With a line up throughout the day better than many festivals this summer, BST Hyde Park certainly knows how to put on a show.
Kate Nash began the party in style, celebrating her birthday on the same day – she certainly laid good ‘Foundations‘ (excuse the pun) for all the acts which followed.
Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape were on next, and welcomed a large crowd to the Great Oak Stage. Beginning with ‘In The Name of The Father‘ from their iconic It’s Great When You’re Straight album, it’s incredible to still see Ryder & Co still performing to such a high and party atmosphere.
Over on the smaller Birdcage Stage, Davina Michelle showed what a voice she has. With over one million followers on Instagram, she rose to fame after last year’s Hyde Park star P!NK saw her on YouTube covering her hit ‘What About Us‘. Definitely one to watch for the future.
Gaz Coombes followed on the main stage, making reference to England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match which kicked off at the same time as his set. As well as demonstrating what a strong singer-songwriter he is, he mixed a few classic Supergrass tunes in for good measure, with ‘Moving‘ getting a large part of the crowd on their feet.
Over on the stunning Rainbow Stage, duo Soft Play (formerly known as the iconic Slaves) blew away any clouds from the sky with their short-sharp punk rock. Joking that Robbie Williams asked them to support after stating on Twitter (nee X) that singer Isaac Holman looked like a cross between Robbie himself and Ant McPartlin, they invaded the crowd on multiple occasions, starting their own mini moshpit, playing crowd favourites ‘Sockets‘, ‘The Hunter‘ and of course, ‘Where’s Your Car Debbie‘. One to catch at other festivals this summer if you get chance.
Seal followed, fresh from his appearance the previous night with Andrea Bocelli (our review of that legendary set is available here: https://www.summerfestivalguide.co.uk/reviews/2024/07/08/andrea-bocelli/). As well as his own timeless hits, including ‘Killer‘, ‘Crazy‘ and ‘Kiss From a Rose‘, he admirably covered T-Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy‘.
The crowd were here for one man and one man alone though. Mr Robbie Williams.
He proved why he is one of, if not the best entertainer in the UK after all these years, arriving on stage to a magnificent ‘Let Me Entertain You‘.
Defying his age having recently turned 50, Robbie has clearly been working out, and launched into ‘Land of a Thousand Dances‘, joined by an impressive line up of backing dancers.
After telling the story of his life, from Take That to Glastonbury misadventures, Robbie seamlessly went from ‘Could It Be Magic‘, into a crowd singalong of Oasis classic ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘. To ensure other Britpop favourites were not left out, he was joined by Gaz Coombes for a joyful version of their 90’s anthem ‘Alright’, before performing a cover no one knew they needed. Cockney cheeky chap Danny Dyer took over the vocals from Phil Daniels for a cover of Blur’s charming ‘Parklife‘.
Visibly emotional, he declared he is now the happiest he has ever been in his life, thanks to his wife Ayda and his young family positioned on the nearby sound-stage.
Hit after hit followed, with fans enjoying ‘Millenium‘, ‘Kids‘, ‘Feel‘, ‘No Regrets‘ and ‘She’s The One‘, which, as has become part of his repertoire, Robbie serenaded a young Italian lady in the crowd with.
There was only one song Robbie Williams can finish with. The epic anthem ‘Angels‘ which elevated him above many of his peers and demonstrated his ability to write an anthem for the generation closed the evening in style with all of the crowd raising their phone cameras and lights.
Fireworks lit up the sky as the 65,000 strong crowd sung every word in unison.
This is how to perform an entertaining headline show. Nobody does it better.
Words: Graham Tarrant