In 2011, music fan Paul Williams was inspired by a charity concert by 2 Tone and ska band The Specials in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust and created a charity album of Specials covers by modern-day artists.

Two years later, that project has turned into Specialized, a fully-fledged charitable organisation with backing from some of the biggest names in reggae and ska, an annual festival and numerous gigs and albums released in support of the charity.

And on Sunday, one such gig is going to be held in Watford – with a little bit of help from Radlett singer songwriter Billy Brown.

It’s going to be a very special night for Billy – it’s the unofficial launch party for his single, a cover of the Junior Murvin and The Clash classic Police and Thieves, which he released in December in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and which has already become the charity’s fastest-selling single.

“That’s what they tell me,“ says the 52-year-old, “but I don’t have an ego, so I don’t really care, as long as it makes money for the charity.“

Billy will be playing on Sunday alongside The Iconics, the St Albans-based 2 Tone and ska band, and blues/rock band The Zarrs, both of whom are from the Specialized stable, as well as DJs Gerrit Louwsma and Lee Madge from Wolfman Radio, which has been championing Billy’s single.

“It should be a really good night,“ says Billy, a former St Albans resident, who you may have caught playing at The Horn on occasion, “we’re expecting several hundred people down, with hopefully some well-known musicians because so many of them are very supportive of Specialized.

“Everyone’s given up their time for free – The Flamingo on the Pond in Watford has kindly given us the venue and all the bands and DJs are doing it for free. The idea is to raise as much money for Teenage Cancer Trust as possible, so every single penny raised on the night goes to them, nothing’s kept back.“

Billy was in a band called Friends of Gavin in the 1980s who supported the likes of REM, The Boomtown Rats and The Damned on tour. He gave up music when he got married and had a family, returning briefly in 1990 when he recorded a dance single, and started writing and performing music again in 2012.

Billy will be working with Specialized again later this year, when he contributes a song to an album of covers of Madness songs that Paul is putting together.

“I’m not a ska or reggae artist per se,“ he says, “but I seem to have somehow inherited a ska/reggae heritage.“

  • Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit is at Flamingo on the Pond, Parade, Watford, on Sunday, January 12, from 3pm to 9pm. Details: 07584 661630, facebook.com /Mungo.atTheFlamingo