartlepool, with 32 of Stockton's ex-musicians making up the six bands on the bill.

It is the first UK gig to be organised by the Weekend Warrior programme, brought to the UK from the US, which gives 40-60 year old lapsed musicians the opportunity to re-join a band and re-live their musical youth.

The gig is the culmination of weeks of rehearsals, and the band members had not met until two months ago.

"This concert is the realisation of a dream for many of us dads," said Mick Johnson, 49, a policeman from Stockton and lead guitarist in band PrufROCK.

"Rejoining a band or even jamming again is something many of us have wanted to do for some time but haven't had the opportunity."

New bandmate Steve Humphries, 45, a consultant psychiatrist, said: "This has been a fantastic experience for all of us. Like Tony Blair, who's recently got back with his old rock band, we're not the types to ease quietly into middle age."

The show begins at 7.30pm.

Published: ??/??/2004