BACK in July 1986 cast of Grange Hill, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale Farm and Brookside rubbed shoulders with rockers Marillion at Soap Aid - St Helens and a TV's follow up to Live Aid.

It was the brainchild of Andy Lynch, script-writer of hundreds of episodes of some television's most popular series, who lived a stone's throw away from the back of the Knowsley Road Popular Side.

The idea was to mix the stars of soap operas with music, with a host of bands taking stage - culminating in Liverpool band the Icicle Works.

The SOAP Aid stood for Save Our African People - and followed a long string of fundraisers set up in response to the famine that had bitten hard into Ethiopia in the mid 80s.

Pick your way through the various shows' cast members pictured behind the stage on the old Knowsley Road Restaurant End.

Did you attend the event and would any readers wish to share memories of that eventful day and evening?

Email your thoughts: mike.critchley@nqnw.co.uk