The adage, "We're not here for a long time, we're just here for a good time", apparently fits the band Red Alert perfectly.

A huge success at a fundraising last year for the Bermuda Society of Arts (BSoA), they are coming back again for a one-off performance at the BSoA City Hall gallery on Saturday.

The appearance Jimmy Keneally (bass and lead vocals), Tim DeHuff (lead guitar), Michael Torres (lead guitar, rhythm and vocals), Louis Landon (piano and vocals), and Bermudian Howard Rego (drums and vocals) is thanks to the cooperation of World Rugby Classic organiser John Kane, who is bringing in the band for two nights during the annual sporting event at the National Stadium.

Mr. Rego is arranging the second Red Alert fundraiser and his passion for showcasing live music runs deep.

In fact, the latest event is a continuation of Mr. Rego's 'MusicQuest' programme, which he began several years ago at the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society with the aim of bringing live music to the forefront of the local scene.

"The enthusiasm and general feeling that everyone had last year made for a great night of rock 'n' roll and dancing, and I can promise this year will be the same," he says. "There will be a lot of accent on dancing, and what with people seeing people they haven't seen in years, it will all add up to another great trip down memory lane."

However, the accent is not only on people who lived the music of the 1960s. Mr. Rego is also encouraging young people to come out and enjoy a scene he says is not far removed from their own.

"The musical generation gap is far smaller than it ever was, and the intensity of the music, and the excitement it still generates, rivals anything that is being produced today. You will not be disappointed," he says.

Mr. Rego originally formed the reunited Red Alert band in New York in the 1980s specifically to play at the Robin Hood. Then, as now, the musicians were chosen "because of their musical excellence, and ability to perform at the highest level possible".

The band's repertoire has been chosen to include many of the classic hits which will once again resonate with the audience.

Tracing the evolution of the music of the 1960s, Mr. Rego says it was "the defining decade of rock and roll – a new music for a restless generation determined to create a sound of their own".

"This decade brought the coming-of-age of the baby boomers, with their social conscience, which resulted in the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Liberation Movement, and the anti-war protests. Sentiments ran high, and turbulent times called for turbulent music, of which there was an endless flow. A creative license was issued to all who dared to come up with something different, musically or otherwise."

As the success of rock and roll impacted the musical world, and groups and vast numbers of teenagers everywhere embraced the new equipment and technology, garage bands sprang up worldwide, including Bermuda, where The Savages, The Gents and The Silvertones were among such bands in the mid-1960s.

Back then, the most popular bands performed six nights a week at local night clubs such as El Matador, the Ace of Clubs, the Guinea discotheque, Bermudiana Beach Club, Woody's Drive Inn, the Elbow Beach during College Weeks, and the US base, not to mention rock and roll parties and cruises.

It marked the beginning of two decades of live entertainment which captured the attention of thousands of young college students, and made Bermuda a sought-after destination.

Showtime will be from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on November 6, with doors opening at 7 p.m. There will be a cash bar. Tickets ($50) are available at the Bermuda Society of Arts (telephone 292-3824).