Just one year earlier, the band had been at the Grammys as complete newcomers. In 2003, they were performing with the New York Philharmonic. This was a very big performance in every sense. To be performing Politik in New York City had a lot of weight in itself. The song’s themes touched on 9/11, which was still recent at this point.

The additional dramatic impact of performing this with the New York Philharmonic made this a very potent performance. The orchestra were arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen, an absolutely wonderful man who is sadly no longer with us. His enthusiasm and the sheer joy he approached the day with were inspirational.

He was, of course, no stranger to fusing the worlds of rock band and orchestra, having worked with a staggering array of rock royalty including Pink Floyd, Metallica, David Bowie and far too many others to list. It was clearly a somewhat less familiar environment for much of the orchestra, however, as many of them were to be seen throwing their hands over their ears the first time Mr Champion’s drums crashed in during rehearsals.

The band went on to win Best Alternative Music Album for A Rush Of Blood To The Head and Best Rock Performance for In My Place

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