Music legend Paul Weller plays 'secret' gig in Newcastle after festival appearance

Paul Weller headlined the second night of the In the Park festival in Newcastle, entertaining thousands of fans in the sunshine. However, his time in the city was not restricted to just the festival appearance. Forty-eight hours later, Weller returned to play a secret gig for 250 invited guests at Pilgrim, a venue in Newcastle's city centre.

The ex-Jam frontman was joined at In the Park by two North East acts: Kathryn Williams, a decorated folk music songwriter, and Amelia Coburn from Middlesbrough, who is currently on a UK tour. When it was announced that Weller would headline the festival, demand for tickets was high as fans eagerly anticipated hearing classics from the legendary mod band's back catalogue as well as his solo hits like "Changing Man" and "You Do Something To Me".

The intimate show at Pilgrim took place while England were preparing to play Norway and fan zones across the city were packed. Weller performed a 40-minute acoustic set accompanied by his band member Steve Pilgrim, with performances of crowd favourites "Wildwood" and "Out Of The Sinking".

The event served an important charitable purpose, raising £40,000 for the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation, which helps to educate and inspire children and young people across the North East. One hundred percent of ticket sales went to the charity, along with proceeds from limited edition posters designed by Viz creator Simon Donald and signed by Paul.

Michael Lavery, co-owner of Pilgrim, expressed his delight at hosting the special event. He commented: "We are committed to championing emerging artists and building audiences and communities across our music programme but it's always special to also have the biggest artists performing in such an intimate setting. The atmosphere on Saturday in the room was electric and we were delighted to support such a significant fundraising effort for the charity."