Stevie Nicks on stage in Hyde Park...
Sunday lived up to its name yesterday as the scorching fireball in the sky parched revellers and festival ground alike at London’s Hard Rock Calling.
With a promising bill across all three stages, culminating in a two-hour ‘Rod-fest’ with headliner Rod Stewart, the plan had been to bounce around Hyde Park’s many offerings.
Mr. Sun had other ideas, and Beehive City found ourselves melted into place somewhere in front of the main stage for most of the afternoon. But with a line-up including Rumer, Adam Ant and Stevie Nicks, we weren’t complaining.
Before the rising heat had a chance to sap all strength from our sweaty legs, we swung by the Pepsi Max Stage to see Starsailor’s James Walsh performing. The crazy b*st*rd was wearing a full suit despite the canvas surroundings pumping temperatures up another few degrees and blocking out all the cooling summer breeze. He managed four brilliant songs, including a beautiful acoustic version of Starsailor’s Alcoholic, before coolness gave way to cooling and he stripped off the jacket. Cries of “Take it all off!” were laughed off by the singer. “It’ll take several weeks of Slimfast before that happens,” he quipped.
We were forced to leave his set to catch Rumer on the main stage. Coming straight to Hyde Park from the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, we had heard good things about the singer. We weren’t disappointed.
Sounding very much like Karen Carpenter (a comparison that has often been made before), the singer battled a tickling cough to deliver stunning versions of her own songs Aretha and Am I Forgiven?. Covers also featured heavily in her set, with Carole King’s Being At War With Each Other getting the Rumer treatment alongside Lady Day and John Coltrane, sung in tribute to the late Gil Scott Heron.
How would you describe Adam Ant's costume?
The singer’s honeyed voice and soothing melodies proved the perfect soundtrack for a hot summer’s day that saw temperatures pushing 30 degrees.
Next under the main stage’s magnifying glass was ‘Rear Admiral’ Adam Ant, who had also graced the Worthy Farm crowds this weekend. With more than a few feathers in his cap, the 80s musician berated the crowd several times for their lack of enthusiasm. After a cover of Marc Bolan’s Get It On was met with general perspiration from the crowd, the star said “Here’s a no.1 that might get you bloody moving, otherwise I don’t know what will!” before launching into crowd favourite Stand and Deliver (which was no. 1 when I was born!).
Despite many trying to throw the shapes defined by Antmusic in the early ’80s, eventually even the backing singers gave up their dancing during Prince Charming, and an uncomfortable-looking Adam Ant finished a successful set looking remarkably unimpressed for someone who hadn’t played to a London audience since 1985. Perhaps Glastonbury festival-goers were more energetic…
Unexpectedly, the next person onstage was Rod Stewart, drawing much cheering from the crowd, as he generously introduced Stevie Nicks, the support act on his recent tour. The Fleetwood Mac singer managed to get the crowd singing along to several of her classic songs, but it was sadly apparent that her voice, for the most part, has deserted her and the hour set put a strain on her range. Despite this, she still has the power to entertain, and got the corwd in the mood for the main event.
Elsewhere, Barenaked Ladies, Mike & the Mechanics and Lighthouse Family all drew huge crowds to the Pepsi Max Stage – if the huge roars that accompanied their appearances were anything to go by – and Vetiver were criminally overlooked by most on the Bandstand. The San Franciscan folk band had a set time that clashed with Nicks and Lighthouse Family, and, despite a valiant effort by myself to catch their final 15 minutes, I saw only one song as the band vacated the stage 10 minutes early to the polite claps of a crowd that barely managed to fill the picnic tables laid out in front. Shame.
Rod Stewart plays to his adoring fans...
I had raised an eyebrow earlier this week when Sunday’s Hard Rock Calling tickets went on sale on a certain discount website. Was this a sign that Rod Stewart wasn’t drawing a crowd? Not on your life. Even the 2000 deal tickets were dwarfed by the huge numbers that turned up in the Sunday sun to see the rocker’s two hour set.
Running on stage looking more like a Vegas icon in a flashy dinner jacket, rock star Rod Stewart delivered a set heavily-influenced by his recent albums with a swathe of covers and a set that was as much soul as it was rock. A cover of The O’ Jays’ Love Train kicked off proceedings, and a crowd that had been placid in the midday heat sprang to life under the setting sun. Dance circles, filled by whooping fans, broke out in all areas of the festival ground as young and old alike danced to a set opening that featured only two of Stewart’s own songs – Tonight’s the Night and Baby Jane.
Surrounded by his glamorous band and backing singers, Rod affirmed his choice of costume, delivering a set of show-tunes reminiscent of the lounge acts of Las Vegas. After a rendition of Downtown Train, the star welcomed his support act Stevie Nicks on stage to perform Young Turks, and the real Rod Stewart began to emerge.
Another familiar face joined him for Maggie May – former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood. The ubiquitous Mr. Wood accompanied Rod on guitar before joining the rock star for Faces song Stay With Me. The pair looked like they were having more fun than the crowd, and Stewart energetically galloped towards set finisher Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?.
That question might have seemed faintly ridiculous if posed without the preceding two hours, but with chest exposed to the largely middle-aged crowd, the answer was an emphatic ‘Yes’. And the crowd were left screaming for more as the curfew left time for only one encore – Sailing - before Rod retired into the wings and this year’s Hard Rock Calling came to an hysterical end.
Adam ant and Steie Nicks were very poor but Mike and the mechanics, rumer, barenaked ladies, lighthouse family and of course Rod 5 ***** well done the lot of you.
If I,d have known, about this I would have been there.The chance to see Stevie Nicks, should, nt be missed, When she tours, its mostly America.