Main Performers | Donna McPhail, Angela Mason, Lily Savage, Matthew Bourne, Boy George, Robbie Williams, Horse McDonald, David McAlmont, Lesley Garrett, Jools Holland
Stuart Nicholson - organ |
Secondary Performers | AMP Dancers (William Kemp, Ben Wright, Lee Bogess, Ben Hartley, Phil Hill, Simon Reglar), Philip Thomas - accompanist for Lesley Garrett |
Orchestra or Band | Sheboom, Horse Quartet (Audrey Riley - cello, Chris Tombling - violin, Les Payne - violin, Sue Dench - viola) Erasure |
Set List | Sheboom, Robbie Williams, Horse McDonald, McAlmont and Holland, Donna McPhail, AMP's Swan Lake, The 1996 Equality Award, Boy George INTERVAL Lesley Garrett, Lily Savage, Erasure, 'We Are Family Finale' |
Performance Notes | Stonewall is the largest British charity for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality. Founded in 1988 to protest against the Section 28 amendment, which banned local authorities from promoting homosexuality, Stonewall went from strength to strength and in 1994 they hosted the first of seven Stonewall Equality shows at the Royal Albert Hall
From 1994-2001 famous names from the LGBTQ+ community and a whole host of other celebrities took to our stage for the annual Equality Show galas, raising funds for Stonewall UK, the largest British and European charity for LGBTQ+ rights. The seven shows were directed by queer icon Sir Ian McKellen who subsequently also brought the 2006 EuroPride Show to the Hall. When they first started they were the biggest ticketed gay and lesbian event ever held in the UK, at the time. The shows created some of the most iconic moments in the Hall's history such as a dragged-up Sir Elton John singing 'Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves' with Kylie Minogue in a tasselled bikini or Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders appearing in their first live performances in character as Patsy and Eddie from Absolutely Fabulous. |
Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1996/135), Poster (RAHE/2/1996/12A) |