In case you weren't aware, yesterday marked fifty years since Yuri Gagarin went into space on the first ever manned space flight. While some people chose to honour the man in a more conventional manner, astronaut Catherine Coleman and Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson did something truly unique.
The two performed a flute duet of Tull's "Bouree" - the band's famous rendition of the Bach classic - with Anderson on Earth and Coleman a few hundred kilometres higher in outer space.
So how did these two meet? Dayna Steele, a mutual friend and former radio DJ, introduced the two. Steele, in an interview with AOL News, said:
"Kate thought it would be fun to do a duet in space and asked me if I knew how to get in touch with Ian since I've been part of that world. So I tracked him down."
Steele also voiced her concerns about the technical aspects of the performance, pointing out the four-second delay between Earth and space.
According to Examiner.com, the technical difficulties caused Ian and Kate to end up having to record their parts separately. The two parts were then put together into the video below.
Jethro Tull are simply the best band ever to come out of GB. Ian Anderson should be knighted for his commitment to music and for all his charitable endeavours.
Thanks Ian, thanks Tull, you have made my life so much better for these last 40+ years.
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Also, best metal band of 1988!