Tina BarrettParty at the Palace - The Queen's Concerts, Buckingham Palace [DVD]

If you did not get to see this live or on VH1 then you really ought to treat yourself to this DVD.A record of the biggest street party in history, with over 12000 inside the grounds of Buckingham Palace and countless thousands thronging the Mall in central London, this DVD is a prod testament to the people of Britain as well as being an historical document of some of the world's greatest popular musicians.The concert was one of a number of events arranged to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II - fifty years on the throne, one of the longest serving monarch's thoughout Britain's long history.All of the guests were selected at randomn from the British population and were provided with a free picnic lunch. They were also treated to a regal buffet menu of some of the best of (mostly) British popular musicians.There were some surprising omissions such as Sting who has achieved worldwide acclaim, yet Ricky Martin appeared, much to British indifference. Clearly the performers could not have included the veritable galaxy of British stars of the last fifty years, and there also must have been inevitable schedule conflicts.The event was a showcase for the stars, the monarchy and the whole British people. Also it is a testimony to the technicians and the BBC for a show of high quality sound and for a DVD which has managed to hit the shelves in only five weeks. It is sad to think of all the time it took to get the proceeds from the Concert for Bangla Desh to the people who needed the help at the time.To try to select the best moments from over three hours is difficult but mention must be made of the following. Lenny Henry and Dame Edna Everage managed to inject just the right level of humour into the proceedings. Annie Lenox, alas without Dave Stewart, provided a very strong, soulful rearrangement of Sisters (are doing it for themselves), Phil Collins who I saw long ago as a drummer with a receeding hairline and long hair who occasionally sang with Genesis, did a great job on You Can't Hurry Love.The younger generation of Brit-pop were not my cup of tea really but I am sure that they were appreciated by the younger members of the audience and I don't mean the young princes!For me the absolute highlights came with the veterans of the UK pop scene and Brian Wilson whose Beach Boys songs brought a lump to my throat having managed to see the band at Wembley Stadium in 1974. The surprising choice of Steve Winwood, surprising because he has been out of the public eye for some years, was a joy to listen to. What a voice! Both he and Joe Cocker are such distinctive vocalists with so much soul. Seeing Ray Davies again after almost thirty years but this time without the Kinks was very heartening, such a nice jacket too. Ultimately the night belonged to the Beatles and particularly in the wonderful treatment of While My Guitar Gently Weeps given by Eric Clapton and Sir Paul McCartney. Was it just me or did Eric play so soulfully in memory of a dear friend and musician.The Royal family interlude was both moving and funny with Prince Charles displaying a much hidden sense of humour. It was nice to see the young princes being very friendly with the female component of the show but not so nice to see the younger of the two not applauding the tribute to his grandmother.This is an excellent DVD, the proceeds of which will go to charity. It makes me proud of my English heritage, and proud of the Great British Pop Music Inductry.A final memorable moment - all of the performers together, ostensibly to sing the National Anthem - coming together to sing All You Need Is Love. John Lennon would be both mystified and proud to have seen that and I am glad that Yoko was in the Royal Box to share those minutes.

What an incredible concert! 12,000 people in the garden behind Buckingham Palace and over 1,000,000 gathered outside the Palace. Well over twice as many people as attended the original Woodstock back in '69.OK, I could have done without Ricky Martin and Tom Jones... and what was Tony Bennet doing there? But the rest of the line-up was incredible. Brian May of Queen playing "God Save The Queen" from the roof of Buckingham Palace and Eric Clapton doing "Layla" both gave me goose bumps. Phil Collins played drums for almost everyone. Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Ray Davies and Ozzie sounded great. Brian Wilson looked more zombied-out than Ozzie and did a great rendition of "Warmth of the Sun" with Clapton. Dame Edna was a hoot! Sir Paul McCartney capped it off with everyone singing along to "Hey Jude".I actually got to be there in person. The concert blew this 50 year old Texas boy away! The DVD makes an excellent keep-sake of my first trip across the big pond...

I have watched this DVD many times since my purchase a few months ago. There are so many wonderful artists here, and the song selections they have made have really added to their respective performances. First, Paul McCartney is present, and he is always excellent, but here, he actually supports Eric Clapton in a tribute to George Harrison. They play Harrison's majestic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Clapton does another wonderful version of "Layla", in addition. Albert Lee, and Phil Collins are in the main band that supports most of the artists. Joe Cocker is brilliant! The Black Sabbath song, "Paranoid" features Ozzy with Tony Iommi. Brian May, with Dallas Taylor, then begins a routine that sees the cast of "We Will Rock You" arrive and back them up on a Queen medley that is breath-taking!I was surprised at how good the Tom Jones segment is. Jones does new new songs that are as good as any of his older ones!There are bands that I was introduced to for the first time. The Corrs are three sisters, and a brother, from Ireland. After they did a song here, I went out and purchased a DVD of their regular show. I adore this band! Also, "Toploader" is a young, British group that reminded me of what a group from about 1964, sounded like. I could say much more about this wonderful disc, but it would all be just good reports about enjoyable performances, mainly. The joy of a DVD is that one does not have to view/hear songs that one does not like. I only suffered though the Brian Wilson segment one, or two times. He is good at what he does, but I don't care for beach music. Also, there is a spice girl here, and she seems to primarily be interested in getting the attention of Prince William. That is fun as well!In comparison to other shows available on DVD, this one is well worth the price. The background is beautiful, of course, and no expense is spared with stage decor,etc. This is just a very good show to have for repeated viewings.

As concerts go, there are always high points and low points. As a general rule though, they get better as time goes on. That's why Will Young standing in for Freddie Mercury is nearer the front than you'd expect of a (most of the rest of) Queen gig. He did his best. It was rubbish. The old folks turns like Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey were ok, although long off the boil. Emma Bunton is surprisingly good however and Cliff never ages does he? Given that this is just about the 21st century you'll be surprised how young they all look compared to what we have left now. McCartney looks almost Beatle-ish. Rock on Sir Paul.Video quality is straight from the 90's, being VHS all round, so sit far away. Audio is a little better but it won't make your sub sweat.I said there were highlights. Brian Wilson being despatched straight from Mme Tussauds may or may not be one, depending on your inner cruelty. Ozzy doing Paranoid definitely is, just given the circumstances.No, the highlight of this or any other gig is Joe Cocker. You've heard it before but this is the absolute definitive version of 'With a Little Help...' and it's worth buying the DVD for this alone. I know, I did.ps. You need the DVD because the BBC keeps pulling it from YouTube.

So glad to have got hold of a DVD copy of "Party At The Palace" one of my favourite feelgood concerts. No matter how crummy a day have in work I pop "Party" on and it lifts me. So good it'll never happen again to have so many famous artists from every decade of the Queen's reign in one concert - Brian May playing guitar 'God Save The Queen' on the Palace roof or Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney performing 'My Guitar Gently Weeps' who could ever forget and loads besides.My old recording is of the repeat on New Years Eve 2002 which had lots of cuts so it's great to see the full uncut concert again after 15 years.This girl is one happy bunny.

Haven’t watched this yet - was at the concert on the day! Hopefully it’s done it justice although at 3 hours long there’s about 5 hours of the concert missing. Was an absolutely amazing day and this is a brilliant keepsake!

This was a Christmas gift. It arrived on time and contained all the highlights of the concert and more. It was purchased for family who were away during the celebrations.

Good DVD. Bought it for my Dad who enjoys watching it and viewed it a good few times.Good price at the time as I had found it was more expensive elsewhere.