All Cannings was rocking as music legends performed at a charity concert on Saturday.

The village had not experienced anything like it before as more than 4,000 people were entertained by Brian May, Midge Ure, Mike & The Mechanics and The Sweet.

The concert, held in a field at the back of the Kings Arms pub, raised tens of thousands of pounds for cancer charities.

It was organised by John Callis, a sound engineer, from Beechingstoke, who works for Sir Paul McCartney and Queen guitarist Brian May, and Richard Baulu, landlord of the Kings Arms.

The idea came about when Mr Callis, 52, and Andy Scott, guitarist with The Sweet from All Cannings, both underwent treatment for prostate cancer at hospitals in Bristol two years ago.

Mr Callis and Mr Scott, 62, called on their friends in the music industry to perform at the gig.

The weather could not have been better – baking hot temperatures with a cooling breeze.

After the organisers decided to sell remaining tickets on the day, they were inundated.

The only disappointment was the time it took to get served a drink in the Wadworth beer tent. At its worst, people queued for more than an hour.

The beer ran out early in the afternoon and more supplies were hurriedly brought in from Devizes by brewery staff. Members of the public volunteered behind the bar to help speed up service.

Those attending did not let it spoil their enjoyment of the day.

Tania Imrie, 50, of Melksham, a college lecturer in Salisbury, said: “My mum died of cancer and a lot of my family have died of cancer.

“I’m a massive festival goer and I like small festivals like this that support causes.

“The line-up is fantastic. What an amazing thing to be able to do and it’s just down the road.”

Lucy Stradling, 33, of Marden, said: “It’s so well organised and the line-up is brilliant. The age range of people is eight to 80 – it’s a got a really nice feel to it.”

Robbie Daw, 28, a farmer in All Cannings, said: “What they (the organisers) have done for the area is jolly good.”

Suzi Pearce, of Devizes, said: “It’s a brilliant concert, a fantastic day and the atmosphere is great.”

The Wurzels were one of the bands due to appear but pulled out after a member of a band member’s family was taken seriously ill.

The Dave Kelly Blues Band and The Strawbs played in the afternoon. Guest compere ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, a BBC Radio 2 DJ, who was successfully treated for prostate cancer, urged men to get checked out for the disease.

The Sweet set the tone for the evening session with a brilliant performance. They played some of their famous hits, including Block Buster and Ballroom Blitz, as well as new songs The SAS Band rounded off the evening with a set lasting almost three hours.

Performing with them were Chris Thompson, who was part of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, and American Patti Russo, whose energy and powerhouse of a voice went down a storm with the crowd. The stars kept coming and their performances were top class.

There was Madeline Bell, Tom Robinson, Abba tribute band The FabbaGirls, Midge Ure, Mike & The Mechanics, Brian May and Kerry Ellis.

Mr May and Miss Ellis performed two numbers acoustically and finished with rock songs including Queen’s We Will Rock You.

The finale comprised all the singers from the evening on stage giving a rousing rendition of Queen’s We Are The Champions and The Beatles’ With A Little Help From My Friends.