The Queen and Paddington Bear

As a huge Queen fan, no one can ever replace dear Freddie.
But I do think Adam's voice mostly does justice to the brilliant songs. Yet he did seem nervous yesterday and not at his best unfortunately. But I still love Queen, whatever.

Sparklefizz

^Queen okay, but Adam Lambert will never be anywhere near as good as Freddie.^

I agree Kandinsky. Freddie is an impossible act to follow and I was thinking last night how much F would have loved such an OTT evening. ..... he would have been "the belle of the ball".

I saw Adam Lambert a few years ago and thought he was very good and a worthy replacement for Freddie (though no-one can ever be the same). Since then he seems to have gained some weight and lost some of his spark. I also think he was nervous. So the Queen performance was not their best.

Calendargirl

Who is Guy Garvey?

Apart from being Rachael Stirling’s husband, I assume?

Guy Garvey's the lead singer of Elbow.

And Paddington is a refugee who arrived here without any papers.

Well played ma'am.

Hadn't intended to watch it at all but OH had it 'on as background' and we ended up glued to it after the first few minutes - splendid evening, and a terrific effort from all the performers.
Thought the audience did a great job of joining in as well!

I have just realised what i can have for breakfast: marmalade sandwiches!

Loved it all especially the Paddington sketch. Such a feel good atmosphere to the whole evening. And all those people packing the Mall, just amazing! I just wanted to be there. Prince William and Prince Charles both spoke so well too, especially Charles speaking about his "dear Papa". His whole speech was quite moving. And people say the monarchy is finished - I don't think so. Congratulations ma'am on 70 wonderful years!

Sparklefizz

^Queen okay, but Adam Lambert will never be anywhere near as good as Freddie.^

I agree Kandinsky. Freddie is an impossible act to follow and I was thinking last night how much F would have loved such an OTT evening. ..... he would have been "the belle of the ball".

Yes, and I was thinking how much Michael Bond would have loved to have seen the opening. ?

Lovely to read all these post this morning. I watched the whole thing and really enjoyed it all. The Queen with Paddington bear! Shame they cut the end. Diana Ross was helped onto the stage & into position at the beginning, I thought she was going to fall down the stairs! I don't remember Elton John being on, must have been when I dashed to put the dishwasher on and grabbed a glass of wine But the whole thing was fantastic, even though I didn't know half of them. I loved the show songs. And yes to Tom Jones.

I enjoyed most of it. What happened to Mica Paris? Was she part of the three women who sang, but the camera never did a close up?

Tom Jones could have done a better version of "Sweet Caroline" because he's always had a strong voice and it hasn't diminished with age.

Queen okay, but Adam Lambert will never be anywhere near as good as Freddie.

I agree Kandinsky. Freddie is an impossible act to follow and I was thinking last night how much F would have loved such an OTT evening. ..... he would have been "the belle of the ball".

We love George Ezra. We have all his music and we didn’t discover him until a couple of years ago.

Who is Guy Garvey?

Apart from being Rachael Stirling’s husband, I assume?

vegansrock

I bet the queen was glad she didn’t have to sit through some of the boring bits - Jax Jones, Elbow, Mini Webb? , Stefflon Don, Craig David - put the kettle on time , Rod Stewart definitely should hang up his sequins. The kids looked spectacularly bored. Who dresses a child in a shirt and tie for a pop concert? Top marks for tech visuals.

Oh no. A line has been crossed. Posters can be monarchist or republican, pro or anti Boris, far right or loony left, but NOBODY gets to criticise Elbow while I'm around. ???

Did you know that Diana Rigg was Guy Garvey's mother in law?

Loved the whole evening, not all of the sounds to my taste, but the crowd seemed to like it and I enjoy new musical experiences. The graphics, drones and lighting were so clever, the organisation a credit to those behind the scene.
Well done ???

The queen & the rest of the RF are well used to sitting through a load of awful pop acts, but last night was totally wired.
Who’s Mimi Webb? never heard of her.
Craig David? he was okay 20 years ago.
Celeste ( unknown to 80% of people ) singing / killing ‘wonderful world’ - could they have not got someone better than her?
Lulu would have done a better job.
Rod Stewart wasn’t good.
Elton okay.
Queen okay, but Adam Lambert will never be anywhere near as good as Freddie.
Thank God for Alicia Keys who was brilliant.

Loved the diversity routine too & Jason Donovan singing ‘any dream will do’
Lighting was also amazing
But I can understand why the RF and other guests looked totally bewildered at times.

vegansrock

I bet the queen was glad she didn’t have to sit through some of the boring bits - Jax Jones, Elbow, Mini Webb? , Stefflon Don, Craig David - put the kettle on time , Rod Stewart definitely should hang up his sequins. The kids looked spectacularly bored. Who dresses a child in a shirt and tie for a pop concert? Top marks for tech visuals.

Thought Prince George looked uncomfortable and agree a suit and tie was ridiculous. That’s no way to modernise the monarchy.

I think Charles wanted Camilla up there, reinforcing the message that she is the next Queen Consort.

And George in a suit and tie, also emphasising, both to him and us, that although he is just a young, nearly 9 year old, that on certain occasions, he is a member of the Royal family, and that’s how they dress.

It’s not like he wears suits all the time, plenty of photos of him in casual wear. Obviously easier for Charlotte, who just has to put on a pretty dress.

I do agree, though, that Prince George’s suit and tie were totally inappropriate for an event such as that. Poor kid.

Very much not my kind of music, so I used the mute button most of the time. Glad I watched, though, or I’d have missed the Queen with Paddington (glorious), George and Charlotte ( so adorable) and the utterly wonderful lighting at the end. The speeches were good, too.

I will watch it today on catch up.

Re George’s shirt and tie.
I quite agree vegansrock, most inappropriate.

It’s my firm opinion that Louis was being a bit of a handful on the balcony, because he was livid about having to wear that sailor suit; while his big bro was dressed as a bank manager.
Charlotte got away scott free by looking like a normal little girl.

I bet the queen was glad she didn’t have to sit through some of the boring bits - Jax Jones, Elbow, Mini Webb? , Stefflon Don, Craig David - put the kettle on time , Rod Stewart definitely should hang up his sequins. The kids looked spectacularly bored. Who dresses a child in a shirt and tie for a pop concert? Top marks for tech visuals.

For me the highlights of the evening were the Queen with Paddington and the light show. The speeches were inspiring and heartwarming too. Not so impressed with the artists, maybe it's just me. I've seen so many wonderful concerts over the years, including the Golden and Diamond Jubilee Concerts, the 1984 Live Aid Concert and Queen/Freddie in their heyday at Wembley in the 1980s. This seemed weak in comparison.

I have an idea that the sets and staging are all so spectacular and spacious that they actually detract from the artists and make them look somewhat insignificant. Just my opinion.

I think we all accept her now but he seems to insist on pushing her forward!! I thought she looked a bit uncomfortable.

Yes, why did Camilla go on stage with Charles ? Is he still trying to say she is non-negotiable ? We know that by now ….