Watch Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder team up with Roger Waters to sing Pink Floyd classic Comfortably Numb at the most star-studded concert of this millennium
· louderBy Paul Brannigan
published 30 September 2024
Eddie Vedder's surprise cameo with Roger Waters at the 12-12-12 concert brought Madison Square Garden to its feet
Pulled together with impressive speed, the line-up for the 12-12-12: The Concert For Sandy Relief benefit show made it the most star-studded concert of this millennium. Artists on the bill at New York's Madison Square Garden, gathered together on December 12, 2012 to raise funds for the victims of the destructive Hurricane Sandy which killed 254 people in eight countries, from the Caribbean to Canada, included The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Kanye West, Alicia Keyes, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and Coldplay's Chris Martin.
There were also a number of surprise guests on the evening, with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe joining Chris Martin to perform Losing My Religion, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear creating 'Sirvana' with Paul McCartney to perform Cut Me Some Slack.
But perhaps the night's most powerful performance came when Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder appeared to duet with Roger Waters on Pink Floyd classic Comfortably Numb. The performance came at the end of Waters' early evening set, and drew a standing ovation from the New York crowd.
Watch Vedder and Waters wow the crowd in the video below.
Roger Waters & Eddie Vedder: "Comfortably Numb" Live at "12-12-12" The Concert for Sandy Relief (HD) - YouTube
Three years later, on November 11, 2015, Pearl Jam would perform Comfortably Numb for the first time at the Arena do Grêmio Porto Alegre in Brazil.
And on July 24, 2017, Vedder would reprise his duet with Roger Waters by making an unannounced appearance with Pink Floyd's former leader onstage at Chicago’s United Center, during Waters' acclaimed Us + Them tour of North America.
Roger Waters (with Eddie Vedder) Comfortably Numb at United Center July 23, 2017 - YouTube
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Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder
A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
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