Coldest concert

The coldest concert was performed at a temperature of -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) by Charlie Simpson (UK) in Oymyakon, Russia, on 24 November 2012. Charlie Simpson is a British rock star, formerly of the band Busted and now lead vocalist of Fightstar. Charlie and his three-strong support team travelled for four days to reach the remote Siberian village known as the "pole of cold", famed for being the coldest permanently inhabited place on the planet. Performing in front of curious locals, he played a solo acoustic set of tracks from his album Young Pilgrim.

As per GWR guidelines, Charlie, 27, had to play the gig for 15 minutes, while only taking up to 30 seconds between songs. An audience of at least 10 people had to be present.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Charlie (b. 7 June 1985) performed four tracks from his full-length debut solo album Young Pilgrim (2011).

Charlie’s four-day journey - which began at Heathrow airport on 20 November - took in the infamous M56 Kolyma Highway, aka the “Road of Bones”, one of the most treacherous roads in the world. During its construction (1932-53), the road is said to have claimed the lives of one million labour camp inmates in Stalinist Russia. Nights were spent in the company of local villagers, who welcomed the team into their homes.

Oymyakon (63°16'N, 143°15'E; 700 m or 2,300 ft) holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in a populated area on Earth. In 1924, Russian scientist Sergey Obrychev witnessed a temperature of -71.2°C (-96°F) at the town’s weather station.

Oymyakon currently has a population of 472, no running water or electricity and is so remote that it can be reached only after a 14-hour (in Charlie’s case), 1,030-km (640-mile) drive from the nearest city, Yakutsk. Its sub-Arctic climate ensures that mobile phones cannot function, boiling water turns to snow in mid air and fish caught from local rivers freeze instantly.

The event was officially called the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig and was organized by Secret Compass expeditions.