What do you get for the birthday of man who’s worth more than £300 million? A performance by the North East’s favourite soul band, of course!

The 60th birthday party of Duncan Bannatyne from TV’s Dragon’s Den was a lavish affair. 200 friends, family and celebrities including sporting heroes David Coulthard and Joe Calzaghe gathered in a converted warehouse in Darlington to toast the health of the wealthy entrepreneur.

Highlight of the evening was a concert performance by singer Beverley Knight MBE. But then, as midnight approached, the guests were invited on to the dance floor. Cue the Atlantic Soul Messengers. Two hours of non-stop classic soul music and party tracks kept the guests dancing into the early hours.

Said drummer Nigel Bainbridge (pictured right, with Beverley Knight), "Going on late at the end of a long evening and following one of the best R & B singers in the world, we were worried that the audience wouldn’t be too impressed with us. But we must have done something right, because the floor was packed with dancers who enthusiastically applauded every song we played."

The evening also promised a surprise for Duncan Bannatyne, which turned to be a surprise for the Atlantic Soul Messengers as well. “We’d asked the event’s organisers to find out Duncan’s favourite song, so that we could perform it for him” explains singer Andy Brown. “It was ‘I am the One and Only’ by Chesney Hawkes. We rehearsed it, and even wrote a brass arrangement, so we were all ready to start our set with the song.

Then, when we arrived at the venue for the sound check, the organisers said meet tonight’s last minute surprise guest. It was none other than Chesney Hawkes!” (right, with ASM singer Heidi Richardson).

The event’s organiser said that Atlantic Soul Messengers put on a great show. 'I've seen the band perform before, and they never fail to put on a high energy performance which gets the audience dancing. I was confident that, as a local band, they would hold their own in the company of nationally acclaimed musicians, and they proved me right.'