Unknown Antarctica band joins Live Earth megastars

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - Nunatak, an unknown rock band from Antarctica, is about to become famous.

However brief its moment in the limelight, the group comprising two engineers, a marine biologist, a meteorologist and a polar guide will be watched by millions around the world when it appears as part of the Live Earth concerts on Saturday.

Billed as the "coolest gig in Live Earth", the outdoor performance at the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Research Station will be pre-recorded and broadcast on the day on television, the Internet and possibly at the gigs themselves.

While rock royalty like Madonna struts her stuff before a live audience of up to 90,000 at London's Wembley Stadium, Nunatak can expect to perform in front of 17 colleagues braving the freezing temperatures of a Southern Hemisphere winter.

"At the moment we have had a sudden drop in temperature -- it is minus 18 degrees (Celsius) outside," Matt Balmer, lead singer of the band, told Reuters by telephone from Antarctica.

"You've just got to be very quick getting the songs done."

The 22-year-old engineer said he and his fellow musicians had been rehearsing in the last few days and would record the performance on Thursday or Friday, in time for Saturday's event.

"It's quite daunting in a way, but on the other hand we don't have TV and that much media really," he said.