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How Russell Raised Me Up...

Bryan Burnett | 18:07 UK time, Tuesday, 19 May 2009

raise2.jpgMy weekend involved 33 thousand people and a musical line up of Peter Hook of New Order, Russell Watson the opera singer and Clint Boon of The Inspiral Carpets.

I was commentating at the Bupa Great Manchester Run and Russell was doing the warm up, Clint was doing the Dj'ing and Hooky was running it. I don't know which one of those statements is the most bizarre.

One of my jobs was to introduce Russell who was going to sing You Raise Me Up for the crowd. So far, so simple. But then PR man Dave came up with a wheeze: "Wouldn't it be great if when he gets to the line 'you raise me up' he literally raises up above the crowds?"

The call went out for a mobile hydraulic stage so that on the cue, Russell ( dressed in his running tights!) would then be sent skywards.

It was a 'Spinal Tap meets Busby Berkeley musical' moment and I was a bit worried in case we couldn't pull it off. What if Britain's best known tenor were to suddenly discover he didn't have a head for heights? What if the engine stalled and You Raise Me Up became You Raise Me Up Ever So Slightly?

In the end it was a brilliant moment and I have to say Russell Watson floating in mid air singing to an incredible crowd of 30,000 people was actually quite moving.

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