The Rolling Stones played ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’
A star-studded global event is under way to support frontline workers tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox, Stevie Wonder and concert organiser Lady Gaga have all performed from home.
The Rolling Stones even managed to play together from four separate locations.
Rita Ora gave a pre-recorded performance of her 2014 song I Will Never Let You Down
In total, the One World: Together At Home show will feature more than 100 artists; alongside real-life stories from medical staff on the front line of the pandemic.
The eight-hour event, run by the Global Citizen movement and the World Health Organization (WHO) is being live-streamed and broadcast on TV.
It began with a montage of people under lockdown applauding the efforts of healthcare workers around the world – from France, Spain, the UK and US and elsewhere.
“To all of our frontline healthcare workers, we are with you. Thank you for being there for us,” read an on-screen caption.
Lady Gaga, who curated the line-up, dedicated the show to first responders and medical staff, saying the artists all wanted “to give back a little bit of the kindness that you’ve given us”.
She went on to play an upbeat version of Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, adding: “We want to get to the other side of this pandemic and we know you do too.”
Paul McCartney joined the programme shortly after, calling health-care workers “the real heroes” and remembering his mother Mary, who was a nurse during the Second World War.
Proceeds generated from the concert will go to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the WHO, but Lady Gaga has made clear that the show is not a fundraising telethon and will focus on entertainment and messages of solidarity.
The event involves a six-hour pre-concert, which started at 18:00 GMT on Saturday, followed by the main two-hour TV broadcast from 00:00 GMT on Sunday.
Kicking off the pre-show, actress Jameela Jamil said: “We are here for a moment of respite and hopefully joy as we celebrate our true heroes. Thank you for risking your lives every day to save the lives of others.”
First to perform was US singer songwriter Andra Day, who sang the ballad Rise Up from her apartment.
One Direction star Niall Horan followed shortly afterwards singing Black and White with an acoustic guitar from his living room and former bandmate Liam Payne appeared with the song Midnight. “It’s a pretty dark time for us all right now… and I feel we’re all being brought a lot closer together by this solidarity,” he said.
Two members of The Killers performed their hit Mr Brightside while US singer Adam Lambert gave a rendition of the Tears for Fears song Mad World and John Legend teamed up with Sam Smith to cover Ben E King’s Stand By Me.
Rita Ora urged viewers to stay safe and follow WHO recommendations, before singing I Will Never Let You Down.
Annie Lennox, meanwhile, appeared to address President Donald Trump’s threat to pull funding from the WHO earlier this week.
“In this unprecedented moment in history we have a collective responsibility to make sure that global health systems are strong enough to identify and prevent future pandemics before they happen again,” said the singer, although she didn’t mention President Trump by name.
Ellie Goulding and Christine + The Queens also addressed the mental health issues arising from the lockdown, urging viewers to reach out to friends if they were feeling low.
“I know it’s hard,” said Christine, whose real name is Heloise Letissier, “and don’t hesitate to reach out to people virtually if you feel down.”(BBC)
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