BLUE CHRISTMAS - ELIO PACE (Live on BBC Radio 2's 'Weekend Wogan' - Sunday, 19 December 2010)

Taken from Elio Pace's social media post:
WEEKEND WOGAN 10th ANNIVERSARY SERIES - Show 35/35
12.03pm, live on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday, 19 December 2010… the 1957 Elvis Presley Christmas classic, 'Blue Christmas’, written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson.
And so folks… this is it… the last week of our 10th Anniversary ‘Weekend Wogan’ celebration. Show 35 of 35.💥
And it very nearly didn’t happen because the night before saw the heaviest snowfall that London had seen for 50 YEARS! Two of the musical guests had to cancel because they simply couldn’t get to the BBC Radio Theatre for the Sunday show. Luckily, the brilliant Nell Bryden lived about a 5-minute walk around the corner and was available at the twelfth hour.
I, myself, had a very 'exciting' 24 hours! 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️ … It was during the Saturday morning rehearsal at the BBC Radio Theatre in Central London, the day before the show, that we learned that because of the predicted extreme weather, most trains in and out of London would be cancelled from midnight onwards, indefinitely. Living an hour’s train ride away in Surrey, this was not good news for me! And so, I decided to book a hotel room right opposite the BBC Radio Theatre in Regent Street for that night. However, I had to get back home first because I had no overnight bag with me and I needed my suit for the show. So after our band’s celebratory/farewell Christmas lunch, I jumped on the train home, dealing with allsorts of cancellations and diversions, packed everything I needed and headed straight back on the train into Central London, arriving at my hotel by around 10pm. After ordering room service and with a mountain of emails and messages stacked up pertaining to the rearranged show, I opened my laptop and proceeded to get on with all the musical arrangements and amendments that needed to be done. I eventually closed my eyes to sleep at around 4am on early Sunday morning (having been awake for 22 hours) and set my alarm for 7.30am so that I had time for breakfast before that 9am rehearsal. Yes, to say I was exhausted is a huge understatement BUT how relieved did I feel walking literally 90-seconds across the road to the Radio Theatre, ready to do my job, one last time! 🤗
None of the above is the ideal way for a singer to prepare for a performance but it’s truly amazing what adrenaline and the buzz of doing a live, simultaneous radio and TV show can do for you… and of course, the support of an incredibly talented group of musicians and singers… AND… the energy of an audience that REALLY WANTED TO BE THERE!!! 🌨❄️😆 Against the odds, everyone put on a fantastic final show… and I got to perform one of my favourite Christmas songs... Blue Christmas! 😊🎄🎅🏻❤️
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Terry's special guests for this final week were Gilbert O'Sullivan, Jimmy Carr and Nell Bryden.
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For more info, tour dates, CDs and DVDs and more, please visit www.eliopace.com/

[@LeeAshby]

Great.