Watch Eddie Vedder Make Surprise Appearance With The Who At Royal Albert Hall

The Who brought out Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder for a guest appearance last night during their second of two Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Vedder emerged at the start of the evening’s third and final segment to join The Who and The Heart of England Orchestra on “The Punk And The Godfather” off The Who’s legendary 1973 album Quadrophenia.

Last night’s show was part of a week of Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at Royal Albert Hall that continues through Sunday, March 24. Eddie Vedder is taking part in the finale on Sunday dubbed “Ovation,” a celebration of founder and curator Roger Daltrey‘s 24 years of hosting Teenager Cancer Trust shows. The Who frontman is stepping down as curator after this year. Daltrey and Vedder are joined on the lineup for “Ovation” by Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pete Townshend, Kelly Jones and Paul Weller.

Eddie Vedder has a long history of performing with The Who that includes a collaboration at the first-ever Teenage Cancer Trust concert in 2000, which was also held at Royal Albert Hall. More recently, Vedder teamed with the band on “The Punk & The Godfather” at London's Wembley Stadium in 2019 and with Daltrey and The Who guitarist Pete Townshend on “The Seeker” at a private benefit for Teen Cancer America in 2022.

The Who’s Royal Albert Hall finale was split into three sets. The Heart of England Orchestra accompanied the band on the first and last parts of the evening while the middle was sans symphony. Vedder’s collaboration began a string of five Quadrophenia cuts that also included “I’m One,” “5:15,” “The Rock” and “Love, Reign O’er Me” to open the last segment. “Baba O’Riley” then closed out the concert.

See Vedder, The Who and The Heart of England Orchestra deliver “The Punk And The Godfather” last night via fan-shot video:

Earlier in the night, The Who and the orchestra devoted the first set to seven songs from the 1969 rock opera Tommy along with a symphonic “Who Are You.” The “Band Set” featured one hit after another such as “My Generation,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “You Better You Bet.” Daltrey, Townshend and the the rest of the group also played deep cut “Cry If You Want,” a song off The Who’s 1982 album It’s Hard dusted off for the first time in nearly a decade last July.

While The Who currently have no tour dates on the books, Roger Daltrey recently announced a semi-acoustic North American tour. Pearl Jam begins an extensive world tour in Vancouver on May 4.