The huge ‘Trans Mission’ live show was held at London’s OVO Arena Wembley last night (Wednesday March 11), which saw 10,000 fans and numerous artists show up in support of the trans community. Check out what happened at the gig – including performances, footage, and key speeches – below.
The one-off concert was organised by Olly Alexander and Mighty Hoopla’s Glyn Fussell, and was designed as a “statement that trans people are loved, valued, and celebrated, and that the entertainment industry stands proudly with them”.
Officially dubbed “A Night of Solidarity For A Lifetime Of Change”, the event worked to raise funds for non-profit organisations, with profits being split evenly between the Good Law Project and the transgender charity Not A Phase.
Performances on the night came from artists like Rahim Redcar, who performed Christine And The Queens’ tracks ‘Full Of Life’ and ‘Deep Holes’, Kate Nash who shared new single ‘GERM’ and fan-favourite ‘Foundations’, and former NME Cover star Rose Gray who broke out ‘April’ and debuted a new song called ‘Straight From The Club To Your Heart’.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor performed her hit song ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ later in the night too, while Wolf Alice appeared fresh from their win at the BRITs to break out acoustic versions of ‘Leaning Against the Wall’ and ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’, while Olly Alexander played an assortment of Years & Years songs.
The latter was introduced to the stage by acting legend Sir Ian McKellen, who also recited Shakespeare’s The Strangers’ Case speech from Thomas More to the crowd. The speech is the same one that he shared in his recent appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and relates to immigrants and the treatment of people who were different.
Others who performed on the night included Beverley Knight, Gottmik, Kae Tempest, MNEK, Sugababes, Gossip’s Beth Ditto, Tom Rasmussen, and solo star and Queen singer Adam Lambert. The xx member Romy also played a brief DJ set with HAAi, and Jasmine.4.T brought out Jacob Alon as a special guest.
As well as Sir Ian McKellen, other guest speakers on the night included Jordan Stephens, Nicola Coughlan, Russell Tovey, Tia Kofi, Green Party leader Zack Polanski and more.
“Tonight we are here saying ‘We will not be blamed, we will not be distracted,’” Polanski said as he addressed the crowd at Wembley. “As a gay man, I know that when they come for one of us, they come for all of us. We will all stand together.”
One of the most powerful moments of the night came with the appearance of Caroline Litman – the author of Her Name Is Alice, a book about her transgender daughter who took her own life. In a moving speech, Litman paid tribute to her daughter before introducing Beth Ditto and model and activist Munroe Bergdorf to the stage, and received a standing ovation.
“You have always seen a link between music, art and politics. When you look at people who make art, usually marginalised communities are right at the forefront of those spaces,” Olly Alexander told NME backstage, sitting alongside activist and the founder of Not A Phase, Dani St James.
“Music brings us together… Something like tonight, while it is so positive and so joyful and celebratory, it’s also about working out how we can turn it into change moving forward.”
Adam Lambert also spoke to NME behind the scenes, and explained the importance of events like these in creating awareness and creating a sense of community and respect.
“These are the kinds of events and causes that I will always put my energy into. Being an artist is amazing because we can use our platforms to affect the greater good and create a ripple effect,” he said. “If you don’t [speak out], you’re letting members of the community down. It’s a human rights issue. If you can look in the mirror and say that you treat people how you’d want to be treated, that’s a simple way of putting it.
“Everyone deserves respect and everyone deserves the safety of being able to exist. Trans people are no exception to that.”
News of the gig comes after artists such as Charli XCX, Self Esteem and Wolf Alice signed an open letter of solidarity to the trans community from the UK music industry last year.
That followed the UK Supreme Court ruling on April 16, in which judges unanimously ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex under the Equality Act.
The letter was penned by artist Tom Rasmussen and Tom Mehrtens (Head Of Music & Entertainment, SATELLITE414) on behalf of the UK music industry, and support came from Olly Alexander and Martha Kinn (Manager and Founder, Kinndred Management).
Multiple figures in the entertainment world also expressed their support for those affected by the ruling – with Scissor Sisters, Perfume Genius, Garbage, Rachel Chinouriri, JADE, Lambrini Girls, Billy Bragg and more speaking out.