SAM Ryder was joined by legendary Queen drummer Roger Taylor on stage during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday.
The 33-year-old singer performed his new single ‘Mountain’ at the M and S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday during an interlude as viewers voted for their favourite of the 26 acts.
The song features lyrics inspired by the struggle of the Ukrainian people as Liverpool hosts the contest on behalf of the war-torn country who won last year with Kalush Orchestra.
Sam – who finished as runner-up in last year’s contest – was joined on stage by backing dancers with disabilities and prosthetics as Taylor delivered a rousing drum solo.
The interval also featured a medley of Eurovision legends paying tribute to Liverpool’s rich music heritage that concluded with an emotional chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ that included a link-up with a youth choir in Kyiv.
Tragically, however, the home city of this year’s Ukrainian act Tvorchi was hit by Russian missiles just moments before the pair took to the stage.
After performing, the electronic duo wrote on Instagram: “Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia while we sang on the Eurovision stage about our steel hearts, indomitability and will.
“This is a message for all cities of Ukraine that are shelled every day. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Uman, Sumy, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kherson and all others.
“Europe, unite against evil for the sake of peace!”
