- Country:
- United Kingdom
- City:
- London
- Location:
- Royal Albert Hall
Timeline
More from year 2009
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From paulmccartney.com, October 16, 2009:
Children in Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall – 12th November 2009
Every year, BBC Children in Need creates magic moments that raise huge amounts of money for disadvantaged children, and this year the UK’s finest musicians hope to help raise more than ever with a spectacular show at the Royal Albert Hall.
For Children in Need 2009, Gary Barlow and Take That are adding to the magic by inviting Paul and an all-star line-up of rock and pop’s finest, who in total have amassed over 50 UK number one hits, to take part in Children in Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall.
Along with Paul, the star-studded bill includes; Lily Allen; Dizzee Rascal; Dame Shirley Bassey; Leona Lewis; Paolo Nutini; Mika; Snow Patrol; Cheryl Cole; Katherine Jenkins and Muse. And of course Gary will also perform on the night with his Take That partners, Jason Orange, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, as they again show their unwavering support of the charity.
And there will also be some very special surprises on the night. “It’s fantastic to be able to kick off BBC Children in Need 2009 in such a special way”, said Gary Barlow, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this and I can promise a night to remember, a night that will, I hope, play a small part in changing the lives of disadvantaged children across the UK.”
Radio 1’s Chris Moyles will host the event and will be joined on stage by Peter Kay, Fearne Cotton, James Corden and, the legend that is, Sir Terry Wogan, who will help introduce the stars and remind us of the work that BBC Children in Need carries out in the UK.
The concert will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 12th November and will be part of a week of Children in Need related programmes when it is broadcast on BBC1 and Radio 2.
From paulmccartney.com, November 13, 2009:
‘Sir Paul McCartney sat at the piano and kicked off a stunning ‘Hey Jude’ finale to the show with the mega guest list of star performers belting out the ‘na na na na na-na-na-na’ chorus.’ The Sun
‘He (Paul McCartney) rocked the Albert Hall with a Beatles set, including Hey Jude, on which Take That were sort of reunited as his backing vocalists, along with the rest of the cast.’ The Daily Telegraph
Last night Paul brought the house down at the Royal Albert Hall for the Children In Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall Concert, a star-studded event organised by the Take That front man Gary Barlow. An all-star cast list stood in the wings to watch Paul storm the stage with ‘Back in the USSR’ followed up by ‘Get Back’. As Paul struck the opening chords of ‘Hey Jude’ Take That appeared on stage to provide backing vocals, they were soon joined by Leona Lewis, Lily Allen, Cheryl Cole, Robbie Williams, Dizzee Rascal, Dame Shirley Bassey, Katherine Jenkins and many more. The sea of stars provided an energy packed finale to a fantastic evening.
From For Whom The Bell Tells, November 12, 2009:
What an exciting few days we are having in the press office this week. Wednesday morning (11th November) starts with a flurry of excitement and activity. The phones are ringing off the hook and the blackberry is self-combusting. What’s happened? Well… a British tabloid has speculated that Paul is going to be joined onstage at the BBCs Children In Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall concert (which takes place tonight) by one of Britains current favourite bands, Take That. Is it going to happen? It’s the big question on all the media’s lips. And the truth? Well, you’ve come to the right place. We are the most up to speed official news service for any Macca related stories. We have the best-placed insiders and sources (ourselves!) We are there as it happens. If it’s not up here then it’s not happening. So to answer the question…
2:45pm on a rainy Wednesday afternoon and I’m standing outside the historic Maida Vale Studios in London. The streets are lined with charming (not!) paparazzi photographers. ‘What’s going on here?’, I ask one of the less aggressive looking members of the crowded pack. ‘Apparently McCartney’s on his way, so keep the doorway clear mate’, I’m told. Bless him, I think to myself. Paul is on his way but he won’t be going through this particular door, partly because its completely blocked by this swarming mob, but I’m not going to tell him that.
Meanwhile, in the building downstairs in Studio 3 (these days reserved for BBC Radio sessions) one of Britain’s biggest pop bands is rehearsing in secret. They are awaiting the arrival of someone special. The band is Take That and the event is a special concert to benefit BBC’s Children In Need. Gary Barlow, of Take That, has pulled together a mega line up of superstars to help the charity. The line-up includes Lily Allen, Dame Shirley Bassey, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole and Muse. Top of his wish list to bring the show to a close was Paul, and Paul was happy to oblige when asked.
Just before 3pm a mass of flash bulbs are firing off on the street outside the studio, almost enough light to light up an entire city. Paul has arrived. He enters the studio, saying hi to everyone and stopping to chat with his band and crew. “I’m just off to find Gary”, he tells us and disappears from the room. Moments later Paul is back (with four famous faces in excited procession) and makes his way to the piano. He and his band jam enthusiastically for a couple of minutes to check their levels. The Take That boys, along with their crew, watch the band warm up whilst cheering and singing along. After warming up at the piano Paul leaps up from his stool and places the iconic Hofner bass around his neck and launches into a rocking rendition of ‘Back In The USSR’, at which point Studio 3 comes to life. By the end of the song, everybody within earshot is on their feet clapping and as Paul goes to put his bass down they start yelling for more. More is what they want and more is what they get. Gary Barlow and Mark Owen are jumping up and down as the intro to ‘Get Back’ strikes up. When the song ends and the cheering has died down the Take That boys approach Paul. Now to rehearse the finale…
Paul heads back to the piano and Take That assume their places, two members on both his left and right side. The studio falls silent. It must be mentioned at this point that there is also a full orchestra in the room, ready for usage. This is the moment that all the media would give copious amounts of money to be present at!
The anticipation in the room is almost unbearable as the studio anxiously waits to hear, for the first time, what the guys will perform together. The silence in the studio is eventually broken by Paul’s clear voice singing the magical words and melody, ‘Hey Jude’. Take That look like they can’t quite believe this is actually happening and as they start to join in with Paul, everyone in the room realises they are witnessing a mega British super-group in action.
With the lifting power of the full orchestra even more emotion is added to the moment and the smiles on the boys faces say it all. A runner at the studio excitedly exclaims, This is amazing and then asks, Can you imagine what it will be like at the Albert Hall? The entire crew is in agreement; its going to be a very special end to a very special show.
After the rehearsal, Paul sticks around and chats for a while. He happily signs autographs and is clearly having a good laugh with his new backing singers. When the time arrives for Paul to leave, he says his goodbyes and is gone. Take That are left speechless. That was awesome, Gary tells us. The press office is in agreement; the finale will look nothing short of amazing.
Afterwards, as Im walking to the tube, the phones are going crazy again. The press is now telling me (not calling to verify), Paul is performing Hey Jude with Take That. Im not saying anything, as I dont want to ruin the surprise. Besides I want the exclusive for Paul McCartney.com!
So the speculation was right. Paul will be joined onstage by Take That tonight as part of an event that promises to be a truly memorable occasion for a truly great cause. Be sure to check back soon as we will be bringing you all the exciting backstage Paul related news and gossip.
Stuart Bell
From For Whom The Bell Tells, November 23, 2009:
Everything’s Fine‚
What a blast we had last week at the Children In Need Rocks The Albert Hall Concert. It was a truly memorable night, boasting the finest names in today’s music. For those of us who live in the UK, we were treated to the show on TV last night (for those not in the UK, thank god for YouTube!) For the press office it was nice to be able to watch the entire show back again because on the night itself there was too much backstage chaos, running around and a little bit of hanging out to do! Paul was on top form both on and off stage. He spent the day of the show at the venue mingling with the line-up and crew. Spirits were high and everyone involved had truly shown 100 per-cent commitment and enthusiasm, which was totally apparent when watching the show back. Throughout the afternoon and evening Paul’s dressing room became a magnet for the backstage action with stars (and ligging politicians) keen to use this opportunity to get their picture taken with Paul. Luckily for them Paul’s daughter Mary was on hand as the official CIN photographer.
On the night Paul told us, Its such a great bill and people are doing it for all the right reasons. Theres a great feeling backstage. He went on to explain how he had bonded with Gary Barlow over sweetcorn! He asked me to do the show so I said, Yeah ok Ill do it. So he showed up at my office to talk about it all and I gave him some sweet corn and he loved it, he went mad for it. At which point Gary chirped in, Amazing sweetcorn, it was like Id never eaten it before. The rest, as they say, is history!
The press had a good night too. He (Paul McCartney) rocked the Albert Hall with a Beatles set, including Hey Jude, on which Take That were sort of reunited as his backing vocalists, along with the rest of the cast, reported The Daily Telegraph. The Mail On Sunday said, The headliner was Paul McCartney looking suspiciously youthful and sounding nicely rough-edged and The Sun Sir Paul McCartney sat at the piano and kicked off a stunning ‘Hey Jude’ finale to the show with the mega guest list of star performers belting out the ‘nanananana-na-na-na’ chorus.
At the end of the night when Paul took to the stage, the wings were filled with the superstar cast all playing air guitar, dancing and singing to his set. The press office, in its line of duty, has to be prepared to deal with some tricky situations and having to watch Cheryl Cole and Katherine Jenkins rock out to Macca is a part of the job that we are learning to accept! Paul, Wix, Rusty, Brian and Abe delivered a rocking mini set that had everyone on their feet. For the finale, as we exclusively revealed last week, Take That joined Paul onstage, creating the (almost) ultimate boy-band. I would have said THE ultimate boy-band but I think The Beatles hold on to that one!
Stepping minutes back in time pre-performance and there were almost scenes of violence in the backstage corridors. As Paul was called to the stage he needed to get rid of his throat lozenge so he placed it on a table where there were some other bits of rubbish and half drunk water bottles. When the backstage crew realised what Paul had done there was an immediate scrum to recover the, now iconic, throat sweet. Keep an eye on eBay in the coming weeks for the worlds most expensive Strepsil!
The night was a total success and the BBC was buzzing after the show. Our press counterparts couldnt have been happier. Paul and co had done the job and Children In Need did officially rock the Albert Hall.
Stuart Bell
Last updated on October 28, 2020
Setlist for the concert
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