Thriller At Buckingham Palace

4 months ago 03rd Jul 14:00

A world famous band has given a rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' outside Britain's Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace.

The Band of the Coldstream Guards - comprising 40 drummers, trumpet, clarinet and trombone players - played the 1984 hit outside the queen's London home on Wednesday (01.07.09), performing in a formation similar to that featured in the video for the track.

The piece has been part of their summer repertoire for a number of events and they've been playing it publicly for the last eight weeks, including at the Windsor Tattoo.

Onlooker Philip Marfleet said: "It came out of nowhere, we were stunned. They were practising some more traditional tunes and then all of a sudden they started playing 'Thriller'. What a moment!"

A group of foreign tourists gathered to watch the spectacle with some recording footage on their mobile phones.

Philip added to Britain's The Sun newspaper: "It obviously wasn't the first time they had played it. It was a polished performance.

"A few foreign tourists asked me what it was all about, but I was unable to give them an explanation. I was as stunned as they were.

"At one point the musicians even appeared to be putting together some moves to go with the music. Instead of marching in straight lines they formed a triangle."

Although onlookers initially thought the performance was a tribute to the King of Pop - who died of a suspected cardiac arrest last week aged 50 - it has been confirmed it was a coincidence.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The piece has been part of their summer repertoire for a number of events and they've been playing it publicly for the last eight weeks, including at the Windsor Tattoo."