Dancing queens and kings said “lets groove” as a Manchester charity disco raised over £18,000 for St Ann’s Hospice in Greater Manchester.

The AK-OK 80s Rewind Charity Disco was organised by a group of friends including long-time Old Trafford stadium announcer, Alan Keegan.

Alan, also known as the ‘Voice of Old Trafford’ along with four friends, Mark Buckley, Mike Griffin, Liam Dennehy, and John Griffin decided to host the fundraiser as St Ann’s Hospice is very close to their hearts.

“The event was very successful, we were extremely pleased with the amount of people that turned up,” Alan said following the event.

“We had an auction that went very well. The five of us were all out collecting items from family and friends which went towards the cause. The room was fabulous and we had an 80s band called the Bet Shop Band who were fantastic.

“We had six DJs as well who all gave their time all in aid of St Ann’s Hospice,” he added.

Head of Fundraising at St Ann’s Hospice, Anne-Marie Wynne said the fundraiser was a “fantastic night”.

“The AK-OK charity disco was a brilliant occasion, it was wonderful to be in a room full of familiar faces getting together to have a great time and raise some much-needed funds for St Ann’s New hospice in Stockport. Alan, Liam, Mike, Mark, and John had worked so incredibly hard to secure brilliant prizes and fantastic entertainment. We are incredibly grateful for their continued support,” Anne-Marie said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester’s Total Sport at 6pm ahead of the event, Alan said that St Ann’s is a “brilliant organisation”.

“…Mike Griffin, John Griffin, obviously, two brothers, Liam Dennehy, and Mark Buckley, we’re all involved in it and we’ve all been sort of involved with St Ann’s in one way or another. Sadly, two of my colleagues who were running the event with, their wives were looked after by St Ann’s and passed away there,” Alan said.

“I’ve done lots of work with them through their midnight walk, etc. It’s just a brilliant organisation, it’s based in South Manchester, they’ve got a new building being built as well as we speak, it’s looking fantastic.

“Get in touch with them, they’ve got donation pages etcetera… It’s based in the north, it’s here and we want to support it,” he added.

The AK-OK 80s Rewind Charity Disco was held at Stockport County FC on Friday, September 13. Alan, Mark, Mike, Liam, and John are now pushing to reach their fundraising goal of £20,000.

Alan and his friends have created a Just Giving page to help them achieve their £20,000 goal and any donations are greatly appreciated.