Hyde Park Report

I spent most of the day searching for information on the Hyde Park show this
afternoon, but I couldn't find a thing besides that story about Gary Glitter
hitting Roger in the head with his microphone stand during rehearsals.
 Happily, the person who posted this story on the alt.gossip.royalty
newsgroup was kind enough to respond to my pleas for help.

I'm sure she wouldn't mind my sharing the information she sent with the
members of this list, so here goes:

   The Prince of Wales tonight mingled with some of the greatest names in the
history of rock music after a unique charity concert attracted 150,000 people
to Hyde Park, London. 
   The show, which featured Bob Dylan, members of The Who and Eric Clapton,
is expected to raise £500,000 for The Prince's Trust. 
   And after watching Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who lead the
first live performance of their 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia, Charles met the
stars and thanked them for their efforts. 
   He apologised to Dylan for missing his hour-long performance earlier in
the day, then sat next to the legendary American singer for a photograph. 
   Charles, dressed in a pale grey double-breasted suit, met Townshend,
Daltrey, who was sporting a bizarre eye-patch following an accident in
rehearsals, Dylan, comedian Billy Connolly and boxer Frank Bruno, who acted
as compere. 
   Organisers believe the concert was the largest ever to be staged in
Britain. 
   It was certainly the first of its kind in Hyde Park for 20 years and the
largest open air event seen in Britain since the late 70s. 
   It attracted a host of stars from the world of music and showbusiness as
well as fans of all age groups. 
   Groups of Mods gathered on the fringes of the park on scooters reviving
memories of the London in the 60s. 
   Among the celebrities watching the performance were Mick Jagger, Heritage
Secretary Virginia Bottomley, actor Ian McShane and legendary soccer star
Pele. 
   Dylan led the line-up of legends on to the stage, turning the pages back
more than 40 years to produce new versions of some of his greatest songs. 
   Townshend and Daltrey then led a cast which included actor Stephen Fry and
newsreader Trevor McDonald in a spectacular performance of Quadrophenia. 
   It was the first time the band's members had been on stage together for
more than six years and afterwards Townshend said that working with Daltrey
once more had been a "beautiful experience". 
   Daltrey had come close to missing the show altogether. 
   He was accidentally hit in the eye by fellow performer Gary Glitter during
rehearsals on Friday. 
   It was feared that he had broken a cheek bone, but he made a feature of
the injury by donning an eyepatch in the Mod colours of white, blue and red
during the show. 
   Eric Clapton, regarded by many as the world's greatest rock guitarist,
closed the evening with a selection of his best-loved numbers. 
   Police praised the behaviour of fans, saying there were no major problems.

   A spokesman said it was likely there would be a few arrests for possession
of drugs but, considering the size of the event, things had gone very
smoothly. 
   An unknown rock band made up of unemployed youngsters who had taken part
in rock schools set up by The Prince's Trust started proceedings. 
   Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said he was delighted with the show. 
   "It's gone absolutely brillaintly," he said. "Better than I could have
hoped." 
   The event, which also featured Canadian singer Alanis Morissette and Jools
Holland, was sponsored by credit card firm Mastercard. 
   The grey skies which hung over London throughout the day failed to dampen
the enthusiasm of the huge crowd. 

Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood disclosed tonight that Bob Dylan forgot the
last verse of one of his songs during his show at Hyde Park. 
   Dylan and Wood, who played in Dylan's band, were seen in lengthy
conversation before singer-songwriter launched into a version of Seven Days. 
   And Wood, who has also sung a version of the song in the past, said Dylan
had asked him how the last verse started because he had forgotten. 
   "I didn't ask him to do the song. He came to me and said, 'How does the
last verse go?'," said Wood. 
   "I said 'I don't know, you wrote the song'. 
   "He then said, 'Give me a clue', and I said, 'I think it is the one about
My Beautiful Comrade from the North.' He said, 'No that's the fourth verse
not the last one'. And I said 'Bob, just get on with it'." 
   Wood said he had not planned to play with Dylan at the concert but was
"hanging around" at rehearsals on Friday when Dylan asked him if he would
take part. 
   The pair have performed together many times, most notably at the finale of
the 1985 American Live Aid concert. 
   "It was really great to play with him again. I just love Bob," said Wood. 
   "The thing about Bob is that everything is always on the wire, nothing is
ever planned. He is very difficult to play with because you never know what
he is going to do next. But I love that, I love the challenge. I hate things
when people have them all written out in front of them." 
   Dylan was with Wood when he wrote Seven Days in the mid-1980s. Wood said
Dylan had told him to "have the song". 
   But Wood said Dylan had not specifically written the song for him.