Sinatra in Concert at Royal Festival Hall
Cover of U.S. DVD issued in 1999
Also known asSinatra in Concert at Royal Festival Hall
GenreMusical special
Directed byStanley Dorfman
StarringFrank Sinatra
Grace Kelly
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerHarold Davison
Running time85 minutes (original TV broadcast with Bob Hope)[1]
50 minutes (home video of Sinatra portion)
Original release
NetworkBBC Television
Release22 November 1970 (1970-11-22)[1][2]
Related

Sinatra in Concert at Royal Festival Hall, originally titled and broadcast as Night of Nights,[1][2] was a BBC television special starring Frank Sinatra in concert at London's Royal Festival Hall filmed on 16 November 1970,[3] the day before he was to leave show business.

Description

The concert was introduced by Princess Grace of Monaco, the former Grace Kelly, who had co-starred with Sinatra in the 1956 film High Society, prior to her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco later that year.[4] Princess Grace was a stand-in for Noël Coward, who had been scheduled to appear but was ill.[5][6][2]

The television special was directed by Stanley Dorfman and produced by Harold Davison, and the musical direction and conducting was by Bill Miller.[2] The filmed concert was the second night of a two-night charity event to raise money for the United World Colleges Fund, and also featured the comedian Bob Hope.[3] The programme was broadcast in the UK on BBC Television on 22 November 1970.[1][2]

Ticket sales from Sinatra's appearance raised over £100,000 for the United World Colleges Fund.[3]

Dorman recalled in a 2018 interview in Shindig! magazine that Sinatra had told him "Whatever you do is up to you, I want one camera on my face all the time, so I know when I want to look at the two or three people who are sitting at home, I’m going to be looking into the camera." Dorfman went on to use this technique when filming other artists.[7]

Sinatra had previously done a charity concert at the Royal Festival Hall, at midnight on June 1, 1962. He was accompanied in that concert by a sextet (also conducted by Miller) rather than an orchestra.[8] This concert was broadcast the following evening on ITV under the title This Is Sinatra![9] Both the 1962 and 1970 concerts are included in the DVD of the box set Sinatra: London.

Set list

  1. "You Make Me Feel So Young"
  2. "Pennies from Heaven"
  3. "I've Got You Under My Skin"
  4. ”Something”
  5. "The Lady Is a Tramp
  6. "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)"
  7. "Didn't We"
  8. "One For My Baby"
  9. "A Foggy Day" – edited from standalone home video releases; only on DVD in Sinatra: London box set
  10. "I Will Drink the Wine"
  11. "I Have Dreamed"
  12. "My Kind of Town"
  13. "My Way"

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sunday". The Times. 21 November 1970. 8.20 Night of Nights with Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Night of Nights". BBC Programme Index. 22 November 1970. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Waring, Charles (2022-11-16). "London Calling: Frank Sinatra In Concert At The Royal Festival Hall". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  4. ↑ "1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly". 1956-04-19. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  5. ↑ "Night of Nights Programme Royal Festival Hall: Very Good Paperback (1970) First Edition. | Peter Sheridan Books Bought and Sold".
  6. ↑ "Billboard". 28 November 1970.
  7. ↑ Budd, Christopher (August 2018). "TV Eye: Stanley Dorfman". Shindig!. No. 28. p. 37. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "When Sinatra Took the Throne at London's Royal Festival Hall, 1962". June 2023.
  9. ↑ "This is Sinatra! (1962)". Archived from the original on May 16, 2019.
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