A KIDDERMINSTER frontman and actor has begun the new year by stripping off, alongside his band members, for a charity calendar.

Nick J. Townsend, lead vocalist and guitarist of rock band WEAK13, took his kit off for the Instrumental Covers 2015 calendar in a bid to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Eleven other bands and acts, including Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, also took part in the calendar shoot which WEAK13 bassist Wesley Smith, who will appear with the rest of the band as March, said was “a lot of fun”.

“Not only did we pose naked but we also played a couple of songs nude for the photographer,” he said.

“After losing my mum to cancer in October after a three year battle, it meant a lot to me on a personal level to be raising money for Macmillan via this calendar.”

The Darkness singer appears as Mr September, with only a keyboard covering his private parts.

Justin said: “When the girls invited me to take part, I immediately thought why not?

"It was an opportunity to collaborate with my wife, who is a great photographer, on something fun and worthwhile.”

Last month, WEAK13 performed live on stage at a free charity show to celebrate the launch of the calendar.

Nick said: “We had agreed as a band that we weren’t going to play live again until our debut studio album is completely finished, but we felt that this was such a good cause that we had to say yes when we were asked to be involved.”

Never before heard tracks from the band were performed live at The Robin 2, in Bilston, while the band is currently putting the finishing touches to their album.

To buy the calendar, priced at £9.99 with proceeds going to Macmillan, visit www.onlinecalendarshop.com/macmillan-instrumental-covers.html