Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder made a surprise appearance onstage with The Who tonight (March 20) at the second of the band's two sold-out Teenage Cancer Trust charity gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Introduced by The Who's Roger Daltrey as "a stand-up guy", Vedder joined the band to perform The Punk and the Godfather, one of the pivotal songs on the English band's classic 1973 album Quadrophenia, much to the delight of the shocked audience.
Vedder was previously announced, with Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Paul Weller and Stereophonics Kelly Jones, to play alongside Daltrey and Pete Townshend at 'Ovation', the final night of this week's Teenage Cancer Trust gigs, on Sunday, March 24, but flew in from Seattle early to catch his friends' headline show.
Earlier this year, Daltrey revealed that, in the past, he has had to "beg" bands to perform Teenage Cancer Trust shows, which he has been booking since 2000, but onstage tonight he singled out “unconditional friend” Vedder for his loyalty and commitment to the cause, telling the Albert Hall audience, "He's been there every time I've asked him to be".
Watched footage of the performance of The Punk and the Godfather, filmed by Pearl Jam webzine EstupidaFregona, below:
The Teenage Cancer Trust shows return tomorrow, March 21, with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, followed by Young Fathers (March 22), The Chemical Brothers (March 23) and the closing night 'Ovation - A Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs For Teenage Cancer Trust' on March 24.
Speaking with Classic Rock last summer, Daltrey described his stewardship of the long-running concert season as "an incredible ride."
"I'll still be a patron for the charity, and still going out speaking on the charity's behalf," he said. "We've achieved something incredible, we wanted to build 25 hospital wards around the country for teenagers with cancer, and we delivered on that promise: in fact we've built 30."
