Darwen actor's drummer role in Olympics opening ceremony

7:38pm Sunday 29th July 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

AN ACTOR from East Lancashire who took part in the spectacular opening ceremony for the Olympics has described it as an 'amazing moment'.

Fourty-five-year-old Peter Walsh, who is from Darwen, was one of the 1,000 ‘Pandemonium’ drummers performing as the scene switched from Britain’s green and pleasant land to the Industrial Revolution.

After his moment of fame, Mr Walsh then became a marshal for the Athletes parade, ensuring that the stars of the games kept to the areas they were supposed to be in.

He said: “It was an amazing moment, it was incredible to have been involved in something so big. Not many people can say they have performed in front of an audience of 60,000 people, the Queen and a TV audience of billions.

“I signed up to be kept informed about volunteer roles shortly after we got the games, and then had to audition for a role in the opening ceremony.

“I met Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry during rehearsals, they were heavily involved it and did a fantastic job.”

Mr Walsh was born and raised in Darwen, and attended Ashleigh Primary School and Darwen Vale before moving to London in 1990.

His family still live in Rudyard Drive in the town.

There were other East Lancashire connections during the ceremony, with the fallen from the wars represented by the pictures of the Accrington Pals on the big screen.

And the evening began when Chorley-based cyclist Bradley Wiggins, fresh for his Tour de France triumph, rang the bell to mark the start of the ceremony.

Comments (7)

5:54am Mon 30 Jul 12

Toti Dogsto says...

Actors used instead of drummers. Wonder if that cost more or less than employing drummers?
Actors used instead of drummers. Wonder if that cost more or less than employing drummers? Toti Dogsto

7:59am Mon 30 Jul 12

SronRon says...

Oh dear Toti. You obviously missed the word "volunteer".
Oh dear Toti. You obviously missed the word "volunteer". SronRon

3:42pm Mon 30 Jul 12

Toti Dogsto says...

SronRon wrote:
Oh dear Toti. You obviously missed the word "volunteer".
Nah... I read that he signed up to be kept informed about volunteer rôles, but the report doesn't show that the rôle of acting drummer was volunteered or not. If this fellow 'drummed' and marshalled without pay then it would be unkind to say that it's remarkable what some people will do to get on TV. But that will be true in some of those thousand cases.
[quote][p][bold]SronRon[/bold] wrote: Oh dear Toti. You obviously missed the word "volunteer".[/p][/quote]Nah... I read that he signed up to be kept informed about volunteer rôles, but the report doesn't show that the rôle of acting drummer was volunteered or not. If this fellow 'drummed' and marshalled without pay then it would be unkind to say that it's remarkable what some people will do to get on TV. But that will be true in some of those thousand cases. Toti Dogsto

6:25pm Mon 30 Jul 12

chsadelu says...

Just to clarify, both the role of drummer and that of marshal were voluntary. He volunteered & gave up his evenings and weekends for weeks to rehearse and to be a part of a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was an honour for him to be a part of it. He did not volunteer just to get on TV. He gets paid for his TV roles. Check out his website www.peterevelwalsh.c
om Also, I think you'll find he is forty-five, not fourty-five.
Just to clarify, both the role of drummer and that of marshal were voluntary. He volunteered & gave up his evenings and weekends for weeks to rehearse and to be a part of a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was an honour for him to be a part of it. He did not volunteer just to get on TV. He gets paid for his TV roles. Check out his website www.peterevelwalsh.c om Also, I think you'll find he is forty-five, not fourty-five. chsadelu

9:02pm Mon 30 Jul 12

Toti Dogsto says...

Oh, I apologise for my part in misunderstanding the report and so misrepresenting this fellow's volunteer status.
Oh, I apologise for my part in misunderstanding the report and so misrepresenting this fellow's volunteer status. Toti Dogsto

10:01pm Mon 30 Jul 12

chsadelu says...

His website is actually
www.peterrevelwalsh.
com and not the one I mentioned above. I apologise.
His website is actually www.peterrevelwalsh. com and not the one I mentioned above. I apologise. chsadelu

10:15pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Sad Darwener says...

FOURTY-five-year-old
!?!?
FOURTY-five-year-old !?!? Sad Darwener

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree