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Rolling Stones BST Hyde Park

Live Review: The Rolling Stones at BST Hyde Park

Live Review: The Rolling Stones at BST Hyde Park

The Rolling Stones rock Hyde Park in an energetic show for the ages as part of their Sixty Tour. Adam Davidson reviews. 

On the same day that Paul McCartney headlined Glastonbury, The Rolling Stones performed in front of a huge sold-out crowd at BST Hyde Park. These two rock icons are living proof that the glory days of rock n roll are still alive and kicking. 

Hyde Park is an historic place for The Rolling Stones and their legions of fans as in 1969 they performed a free concert to 250,000 people, two days after the death of the founding member Brian Jones.  

Despite yet another sad loss with the death of drummer Charlie Watts last year – the evening kicked off with a tribute to the drummer with images flashing across the screen whilst chants of ‘Charlie, Charlie’ echoed through the crowd.

An announcer welcomed The Rolling Stones onto the stage to a huge ovation and the band went straight into ‘Street Fighting Man.’  

Mick Jagger, who recently recovered from Covid, was full of energy, jumping around, finger-pointing and walking up and down the extended stage. Any fears that the band would show signs of slowing down in their 60th year were instantly dismissed. 

The lead singer grabbed an acoustic guitar to perform ‘She’s a Rainbow’ and ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ His stage presence and ability to control a crowd as big as Hyde Park was something to behold, getting the audience to sing and clap along to these slower numbers.  

Following a performance of ‘Honky Tonk Woman’, Mick Jagger went off stage for a quick break and Keith Richards took lead vocals for ‘Slipping Away’ and ‘Connection.’ It was a good opportunity to let the crowd show their love and appreciation for the original member and music icon. 

When Mick Jagger came back onstage he said in a spooky voice, ‘It’s starting to get a bit dark.’ There’s something special about an outdoor concert once the sunsets and the show went to the next level with energetic performances of hits ‘Paint it Black’, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ and ‘Start Me Up’ coming thick and fast.  

This was followed by a powerful performance of ‘Gimme Shelter’ with Sasha Allen singing the famous hook with flair. The song was about the unrest of the time, including the horrors of the Vietnam War over 50 years ago but during the outro, images of the Ukrainian flag appeared on the big screens with images of bombed-out cities. A haunting reminder that war really is ‘just a shot away.’ 

The Rolling Stones came on for the encore with ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ with stunning visual sparks lighting up the screens and finished in style with ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ which had everyone in the audience singing along and somehow after two hours Jagger was still jumping along. 

Mick Jagger informed the crowd that it was almost 60 years to the week that the band played their first show at the Marquee Club on Oxford Street and jokingly thanked fans for coming back to see them. A lot has changed in those 60 years but not The Rolling Stones – they are timeless.  

Image: Rory Barnes