Prom 13 - Sunday 27th July 2008 - Royal Albert Hall
6,000 people, boiling hot day, two hours of unbelievably good music. If Catherine Tate had a hangover...well, I sympathised with her. Not one to stint on the sauce, I spent the previous night at Duckie over at the Vauxhall Tavern. Met some lovely fans and spotted Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman in the throngs outside. That's 'throngs'....
A stunning day followed and whilst in the queue also spotted the lovely Phil Collinson. Apparently there were 500 £5 tickets available on the day, a waiting list of 3000 and tickets going for £250 on eBay!
(Great picture from Mark Allan/Daily Mail)
It truly felt like a day of celebration and thanks to the fantastic BBC Philharmonic, Murray Gold, Ben Foster, Stephen Bell and the truly spectacular London Philharmonic Choir...it was. Plus add in Freema, Camille, Noel...and a big surprise with the appearance of Catherine Tate...and you couldn't wish for a more perfect concert. Tate's reception was incredible and I think she was genuinely flabbergasted by the waves of love from the audience.
Judoon, Sontarans, Daleks, Cybermen and that nasty ol' Davros also popped in. I felt for those Judoon and Cybermen trying to clamber down the aisles of the Albert Hall. I was expecting someone to come a cropper! The raising up of Davros in the middle of the standing area was a real bonus and for a moment Davros and the Daleks were in control of Ben Foster and demanding only Dalek music be heard.
More lovely pics from Mark Allan and Daily Mail:
Another highlight was the Proms Cutaway Music Of The Spheres which was a specially filmed segment for the Proms. A very amusing little vignette with David Tennant on fine form and a philosophical theme about everyone's inner music. “Music isn’t all Proms and rock guitars and orchestras,” the Doctor said, holding 6000 people in raptures. “You’ve got music in your head, too. Next time you get a moment, sit still and listen to it. Everyone can write a song.”
With the added presence of the Choir, much of the music presented was given a tremendous scale and power and for me the highlights were This Is Gallifrey, Doomsday, Donna / Girl In The Fireplace / Astrid (introduced by Cath Tate) and for sheer choir power The Daleks And Davros and The Doctor's Theme/Song Of Freedom. Wonderful stuff. Here's the running order for those who want it.
# Murray Gold Concert Prologue* (3 mins)
# Copland Fanfare for the Common Man (3 mins)
# Murray Gold All The Strange Strange Creatures* (4 mins)
# Mark-Anthony Turnage The Torino Scale (UK premiere) (4 mins)
# Holst The Planets - Jupiter (8 mins)
# Murray Gold The Doctor Forever* (4.30 mins)
# Murray Gold Rose* (1.30 mins)
# Murray Gold Martha v The Master* (4.30 mins)
# Murray Gold Music of the Spheres (including theme original)* (7.30 mins)
# Wagner Die Walküre - The Ride of the Valkyries (5 mins)
# Murray Gold The Daleks & Davros* (8 mins)
# Murray Gold Donna, Girl in Fireplace, Astrid* (4 mins)
# Prokofiev 'Montagues and Capulets' from Romeo and Juliet (5 mins)
# Murray Gold This is Gallifrey* (3.30 mins)
# Murray Gold Doctor's Theme / Song for Freedom * (5.30 mins)
# Murray Gold Doomsday* (5 mins)
# Murray Gold Song for Ten* (4 mins)
# Murray Gold Doctor Who Theme* (1.30 mins)
Here are some extracts from the BBC Radio 3 transmission. You can listen to the whole of the show via BBCiplayer
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Here's the BBC News on the event and an interview with Russell T Davies. It sums up the day for me. Thanks to DieHard Dom and the tube of You.
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Bravo, Bravo, Thank you doctor for that lovley music and now................. DAVROS AND THE DALEKS HELP! THEY HAVE INVADED THE STAGE!
It was a fantastic concert. I hope they do some more next year. Perhaps a little tour with a stopover in Manchester?