ROCK superstar Sting launched Cunard’s 175th anniversary, which will see the shipping line’s fleet of three ships in Southampton this Sunday, with two concerts inspired by Britain’s maritime heritage.

Sting delighted audiences in his hometown of Gateshead with songs from his latest album and Broadway musical The Last Ship to raise money for a £4m charity appeal to promote music in England’s north east.

These were the only UK performances of their kind and were supported by Cunard, which has its home port in Southampton, as part of the shipping company's 175th anniversary celebrations.

Southampton is preparing for a memorable day on Sunday when Cunard’s fleet of three vessels, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, will be alongside the city’s historic waterfront at the same time.

Later in the afternoon the ships, with QM2 leading the way, will process down Southampton Water and then through the Solent in a dramatic convoy.

Last October, Sting performed songs from The Last Ship on board Cunard's flagship, Queen Mary 2, in New York.

Sting, former front man of pop group, The Police, said: “I played on Queen Mary 2 last year while she was berthed in New York City.

“What a beautiful ship - I had a great time entertaining the crew and some of the passengers. It was something I’d like to do again.”

Cunard has historic links to the shipyards of the Tyne and a proud heritage with the north east.

This great partnership saw 23 Cunard ships being built on Tyneside, 15 of them at Swan Hunter including ones that became the stuff of legend like the four-funnelled Mauretania and Carpathia, which rescued all the survivors from Titanic.

Sting said: “The Last Ship stories are based on the community I was brought up in, the shipbuilding community of Wallsend, and so to bring it back here like this is a wonderful honour and very emotional. I’m thrilled to be here.

“Like everyone in the town we were immensely proud of the ships that were built there, some of the largest, most important ships ever built, right there at the end of my street – some of them by Cunard. And that was something that the town took a lot of pride from.”