American Express Presents BST Hyde Park 2022

As my friend and colleague, Kieran White entered the beautiful surroundings of Hyde Park on what felt like one of the hottest days of the year we knew that live music would not be in short supply. 

The last day of the festival was headlined by Birmingham’s Duran Duran who chose this evening to not only celebrate an incredible 40^th Anniversary but to also perform their BST debut AND their only London show of 2022. However, part of the overall experience of this festival and its charm for that matter is the fact that you get to witness performances from not only your favourite artists and bands but also the future stars who might become one of your favourites as well.

Finding a spot at The Birdcage Stage down one end of the park, we waited as the hot sun beamed down on the gathered crowd for a duo called LOVE SICK. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, the pair took to the wooden panel stage to applause. Consisting of Julie Knox (Lead Vocals) and Shaun Canning, the pair originally met over the phone at work with each of them in a separate office before meeting at a Christmas Party. 

Dressed in black, LOVE SICK treated us to songs from their latest release ‘SICK II’ including ‘U R’ and ‘Summer’ with its earworm chorus bathed in electronic beats. The material deals with the trials and tribulations of relationships but in a relatable style. Their latest single ‘I Take It All Back’ is angry but Julie’s radio-friendly voice allows the set to also be moody and atmospheric. LOVE SICK is definitely one to watch.

We quickly then headed to The Great Oak Stage to see 26-year-old singer-songwriter, producer and creative soul AURORA take to the stage. Despite having to fight with traffic from Gatwick, AURORA very kindly spoke to us prior to her set and you can read it here.

Opening with ‘Heathens’, she was backed by a four-piece band which included keyboards, electric/acoustic guitar, drums and a backing vocalist. “My dress is going up my butt and is too curious for my own liking!” AURORA revealed to us all as a funky drum beat was laid down for ‘Churchyard’ and then travelled into the anthemic ‘Warrior’; which is well-placed in the setlist. 

Her passionate interaction about the fact that conversion therapy is still legal in Norway set up the emotive ‘The Cure’, a song of defiance. 

Her new single ‘The Devil Is Human’ and closing number ‘Running With The Wolves’ prove that AURORA is a beguiling storyteller and a woman who really genuinely cares about the world around her and the people in it.

Soon 6.10pm rolled around and the mighty CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers arrived on The Great Oak Stage to rapturous applause from the thousands in attendance. Rodgers told us – “My name is Nile Rodgers and here’s something you may already understand… I write and produce all these songs for this band. But what you may not know is that I write and produce a lot of songs for a lot of other artists. Artists like Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Lady Gaga, B52’s and so many others.”

It was from that moment that the radio hits started to come thick and fast; ‘Everybody Dance’, ‘I Want Your Love’,  then a double helping of Diana Ross hits the infectious  ‘I’m Coming Out’ segues into ‘Upside Down’. No less than four songs of the Sister Sledge back catalogue featured in the seventeen-song setlist nestled in between David Bowie and Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’. A performance oozing positive vibes drenched in sunlight.

After a change-over onstage, the intro music started up with a very colourful suited and booted Duran Duran walking onto a screaming audience. Kicking things off with 1984 hit ‘Wild Boys’, frontman Simon Le Bon is wearing shiny silver trousers and a colourful suit jacket alongside his bandmates bassist John Taylor donning a red jacket, Nick Rhodes on keyboards and synths in yellow, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Dominic Brown in a snazzy pink number and sunglasses.

Given their longevity, it would be very easy for Duran Duran to get comfortable in the world of nostalgia and tour the world with album anniversary sets and Eighties package tours only and that’s it. However, that is not the type of band they are and the latest album ‘Future Past’ which was produced by the likes of Mark Ronson, Giorgio Moroder and Erol Alkan proves that they can keep things fresh.

“Good old London Town!” Le Bon grins before teasing us with ‘View To A Kill’ and then hitting us with the futuristic ‘‘All Of You’ complete with a female robot filling the screens.

They then invited “Honorary Duran Duran member” Nile Rodgers back to the stage to join on the dangerously funky ‘Notorious’ from 1986 followed by ‘Pressure Off’ from the 2015 album ‘Paper Gods’.

I remember when my dad met Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers after they played The Royal Albert Hall in London and he told my dad “Man we’ve been going for fifty years! I mean how do you pick a setlist? You don’t mean to but you are always going to miss out someone’s favourite!” He is absolutely right of course but when Duran Duran treated the audience to deeper cuts such as ‘Hold Back The Rain’ and ‘Friends Of Mine’ from the 1981 debut album of the same name it showed everyone that they did put some real thought into covering their vast discography.

Dedicating 1993’s ‘Ordinary World’ to Ukraine, Brown’s electric guitar rang out soaring like a majestic eagle and the triple whammy of ‘Girls On Film/Acceptable In The 80s’, ‘Save A Prayer’ and Rio brought the evening to a rousing close.

In conclusion, American Express presents British Summertime created a day of entertainment, relaxation and fun which allowed people to come together on an extremely hot day to witness the sheer amount of talent that the music business has to offer after a time of such uncertainty. Looking forward to seeing who will grace Hyde Park in 2023.

Duran Duran Photo Credit: Louise Morris

All Other Photos Credit: Kieran White/KWMEDIA

(Many thanks to the following people and groups who helped with this review (in no particular order):

Denise, Brett, Kieran White, Hannah, Suzie Fellows, Caitlin Buller, Chris Goodman, Lily, Mia and all of the team at Outside Organisation, AURORA, her team and Halestorm PR)