Louise Halliday access and be able to wander and sit and contemplate and feel the place – to be open to it and let the history sink in – that was a privileged position and it enabled me to create an Albert Hall mood board in my mind ,” he says .
“ It ’ s a stunning building but , one day , I made the mistake of going there when they were cleaning it . The fronts come off the boxes and the mushrooms [ acoustic diffusers ] come down from above and it is like watching someone get changed –
David Arnold
IMAGES : ANDY PARADISE
The Royal Albert Hall ’ s 150th anniversary concert
you are not sure you really want to be looking .”
Arnold describes his work as an “ impressionistic bio-pic ” of the Hall , and the show certainly brought the rich tapestry of the venue ’ s history to life . While many are aware of the array of concerts that have taken place there – from Jimi Hendrix , Cream and The Beatles to Adele and Ed Sheeran , Kylie Minogue and Kraftwerk – its relationship with sports is equally varied .
Like boxing legends such as Muhammad Ali , Arnold ’ s own father fought in a ring at the Royal Albert Hall but the composer was surprised to learn of some of the more unusual sporting events to be held there – not least chessboxing , where competitors would do a round of boxing and then three minutes on the chess board continuously until someone was victorious .
The Hall also hosted Britain ’ s first
IMAGE : ANNABEL MOELLER indoor marathon in 1909 , when Italian Dorando Pietri and London ’ s C . W . Gardiner attempted to run 524 laps of the auditorium .
“ It was so boring they employed an orchestra to keep the paying audience of 2,000 entertained ,” laughs Arnold . “ The Italian couldn ’ t finish because nobody had considered that when you are running in a tight circle you are constantly leaning to one side , so his left leg packed in .”
When it comes to considering the impact of the pandemic on the music community , Arnold understandably takes a far more serious tone .
He says : “ Pretty much everyone I know didn ’ t qualify for any support . I know some of the best musicians in the country who had to start driving delivery vans . That ’ s not denigrating that job at all , it ’ s important , but when you have one of the best pedal steel guitar players in the country doing that it seems like a terrible waste .
“ The rug was well and truly pulled . Obviously , Covid-19 had serious consequences , but the abandonment of the music and theatrical sector is baffling to me because it is so productive in terms of what it contributes both socially and financially to the country .”
Halliday says that while postreopening ticket sales indicate it may take a little time before the public ’ s confidence fully recovers , with the venue open again , hosting musicians , audiences and event staff , the atmosphere has been transformed .
“ Our loyal staff have stuck with us for more than a year and it ’ s amazing to see them in the venue again , and how much they are enjoying being back .
“ The venue smells different now , after about three weeks of it being closed it felt like it was dead . It ’ s come back to life .”
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