The Rolling in the Deep hitmaker Adele recently graced the BST Hyde Park festival, her first big appearance here after five years.
The last time Adele headlined a massive outdoor run in her home city, in 2017, she cancelled the last two shows of her scheduled four-night Wembley Stadium stint after damaging her vocal cords. In fact, this was her first full live show since then, reports Variety’.
As Adele started singing, she emerged with minimal fanfare, clad in an elegant black gown and statement earrings, singing “Hello”.
But she barely got through the first line before exclaiming, “I’m so happy to be here!” and asking the crowd for some vocal assistance.
‘Variety’ notes that the audience was fully on her side, the words to every heartbreak anthem echoing back along the seemingly endless rows of fans enjoying the evening sunshine. But Adele worked them anyway.
“It is strange to be in front of a crowd again,” she said at one point but, in truth, she remains a natural.
Before she sang I Drink Wine’, she exclaimed, “I’m f****** shitting myself!” All exaggerated eyebrow raises and gurning to the fans who looked like they’d been following the song title’s advice to the letter.
But neither could many other singers pull off her cruise ship compering style, reading the signs held aloft in the crowd and congratulating people on birthdays, anniversaries, “divorce parties”, exam results (“I failed all my exams and I’m doing alright”).
As a final, string-drenched “Love is a Game” drifted across the fields, some actual fireworks lit up the crowd and more confetti arrived. This time, it was pink and red hearts, perfectly symbolising the renewed love affair between the UK’s capital and its prodigal daughter.