Live 8 Hyde Park London 2nd July 2005
I was so excited about this event for three reasons: firstly because I’d been in Wembley Stadium for Live Aid, secondly to see The Who, and thirdly and most of all to see Pink Floyd again. We (me, Marie, David and Laura) all went, staying the weekend in London. I’d managed to get tickets for the Gold Circle which took us right down the front, next to the stage, so we had an excellent view of the entire day’s proceedings.
Bob Geldof opened the proceedings, followed by Paul McCartney with U2 performing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (It was 20 years ago today! Wonderful). Then U2 performed “Beautiful Day” (with a verse of the Beatles’ “Blackbird”), “Vertigo”, “One” (including a segment from “Unchained Melody”). Coldplay were next up and played “In My Place” with a section from “Rockin’ All Over the World” (cheeky; Quo should have been on stage performing this, but weren’t invited although they of course opened Live Aid), “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (joined by Richard Ashcroft), and “Fix You”. David Walliams and Matt Lucas then came on stage in the role of their Little Britain characters Lou and Andy and introduced Elton John who played “The Bitch Is Back”, “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, and “Children of the Revolution” (with guest Pete Doherty). Bill Gates was then next up on stage to introduce Dido who sang “White Flag” and “Thank You” and “7 Seconds”with Youssou N’Dour.
Stereophonics were followed by REM who were introduced by Ricky Gervais. R.E.M. performed “Imitation of Life”, “Everybody Hurts”, and “Man on the Moon”. Then Kofi Annan introduced Ms. Dynamite who was followed by Keane and Travis. Bob Geldof joined Travis to sing “I Don’t Like Mondays”. Brad Pitt was next on stage to introduce Annie Lennox, then came UB40, Snoop Dogg and Razorlight.
Bob Geldof then introduced 24-year-old Birhan Woldu, the starving Ethiopian child whose image was so powerful in the video shown at Live Aid. Madonna took to the stage, embraced Birhan and held hands with her as she sang “Like a Prayer”.
Madonna was followed by Snow Patrol, The Killers, Joss Stone, Scissor Sisters, and Velvet Revolver (good but a bit out of place at this event). Then Lenny Henry presented Sting who sang the same songs as he performed at Live Aid: “Message in a Bottle”, “Driven To Tears”, and “Every Breath You Take”. Next Dawn French introduced Mariah Carey who was amazing, and David Beckham presented “his friend” Robbie Williams who got the crowd really going with “We Will Rock You”, “Let Me Entertain You”, “Feel”, and “Angels”. Peter Kay sauntered onto the stage and couldn’t resist singing “Is This the Way to Amarillo”.
Now we were moving to the legends; the bands that I had really come to see. The Who played “Who Are You”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. They were followed by an event which I never thought I would see, the reunion of Pink Floyd and a breath-taking performance of “Speak to Me”/”Breathe”, “Money”, “Wish You Were Here” (real lump in the thrat moment and closed with “Comfortably Numb”. It was left to Paul McCartney to close the show with “Get Back”, “Drive My Car” (with George Michael), “Helter Skelter”, and “The Long and Winding Road”. He finished with “Hey Jude’ to which everyone sang along, and which seemed to go on for ever. We left Hyde Park as the crowd continued to sing “Na Na Na NaNa Na Na….”). The show was originally scheduled to close at 9.30pm, but seriously overran and went on until just after midnight.
The Floyd reunion was, of course, the real highlight for me. Gilmour announced the reunion less than a month before the gig, on 12 June 2005: “ Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It’s crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it’s got to be worthwhile.” Waters said on stage: “It’s actually quite emotional standing up here with these three guys after all these years. Standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we’re doing this for everyone who’s not here, but particularly, of course, for Syd.” The screens showed video from their past shows, and a film of the pig from the Animals flying over Battersea Power Station. This was simply mind-blowing stuff; for me it was a very emotional experience. I found Wish You Were Here particularly powerful; you felt they were singing the song for Syd; which of course they were. Syd sadly passed away the following year. With Wright’s subsequent passing in 2008, this was to be the final concert to feature all four playing together.
A great, momentous day.
Archive for the ‘Robbie Williams’ Category
24 Mar
Live 8 Hyde Park London 2nd July 2005
3 Feb
Robbie Williams Roundhay Park, Leeds 9th September 2006
Robbie Williams Roundhay Park, Leeds 9th September 2006
Support from Basement Jaxx and Orson
Time to admit to another guilty pleasure. I like Robbie Williams. There I said it. I know he isn’t classic or vintage rock but I can’t fail to be impressed by the guy. There is something about his confidence, his clearly enormous ego, and that I find impressive. Laura and David were also fans at the time, so we thought we would go along and see him at this massive event at Leeds Roundhay Park, where he played for two nights in September 2006. I even joined the Robbie fan club to be sure of tickets, which also got me a Robbie t-shirt which Laura still has.
Rounhay Park is a massive area, and it was crammed with 100,000 or so people for Robbie. Support acts Orson and Basement Jaxx went down well, but everyone was there for Robbie. The place erupted when he came on stage, the crowd went crazy and continued to do so throughout his set. Robbie of course, knows how to play the crowd, and has a knack of talking to 100,000 people in a way that feels likes he is talking to you. The guy really is the ultimate showman. A great show, which we all enjoyed. Even if it did take us 2 hours to get out of the car park 🙂
Here are a few comments from fans who attended the concert (from the Yorkshire Post):
“Once again a spectacular performance from the best entertainer out there. From the second Rob popped up on stage 100,000 people were eating out of his hand. The screaming was deafening, the atmosphere created memories that will last a lifetime.
“Whatever your opinion of Robbie or his music, you have to admire the showmanship of someone who can attract so many people of different ages to his concerts. Robbie doesn’t only attract girls in their twenties (as the TV coverage would suggest) – there were men and women of all ages. The youngest person we saw was about seven, the oldest probably in their seventies. Everyone, regardless of age, danced and sang along with great enthusiasm, and despite the amount of alcohol consumed by some, the vast majority of people remained very good natured.”
“Excellent performance by all but far too many people in 1 place. Could have been serious problems if the area needed to be cleared for any reason. But all in all an excellent day.”
Setlist: Radio; Rock DJ; Tripping; Monsoon; Sin Sin Sin; Millennium; Make Me Pure; Me and My Shadow; Strong; Back for Good; Advertising Space; Come Undone; Feel
Encore: Let Me Entertain You; Rudebox; Angels; Kids
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