It was the hottest day of the year so far (31 degrees) and a perfect day to see the oldest, biggest group in the world…..THE STONES!!!!!
Lee and I joined Gabby and Mags for a fun packed day in the capital which started with lunch at a swanky italian off Oxford Street with Mitsu (in town from Paris to catch the Bowie exhibition at the V&A). With a decent meal and some nice wine down us, we ventured into Hyde Park which had been made into a little village with pubs and small venues dotted about. The first tent we popped into had Hudson Taylor playing who did a lively set of irish music which put us in a good mood for the rest of the day.
Lee and I were delighted that Public Service Broadcasting were also on in a tiny venue (even though Lee had seen them last week-end supporting New Order at Jodrell Bank). As ever a fab set with humour a plenty (like when Lee shouted for them to take their Jackets off…). Pitty it was a bit too bright for the visuals. We discovered we weren’t the only groupies and I got a lovely hug from a bloke with an Everest T-shirt on after their set.
It was still blisteringly hot outside and there was a bar in here serving cold cider so we stayed put for The Horrors but they didn’t really do it for us so we wandered into the main site to claim a spot for the Stones. Their Stage was HUGE incorporating some of the parks trees – very clever.
We had a lie down to Jake Bugg who was okay, but I spent his whole set chatting to Rob from Cholchester who saved me from spilling all my ice cream – dead nice bloke and an Ipswich season ticket holder – now there’s dedication for you.
And then it was the main event – The Rolling Stones. I didn’t really get to ‘see’ them at Glastonbury but had a great view here…..”You can Start me up…” and so the sing-a-long-a-Mick started up……and didn’t stop for over 2hrs!
Hit after hit, they even let Keith do a couple of bluesy numbers. I’ve always thought of Keith as the soul of the band but when you see them live, it’s Mick Jagger who’s the real star – strutting the stage, getting the best out of everyone (the band, the crowd) and to think he’s close on 70…..amazing! He had quite a few changes of top including the one he wore at the Hyde park gig 44 years ago “I found this back there and wanted to see if it would still fit me”.
The sound wasn’t very loud where we were so we moved forward to the mixing desk where it was better, still with room to dance. Gabby and Mags aimed for the front, intent on partying hard but came back slightly crestfallen “they’re all boring further in – no one’s dancing”…..I think we made up for it!
It would be easier to tell you the hits they didn’t play than the ones they did. Everyone was “Woo-Woo”ing along to ‘sympathy for the devil’ and “Woohoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo”ing to ‘Miss you’…….You can’t always get what you want started the encore and Satisfaction ended with a blaze of ticket tape and fireworks. 50 years on, these guys know how to rock the joint!
Bob the Chiropodist
