Teenage Cancer Trust Unseen

Schedule:

Ed Sheeran: Thursday 8th October - 8:00pm BST
Muse: Friday 9th October - 8:00pm BST
Rudimental: Saturday 10th October - 8:00pm BST
Paul McCartney: Sunday 11th October - 8:00pm BST
Paul Weller: Monday 12th October - 8:00pm BST
Stereophonics: Tuesday 13th October - 8:00pm BST
Pulp: Wednesday 14th October - 8:00pm BST
Noel Gallagher: Thursday 15th October - 8:00pm BST
Them Crooked Vultures: Friday 16th October 10:00pm - BST
The Who: Saturday 17th October - 8:00pm BST
The Cure: Sunday 18th October - 8:00pm BST

Teenage Cancer Trust has launched an incredible archive of never-before-seen footage of live performances at the Royal Albert Hall, as part of an emergency fundraising appeal.

The YouTube channel is to raise vital funds for the charity to help it support young people facing cancer across the UK. This content will be free to enjoy, but artists and the charity are urging fans to donate to fill the gap in fundraising that provides a lifeline for teenagers with cancer.

Starting on Thursday October 8th with Ed Sheeran’s performance from 2017, 11 unique and ‘Unseen’ performances will feature.

Driven by Teenage Cancer Trust Honorary Patron and The Who icon, Roger Daltrey, a who’s who of world-class musical talent have performed at Teenage Cancer Trust’s legendary fundraising gigs at the Royal Albert Hall over the last 20 years. All so young people with cancer get the support they deserve.

Over 20 years, there have been many legendary moments that fans will get the chance to see for the first time with ‘Unseen’. Sir Paul McCartney was joined on stage in 2012 for the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ by Roger Daltrey, Ronnie Wood and Paul Weller – marking a Beatle, Rolling Stone and The Who joining forces. The Beatle later said that after being unable to align his diary for a couple of years, “you could say that the whole McCartney year was based around Teenage Cancer Trust.”

Muse played in 2008, their only show in the UK that year apart from two sold out Wembley Stadiums! They called it, “one of the best gigs of our lives.”

The Cure played a three-hour set on two consecutive nights in 2014, bringing the house down with 45 songs. A huge supporter of the charity, Robert Smith has donated the guitar he played those nights, hand painted himself, to the charity raffle.

And of course, the legendary The Who played that very first Teenage Cancer Trust show in 2000 and would have played this year. Frontman Roger Daltrey has been the driving force behind the concerts, with many a superstar telling tales of Roger striding up to them to ask them to do the gig. Dave Grohl recounted how Roger collared him at the Sunset Marquis in L.A. to persuade him to play the show in 2010. Grohl brought his supergroup Them Crooked Vultures for their only Royal Albert Hall gig ever, with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, who also admitted that Roger had hunted him down for the show that very morning at breakfast! The band they have granted full access to it for ‘Unseen’.

As supergroups go, that first show from The Who assembled Paul Weller, Kelly Jones and Noel Gallagher to join them. All 3 have been incredible supporters over the past 20 years. The Noel Gallagher show from 2013 is the year he stepped into curate the week of gigs for Roger who was away on a world tour.

But Coronavirus has paused live music. There were no Teenage Cancer Trust gigs in 2020; the charity’s week of sold out shows, in what would have been the 20th anniversary year of the legendary series, were due to start on the first day of lockdown. The shows were set to raise more than £1 million for the charity, income which has now been lost.

Other fundraising events have also been cancelled, including marathons, community events and more, resulting in millions of pounds of lost income. Millions of pounds that are needed so the charity can continue to support young people with cancer across the UK.

So music legends are stepping up again, donating exclusive footage from their headline Royal Albert Hall performances to help make sure every young person with cancer can get support from specialist Teenage Cancer Trust nurses or youth support teams.

Because in 2020 that vital support is at risk.

Teenage Cancer Trust relies on donations, and 2020 has been a tough year for the charity. When Coronavirus hit, it lost around half of its income; it is set to lose more than £6million in funding this year. Unless this money can be replaced, that could mean specialist hospital units, nurses and youth support teams, that offer essential care for young people with cancer, being reduced or stopped entirely.

For young people’s mental, emotional and physical health while going through cancer, during a pandemic, that could be catastrophic.

Whatever the crisis, Teenage Cancer Trust won’t stop – can’t stop – being there for young people with cancer.

Donate now so young people don’t have to face cancer alone – now or ever.