Nil by mouth

“Thank you London, thank you BBC. What an honour to be on this balcony,” singer/statesman Bono said to the world at his feet. “Thank you to the Metropolitan Police for sorting this for us, we owe you one.”

Exactly how that debt is paid will be interesting to see. A few tunes at the Met Christmas party perhaps. But certainly the police, along with Westminster Special Events team, were a key ingredient in making the event happen.

Friday February 27 was always going to be U2’s big day at the BBC, plugging new LP No Line On The Horizon, but the precise agenda was fluid. They played at the Radio Theatre at lunchtime, hosted by Jo Whiley, accessible via the digital red button, and they were Chris Evans’ guests on drivetime, while The One Show finally opted for Morrissey instead. And for Jeff Smith, head of music at Radio 2, the sky was the limit.

It was 40 years since the Beatles did it, and I thought U2 should play on the roof

Jeff Smith, head of music, Radio 2

“It was 40 years since the Beatles did it, and I thought U2 should play on the roof,” he said. “I really wasn’t sure their management would go for it. Obviously they’d done the top of Tower Records LA in 1987 and so on, but nothing as iconic as Broadcasting House.” Word quickly came back very positive.

While Smith managed the BBC end of the puzzle, he tasked Andy Cheeseman with the production. “I’ve worked with Andy before, and I couldn’t think of anybody else with his contacts and relationships with the BBC, the council and with the police,” he explained.

“Everything was timed to perfection in the end, which is to his credit. As with all these things, the main criteria was doing the checks and balances, making sure it was safe, and managing it, and we did it all really well. The council and the police were fantastic and wholly supportive too, which made it all achievable.”

The secrecy issue meant it was brinksmanship throughout nevertheless, and Cheeseman was aware that his meticulous event manual could all be for nothing, right up to the last.

“I’ve had 18 years of doing stuff for the BBC, so it wasn’t unusual for me to be [at Broadcasting House], but walking around with Jake Berry, obviously there were questions,” he smiled.

The first whispers on websites that something could be happening came on the Thursday, and the U2 site was full of rumours by that afternoon. But the BBC machine simply didn’t respond, and they died away.

Just when it was looking like battle won, at 4:15pm Friday, the band appeared on the roof to do a link for the Ireland/England Six Nations clash, unbeknown to all. “The radio was screaming at me ‘Get them off there’ and Met inspector Nick Frost was saying, ‘I’ve got to pull the show’,” Cheeseman shuddered. “Despite all the meetings, it came that close to being cancelled.”

Nothing about nothing

Until showtime, obstacles were everywhere. Portland Place had to close for the set, about 20 minutes, but for subtleties sake, no barriers could be there ahead of time. ‘Perhaps there could be some nearby on the back of another event’, and no security could be seen for similar reasons. ‘But perhaps they could be having a cup of coffee in the neighbourhood’. There were no high-vis jackets for Cheeseman and company until just before the show either.

… we had the biggest band on the smallest stage. No rules were bent or broken and nobody complained

Andy Cheeseman

“Westminster and the police were totally helpful at all times though. They determined that it should, or could, happen. And in the end, we had the biggest band on the smallest stage. No rules were bent or broken and nobody complained,” Cheeseman said.

“More than 5,000 people came and went in half an hour. It was probably the hardest gig I’ve ever done, but it was a very special day.”

“What a city you have, what a broadcasting corporation!” Bono chuckled after an apt take on 2007 single Vertigo seven floors up. And in the words of The Daily Telegraph, ‘Ten minutes after the show ended, it would have been impossible to tell anything unusual had happened at all’.