THE Sunday Herald has joined forces with Scotland's leading promoters and most of the country's top bands to stage a spectacular concert to raise money for the victims of the tsunami in southeast Asia.

The line-up includes current favourites Franz Ferdinand, alongside longer established acts such as Travis, Texas and Belle And Sebastian.

Also on the bill are Teenage Fanclub, Eddi Reader, Idlewild, Mull Historical Society, Mogwai, Kevin McDermott, Trashcan Sinatras and Slam. The concert will take place at Glasgow's SECC on Saturday, February 19.

"It is the biggest concert of its kind, an indoor Scottish live aid, and nothing like it has happened before, " said Geoff Ellis, chief executive of DF Concerts, who is working alongside Mark Mackie, director of Regular Music, Paul Cardow, director of PCL, and the CPL group.

"Scottish bands had been asked a dozen times already to do benefit gigs, but because this one involves Scotland's top promoters, they thought it would be viable, and would not only raise money but produce a great night."

For Mercury Prize-winning Franz Ferdinand, it was the collaborative nature of the event which persuaded them to take part. ''The really positive thing is that the whole Scottish music industry has come together to make it happen, they're forgetting their differences and competitiveness and just getting on with it, " said lead singer Alex Kapranos.

February will be a busy month for the band, who have been nominated for five Brit Awards and three Grammys.

Both award ceremonies are held next month.

"I heard through our manager that there was a benefit concert being organised in Glasgow, " said Kapranos. "We talked about whether to get involved because we'd made a firm rule that we weren't going to play any concerts after December until we'd recorded the new album. But we had to do this one. We especially liked the idea that it was a Scottish gig, organised by the Scottish music industry."

The concert will be unique in that the bands will not be playing their normal sets. Franz Ferdinand, for instance, may collaborate with other performers and Kapranos and bassist Nick McCarthy are considering writing new songs for the gig.

"I don't have a telly at the moment, so I was listening to the tsunami reports on the radio when it happened, " Kapranos explained. "In a way, it's even more horrific; your imagination goes crazy. You can't get your head around it, how many people have died, how many people are homeless.'' Everyone involved in the concert, from the SECC site, backstage staff and Rocksteady Security crew to the Sunday Herald, the bands and the promoters, will be giving their services free to maximise the amount raised for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Tsunami Earthquake Appeal.

The event is expected to raise more than pounds-250,000.

The idea for the concert took root when Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker contacted Regular Music director Mark Mackie shortly after the disaster to discuss the possibility of a benefit event.

Mackie said his reply was immediate: "Definitely, I said, we want to do everything we can, and I phoned up all of the other promoters in Scotland.

We put out invites to everybody but didn't expect them all to say yes: it was a fantastic response."

The organisers are seeking sponsorship from organisations such as hotels to ensure that all ancillary costs are absorbed and every penny from the ticket price - including tax relief, if people are UK taxpayers - goes to the cause.

Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri explained why she was keen to be involved: "It has been heartwarming to see the support across the country, across the whole world in fact. Obviously I will continue to do whatever I can to help."

Stevie Jackson, guitarist for Belle And Sebastian, said:

"With something like the tsunami, there's no-one to point the finger at: it's an act of God.

"I think that's why been such a massive human response. A huge job has to be done and it's going to be some time before it ceases to be an emergency situation. People do what they can; stick a fiver in the bucket when they're buying petrol.

We're in the lucky position that if we turn up and play some songs, we can generate money."

Norman Blake, of Teenage Fanclub, said: "I hope it's brought people together a bit more, they've realised that the people in far-off places are still people. It's amazing how much money has been raised. I was in Greggs buying some sausage rolls and they had a wee tin with people throwing money in."

Colin MacIntyre of Mull Historical Society, said the natural disaster has shaken everyone:

"I don't think there's been anything like this in our lifetimes.

"I'm already playing on February 19 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, and I was planning to have a collection. I'm still going to play both gigs, so I'm going to have a drum-kit in each venue and whip across Glasgow, like Phil Collins in Band Aid, but with more hair."

Deacon Blue raised pounds-9000 with a collection at their DF Concerts event shortly after the disaster. Ricky Ross, lead singer, said: "We had buckets going round on the night, and people gave very generously.

But we were delighted to be asked to play this gig."

TICKETS GO ON SALE TODAY

Tickets for the Concert for Tsunami Relief at the SECC, Glasgow, on Saturday February 19, go on sale today at 10am.

Tickets cost pounds-28.50 each, seated and standing. Some premium-priced seats are available. Tickets are available at www. secctickets. com or by calling 0870 040 4000.

You can buy them in person at the SECC and at SECxtra in St Enoch Centre, Glasgow.

No booking fee applies.

The full ticket price goes to the DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal.