The Information on: A Concert for Linda McCartney

Tuesday 13 April 1999 18:02 EDT
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What is it?

Star-studded fundraising concert in honour of Linda McCartney (below), photographer, animal rights campaigner and Beatles wife, who died of cancer last April. Described by host Eddie Izzard (right) as "a sort of karaoke evening", the show was set against a backdrop of McCartney's photographic work, and featured more than a dozen artists singing their own and Beatles' material. The finale was a tear-jerking tribute by husband Paul, and the inevitable rendition of "Let it Be".

Who's In It?

George Michael, in his first live appearance for two years, was probably the reason the show sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale last May. Meanwhile, Sinead O'Connor was in typically eccentric form, claiming that she could sense her dead mother in the stalls. A rousing second half featured veteran performers, including Tom Jones, Marianne Faithfull and Elvis Costello.

What They Say About It

"The fact that these are the people that most pub crooners imagine themselves to be after a few pints occasionally lends proceedings an engagingly surreal touch," Andrew Mueller, Independent. "The evening got off to an uncomfortable start as Hynde and the Pretenders were joined by Johnny Marr for a performance of The Smiths' 'Meat is Murder'... there must have been a few groans at the prospect of three hours of earnest campaigning... From then on, Hynde left the crowd to sit back and enjoy a line-up of exceptional quality," Simon Briggs, Daily Telegraph. "Meat may be murder, but this wasn't a wake," Max Bell, Evening Standard

Where You Can Catch It

This Saturday at 7.30pm on Radio 2, and on Sunday at 10.30pm on BBC1.

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