5 Sep 2018

Roger Daltrey honoured at the Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall in London has honoured 11 people and institutions from the worlds of entertainment, politics and sport who have over the past 150 years been key figures in the building’s rich history.

Among the eleven names is Roger Daltrey who has been honoured with a carved stone on the walk of fame for his tireless work on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust in bringing to the Hall the series of week-long concerts in aid of the charity each year since 2000.

Those who have been honoured are:

1. Queen Victoria, who in 1871 laid the foundation stone for what was supposed to known as  The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences. As she laid the stone Queen Victoria announced that it was to be called the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences, in memory of her beloved ‘Bertie’.
2. Sir Winston Churchill, who gave 16 rousing speeches at the Hall between 1911 and 1959.
3. Dame Shirley Bassey who has performed there on 45 occasions.
4. Albert Einstein, who in 1933  addressed the venue about his fears over the state of Europe and the rise to power of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany.
5. The Chelsea Arts Club who, for fifty years from 1908 to 1958 held their annual Chelsea Arts Club Ball each New Years Eve at the Royal Albert Hall.
6. Eric Clapton, who has performed more than 200 concerts at the Hall.
7. Muhammad Ali, who took part in three boxing matches at the Hall between 1971 and 1979.
8. The Suffragette Movement, who held 25 meetings at the Royal Albert Hall between 1911 and 1918.
9. Adele, who won a Grammy award for Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Set Fire To the Rain’ which she sang at the Hall.
10. The Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, better known as The Proms, which are held each summer at the Royal Albert Hall.
11. Roger Daltrey for his work each year since 2000 of bringing the Teenage Cancer Trust week of shows to the Royal Albert Hall.

Here’s a link to BBC News with some footage of the occasion.

Roger with Eric Clapton