Ned Kelly's Last Stand marks 40th birthday by backing Operation Santa Claus

It will be a big night for jazz music in Hong Kong when Ned Kelly's Last Stand in Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, turns 40 on Tuesday.

It has become such an institution that you sometimes forget live jazz this good is performed there every night of the week, and can be heard for nothing more than the price of a beer.

That's maybe why it has outlasted almost every other themed bar from the 1970s, and is still going strong. Ned's may get less publicity than venues on the other side of the harbour, but bar manager Mike Brown - who took over in 1998 - knows the secret to its success.

"Jazz playing seven nights a week is what helped Ned Kelly's get through Sars and the Asian financial crisis when other bars were shutting down. There's no doubt it's what helped us to survive for so long," Brown, 54, said.

"A Tuesday night here can be as busy as a Friday night."

Colin Aitchison has been the bandleader in Ned's since 1998, though he's been playing in the city off and on since 1988.