Guest Post: UTA’s Neil Warnock On Royal Albert Hall’s 150th Anniversary

Neil Warnock, MBE
Courtesy United Talent Agency – Neil Warnock, MBE
Co-Head of UK Office, UTA

When the Royal Albert Hall announced its ambitious 150th anniversary plans back in November of 2018, it also unveiled an anniversary committee tasked with curating an entire year’s worth of celebrations. The list of names of committee members reads like a who’s who of the UK’s music biz: Steve Homer and Toby Leighton-Pope, who run AEG Presents in the UK, DHP Family founder George Akins, Harvey Goldsmith (Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments), Kilimanjaro Live CEO Stuart Galbraith, Harry Magee and Richard Griffiths of Modest Management, Rolling Stones manager Joyce Smyth, Phil Collins manager Tony Smith, and SJM Concerts’ Simon Moran. Agents joining the party include Emma Banks and Mike Greek of CAA, Alex Hardee and Geoff Meall of Paradigm, Barry Dickins of ITB, WME’s David Levy and Lucy Dickins, Primary Talent’s Peter Elliott, and X-Ray Touring’s Ian Huffam.


The man responsible for bringing together these A-listers is Co-Head of UK Office, UTA, Neil Warnock, MBE, who chairs the Royal Albert Hall’s anniversary committee. You’d be hard-pressed to find an individual that’s been to the Hall more times than Warnock, either as guest or in professsional capacity. 

His first show as an agent representing his own act at the prestigious building was Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Sept. 24, 1969. He’s lost count of how many times he’s been back since. 

“Looking back over 50 years, 600 times, easily,” he told Pollstar, “I’m a very frequent visitor. Let alone coming in as a punter and being here for other shows. There’s so many wonderful artists that play here, and I just want to see them in this setup, under these circumstances only the Royal Albert Hall offers.”

Warnock must know, having been to most concert venues in the world that could be considered iconic. We were therefore more than thrilled when he agreed to pen this guest post on what the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th anniversary means to him, personally.
My history of coming to the Royal Albert Hall has been well-documented. Since the 1960s, this building has been part of my personal and professional life. We are lucky in our business to be offered tickets for shows, but often in earlier days, I bought tickets to see Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, charitable events, and many others.
 Being asked to chair the 150th year celebrations is both an honour and a huge responsibility. It is a privilege to work not only with Craig Hassall, Lucy Noble and the team at the Royal Albert Hall but also our wonderful legion of Ambassadors.
With COVID, we are extending the celebrations to the end of 2023. After all, who doesn’t want to celebrate this extraordinary building and its outstanding history for as long as possible?! 
The Royal Albert Hall has a unique magic. It doesn’t matter how you enter the building. For me, coming in through the Artistes’ Entrance at Door 1 and going straight down towards the dressing rooms and production areas immediately sets a tone of anticipation for a special occasion because every show at the Royal Albert Hall is a special occasion, for the Artiste, for their families, for all of the backstage crew, and especially for the audience. 
Passing the dressing rooms and saying “Hello” to the great Johnny Cash when he was with us, and to Brian Wilson, David Gilmour, Robert Fripp, Deep Purple, George Benson, Squeeze, Level 42 and so many more clients I’ve had play there is such an exciting experience.
Just saying “I’m off to the Royal Albert Hall tonight” is enough to get the adrenaline going, and to incite a feeling of knowing that you are about to watch a show by an Artiste at the peak of their game at the most famous theatre in all the world. 
So why? Well, all those years ago, Prince Albert created a 5,000-odd capacity building in the round that manages to make every member of the audience feel that they are having a one-to-one experience with the Artiste they are there to see. 
For an Artiste, walking out on that stage, is awe-inspiring, the flat floor and tiered seating floating up and up, with the boxes on three levels all around. To any Artiste, it must feel like they can connect with every member of the audience.
Ringing out the last bell before the show starts at the Royal Albert Hall is a very special feeling, with people moving through all the different entrances, red coated attendants seeing customers into the boxes, last drinks being served and the bustle of anticipation.
Something my wife Christa once said about Royal Albert Hall has always stuck with me: “Having travelled around the world with Neil, I’ve been privileged to visit some amazing venues but nothing matches the magic and structural beauty of the Royal Albert Hall.”

This is a personal memory for me, but I’m sure if you ask people who regularly attend the Proms, especially the “Last Night” for their view or anybody at a sporting or 
charity event, they will all say how special that night has been. 

I can only endorse that by saying that everything at the Royal Albert Hall is special because this is the most spectacular theatre in the world and long may it be so.