by Alisha Jackson
Marty McFly’s got nothin’ on this version of “Johnny B. Goode”.
In 1986, Bev Bevan (drummer for Electric Light Orchestra) organized the “Heart Beat” concert to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The concert took place on March 15th at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham England, and it lasted from 3:00 PM until late in the evening.
While the lineup of the artists who were scheduled to perform were an impressive bunch, the surprise guest during the concert’s finale blew the crowd away.
Imagine all of these performances happening:
The Steve Gibbons Band
“Share It With You”
“Till The Well Runs Dry”
“BSA”
The Fortunes
“Let It Be Me”
“You’ve Got Your Troubles”
Roy Wood
“See My Baby Jive”
“Are You Ready To Rock”
“I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day”
UB40 and Ruby Turner
“I Got U Babe”
Applejacks
“Tell Me When”
Robert Plant and Big Town Playboys
“She Walks Right In”
“Come On”
“Mellow Saxophone”
The Rockin’ Berries
“He’s In Town”
The Moody Blues
“Tuesday Afternoon”
“Question”
“Nights In White Satin”
Electric Light Orchestra
“Twilight”
“Evil Woman”
“Livin’ Thing”
“Telephone Line”
Rock Medley: “Ma-Ma-Ma Belle”, “Do Ya”, “Rockaria!”
Pop Medley: “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”, “Confusion”
“Turn To Stone”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Is King”
“Calling America”
“Mr. Blue Sky”
“Hold On Tight”
“Don’t Bring Me Down”
“Roll Over Beethoven”
And then, out of nowhere, former Beatle George Harrison joins the entire legendary lineup on stage for a “Johnny B. Goode” jam session.
Unless you’re lacking in the soul department, the video of the performance above is guaranteed to make you smile.
Especially the part where Robert Plant’s rarely-seen hammer skills come out for his lead vocal takeover!
Check out Plant’s spotlight below:
The coolest part about the finale, is that no one suspected George to get on that stage, not even the musicians.
When Birmingham Mail asked concert organizer Bev Bevin how George’s appearance came about, he responded with “That was down to Jeff Lynne (of ELO). George and Jeff were pals. There hadn’t been any whispers beforehand so it was a complete surprise for the audience.”
Can you imagine being in the crowd for that bomb?
How about being on stage?!
According to Bevin, the surprise applied to everyone: “Even we (the musicians) didn’t know he was going to be there. Jeff had said that was a slight possibility he might be able to get George to appear but that’s all it ever was.”
With no appearance at rehearsal or sound check, and with George not arriving to the theatre until about 9:00 PM, no one had a clue that he would be there.
We can only hope that no one left the concert early.
Can you imagine?!
