- Party at the Palace
The Party at the Palace was a
pop concert held inLondon in2002 . The event was in commemoration of theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II held over theGolden Jubilee Weekend 1-4 June 2002 . The concert itself was held atBuckingham Palace Garden on3 June 2002 . It was the pop equivalent of theProm at the Palace , a classical music event.Event and Venue
The concert was held at the gardens of
Buckingham Palace Garden as part of the Golden Jubilee. The event was touted as the greatest concert in Britain sinceLive Aid or possibly ever. Tickets to the event were determined by a lottery. 12,000 people attended the concert [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/7.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] . An estimated 1 million people watched outside the Palace in The Mall and around the Queen Victoria Memorial, [ [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1328.asp Buckingham Palace rocks to pop music from the last 50 years in 'Party at the Palace'] ] and 200 million on television. [ [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page1692.asp 50 FACTS ON THE QUEEN'S GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR - 2002] ] The concert included performances of many hit songs from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was the culmination of a national day of partying. The BBC Music Live Festival also occurred on the day. At 1:00 towns across theUnited Kingdom had bands playAll You Need Is Love before church bells were rung around the country.Performers
Amongst others, performers included:
Paul McCartney [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/12.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Bryan Adams ,Keith Airley ,Atomic Kitten ,Shirley Bassey [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/4.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Tony Bennett , Blue,Emma Bunton ,Eric Clapton ,The Corrs ,Joe Cocker ,Phil Collins ,Ray Cooper ,Ray Davies ,Dame Edna Everage ,Tony Iommi ,J'anna Jacoby ,Elton John , Tom Jones [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/5.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Ladysmith Black Mambazo ,Annie Lennox ,Ricky Martin ,Ozzy Osbourne [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/8.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Mark Andrew-Brydon ,Brian May [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/6.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] and Roger Taylor of Queen,Mis-teeq ,Cliff Richard [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/10.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,S Club 7 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/10.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Rod Stewart ,Will Young [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/6.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] ,Ruby Wax ,Brian Wilson ,Steve Winwood ,Tony Vincent ,Hannah Jane Fox Also performing was the London cast of the musical "We Will Rock You". Several newspapers mentioned the absence of
The Rolling Stones . The Stones said the event conflicted with their upcoming world tour.Aspects of Concert
The concert began with
Brian May performing "God Save the Queen " on the roof ofBuckingham Palace as a guitar solo with support from the orchestra onstage in the Garden far below [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/entertainment/2002/jubilee/concert/1.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008] . This sequence was spectacularly filmed, including some upward photography of May in full "rock god" mode and shots of the crowd in the Garden below. It has become an iconic moment and Brian May himself has said in interview that he hoped that he would strike the last chord at the same time as the orchestra in the gardens far below. Many however criticised this performance as 'cheesy' and described May's act as "Not very rock at all". Once it was finished, said May, the arm and fist went up, and the guitar was free, for it had done its work. ["The Queen at 80" - BBC TV documentary, 2006. Note: DVD only available in the UK at present; British ISBN B000IFS05Y ]Ozzy Osbourne recently said in the same interview that this was the greatest moment of his career and pronounced the Queen to be "a beautiful woman."
It is thought of as one of the most impressive collections of musicians on a single stage. The concert was divided into two parts: pop music and classic rock music. In between acts there were some comedy segments by
Lenny Henry ,Ben Elton ,Meera Syal ,Nina Wadia ,Ruby Wax andDame Edna Everage .The event ended with the Royal Family joining the stars onstage.
Prince Charles thanked his mother for her fifty years on the throne, famously beginning his speech with the words, "Your Majesty.....MUMMY!" to the delight of the crowd and bemusement of the Queen. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2023942.stm Retrieved on the 11th of June 2008]Following this the Queen and
Prince Philip went to light the National Beacon on the Mall. After the lighting of the beacon the largest fireworks show in the history of London took place. During this time different symbols were projected onto the palace including a Union Flag.Controversy
A minor controversy occurred in Britain after it was announced that the Rolling Stones would not perform at the concert. A controversy was also started after
Tony Blair conducted an informal walkabout during the concert. Some people also expressed displeasure atCherie Blair for what they perceived as excessive dancing and singing.Recordings
A DVD has been issued of the performance. Some portions have been cut, e.g.
Ruby Wax 's monologue. [ DVD recording ISBN B0000687F4 ]A live CD recording of the performance was released in 2002. [ CD recording ISBN B000069003 ] , with an impressive [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000069003 tracklisting] .
References
ee also
*
Buckingham Palace Gardens
*Buckingham Palace
*Golden Jubilee Weekend
*Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II External links
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000069003 amazon.com CD listing with listening facility]
* [http://www.amaxon.com/gp/product/B0000687F4 amazon.com DVD listing]
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