Bolton's 40th Birthday bash slammed as worst gig ever by Girls Aloud member

28 June 2011 | By Robert Thickett

The market has obviously sobered up now, but four or five years ago for many in the industry life was just one long party.

But one event that should jog peoples’ memories is Michael Bolton’s 40th Birthday Party in 2005 at the top of the Gherkin.

At the time Bolton’s then employer HBOS attempted to tell everyone that the 40 was actually something to do with lending targets to justify the expense but everyone knew what the event was really for. Rumours were rife that in total the event cost around £200,000.

Radio One’s Scott Mills was DJing and the icing on the cake was Girls Aloud who performed in the tiny drinks area at the top of the building.

Not surprisingly though it sticks in the minds of the members of Girls Aloud for a completely different reason.

Speaking to the London freesheet Metro, Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts was asked what was the worst gig she’d ever done.

Her response was “a private gig at the top of the Gherkin building”.

“There was no stage - just a 6ft square in the middle of the floor for us to do our dance routines with a group of old banker men staring at us,” she explained to the Metro.

“That was very early on. Kimberley [Walsh] hadn’t worked out our stage dimensions at that point.”

If you have any memories of the event - even a hazy one - let us know below.

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