Switch It Up at the CRIS Cancer Foundation Gala, Natural History Museum 2025
Updated: 4 days ago
The Cris Cancer Foundation annual gala took place beneath Hope, the blue whale suspended in Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum and this was the fourth year running that we have been asked to play it.
I was there in two roles: lead vocalist for our six-piece band Switch It Up, and event co-ordinator for the evening. At sound-check, hours before the doors opened, the production team were still setting lights, the caterers were building aperitivo stations, volunteers were checking guest lists and the auction team were laying out lots. Very few people get to see a room like that before it fills.
Aperitivo, Stories and a £2.7 Million Auction
The evening opened with aperitivo and champagne, and the room did what that room always does, people who hadn't seen each other for a year found each other fast. Then came the speeches, including from cancer survivors, and the mood shifted.
The live auction moved it again. Bids came quickly, the cheering got louder, and by the end of the night the evening had raised £2.7 million.
Switch It Up on Stage: Thunderstruck to 2025
Then it was us. We opened with "Thunderstruck", which isn't subtle and isn't meant to be, it clears the tables and gets people on their feet in about eight bars. From there the set ran from eighties classics through to this year's chart hits.
Every guest had been given an LED bracelet on arrival, and once the floor filled the whole hall lit up and moved with the music. It's the best crowd effect I've seen at a charity event, and it cost the organisers very little.
Playing Beneath Hope, the Blue Whale
Our stage sat directly under Hope the twenty-five metres of blue whale skeleton, over a hundred and thirty years old, hanging above a dance floor. There is nowhere else in London like it, and no photograph quite prepares you for standing beneath her with a band behind you.
Four Years at the Natural History Museum
Being asked back four years running means more than any single night would. It's also the part of my job I find hardest to explain: I love organising an evening like this, and I love singing at it, and each half teaches the other something.
To everyone who danced, sang along and gave so generously thank you. Here's to next year.
This was our fourth year at the museum. You can read about the 2024 evening here.
MSM Team & Switch It Up Band 🎶✨
Female saxophonist performing on stage Female Singer smiling on stage Switch it Up Band outside The Natural History Museum Male Singer singing on stage Bass Player playing on stage Singers performing together Guitar in musician's hand Saxophonist playing on stage Saxophonist playing saxophone on stage Singers performing on stage Switch it Up Band outside The Natural History Museum