IN MY view, the Diamond Jubilee concert organisers saved the best until last.
And no, I don’t mean Sir Paul. I’m talking about our very own northern court jester, Peter Kay.
His was probably one of the shortest appearances of the night but in comedy terms it was a gem.
His Beefeater outfit might have had the royals reaching for the gin, but who would want to send this comic treasure to guard the Tower even if on their performances, some of his fellow supposedly funny men earned a stint there?
Peter Kay in his “100 quid Rawtenstall-made” costume, had the Queen giggling at the after-show line-up and summed it all up instantly. “It was an amazing event. It was surreal – like a big posh school play.”
What school was that then Peter?
But Peter Kay aside, the Diamond Jubilee concert was a night for Madness, one of the best surprise turns of the night.
We all knew someone would follow Brian May’s Golden Jubilee show-stopping roof turn but hadn’t expected anyone to up the anti quite like these guys did.
It wasn’t just the song choice, the band’s 1982 hit Our House followed by It Must Be Love.
It was the addition of magical laser mapped projections which lit up the Palace and transformed it into a row of terraced houses complete with a passing red London bus and equally recognisable black cab.
The seven strong band’s daft dancing and the sheer irony of their picture-driven Our House summed up the essence of this extraordinary concert. Creativity gone mad.
I have to admit that at other times I did a dive for the mute button, because of some off-key performances (and no, not just the comedians).
But as a spectacle, it was simply stunning. The staging was ambitious certainly but here was the cutting edge technology that our creative arts deliver these days.
Now I can’t wait to see what director Danny Boyle has come up with for the Olympic opening ceremony in just a few weeks’ time.
And if he’s short on ideas, Peter Kay wouldn’t bust the budget!
