| Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty's Service | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Video by | |
| Released | 3 June 2012 - Broadcast 25 June 2012 - DVD |
| Genre | Pop, documentary |
| Length | 60:00 |
| Label | Decca Studios, Polydor Records [1] |
| Director | Ben Winston |
| Producer | Ben Winston |
Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty's Service is a documentary featuring the process of Gary Barlow writing the Queen's Diamond Jubilee official single and travelling across The Commonwealth enlisting the help of singers and musicians to feature in the track.
With Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber asked to create an official single for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the documentary starts with them writing the melody and music of the song together, whilst also showing Gary talking to Prince Charles and discussing what The Queen would enjoy listening to in the song. From this Barlow and Prince Charles agree that the song should aim to feature musicians and artists from The Commonwealth of the Prince states it is something that The Queen considers to be one of her finest achievements of her reign. Barlow then takes the base of the music he and Lloyd Webber have written and aims to add the lyrics and the instrumentals to the song by visiting countries across The Commonwealth. The lyrics were written by Barlow whilst visiting villages in Kenya, where Princess Elizabeth had been visiting when she was told that her father George VI had died and that she had ascended to the throne. Barlow said "She was in Kenya on holiday when she found out her father had died and she found out she was the Queen so I drove to this place called Treetops and I wrote". [2] Barlow went on to say that "She started her reign there and we started our record in that place" and it was fitting that the song would return to those origins. [3]
Once the lyrics were written Barlow met many people and groups such as an African Children's Choir who provided vocals to the track, whilst also meeting a Masai tribe, and the Slum Drummers who create their music from rubbish in their village. In Jamaica, Barlow meets with Prince Harry who plays a tambourine which Barlow records and programs onto the single through his laptop whilst he also finds a Rastafarian retreat where he records percussions from a young boy who plays drums. As his journey comes to a close he is introduced to an Aboriginal singer called Gurrumul on the top of a cliff in the Blue Mountains who was blind since birth and provides vocals and acoustic guitar to the demo of the track. With the song taking shape, Barlow then visits the Sydney Opera House to record a full symphony orchestra before heading back to Abbey Road Studios to master the track and to add the vocals of The Military Wives Choir with Gareth Malone.
The song is finally completed and Barlow, Lloyd Webber and Malone meet The Queen to play her the final version of the song which she then describes as "Splendid". [4] The documentary ends with Barlow and Lloyd Webber presenting the original song sheet of the score in a frame and the video of the song interspersing with a final word from Barlow.
The documentary about the Take That star's creation of a song for the Jubilee, was seen by 6.35million viewers upon its broadcast which equated to a 27.7% of the entire TV audience when it aired on BBC One from 7.45pm. [5]
Critical reception was positive towards Barlow and the documentary; The Telegraph awarded it 4 stars, praising Barlow's approach to the cultures around him, and commenting that there were "many touching moments in the documentary" as Barlow journeyed across The Commonwealth. [6] The Guardian also reviewed the programme positively by commenting that "everywhere [Barlow] goes people take a liking to him, want to be his friend. It's hard not to, really: he seems warm, genuine, funny too"; it concluded by stating that "you'd have to be really hard not to be at least a little bit moved by it [as] Gary completes his journey, from the one who isn't Robbie Williams, via X Factor judge, to national treasure." [7]
It was announced by Barlow and through the Take That official website that the Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty's Service would be released on DVD and Blu Ray on 25 June 2012. [8]
Gary Barlow is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That.
The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days", held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday. The anniversary date itself was commemorated in church services across the land on 6 February 1977, and continued to be for the rest of that month. In March, preparations started for large parties in every major city of the United Kingdom, as well as for smaller ones for countless individual streets throughout the country.
The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty.
The Party at the Palace was a British pop/rock music concert held at Buckingham Palace Garden in London on 3 June 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II held over the Golden Jubilee Weekend. It was the pop/rock equivalent of the Prom at the Palace, that showcased classical music. 10 years later the Diamond Jubilee Concert for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was held in 2012, followed by the Platinum Party at the Palace for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
The image of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth from 1952 to 2022, was generally favourable throughout her years as a reigning monarch. Conservative in dress, she was well known for her solid-colour overcoats and matching hats, which allowed her to be seen easily in a crowd. She attended many cultural events as part of her public role. Her main leisure interests included horse racing, photography, and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh corgis. Her views on political issues and other matters were largely subject to conjecture. She never gave a press interview and was otherwise not known to discuss her personal opinions publicly.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and 15 at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female sovereign in history.
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009, and concluded on March 10, 2017, having aired 171 episodes over eight seasons.
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria.
The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network is tri-service and any woman with a military connection can join including those currently serving, veterans, mothers, sisters and daughters, empowering women from across the military community. The organisation is also a subsidiary charity of SSAFA.
Gary Barlow in Concert was the first full solo tour that Gary Barlow had performed in over 13 years. Leg 1 saw him performing songs from his "incredible music career spanning over 20 years" in front of a sell out audience, whilst also raising money for The Prince's Trust and The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry during two nights at the Royal Albert Hall. It was announced on 15 October 2012 that Barlow would go on a full solo tour for his second leg of shows, lasting two months around the UK and Ireland.
The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
"Sing" is a song written by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, of Take That, and British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and performed by a number of artists assembled by Barlow from across The Commonwealth, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The track was released via digital download and CD single on 28 May 2012, and was performed as part of the Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Concert celebrations on 4 June 2012.
Sing is the third solo studio album released by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The album was released through Decca Records on 25 May 2012 and features The Commonwealth Band which was created by Barlow to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
Fulwell 73 is a British television, film and music production company based in London. It was founded in 2005 by brothers Gabe and Ben Turner, Leo Pearlman, and Ben Winston. James Corden became the fifth full time partner in January 2017. Fulwell 73 operates across a wide range of genres and across all media platforms; theatrical, broadcast and digital.
The Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II on 6 February 2017, marked 65 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II was the first British monarch to have a sapphire jubilee.
Ben Winston is a British producer and director who established the production company Fulwell 73 with Gabe Turner, Ben Turner, and Leo Pearlman. He is co-executive producer of The Late Late Show with James Corden alongside Rob Crabbe and Mike Gibbons and the show's segments "Carpool Karaoke" and "Drop the Mic". Winston is the youngest show producer of a late night show in America. The American talk show broadcast on CBS was launched in 2015. He has collaborated with a number of artists, most notably One Direction, JLS, Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow, Kacey Musgraves, and James Corden. He has produced and directed a number of pop culture oriented films, documentaries, concerts and music videos. He is also renowned for producing a number of the annual Brit Awards from 2011 to 2014. More recently he was a co-producer of US Grammy Awards and Tony Awards.
The Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1992 marked the 40th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. Contrary to her Silver Jubilee in 1977, there were no widespread public celebrations of the Ruby Jubilee; it was a low-profile event. However, there were some observances to mark the milestone.
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.
The Platinum Party at the Palace was a British music concert, held outside Buckingham Palace in London on 4 June 2022, in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The concert began at 20:00 (BST). Comedian Lee Mack served as host for the event while the Queen appeared with Paddington Bear in a pre-recorded comedy segment, which showed her offering tea to Paddington, pulling a marmalade sandwich from her handbag and tapping her tea cup to the beat of "We Will Rock You". Prince William spoke about the state of the natural world and pointed out his family's involvement with tackling environmental issues, while the Prince of Wales gave the closing speech and paid tribute to his mother's "lifetime of selfless service". Pre-taped messages of tribute from Sir Paul McCartney and former US First Lady Michelle Obama were also played during the event.