Blog » Bill's blog - July 31 - Aug 3, 2008
Sunday 17th August 2008
With so much to do before tomorrow's concert, Bill and the Rhythm Kings spent the day rehearsing, working with Mary Wilson, Gary Brooker and Donovan on their song choices. Bill also took lots of photos of the performers during the day - you can see this gallery by clicking here.
Friday, August 1 in Monaco and the day promises to sizzle. At lunch, Bill heads over to the Sporting CLub - the venue for tonight's gala concert - for a soundcheck. Bill and the Rhythm Kings spent the afternoon playing through the numerous planned sets, and Bill was pleased with the results.
The event was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Red Cross, with the event starting at 8pm - although Bill wasn't scheduled to take to the stage until after 11pm in front of a crowd of 800. Before the concert started, Bill and Suzanne, seated with Prince Albert, Princess Stephanie and Princess Caroline, took part in an auction. Bill presented the auction winner with his framed photo of John Lennon at the R&R Circus taken in 1968.
With the evening taking longer than planned, Bill and the Rhythm Kings didn't actually take to the stage until just after 1am. The line-up included Graham Broad (drums), Bill Wyman (bass/vocals), Albert Lee (guitar/vocals), Terry Taylor (guitar/vocals), Georgie Fame (organ/vocals), Geraint Watkins (piano/vocals), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Beverley Skeete (vocals), Gina Foster (backing vocals), Andrew Caine (backing vocals), Frank Mead, Nick Payn, and Matt Winch (horns).
The gig opened with the surefire I Got A Woman (Georgie), Jump Jive And Wail (Albert), Chicken Shack Boogie (Geraint), and You Never Can Tell (Bill).
Bill then introduced Eddie Floyd, who sang Soul Man and 6345 789, followed by Georgie singing Yeah Yeah. Bill then introduced Donovan, who sang Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow, and Catch The Wind. This was followed up with Albert and Beverley singing Crying In The Rain, with Bill singing Honky Tonk Women.
Louis Bertignac was then introduced to the crowd by Bill, with Louis singing These Boots Are Made For Walking, and Hey Joe. The Rhythm Kings then performed That's Rock And Roll (Albert), Race With The Devil (Terry), and I Put A Spell On You (Beverley). Eddie was then back on stage for Raise Your Hands and Knock On Wood.
Dave Bronze then took over on bass and Bill was free to introduce Robin Gibb, who performed Massachusettes, Words, and To Love Somebody.
And still the set continued its musical march...
Gary Brooker performed Good Golly Miss Molly, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, and Sweet Soul Music. Bill then introduced Mary Wilson, who sang You Can't Hurry Love, Stop In The Name Of Love, and You Keep Me Hanging On. Then everyone teamed up on stage to perform the finale, which was an extended version of Dancing In The Street.
And after what was an electric performance, it's no surprise the the performance was met by a standing ovation and massive applause. Bill then spent the rest of the night with Suzanne, Price Albert, Mary Wilson and Louis Bertignac and friends - finally getting back to the hotel a little before 6am.
With Saturday arriving too quickly, Bill was greeted with a barrage of press articles on last night's show, including plenty of articles in both the Nice-Matin Monaco Matin and Le Journal De L'Ete Nice Matin. One example read:
A very rock’n’roll Red Cross Gala in Monaco
On Stage Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Donovan, Bertignac, Mary Wilson, Eddie Floyd, Gary Brooker and Robin Gibb as guest star. For its 60th anniversary, the Monaco Red Cross has treated herself with a very rock’n’roll Gala with a definite feel of renewal to it.
The smartest evening of the year and in past years the stiffest summer party has definitely found a new youth. For the first time, the gala dinner, to which 800 guests were invited, was held outside in the Sporting Club gardens. For the occasion, the gardens had been transformed and looked like a scene of ‘Out of Africa’, sumptuous with wooden floorboards, candles and white netting hanging from the trees.
Then on Prince’s Albert invitation, all the guests moved to the Salles aux Etoiles to enjoy Bill Wyman and guests’ concert. For the first time again, the concert was open to the public who was able to mingle with guests and the Prince’s family; they were all having fun and dancing away in the VIP corner! More than just an evolution, this 60th Red Cross Gala will be the start of a revolution!
Still, no time for resting, despite the success of last night. Bill was up at 9:30 (slightly hung over) and starting packing for the trip back to St.Paul today. The rest of the day was spent travelling home, then a late dinner.
A great article on Sunday in the Nice-Matin, which featured photos of Bill, the Rhythm Kings, Louis Bertignac and Mary Wilson. The article, which was headed Au Gala Du Renouveau De La Croix-Rouge Monegasque read:
A new youth for the Monaco Red Cross Gala
4pm in the Monaco Sporting Club gardens: a team of workers and waiters are bustling about to try and finish getting the ‘Out of Africa’ decor ready for the Gala dinner. The place is superb and one is surprised it is not used more often for this kind of parties. A varnished wooden floor has been put down, large white sails are hanging from the trees and a walk of candles leads all the guests to their table where each of them will find a wooden fan with ‘Red Cross Gala 2008’ inscribed on it. The stage is set along pine trees and just next to the beach giving Jean René Palacio (the SBM artistic director) ideas for a possible jazz festival. His friends Harry Lapp (jazz in Juan) and Drouot (Nice jazz) will be delighted to hear that…
4.30 pm in the Salles aux Etoiles at the Sporting Club: on stage, rehearsals have started. Bill Wyman is acting as the conductor, welcoming each of his ‘luxury’ guest stars: Donovan, Bertignac, Robin Gibb, Eddie Floyd, Mary Wilson. Bill Wyman, the ex Rolling Stones bass player and his Rhythm Kings, Albert Lee (guitar), Georgie Fame (keyboards) and Gary Brooker (keyboards and singing) adapt to all kinds of repertoires in quite a disconcerting easiness. For them, rehearsing consists of agreeing on an extract and playing to perfection first time round! Donovan will sing ‘Mellow Yellow’, Robin Gibb ‘Masachussetts’, Bertignac ‘Hey Joe’, Garry Brooker ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’, Mary Wilson ‘You can’t hurry love’… In the concert hall… the ‘Rock and Folk Boys’, Philippe Manœuvre and Jérome Soligny can’t believe their eyes!
4.45pm in the Sporting Club Gardens: Philippe Manœuvre and Frédérique Courtadon, masters of ceremony for the evening rehearse their lines: Your Eminence, your Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to blah blah blah… Coming from a rocker turned TV presenter, all dressed in black, wearing his Ray ban and skull rings, it sounds a little strange. Even he can’t help laughing out loud as he says these words. This is promising a very interesting night ahead!
5.00pm Salles aux étoiles: Prince Albert II comes to say hello to the musicians and has a long chat with Bill Wyman. The hall will be divided in to parts; there will be chairs on the ground floor, a standing bar and a VIP sitting room for the Prince’s guests on the half way floor. One little slight problem, the sliding bay windows are stuck and only one is sliding but it should be fine and allow the guests to watch the fireworks from the terrace.
6.00pm backstage at the Sporting Club: general big commotion before the big moment; the dancers, roadies, suppliers, musicians, photographers, cameramen and the producers all bump into each other, call out to each other in several languages! The only one keeping his cool is Jean René Palacio, who actually enjoys this familiar buzz preceding a big night at the Sporting Club. Everyone then slips into their evening suit to see all the guests arriving.
8.00pm in the gardens: at the fall of day, the place is even more sumptuous. The procession of dresses and jewellery has started. Prince Albert arrives with Charlene on his arm and Princesses Caroline and Stéphanie on each side. Tonight, Charlene beauty and elegance has taken over the evening even if the standards are high tonight with designer dresses and diamonds. Amazing! However, it is a surprise that there are so few ‘people’ amongst the guests (to give an idea, Denise Fabre and Ivana Trump are considered as stars of the evening by the photographers!). This is surprising as these ‘people’ all swarm to all night parties in Cannes or St Tropez! This can only come down to one explanation: a night in St Topez or Cannes costs a few Euros but here it is 1000 € per head but it is all for a good cause.
11.00pm Salles aux Etoiles: after the fireworks, Philippe Manœuvre demands a huge round of applause for Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings but he only gets a discreet round. However, the concert could not start off with better representatives: Ray Charles, Louis Prima, Chuck Berry… All the fifties and sixties hits succeed each other like on parade day, carried along by the Wyman Big Band. Everyone is up on their feet in the Prince’s quarters and in the aisles on the ground floor. On stage, guests are singing one after the other, each time you can hear cries of delights in the crowd.
2.00am Salles aux Etoiles : the band is still playing hits and entertaining the guests without a sign of tiredness or weariness as some people start to leave. Along comes Mary Wilson who literally brings the house down with hit songs by The Supremes. Philippe Manœuvre drops his Ray bans in amazement, rushes off to the stage to take a photo of the singer and touch her hand! And just by listening to Mary’s magical voice it takes him back to his rock kid years! The Monaco Red Cross Gala formerly weighed down with “mondaine” pumps has too found a new youth!
(Special thanks to Gilbert Trem for the translation)
Friday, August 1 in Monaco and the day promises to sizzle. At lunch, Bill heads over to the Sporting CLub - the venue for tonight's gala concert - for a soundcheck. Bill and the Rhythm Kings spent the afternoon playing through the numerous planned sets, and Bill was pleased with the results.
The event was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Red Cross, with the event starting at 8pm - although Bill wasn't scheduled to take to the stage until after 11pm in front of a crowd of 800. Before the concert started, Bill and Suzanne, seated with Prince Albert, Princess Stephanie and Princess Caroline, took part in an auction. Bill presented the auction winner with his framed photo of John Lennon at the R&R Circus taken in 1968.
With the evening taking longer than planned, Bill and the Rhythm Kings didn't actually take to the stage until just after 1am. The line-up included Graham Broad (drums), Bill Wyman (bass/vocals), Albert Lee (guitar/vocals), Terry Taylor (guitar/vocals), Georgie Fame (organ/vocals), Geraint Watkins (piano/vocals), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Beverley Skeete (vocals), Gina Foster (backing vocals), Andrew Caine (backing vocals), Frank Mead, Nick Payn, and Matt Winch (horns).
The gig opened with the surefire I Got A Woman (Georgie), Jump Jive And Wail (Albert), Chicken Shack Boogie (Geraint), and You Never Can Tell (Bill).
Bill then introduced Eddie Floyd, who sang Soul Man and 6345 789, followed by Georgie singing Yeah Yeah. Bill then introduced Donovan, who sang Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow, and Catch The Wind. This was followed up with Albert and Beverley singing Crying In The Rain, with Bill singing Honky Tonk Women.
Louis Bertignac was then introduced to the crowd by Bill, with Louis singing These Boots Are Made For Walking, and Hey Joe. The Rhythm Kings then performed That's Rock And Roll (Albert), Race With The Devil (Terry), and I Put A Spell On You (Beverley). Eddie was then back on stage for Raise Your Hands and Knock On Wood.
Dave Bronze then took over on bass and Bill was free to introduce Robin Gibb, who performed Massachusettes, Words, and To Love Somebody.
And still the set continued its musical march...
Gary Brooker performed Good Golly Miss Molly, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, and Sweet Soul Music. Bill then introduced Mary Wilson, who sang You Can't Hurry Love, Stop In The Name Of Love, and You Keep Me Hanging On. Then everyone teamed up on stage to perform the finale, which was an extended version of Dancing In The Street.
And after what was an electric performance, it's no surprise the the performance was met by a standing ovation and massive applause. Bill then spent the rest of the night with Suzanne, Price Albert, Mary Wilson and Louis Bertignac and friends - finally getting back to the hotel a little before 6am.
With Saturday arriving too quickly, Bill was greeted with a barrage of press articles on last night's show, including plenty of articles in both the Nice-Matin Monaco Matin and Le Journal De L'Ete Nice Matin. One example read:
A very rock’n’roll Red Cross Gala in Monaco
On Stage Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Donovan, Bertignac, Mary Wilson, Eddie Floyd, Gary Brooker and Robin Gibb as guest star. For its 60th anniversary, the Monaco Red Cross has treated herself with a very rock’n’roll Gala with a definite feel of renewal to it.
The smartest evening of the year and in past years the stiffest summer party has definitely found a new youth. For the first time, the gala dinner, to which 800 guests were invited, was held outside in the Sporting Club gardens. For the occasion, the gardens had been transformed and looked like a scene of ‘Out of Africa’, sumptuous with wooden floorboards, candles and white netting hanging from the trees.
Then on Prince’s Albert invitation, all the guests moved to the Salles aux Etoiles to enjoy Bill Wyman and guests’ concert. For the first time again, the concert was open to the public who was able to mingle with guests and the Prince’s family; they were all having fun and dancing away in the VIP corner! More than just an evolution, this 60th Red Cross Gala will be the start of a revolution!
Still, no time for resting, despite the success of last night. Bill was up at 9:30 (slightly hung over) and starting packing for the trip back to St.Paul today. The rest of the day was spent travelling home, then a late dinner.
A great article on Sunday in the Nice-Matin, which featured photos of Bill, the Rhythm Kings, Louis Bertignac and Mary Wilson. The article, which was headed Au Gala Du Renouveau De La Croix-Rouge Monegasque read:
A new youth for the Monaco Red Cross Gala
4pm in the Monaco Sporting Club gardens: a team of workers and waiters are bustling about to try and finish getting the ‘Out of Africa’ decor ready for the Gala dinner. The place is superb and one is surprised it is not used more often for this kind of parties. A varnished wooden floor has been put down, large white sails are hanging from the trees and a walk of candles leads all the guests to their table where each of them will find a wooden fan with ‘Red Cross Gala 2008’ inscribed on it. The stage is set along pine trees and just next to the beach giving Jean René Palacio (the SBM artistic director) ideas for a possible jazz festival. His friends Harry Lapp (jazz in Juan) and Drouot (Nice jazz) will be delighted to hear that…
4.30 pm in the Salles aux Etoiles at the Sporting Club: on stage, rehearsals have started. Bill Wyman is acting as the conductor, welcoming each of his ‘luxury’ guest stars: Donovan, Bertignac, Robin Gibb, Eddie Floyd, Mary Wilson. Bill Wyman, the ex Rolling Stones bass player and his Rhythm Kings, Albert Lee (guitar), Georgie Fame (keyboards) and Gary Brooker (keyboards and singing) adapt to all kinds of repertoires in quite a disconcerting easiness. For them, rehearsing consists of agreeing on an extract and playing to perfection first time round! Donovan will sing ‘Mellow Yellow’, Robin Gibb ‘Masachussetts’, Bertignac ‘Hey Joe’, Garry Brooker ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’, Mary Wilson ‘You can’t hurry love’… In the concert hall… the ‘Rock and Folk Boys’, Philippe Manœuvre and Jérome Soligny can’t believe their eyes!
4.45pm in the Sporting Club Gardens: Philippe Manœuvre and Frédérique Courtadon, masters of ceremony for the evening rehearse their lines: Your Eminence, your Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to blah blah blah… Coming from a rocker turned TV presenter, all dressed in black, wearing his Ray ban and skull rings, it sounds a little strange. Even he can’t help laughing out loud as he says these words. This is promising a very interesting night ahead!
5.00pm Salles aux étoiles: Prince Albert II comes to say hello to the musicians and has a long chat with Bill Wyman. The hall will be divided in to parts; there will be chairs on the ground floor, a standing bar and a VIP sitting room for the Prince’s guests on the half way floor. One little slight problem, the sliding bay windows are stuck and only one is sliding but it should be fine and allow the guests to watch the fireworks from the terrace.
6.00pm backstage at the Sporting Club: general big commotion before the big moment; the dancers, roadies, suppliers, musicians, photographers, cameramen and the producers all bump into each other, call out to each other in several languages! The only one keeping his cool is Jean René Palacio, who actually enjoys this familiar buzz preceding a big night at the Sporting Club. Everyone then slips into their evening suit to see all the guests arriving.
8.00pm in the gardens: at the fall of day, the place is even more sumptuous. The procession of dresses and jewellery has started. Prince Albert arrives with Charlene on his arm and Princesses Caroline and Stéphanie on each side. Tonight, Charlene beauty and elegance has taken over the evening even if the standards are high tonight with designer dresses and diamonds. Amazing! However, it is a surprise that there are so few ‘people’ amongst the guests (to give an idea, Denise Fabre and Ivana Trump are considered as stars of the evening by the photographers!). This is surprising as these ‘people’ all swarm to all night parties in Cannes or St Tropez! This can only come down to one explanation: a night in St Topez or Cannes costs a few Euros but here it is 1000 € per head but it is all for a good cause.
11.00pm Salles aux Etoiles: after the fireworks, Philippe Manœuvre demands a huge round of applause for Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings but he only gets a discreet round. However, the concert could not start off with better representatives: Ray Charles, Louis Prima, Chuck Berry… All the fifties and sixties hits succeed each other like on parade day, carried along by the Wyman Big Band. Everyone is up on their feet in the Prince’s quarters and in the aisles on the ground floor. On stage, guests are singing one after the other, each time you can hear cries of delights in the crowd.
2.00am Salles aux Etoiles : the band is still playing hits and entertaining the guests without a sign of tiredness or weariness as some people start to leave. Along comes Mary Wilson who literally brings the house down with hit songs by The Supremes. Philippe Manœuvre drops his Ray bans in amazement, rushes off to the stage to take a photo of the singer and touch her hand! And just by listening to Mary’s magical voice it takes him back to his rock kid years! The Monaco Red Cross Gala formerly weighed down with “mondaine” pumps has too found a new youth!
(Special thanks to Gilbert Trem for the translation)
