2010, London Palladium
7th December, 2010
His Royal Highness The Prince Of Wales
Her Royal Highness The Duchess Of Cornwall
Executive Producers: Laurie Mansfield & Giles Cooper
Producer, BBC: Zoe Cook
Director, BBC: Richard Valentine
Musical Director, BBC: Steve Sidwell
Choreographer: Richard Marcel
The 2010 Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, will be remembered for three quite special, but very different performances.
The phenomenon of Susan Boyle, who came second to Diversity, in the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent, provided the first. In the history of popular music only two acts have ever had a Number One album simultaneously in the UK and the United States, twice in the same year, and despite Susan's rapid rise to fame, she defeated her 'Royal debut nerves' to deliver a great performance of Perfect Day.
The second was the first major TV appearance in the UK by Adele. The London girl was already a massive star in the US, but very few had heard her music in the UK. Her performance of We Could Have Had It All, captivated the audience and delivered her straight to the hearts of the British public on TV sets up and down the country.
Finally, the third was for Micky Flanagan who despite being an Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee and making the odd TV guest appearance, was largely unknown to the British public. The 2010 Royal Variety Performance, however, catapulted Micky to national mainstream fame.
Micky did particularly well to make the mark that he did, as he was up against some true stallions of British comedy, which included John Bishop, Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican and Lee Mack, amongst others!
Host Michael McIntyre delivered a sterling performance with pop music coming from Cheryl Cole and Rumer. Take That's full compliment of the orginal five members, gave Robbie Williams an opportunity to show his extrovert charm, when he used one of the boxes of the Palladium to use a megaphone to sing part of a song.
A memorable duet between Paloma Faith and Ray Davies from the Kinks featured, as did variety spots for Spelbound and the Chelsea Pensioners.
Host and Performers
MICHAEL McINTYRE - Host
Michael McIntyre is a stand-up comedian who in 2009 sold out a record six nights at Wembley Arena and four nights at London’s O2. He has become Britain’s biggest comedy star.
BAND OF THE BLUES & ROYALS
The Trumpeters have been part of the Regiment since very early times. Today they are led by Trumpet Major Grant Sewell-Jones who joined the Army in 1990 and commenced his service at the Guards Depot, Pirbright, Surrey.
KYLIE
You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of "pop" artists who have lasted more than a decade, let alone more than two! Since releasing her first single in 1987, Kylie has released 10 studio albums and almost 50 singles!
RAY DAVIES
Ray Davies, former lead singer with the Kinks, was born in Muswell Hill, north London. He formed the Kinks in 1964 with his brother Dave, scoring a number one hit with 'You Really Got Me' which paved the way for over 20 top 20 hits.
PALOMA FAITH
A certified style icon and a musician of immense depth, Paloma Faith is not to be ignored... intelligent, eccentric and essential.
SPELBOUND
Acrobatic gymnastic sensations Spelbound have captivated the British public since their first appearance on 'Britain's Got Talent'. They delighted the audience all the way to the final, where over 15 million viewers saw them win with a phenomenal routine full of jaw-dropping feats of balance, strength and flexibility.
SARAH MILLICAN
Since winning the 2008 'if.comedy' Best Newcomer Award for her debut solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sarah is fast on here way to becoming a household name, appearing on top comedy shows including 'Mock The Week', 'Live At The Apollo' and 'Micheal McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'.
SUSAN BOYLE
In the history of popular music, only two acts have ever had a number one album simultaneously in the UK and the United States, twice in the same year.
JACK WHITEHALL
At just 22 years old, Jack Whitehall has made a remarkable impact on the comedy world. Following his hugely successful 2009 Edinburgh Fringe debut, in July 2010 he preformed at the Montreal 'Just For Laughs' Festival and was picked by Hollywood industry bible 'Variety' ass one of their "10 comics to watch".
ADELE
Her Mercury-nominated debut album '19' went straight into the UK Charts at number one and went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. In 2009, aged just 20, she won two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
DANIEL WHISTON
Daniel Whiston began skating at the age of seven and never looked back, performing all over the world until 2006 when Dan was personally invited by Torvill and Dean to join ITV's 'Dancing on Ice'.
CHERYL COLE
Cheryl Cole is one of the UK's best-loved and most successful pop stars. Originally one-fifth of pop sensations Girls Aloud, she went solo in 2009 with her debut single, 'Fight For This Love' which hit the charts at number one and she hasn't looked back since.
LES MISERABLES
In October this year, Les Miserables celebrated its 25th Anniversary! To mark this momentous occasion, Cameron Mackintosh staged an international first, three different productions in London at the same time!
RUSSELL WATSON
Salford lad Russell Watson never imagined he would someday be recognised as one of the world’s greatest tenors. Yet to date there have been eight albums, each going top-ten in the UK and winning more praise than the last.
THE ROYAL BALLET
The Royal Ballet is Britain’s most prestigious ballet company and showcases the great classical ballets alongside new works by the foremost international choreographers. Alastair Marriott, a choreographer and Principal Character Artist with the Company, has choreographed this piece especially for the Royal Variety Show.
MICKY FLANAGAN
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Micky Flanagan has appeared in the BBC's 'Michael McIntyre's Comedy Road Show', 'Mock The Week' & 'Live At The Apollo'. His Radio 4 series 'What Chance Change?' was a hit with listeners and critics alike and his current tour is selling out across the country.
N-DUBZ
The antithesis of manufactured, mass-produced pop, Camden trio N-Dubz - Tula 'Tulisa' Contostavlos, her cousin, Dino 'Dappy' Contostavlos, and childhood friend, Richard 'Fazer' Rawson - have already left an indelible mark on the charts.
THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS
In their scarlet coats and tricorn hats, The Chelsea Pensioners - hailing from all corners of Great Britain and divisions of armed forces - are living London landmarks; simultaneously a national institution and constant reminder of of Britain's tradition of bravery and service dating back almost 320 years.
DANIELLE HOPE
Danielle Hope captured the hearts of the country when she won BBC TV's 'Over the Rainbow' and now she steps into the ruby slippers of Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of The Wizard of Oz!
JAMIE CULLUM
With a Grammy, two Golden Globes and several BRIT nominations under his belt, Jamie Cullum is a success story all around the world; the most successful UK jazz artist of all time, who has almost single-handedly taken jazz into the mainstream.
RUMER
Rumer is an Anglo-Pakistani singer and songwriter, whose critically acclaimed album, 'Seasons Of My Soul', has become the fastest-selling record by a new female artist this year.
JOHN BISHOP
The very definition of the hottest ticket in town, Liverpool’s John Bishop joins us from his sold-out UK tour ‘Sunshine’. John is thrilled to be appearing this evening.
TAKE THAT
It is among the most compelling stories of British pop history; the full line-up of Take That have made an astonishing return to the top of the charts 20 years after it all started, with the fastest-selling album of the century. Now, after two record-breaking, multi-platinum selling albums, numerous number ones and three of the biggest and fastest-selling tours of all time, the band are whole again, with Robbie completing the line-up for their new critically-acclaimed album ‘Progress’.
