Sir Paul McCartney’s gift that made ‘pivotal’ Gavin & Stacey scene
Fulwell Productions
Oscar Hartland became one of a few people to sing a Beatles song on TV, due to high royalty costs
It was a pivotal moment in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, but needed a frantic email to Sir Paul McCartney to make it happen.
Oscar Hartland, 16, who played Neil the Baby, left the cast “bawling their eyes out” as he performed Blackbird by The Beatles.
It took place during the wedding ceremony of his on-screen dad Smithy, played by James Corden, with Hartland admitting he practiced for hours for the “make or break” moment.
But it almost didn’t happen, with Corden requesting permission from McCartney after realising the show’s budget did not cover permission to use it.
Corden thought it was “a beautiful song” and had lined it up for Hartland to sing, he said in new book When Gavin Met Stacey And Everything In Between.
“In terms of getting permission to use the song, the BBC have a licensing agreement which is great for UK transmissions of music,” he said.
“But I think The Beatles sit outside of that, which we didn’t know, and it’s so expensive if you want to use one of their songs.”
With the sitcom’s budget not covering the cost of paying for the track, Corden wrote to McCartney asking permission to use it.
He said: “I wrote just telling him that I felt this was a pivotal moment in the show and that I would never request anything if I thought it was going to be in any way derogatory.”
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Corden added that he wasn’t sure of the details but believes McCartney waived involvement which meant the programme could afford it.
“He said in his email that he was so touched and honoured, and he would love nothing more than this to happen, and they’d do everything in their power to make sure it could, and then, within 20 hours, it was done, and we had clearance to use the song,” Corden said.
Hartland knew Corden had taken a risk on him and wanted it to be the best he could make it, he told Justine Jones on BBC Radio Wales.
“I just put so much into it and just tried to sing it with that raw emotion. That humanity level of emotion where you’re like ‘this is it’,” he said.
Hartland said it was his “biggest task” in the episode, but he was in his element.
Oscar Hartland
Hartland has recorded a few tracks in Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire
“It was a sort of make or break moment. So I took it in my own hands. I wanted it to be slow and tender,” he said.
He added that after performing in front of the cast they were “bawling their eyes out”.
“I remember speaking to Joanna Page and she just said ‘I’m finding this too easy to cry”, he said.
The Christmas Day finale episode became one of the most watched scripted TV shows of the century.
According to official Barb ratings figures, after seven days of catch-up viewing the finale of the much loved comedy had been seen by 19.11 million people.
That beat the last Gavin & Stacey special in 2019 which at the same stage had an audience of 17.92m, rising to 18.49m after a month.
The 90 minute 2024 special resolved the cliff hanger from five years before, when Nessa (Ruth Jones) asked Smithy (Corden) to marry her.
Tom Jackson/BBC/PA Wire
The 90-minute 2024 finale resolved the cliff hanger from five years before, when Nessa asked Smithy to marry her
In the book, Jones said she was an “absolute mess” when she watched Hartland sing Blackbird during filming.
“His voice was so pure, and the guitar playing was just so gorgeous,” she said.
“I almost couldn’t listen to it, it was just too much. I’m delighted with that scene, I think it tells a really gorgeous story.”
For the 2019 Christmas special, Hartland auditioned for the role of Neil the baby and revealed to Jones and the director that he was one of the original three babies used for the part.
“Ten years later, he came back in and auditioned for the role in the 2019 special, did his audition brilliantly, and then, at the end of it, mentioned to you [Jones] and Chris the director, ‘Oh, you know, I’m one of the original babies that you had’,” said Corden.
“We’re so proud of him.”
Hartland, who is a singer as well as an actor, heads off on his debut tour on 23 October and said he’s excited but nervous.
“We’ve been working really hard, me and the boys, getting some really solid tunes sorted,” he said.
“It’s going to be a really nice opportunity to play them to the people and give them the tunes we really want to get out there.”
