DJ raises more than £4,000 for charity with 12-hour Instagram live session

Jason Neale, who goes under the name DJ Silk, has been a disc jockey for about 20 years and has worked with major brands such as BBC Radio, Capital and Red Bull and artists from Drake to Wiz Khalifa.

During a 12-hour live set on Instagram, running from 6pm to 6am on January 30, Jason set himself a challenge to raise £1,000 for Bliss, the charity which supports premature and sick babies, their families and healthcare workers.

He ended the marathon event by beating his target and raising a total of £4,395.

Jason, who has mainly been working in venues in Birmingham, said: "This pandemic has affected myself and many people in the music industry.

"Restrictions because of the pandemic have badly hit the music scene with clubs and bars closed and DJs unable to make a living.

Worthwhile

"Even under these circumstances I decided I wanted to do something positive for charity."

Father-of-three Jason said that he had selected Bliss as his chosen charity because of the good work carried out for premature and sick babies, their families and the nurses involved.

He said: "I have three children and all were born healthy but I just felt Bliss was a worthwhile charity for the work it does.

"During the pandemic I have been able to grow my social media platform following mainly via Instagram by more than 16,000 followers via live sets and I decided that although it has been the worst of times for the industry that this would be the best time to do this and raise money for charity.

"I would have been over the moon at raising £1,000 but people could see the donations were rising and it was unbelievable to raise £4,395.

"It was a long late night but something I had always wanted to do and during that time I played music from every genre.

"Fortunately during the 12-hour stint in the house I was supported with drinks and encouragement by my family."

Report by Sue Smith