In the spotlight

Which big names have played the Royal Albert Hall?

Muse

To celebrate some fantastic events we've got coming up soon at London's Royal Albert Hall, we look at some of the greats who've played at the iconic venue. A majestic performance needs a royal venue, and the Albert Hall fits the bill perfectly.

One of London's most distinctive and treasured buildings, the hall is an iconic place for spectacular performances. And we're giving our members access to two such performances very soon.

We're giving you the chance to win free tickets to the Albert Hall – to see Aida on 3 March, and the annual Classical Spectacular on 16 March. And you also have a chance to buy discounted tickets.

Stars on stage

The Albert Hall was originally designed to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort), to promote an appreciation of the arts and sciences alongside the museums of South Kensington.

Since it opened in March 1871, an unrivalled list of famous performers and world figures has appeared here. Wagner, Verdi and Elgar have conducted their works on the concert platform, and Rachmaninov played his own compositions. Nearly every major classical solo artist and leading orchestra has performed at the Albert Hall.

killersIn more recent times the A-list has included Sinatra, Hendrix, the Beatles, Oscar Peterson, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Sting, while a younger generation has screamed to Jay Z, Muse, Kaiser Chiefs and the Killers.

Matt Bellamy, lead singer of Muse, was in awe of the scale of the Hall: "It's a beautiful place, absolutely amazing. It's overwhelming really, one of the most famous venues in the world I think and so it's a great honour to be here. When the band first formed our ambition was to play the pub down the road, I don't think we had ambitions of this grandeur. But over the last five years it's been our ambition to play here."

Join us at the Albert Hall

AA Rewards is offering members two great nights out.

The Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall

We're giving away five pairs of tickets to Verdi's Aida on 3 March, and five pairs of tickets to the Classical Spectacular on 16 March.

As a member, you can also save £5 on each ticket you buy for both Aida and the Classical Spectacular.