See ‘Unseen’ shows from stars and help teen cancer charity
Teenage Cancer Trust has launched an incredible archive of never-beforeseen footage of live performances at the Royal Albert Hall, as part of an emergency fundraising appeal.
The YouTube channel is to raise vital funds for the charity to help it support young people facing cancer across the UK. This content will be free to enjoy, but artists and the charity are urging fans to donate to fill the gap in fundraising that provides a lifeline for teenagers with cancer.
Starting on Thursday October 8 with Ed Sheeran’s performance from 2017, 11 unique and unseen performances will feature.
Led by Teenage Cancer Trust honorary patron and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey, a who’s who of world-class musical talent have performed at Teenage Cancer Trust’s legendary fundraising gigs at the Royal Albert Hall over the last 20 years.
Over 20 years there have been many legendary moments that fans will get the chance to see for the first time with Unseen. Sir Paul McCartney was joined on stage in 2012 for the Beatles’ Get Back by Roger Daltrey, Ronnie Wood and Paul Weller – marking a Beatle, Rolling Stone and The Who member joining forces.
Muse played in 2008, their only show in the UK that year apart from two sold out Wembley Stadium performances, calling it “one of the best gigs of our lives.”
The Cure played a threehour set on two consecutive nights in 2014, bringing the house down with 45 songs. A huge supporter of the charity, frontman Robert Smith has donated the guitar he played those nights, hand painted himself, to the charity raffle.
And of course, The Who played that very first Teenage Cancer Trust show in 2000 and would have played this year. Roger Daltrey has been the driving force behind the concerts, with many a superstar telling tales of Roger striding up to them to ask them to do the gig.
Dave Grohl recounted how Roger collared him in LA to persuade him to play the show in 2010. Grohl brought his supergroup Them Crooked Vultures for their only Royal Albert Hall gig, with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. The band have granted full access to it for Unseen.
But the pandemic has paused live music. There were no Teenage Cancer Trust gigs in 2020. The charity’s week of sold out shows, in what would have been the 20th anniversary year of the legendary series, were due to start on the first day of lockdown. The shows were set to raise more than £1 million for the charity, income which has now been lost. Other fundraising events have also been cancelled.
Daltrey said: “Here we are, six months into one of the strangest times in living memory. Through Teenage Cancer Trust, the UK has led the world in recognising the specific issues that this age group with cancer suffer, please donate generously to make sure this vital work continues through these difficult times.”
Visit www.youtube.com/ TCTUnseen to watch the performances and for more information about how to support the charity.