CANTERBURY, England — “Candlelight concerts” are taking place every week this fall in many of Britain’s ancient, historic and once-Catholic cathedrals, but these are not lofty performances of sacred or even classical music.
In Worcester Cathedral, founded in 680, rebuilt by St. Wulfstan, and the burial place of King John who issued the Magna Carta, the late pop singer Whitney Houston’s greatest hits will be performed. On other nights, the once-hallowed nave will be the setting for cover bands playing songs by the Eagles, Coldplay and Tina Turner.
Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, which survived Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries and is famous for featuring the 14th-century “Washington Window,” which inspired the U.S. flag, will become the venue for the Beatles and Queen tribute bands in October.
A Luther Vandross impersonator performed in September in the nave of St. Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain that stands on the burial place of Britain’s first martyr, St. Alban.
Meanwhile, Wells Cathedral, founded in 1175 as the first entirely Gothic-style cathedral in Britain, will be the venue for an imitation David Bowie concert on Nov. 21.
Every medieval cathedral in England appears to be hosting these concerts,
