Paul McCartney headlined an event last Thursday designed to raise money for one of London’s most venerable theatres – as well as to increase awareness of the Meat Free Monday campaign – and ended up singing a duet with actor Kevin Spacey.
Spacey, artistic director of the Old Vic in Waterloo, joined Paul on stage for a rendition of Hey Jude, dedicated to actress Judi Dench, a member of a star-studded crowd of just 450.
The event, held at the Boiler House, Battersea Power Station, raised funds to fix the leaking roof of the 192-year-old theatre, which sustained bomb damage during the Second World War.
Also in the audience were Stephen Fry, Mark Ronson, Joely Richardson, Anya Hindmarch, Christopher Ecclestone, Bryan Adams, James Corden, Ronnie Corbett and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
“It was a great pleasure to come and rock out for the Old Vicars,” Paul said after the gig. “Such a great event for a good cause. When Kevin strong-armed me into doing it, as he does, we were only too pleased to show up and step up to the plate. We had a great evening, we rocked out and the crowd did too. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
Also on the playlist for the night were Got to Get You Into My Life, The Long and Winding Road, Back in the USSR, Let it Be and Get Back.
The Meat Free Monday campaign will get a slice of the night’s profits, raised through ticket sales, a champagne reception and art auction.