A Centenary Concert for the Mountain Gorillas in aid of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund was staged at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. With musical direction by Michael Kamen, Bryan Adams and Brian May headlining and The Clash’s Joe Strummer supporting with a setlist that included ‘White Riot’ and ‘Rudy Can’t Fail’, it was the first rock concert ever to be held at Covent Garden. Michael Palin stole the show with a hilarious monologue about saving the plankton. Jeremy Irons, Alan Bates, Sinead Cusak, Terrence Stamp and Eileen Atkins read excerpts from Dian Fossey’s letters to her mother, which were later published in a book, Letters From The Mist (Palazzo Editions Ltd, 2005). And Leonardo DiCaprio pre-filmed a message for the audience. The event marked 100 years since mountain gorillas were “discovered” in central Africa by Robert von Beringe. Download the souvenir book here.
An account of the event was published on Brian May’s website.
