Last night (April 1st), David Gilmour appeared amongst a galaxy of stars, as part of the Jools Holland And Friends show for the Teenage Cancer Trust, at London's Royal Albert Hall. The Pink Floyd guitarist joined such luminaries as Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, soul legend Solomon Burke, Ruby Turner, Tom Jones, Chrissie Hynde, the Velvet Underground's John Cale, and many others, in a rousing three hour show, taking in forty songs along the way!

The show, organised by The Who for this most worthy of charities, was part of a week-long run at the newly-refurbished venue. Other shows during the week included the remaining members of The Who performing selections from Tommy, alongside some of their other classics, The Stereophonics, and a night of comedy with Alan Partridge.

As exclusively revealed here on Brain Damage almost a month ago, David Gilmour appeared almost three hours into the show, to perform "I Put A Spell On You" with Mica Paris on vocals, and Jools' band backing them. A fine, five minute reading of the song, with David dressed all in black, and looking confident and relaxed. We bumped into David before the show briefly and he was looking very healthy, fit, and calm.

At the conclusion of the song, David retired to the side of the stage, and stayed in the wings grooving to the performers who followed him. These included car enthusiast (and no doubt chum of Nick Mason!) Jay Kay, who performed a fine "I'm In The Mood For Love".

A few songs later, and David, still standing in the wings, was given his cream Stratocaster, and came back on the stage, to perform a song with Ruby Turner. Guessing that this was a bit of a last moment thing, not least from the ill-at-ease look of Gilmour. Nevertheless, a solid performance and nice to see him back on stage.

Other highlights of the show included Sam Brown, the ever friendly chanteuse, who backed many of the artists and even had her own slot near the start of the show. Her "Valentine Moon" sent shivers down the spine! Ronnie Wood's "Ooh La La", backed by his son on acoustic guitar and daughter Amy on vocals, was great (the second show of the week he performed the song in!); Jeff Beck's songs, including "Need Your Love So Bad", showcased his awesome guitar work, and even little Marc Almond got a standing ovation for "Say Hello Wave Goodbye".

Shock of the night though, was the appearance of The Pogues lead singer Shane McGowan. A lesson on the effects of alcohol abuse, he stumbled on stage to face a shocked, silent audience... throwing an ashtray and a pint glass down onto Jools' piano, dressed in a very shabby buccaneers outfit, which did nothing to mask his bloated appearance, he actually sang pretty well, accompanied by Sam Brown. As a final flourish, as he left the stage he told a cameraman where to go!

Certainly a memorable evening - and raised a lot of money for charity, which was the reason for the show. Please visit The Teenage Cancer Trust site to find out more about their important work, and while you are there, why not drop them a donation? Thanks!