Radio LBB: The Royal Albert Hall

Even if you’re not a music aficionado or part of the industry, you’ll know The Royal Albert Hall as a crown jewel of London’s cultural scene. It's an emblem of music, sport, philanthropy, politics and science. Undeniably one of the world’s most prestigious and iconic venues, the RAH stage has welcomed a wealth of talent since opening its doors in 1871.

In the latest episode of ‘If These Walls Could Talk’, a DLMDD podcast series unearthing tales from the beating heart of London’s music venues, we sat down with RAH’s Head of Programming, Dave Gamble, and Lead Archivist, Alicia Kirkbride, to explore some of the Hall’s most historic and unforgettable moments.

We worked with Dave and the RAH team to curate a playlist of standout live tracks recorded at the Hall. As he puts it, “This playlist features just a tiny selection of amazing performances that showcase the diversity of artists and genres that grace our stage every single night of the year.

“From the groundbreaking fusion of rock and classical music in Deep Purple's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra", to the emotionally charged performance of Nessun Dorma, each track hopefully captures the unique atmosphere that the Royal Albert Hall brings when artists grace the stage. Also included is a small selection of tracks from some of the shows I would have loved to have been at myself, like seeing Bob Dylan on his Judas tour in 1966, the legendary American singer and actor Paul Robeson and this incredible recording of Elgar conducting Elgar with the now defunct Royal Albert Hall Orchestra.”

Some of Dave’s personal highlights include, “Cypress Hill with the LSO, because I’m a huge Simpsons fan and that show was basically a live re-enactment of a throwaway joke from an episode over 20 years ago. Also Bryan Ferry’s ‘Avalon’, recorded at his final shows in March 2020, days before we had to close our doors for over a year due to the covid-19 pandemic.”

The playlist includes tracks from some of the most exciting shows the Hall has hosted in recent years, featuring artists such as Dua Lipa, Raye, Loyle Carner, Sam Smith, Florence + The Machine, Arctic Monkeys, and Aurora.

Listen and follow to ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ here.