Hundreds of musicians, including Bury band Elbow, have shared footage from their last live gig to demand Government support for the music industry.

Artists, venues, festivals and production companies used the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay on Thursday, with fans also posting in a show of support.

The campaign comes after 1,500 acts signed an open letter, addressed to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, warning of "mass insolvencies" across the UK's industry due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Research carried out by Media Insight Consulting in June 2020 and published alongside the letter indicated that the industry supports 210,000 jobs across the country, while venues, concerts, festivals and production companies added £4.5 billion to the economy in 2019.

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis, whose festival was cancelled this year, said: "Today, we are joining with promoters, artists, festival goers and music lovers to call on the UK government to offer support to the live industry, which is frankly on its knees and faces being wiped out."

Numerous other acts including P!nk, Mumford & Sons, David Gilmour, Blur, Rudimental, Jamie Cullum, Wolf Alice, Disclosure, Dermot Kennedy, Niall Horan and Celine Dion also joined the campaign.

The campaign follows the publication of an open letter calling on Mr Dowden to deliver a three-point strategy for the restarting of the live music sector.

It asks for a clear, conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing, a comprehensive business and employment support package, and VAT exemption on ticket sales.

In the joint letter, the artists say: "UK live music has been one of the UK's biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade.

"But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.

"Until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry."

A Government spokeswoman said: "We are already providing unprecedented financial assistance which many music organisations and artists have taken advantage of such as loans and the job retention scheme and we continue to look at additional support we can provide the industry.

"We recognise that this pandemic has created major challenges for the sector and are working closely with them to develop comprehensive guidance for performances and events to return as soon as possible."