Last night, a conveyer belt of stars took part in a five-hour musical marathon to raise money for Haiti. Egos were left at the door as all profits from the show at the Roundhouse went to ActionAid and Médecins Sans Frontières, in a bid to help the charities rebuild the country following the earthquake.

Of the early acts, The Humans were the strangest, Bombay Bicycle Club the hippest and The Futureheads the most entertaining — particularly during a rabble-rousing rendition of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love.

Elsewhere, Marcus Brigstocke won the battle of the comedians charged with delivering between-band banter, although it was hardly a hotly contested category — Neil Morrissey was runner-up.

Back to the serious business of rock ’n’ roll, and it was Paul Weller’s turn to take the stage.

The Modfather is now a silver-haired 51 but old Jam classics such as Start! and Eton Rifles had lost none of their spiky menace. As the bouncy bass riff of A Town Called Malice had the crowd dancing as one, it was hard to see why Weller wasn’t featuring higher up the bill.

Scottish folkie KT Tunstall was never going to conjure quite the same excitement — even in a band that contained two drummers. While her rasping tones make her one of the UK’s finest female rock vocalists, playing a set of unknown new numbers was hardly a crowd-pleasing masterstroke.

The Magic Numbers fared much better. Delivering a note-perfect set of well-crafted pop songs, Romeo and co reminded the audience what an impressive live act the hirsute band are.

Love Me Like You — all driving beats and ethereal boy-girl harmonies — prompted a mass singalong, while soulful newie Why Did You Call Tonight? Sounded like a future favourite. It all bodes well for their upcoming third album.

Seasick Steve completed the line-up. Sloping on to stage playing a guitar that he made himself, the bearded pensioner is the most unlikely of popstars. Yet the DIY blues of Never Go West and Happy (To Have A Job) were as raw and vital as music gets.

When Seasick was joined by “pretty young thang” KT Tunstall for a rockabilly rehashing of The Box Top’s The Letter, it was charming, chaotic and mostly a success — much like the evening itself.