STARS of the music scene are picking up their guitars to raise funds to help sick children at Glasgow's Yorkhill Hospital.

More than 60 acts - including singer/songwriter Ed Harcourt and former Creation Records boss Alan McGee - have all given their time to produce a triple CD, called Doing It For The Kids. Pundit Pat hosts album launch party

Football pundit Pat Nevin will be taking charge of the tunes at the CD launch party on Thursday at the Classic Grand on Jamaica Street.

The night will also feature some of the bands on the album, and if the response from the audience is positive, then the plan is to run a Yorkhill mini-festival.

"We're in talks just now about running a showcase here as well as the possibility of hosting an event in London," says Sandy.

Thursday's launch event is open to the public and tickets cost £5.

They can be bought from www.tickets-scotland.com

Former Cosmic Rough Riders frontman Daniel Wylie also features on the album - and he had more reason to get involved than most.

"Ever since my son Joshua and daughter Charlotte were in Yorkhill I was looking for a way to give something back," says Daniel.

"Joshua suffered a viral infection when he was four and was in the intensive care unit, and my daughter Charlotte was admitted with a virus when she was five.

"It was a dreadful time but the doctors and everyone connected with the place were brilliant.

"We were allowed to stay overnight and they made a nightmare more bearable.

"I was approached last year to see if I wanted to get involved in this CD and agreed right away.

"I thought it would just be a mini album, but 65 bands and artists have signed up, so it shows you the good feeling there is towards the place."

The story of Doing It For The Kids began last year with accountant and frustrated musician Sandy Fyfe.

In 2005, Sandy's baby daughter Tallie was diagnosed with a dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes the heart to become dilated or enlarged. The heart becomes weak and is unable to pump blood efficiently around the body.

And when you are only 10 months old, like Tallie was at the time, it can be fatal.

"Tallie was seriously ill," says Sandy, 38.

"As soon as the doctors diagnosed her condition, things went into overdrive. She was transferred to Yorkhill within a few hours."

Tallie underwent two operations.

"She was in hospital for weeks and was in intensive care. I'll be honest with you, it was a horrible time. The staff were preserving our sanity."

Staff at Yorkhill's Ronald McDonald House let Sandy and his wife Caroline rest there as often as they could, saving them the trip between Glasgow and their home in Perth.

And after Tallie was discharged, Yorkhill staff decided to send doctors to Dundee's Ninewells Hospital for check-ups - to save the family a two-hour round trip.

Tallie responded well to the treatment and the family wanted to repay their debt to the hospital. One relative went on a sponsored cycle ride from the south to the north of Spain in 2006.

When Tallie was given the all-clear last year, Sandy knew he had to do something.

"I'm a frustrated musician at heart and remembered that it was the 20th anniversary of Alan McGee's Creation Records' Doing It For The Kids album.

"I used to be involved with bands when I was younger and still had a few contacts with the local music scene so I thought this would be perfect - doing it for the kids of Yorkhill'."

He contacted McGee to ask permission to see if he could use the same title for the CD - and the Scot who discovered Oasis said "cool - do it!"

EVENINGS and weekends were turned over to contacting bands and singers, and arranging record labels.

And like McGee, the response was universally positive.

"I was shifting through contacts, e-mails, websites and I was completely overwhelmed by the response," says Sandy.

"Everyone I spoke to wanted to do their bit. Within a few weeks it was obvious we could make this a really big thing.

"As well as contacting local bands or bands just known within Scotland's indie scene, I contacted people like Ed Harcourt.

"He said saying he'd love to lend a track to the album, but his label owned all the rights. But fair play to EMI, they allowed us to use it."

Artists appearing on the album include Kidd, Miyagi, The Orchids, Lynnie Carson and former Hurricane No1 frontman Alex Lowe.

As Sandy contacted more artists, he was surprised to find many had personal dealings with the hospital.

Jim Shepherd, of cult act Jasmine Minx, also had a son who was treated there, and Stuart Ball, of the BMX Bandits, was a former patient.

A special limited-edition run of the album will go on sale.

"There are 266 beds at Yorkhill and we've created 266 special copies, which are individually numbered," says Sandy.

"I'm sure there are a few people with a strong personal connection with certain bed numbers, whether they stayed there or their relatives did.

"Hopefully the album will help a place that helps so many others." Doing It For The Kids is launched on Friday, priced £6.49. For more information visit www.myspace.com/yorkhillproject or www.resonancestore.com/yorkhillproject