Singers giving their time and voice for Red Nose Day. Pic: Courtney Greatrex

Workers and passers-by gathered today for an open mic karaoke session in Devonshire Square to raise money for Comic Relief.

The event was organised by London-based karaoke company Lucky Voice. Dan Pilkington, head of PR and marketing at the company, said: “We wanted to do something fun for Red Nose Day and we chose Devonshire Square because it’s a nice space and has good acoustics.”

Eugene O’Keefe, Head of DevonshireSQ, the office campus that manages the square, said they had been organising events for Red Nose Day for the past few years.

“We had penalty shoot-outs one year, and people dressing up. It’s a bit of fun and it helps a good cause. We had quite a few people from companies around here coming down to sing and donate money today – we’ve been going non-stop since lunch time.”

Pilkington and O’Keefe. Pic: Courtney Greatrex

Office workers and DevonshireSQ gave a bit of their time to help the event. Adam Trice, from DevonshireSQ engineering, said it was a really enjoyable experience.

“I can’t be here all day because I have to get back to work, but I wanted to get involved somehow,” Trice said while shaking a donation pot. “We’re having fun and helping other people at the same time.”

Adam Trice. Pic: Courtney Greatrex.

“We’ve raised roughly over £1,000 so far,” O’Keefe estimated at 2pm.

Charlotte Lostak and Rachael Meeks work in offices nearby and stopped on their way back from lunch to cover a Spice Girls song.

“I’m actually going out to karaoke tonight,” said Lostak, “so this is a bit of a warm up.” Meeks added: “It’s a good way to raise money. We sponsor a charity at work, doing quiz and comedy nights and bake sales. But today, we’re just singing!”

“It was really fun and random,” she said to sum up the singing experience. The singers were given a “golden ticket” for a free karaoke session at one of Lucky Voice’s two London locations.

Rachael Meeks and Charlotte Lostak with their golden ticket. Pic: Courtney Greatrex.

By Chris Dillon, Courtney Greatrex and Gaëlle Laforest