The Royal Variety Performance (originally known as the Royal Command Performance) is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family.
The first event took place in 1912 in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary.
First televised in 1960, a pre-recorded version of the show was broadcast until 1975, switching to live broadcasts in 1976. From 1986 until 2010, the production and broadcast of the show alternated each year between the BBC and ITV.
Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball & The Temperance Seven, Shirley Bassey, Jack Benny, George Burns, Lionel Blair, Max Bygraves, Maurice Chevalier, The Crazy Gang, Sammy Davis, Jr, Arthur Haynes, The McGuire Sisters, Morecambe and Wise, Nina & Frederik, Andy Stewart, Frankie Vaughan
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1962
Norman Vaughan
The Black and White Minstrels, Rudy Cardenas, Rosemary Clooney, Dickie Henderson, Frank Ifield, Eartha Kitt, Cleo Laine, Johnny Dankworth, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Harry Secombe, Andy Stewart, Sophie Tucker, Mike & Bernie Winters, Bob Hope, Edie Adams
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1963
Dickie Henderson
Harry Secombe, The Clark Brothers, Luis Alberto del Paraná, Los Paraguayos, Charlie Drake, Tessa Davies, Susan Maughan, The Beatles, Dickie Henderson, Francis Brunn, Buddy Greco, Nadia Nerina, Sleeping Beauty Cast, Joe Loss & His Orchestra, Larry Gretton, Ross MacManus, Rose Brennan, The Billy Petch Dancers, Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H. Corbett, Pinky & Perky, Jan & Vlasta Dalibor, Eric Sykes, Hattie Jacques, Michael Flanders, Donald Swann, Marlene Dietrich, Tommy Steele & West End Half a Sixpence Cast, Harry Secombe & Pickwick Cast
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1964
David Jacobs
The Tiller Girls, Tommy Cooper, The Bachelors, Gil Dova, Cilla Black, Millicent Martin, Kathy Kirby, Brenda Lee, Dennis Spicer, Morecambe and Wise, Gracie Fields, The Moiseyev Dance Company, Ralph Reader’s Gang Show, Jimmy Tarbuck, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Bob Newhart, Lena Horne with the Chico Hamilton Quartette
The Bachelors, Bal Caron Trio, Gilbert Bécaud, The World Cup winning England football team, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Douglas, Hugh Forgie, Christopher Gable, Nadia Nerina, Juliette Gréco, Frankie Howerd, Jerry Lewis, Kenneth McKellar, Henry Mancini, Marvo and Dolores, Matt Monro, Wayne Newton, The Pietro Brothers, Gene Pitney, The Seekers, Tommy Steele
Aimi MacDonald and Lionel Blair, Arthur Askey, Valente Valente, Morecambe and Wise, Sacha Distel, Frankie Howerd, Czechoslovakian State Song and Dance Ensemble, Ted Rogers, Manitas de Plata and Company, Engelbert Humperdinck, Agnes O’Connell’s London Irish Girl Pipers, Val Doonican, Petula Clark, Ron Moody, Andre Tahon and Company, Diana Ross and The Supremes
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Charles, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Earl of Snowdon.
Des O’Connor, Vétérans, Roy Castle, Cilla Black, Danny La Rue, Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, Harry Secombe, Ginger Rogers, Buddy Rich, Moira Anderson, Scènes de ballet, Ronnie Corbett, Mireille Mathieu, Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, Frankie Howerd, Johnnie Spence and his Orchestra, The Mike Sammes Singers, Tom Jones
The Pamela Devis Dancers, Max Bygraves, Herman’s Hermits, Freddie Starr, Rostal and Schaefer, Sandy Powell, Kay White, Max Again, Bob Dixon, Dionne Warwick, The Doriss Girls, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Leslie Crowther, The Black Light Theatre of Prague, Caterina Valente, Marty Feldman, Andy Williams
Bruce Forsyth, Shirley Bassey, Tommy Cooper, Sacha Distel, Dailey and Wayne, Lovelace Watkins, Norman Collier, Hughie Green, Wolfgang Plagge, Little Angels of Korea, Stupids, Ken Goodwin, Stéphane Grappelli, Sid James, New Dollys, The New Seekers, Jack Parnell and his Orchestra, The Young Generation
Queen Elizabeth II
Anne, Princess Royal
1972
Eric Morecambe
Carol Channing, Diablos del Bombo, Ken Dodd, Dickie Henderson, Rod Hull & Emu, Elton John, Jack Jones, Danny La Rue, Liberace, Trio Hoganas, The Jackson Five, Mike Yarwood, Till Death Us Do Part sketch with Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Anthony Booth and Una Stubbs
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Queen Elizabeth II
1973
Dick Emery
The Second Generation, Jean Hawker Singers, Francis Van Dyke, José Luis Moreno, Les Dawson, Peters and Lee, Ronnie Corbett, Cliff Richard, Rudolf Nureyev, Lynn Seymour, Duke Ellington
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1974
Noele Gordon
Josephine Baker, Perry Como, George Carl, Roy Castle, Billy Dainty, Dance Theater of Harlem, Hungarian State Dance Company, Paper Lace, Paul Melba, Ted Rogers
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1975
Des O’Connor
Bruce Forsyth, KwaZulu, Kris Kemo, Dad’s Army, Count Basie Orchestra, Larry Parker, Michael Crawford and the cast of Billy, Dukes and Lee, Ruth Welting, Telly Savalas, Charles Aznavour, Rhos Male Voice Choir, Harry Secombe, Vera Lynn
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1976
Bernard Delfont
Lionel Blair, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Los Reales Del Paraguay, Roger De Courcey, Lena Zavaroni, Arthur Mitchell, Gilbert Bécaud, Tom O’Connor, Dawson Chance, Wayne King, Mike Yarwood, Shirley Bassey
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1977
Bernard Delfont
Bob Hope, Julie Andrews, Paul Anka, Pam Ayres, Harry Belafonte, Brotherhood of Man, Tommy Cooper, Alan King, Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth, John Williams, Little and Large, Shirley MacLaine, Jim Henson’s Muppets, Rudolf Nureyev, Jack Parnell
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1978
David Jacobs
Arthur Askey, Lionel Blair, Leslie Crowther, Bobby Crush, Charlie Drake, Cyril Fletcher, Rolf Harris, John Inman, David Nixon, Beverley Sisters, Marti Caine, Wendy Craig, Sandra Dickinson, Esther Rantzen, Dilys Watling, June Whitfield, Pepe and his friends, Paul Daniels, Harry Secombe, The King Sisters, Mary O’Hara, Showaddywaddy, Danny La Rue, The Krankies, Andy Stewart, Moira Anderson, Scottish Ballet, National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Max Bygraves, The Kaye Sisters, The Nolan Sisters, Anne Shelton, Wayne Sleep, Lesley Collier, Diane Langton, Max Boyce, Gracie Fields
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1979
Louis Benjamin
Yul Brynner, Elaine Stritch, Jim Davidson, James Galway, Red Buttons, David Kernan, Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie, Ned Sherrin, Marti Caine, Elisabeth Welch, Gemma Craven, Carol Channing, Noel Edmonds, Bernie Clifton, Les Dawson, Virginia McKenna, Reginald Bosanquet, Janet Brown, James Mason, Members of the English National Opera Chorus, Hinge & Bracket, Maximova, Vasiliev, Amii Stewart, Bill Haley and his Comets, Band of the Welsh Guards, The Norman Maen Dancers, Boney M, Alan Jay Lerner, Evelyn Laye
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1980
Louis Benjamin
Gordon Jackson, Lionel Blair, Una Stubbs, Arthur Askey, Roy Hudd, Billy Dainty, Chesney Allen, Charlie Drake, Arthur English, Tommy Trinder, Cyril Fletcher, Charlie Chester, Stanley Holloway, Richard Murdoch, Sandy Powell, Paul Squires, Wall Street Crash, Joe Loss and his Orchestra, Bruce Forsyth, Ben Warriss, Grace Kennedy, Sheena Easton, Penelope Keith, Rowan Atkinson, Harry Worth, Cleo Laine, Lillian Gish, Henry Mancini, Sammy Davis Jr, Peggy Lee, Victor Borge, Larry Hagman, Mary Martin, Aretha Franklin, Danny Kaye, James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Norman Maen Dancers, John McCarthy Singers, Angela Rippon
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Charles, Prince of Wales
1981
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Thais Clark, Vernel Bagneris, Ylvia Williams, Topsy Chapman, Patti Boulaye, Pearly Gates, Precious Wilson, The Clark Brothers, Kenny Lynch, Jim Davidson, Lenny Henry, Patrick Moore, Itzhak Perlman, John Inman, Henry Cooper, Tim Rice, Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde, Acker Bilk, The Searchers, Donovan, Lulu, Mike Yarwood, Suzanne Danielle, Alvin Stardust, Adam & The Ants, The Shadows, Cliff Richard, Cambridge Buskers, Anita Harris, Jimmy Tarbuck, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephanie Lawrence, Julian Lloyd Webber, Elaine Paige, Leslie Caron, Mireille Mathieu, Moulin Rouge Can-Can Dancers
Queen Elizabeth II
1982
Joe Black
Richard Harris, Chris Power and Howard Keel, Helen Gelzer, Anna Dawson, Tony Adams, The Pirates of Penzance, The Pirate King, Roy Hudd, Christopher Timothy, Louis Benjamin, Peter Glaze, Tommy Godfrey, Billy Gray, Lesley Collier, David Wall, Richard Stilgoe, Don Smoothey, Ami McDonald, Ruth Madoc, Isla St Clair, Kenneth Connor, Leslie Crowther, Billy Dainty, John Inman, Pete Murray, Bernie Winters, Karen Kay, Suzanne Danielle, Joyce Blair, John Hanson, Gloria Hunniford, Jan Leeming, Esther Rantzen, Vince Hill, Diane Langton, Lorna Dallas, Dennis Waterman, Liz Robertson, Topol, Wall Street Crash, Anton Rodgers, Bonnie Langford, Sylvester McCoy, Michael Praed, Chris Langham, Peter Skellern, James Casey, Roy Castle, Eli Woods, George Cole, Pamela Stephenson, Tim Curry, Sheena Easton, Moira Anderson, Bucks Fizz, Victor Spinetti, Amanda Redman, Robert Longden, Jack Jones, Angela Rippon, Millicent Martin, Ethel Merman
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1983
Joe Black
Scott Sherrin, Gillian Gregory, Gene Kelly, Royal Ballet School, Bonnie Langford, The Frank and Kay Mercer Latin American Formation Team, The Jukebox Company, Steve Merritt, Michael Barrymore, Wayne Sleep, Graham Fletcher, Fred Evans, Tony Kemp, Sarah Kennedy, Billy Dainty, Monica Mason, Merle Park and David Wall, Kelly Monteith, Sheila White, Grace Kennedy, Clarke Peters, Finola Hughes, The Roly Polys, Paul Henry, Sheila O’Neill, Gemma Craven, James Smillie, Julia McKenzie, Twiggy, Tommy Tune, Diana Moran, The British Amateur Gymnastics Team, Rock Steady Crew, George Carl, The Dancin’ Company, Natalia Makarova, Anthony Dowell
Queen Elizabeth II
1984
Joe Black
Leslie Crowther, Billy Dainty, Paul Nicholas, Bernie Winters, Jimmy Cricket, The Dancers, Mr Magoo, Brian Andro, Stuart Fell, The Acrobats, Anthony Gatto, Keith Harris, Denis Norden, The Bell Ringers, Les Dennis and Dustin Gee, Angharad Rees, Matthew Kelly, Charlie Drake, Russell Grant, Frank Finlay, Simon Callow, Eileen Atkins, Jean Marsh, Harvey and the Wallbangers, Paul Eddington, The Tillers, Ronnie Corbett, On Your Toes, Roy Hudd, Terry Wogan, James Galway, Henry Mancini, Bill Owen, Peter Sallis, Brian Wilde, David Jacobs, Howard Keel, Paul Daniels, Members of the cast of Me and My Girl.
Babes on Broadway, Show Boat, Gary Wilmot, The Screen Goddesses (Sarah Payne, Rula Lenska, Gloria Hunniford and Stephanie Lawrence), Louis Benjamin, Jean Simmons, Guys and Dolls (David Healy, Betsy Brantley and Norman Rossington), On the Town (Tim Flavin, Graham Fletcher, Peter Alex-Newton and Elisabeth Welch), Triplets (Michael Aspel, Jan Leeming, Russell Harty), 42nd Street (Philip Gould, Alice Faye, Roy Castle and Fred Evans), Doreen Wells and Tudor Davies, Ron Moody, Sarah Brightman, Norman Wisdom, Su Pollard, Joan Collins, Roni Page, Steve Devereaux, Celeste Holm and Paul Nicholas, Frankie Vaughan and Barbara King, Martin Shaw and Simon Bowman, Liz Robertson, Gigi (Beryl Reid, Amanda Waring, Geoffrey Burridge), Dennis Waterman and Maureen Lipman, José Carreras
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1986
Bob Monkhouse
Petula Clark, Victor Borge, Peking Opera, Victoria Wood, Lulu, Michael Davis, Tyne Daly, Sharon Gless, Terry Wogan, Royal Variety Dancers, Alan Randall, Su Pollard and Ruth Madoc, Nana Mouskouri, The Bluebells, Frank Carson, Valerie Masterson, David Frost, Paul McCartney, Ronnie Corbett, Charlie Girl (including Nicholas Parsons and Paul Nicholas), Dame Margot Fonteyn, Royal Ballet, Peggy Spencer Latin American Formation Team, Marti Webb, Marti Caine, Angela Rippon, Cyd Charisse, 42nd Street, Ken Dodd, Carolyn Pickles, Stéphane Grappelli, Max Bygraves, Cast of EastEnders, Penelope Keith, Huddersfield Choral Society, 1st Battalion Kings Scottish Borderers, Val Doonican, Gloria Hunniford, Aled Jones, Dame Vera Lynn
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1987
–
Tom Jones, Les Misérables (Dudu Fisher, Kaho Shimada & Michael McGuire), Sarah Brightman, James Galway, Eartha Kitt, The Alan Harding Dancers, Ronn Lucas, Mel Tormé, George Shearing, Shirley Bassey
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1988
–
Ronnie Corbett, Bruce Forsyth, Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, The Chongqing Troupe, Brian Conley, Kylie Minogue, The cast of Neighbours, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, Cliff Richard, the cast of Only Fools and Horses (David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield), The cast of Bread, Jackie Mason, Julio Iglesias, Bananarama, A-ha, The Golden Girls, Bob Monkhouse, Russ Abbot, Bella Emberg, Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1989
Sir John Mills
Michael Ball, David Essex, Rosemarie Ford, Paul Nicholas, Lisa Waddingham, George Marshall, the cast of Coronation Street, Chris de Burgh, Nigel Kennedy, Freddie Starr, Melvyn Bragg, Frank Bruno, Harry Carpenter, David Frost, Hinge and Bracket, Diana Rigg, Selina Scott, Kenny Seagrove, Edward Woodward, Tina Turner, Northern Ballet Theatre, Elayne Boosler, Joe Longthorne, Julian Lloyd Webber, the cast of Folies Bergère, The Argentine Gauchos, Lance Burton, Jerry Lewis, Janet Jackson
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1990
Sir John Gielgud
Billed as “A Royal Birthday Gala” to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen Mother. Sir John Mills, Wayne Dobson, Janet Jackson, Sir John Gielgud, Lisa Maxwell, Hayley Mills, Lionel Blair, Jeffrey Holland, Angharad Rees, Christopher Cazenove, Robert Meadmore, Bonnie Langford, Anneka Rice, Mark Curry, Jonathon Morris, Anita Harris, Jill Gascoine, Band of the Grenadier Guards, Geraldine McEwan, Wayne Sleep, Stephen Fry, Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Arthur Davies, James Galway, Bernie Winters, Leslie Crowther, Simon Cadell, Patricia Hodge, Robert Hardy, Dame Vera Lynn, Howard Keel, Willard White, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Rowan Atkinson, Cliff Richard, Sir Richard Attenborough, Darcey Bussell, Irek Mukhamedov, Elaine Paige, Plácido Domingo
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
1991
Cameron Mackintosh
A full presentation of the West End musical, Miss Saigon
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
1992
Leslie Caron
The cast of Cats, Kiki Dee with Ria Jones, Jacqui Scott, Philip Gould, Paul Gyngell, Brian Conley, Phillip Schofield and the children of Ocklynge Junior School & Kentwood Junior School Choirs, Reva Rice and Lon Satton, Jimmy Tarbuck, Chinese State Circus, Chris Tarrant, Gloria Estefan, Steve Coogan, Jim Bailey, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, Barry Manilow, Michael Ball, London Community Gospel Choir, Jim Tavaré, The Nigel Kennedy Ensemble, Sharon Gless, Mike Michaels, Tim Rice, Montserrat Caballé, Rita Rudner, Tom Conti, Bolshoi Ballet with Yuri Klevtsov and Nadezhda Gracheva, Gloria Hunniford, Michael Crawford with the London Choral Society
Grease with Craig McLachlan and Debbie Gibson, Cilla Black, Frank Carson, Jim Henson’s Muppets, Right Said Fred, Lesley Garrett, Brian Conley, Simon Drake, Grigorovich Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Bee Gees, Forever Plaid, Bradley Walsh, Darren Day, Joe Pasquale, Lulu, Pickwick with Sir Harry Secombe and Roy Castle, Michael Barrymore, London Community Gospel Choir
Bruce Forsyth, Ria Jones, Laine Theatre Arts Dancers, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Choir, Ronnie Corbett, The Passing Zone, Lulu, Billy Pearce, the cast of Oliver!, Dame Shirley Bassey, Gary Wilmot, Jim Tavare, Gareth Rowan, Clive Anderson, Angela Gheorghiu, Viviana Durante and Zoltan Solymosi, Frank Skinner, Tony Bennett, Terry Wogan, the cast of Riverdance, Take That
Charles, Prince of Wales
1995
Bruce Forsyth
Carol Kenyon, Allan Stewart, Robson & Jerome, The Pendragons, Mack & Mabel, Alistair McGowan, Marvin Hamlisch, Bob Downe, Elaine Paige, Cirque du Soleil, Hale and Pace, the cast of Riverdance, Joe Pasquale, Jolson – Brian Conley, Cliff Richard
Queen Elizabeth II
1996
Des O’Connor
Bob Monkhouse, Moscow State Circus, David Strassman, Eternal, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, Robson & Jerome, Steve Coogan, Victor Borge, Joaquín Cortés, Brian Conley, Jim Davidson, Vik and Fabrini, Darcey Bussell and Jonathon Cope, Joan Rivers, Martin Guerre, Jackie Mason, Tom Jones, the cast of The Brittas Empire
Charles, Prince of Wales
1997
Des O’Connor
Chicago featuring Ruthie Henshall, Henry Goodman, Ute Lemper and Nigel Planer, Joe Pasquale, Enya, Barbara Cook and Michael Ball, Darius Matthews and Daddy’s Little Princess, Jonathan Ross, Andy Leach, Stephen Mulhern, Alan Brazil & the Four Poster Beds, Andy Ford, Lydia Griffiths, Vladimir, Fame – The Musical, Dr Trevor James, Andi Peters, Spice Girls, Aleggria House Troupe, Harry Hill, Michael Bolton, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake featuring Adam Cooper and Scott Ambler, Jim Davidson, Celine Dion
Queen Elizabeth II
Duke of Edinburgh
1998
Brian Conley
Paulette Ivory, Laine Theatre Arts Dancers, Lily Savage, B*Witched, Peter Kay, Ulrika Jonsson, Eclipse, Oklahoma!, Jim Tavaré, Martine McCutcheon, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Barry Manilow, Annie – the Musical, Phil Cool, Boyzone, Rambert Dance Company, Ennio Marchetto, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, Stomp, Spice Girls
Charles, Prince of Wales
1999
Brian Conley
The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Jean Butler and Colin Dunne, The Corrs, Steps, Bradley Walsh, Billy Geraghty, Paul Zerdin, Charlotte Church, Ed Byrne, Westlife, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ken Dodd, The Shaolin Monks, Terry Alderton, Andrea Bocelli, LeAnn Rimes, Nigel Parkinson, Barry Manilow, Cliff Richard
