BST Hyde Park 2023: Take That

BST Hyde Park:

Today's edition of BST Hyde Park was the ultimate pop party, a perfectly crafted line-up displaying some of the best pop artists this country has produced, alongside the future stars who are destined to take the world by storm. The bright design of the BST grounds, combined with lights lining the buildings around the Great Oak Stage, meant Hyde Park really was turned into the most fun-filled disco the second the doors opened, which did not stop until the last person had left. The whole day was headlined by pop megastars Take That who delivered an epic career spanning set with special guest appearances from Calum Scott and Lulu. Elsewhere on the line-up were Irish pop-rock band who provided a set full of hits that proved they could have easily headlined themselves. Other signature artists included a brilliant pop-party from the original line-up of the Sugababes, and a stunning sing along to Will Young
 

Take That:

BST Hyde Park saw Take That play their first big show in four years, an opportunity which they took the and created a show for the ages. The band walked out alongside a troop of dancers down the light-up stairs singing an acapella version of the opening verse to 'The Flood', before a rousing full band version kicked in for the chorus. The crowd were hot from the get-go singing this song back in great volume, which carried on throughout the next song 'These Days'

The set was packed full of hits, showing the depth of original songs the group have, as well as a number of covers receiving commercial success. The earliest one of these, 'Could It Be Magic', provided a quick breather for the crowd after the energy from the first two songs, however this did not last for long with the upbeat final chorus rousing the crowd right back up.

As the set started, I was surprised to hear 'The Flood opening as it has been six years since a song that wasn't 'Greatest Day' opened a Take That headline concert, but four songs into this performance it became obvious why. The band have recently released a re-imagined version of Greatest Day' with multi-platinum selling artist Calum Scott, who to the surprise of everyone in attendance turned up to sing the song with Take That. The performance of the new rendition was fantastic, but the treats did not stop there as we were then breakout version of Dancing on My Own given a fantastic performance of Scott's that turned the crowd into the most stunning choir. The pace was then brought down slightly to allow soulful performances of How Deep Is Your Love?` and 'A Million Love Songs', before Mark Owen donned his infamous Top Hat to belt out 'Shine', another of the bands biggest songs that was lapped up by the crowd. 

Take That were finding great ioy throughout the set reading out the hilarious signs the crowd had brought such as I think of you when I sh*g my husband' which caused a joke argument between the band over which member the sign referred to. Another sign said, This song is older than me', a tongue-in-cheek message that does have truth behind it. The band have 30+ years of music behind them, and with an audience of au ages in attendance, number of the songs would have fallen into this category. But unlike a number of acts who first saw success in the 90's Take That have, just kept pumping out hits.

The middle section of the setlist featured a string of consecutive mega-songs. 'Patience', 'Pray', 'Said It. All' and 'Back for Good' all following one after another really flexed just how incredible the back-catalogue of Take That is. Any other band would spend their entire career trying to release, just one song as successful as these, and would then end every concert with it, but Take That have SO many hits they could leave them in the middle of the set and have them not seem out of place.

The song that did get the honour of closing the main set was the bands' brilliant cover of Dan Hartman classic 'Relight My Fire'. The song, originally released as a collaboration with Lulu is a firm fan-favourite, and as the first surprise guest was so nice, Take That thought they'd do it twice. The legendary Lulu was brought out to a rapturous applause, and the four of them tore the house down, finishing with a the most incredible display of light from around the stage.

The encore opened with 'Hold Up a Light', a cult classic amongst Take That fans, before 'Never Forget and 'Rule the World', two of the bands most commercially successful songs, were played. The latter two received by far the loudest crowd reactions of the day, and the pomp of fireworks that came with them created quite the spectacle.

This set was nothing short of brilliant from start to finish, and really does cement Take That as one of the best pop acts this country has ever produced.

The Script:

The Script really can do it all, and this set proved that. Fifty minutes flew by, and with the band bringing every conceivable emotion out of all 65,000 people watching, there is no doubt they could have headlined the whole thing.

Opening their set with 2014's mega-hit 'Superheroes' lead singer Danny O'Donoghue immediately had the entirety of Hyde Park in his hands, and he refused to let go until their very last note. 'Rain and The Man Who Can't Be Moved' displayed gave the crowd more and more reason to sing along, with arms in the air and feet moving everywhere you looked. 'Paint the Town Green' kept this energy going, with the bouncy chorus turning Hyde Park into a tidal wave of bodies jumping, loving every second of this already stellar performance

'Nothing' provided one of the funniest moments I've ever witnessed at a concert, with Danny facetiming audience member Jade's ex-boyfriend "Carl The Idiot" before serenading him with the song about leaving a toxic ex, culminating in 65,000 screaming "Goodbye Arsehole" as Danny hung up.

The set was not all humour though, as 'If You Could See Me Now' created an extremely emotional moment. In April this year The Script's guitarist Mark Sheehan tragically passed away, and before the band played 'If You Could See Me Now' Danny explained how excited Mark was for this show, before dedicating the song to him. Throughout the song we saw videos of Mark playing on stage and interacting with fans, showing just how loved he was by The Script Family.

A visibly shaken Danny took a deserving moment of reflection before heroically belting out some of the band's biggest hits, 'For the First Time', 'Breakeven', and 'Hall of Fame', ending an emotional rollercoaster of a set in the perfect way
 

Sugababes:

After numerous line-up changes over the years the Sugababes are finally back to the original trio of Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán, and after definitely better for it. After so long not playing together you would excuse the trio for lacking confidence, or carrying some stage rust, but; yet somehow none of this was present; in fact, seeing the trio play it became near impossible to picture a time they weren't gracing the stage together. Their 10-song set was filled with hits from start to finish with people still talking extremely positively about it once the entire day was over.

As the opening music to 'Freak Like Me' was ringing out the trio would strike serious looking poses but could barely hold back their smiles due to the insanely loud response of the crowd, an energy which would only increase as the set went on. 'Red Dress' followed with the chorus lyrics of "Cooler than the Red Dress" being screamed back by the thousands in attendance.

'Flatline, a song originally released under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan, proved exactly why this trio were born to sing together, utilising the most incredible harmonies throughout the song before receiving an enormous reception from all those watching.

Later in the set we got some of the groups most iconic anthems such as 'Push the Button', a song so widely recognised that a saw hundreds of audience members recreating the dance before the chorus had event hit. This was quickly followed up by 'Round Round, greeted by the biggest crowd response of the day so far.

If you thought the crowd noise at the end of 'Round Round' was loud, there would have been no preparing you for the mammoth response to the opening beats of 'About You Now'. A flawless rendition from a trio vocally at their best closed a set that proved good pop music really is timeless

Aly & AJ:

Being dealt a tough timeslot following the Sugababes and being on stage right around dinner time before the day's headliners, Aly & AJ were up against it from the start, yet that didn't stop them delivering one of the sets of the day. The Michalka sisters took to the stage ready to play opening song 'Tear the Night Up' with the enthusiasm and energy of headliners playing to a packed- out field, and by the time their set finished the crowd wasn't too far off this.

Aly & AJ have made their name in earworm pop music which in itself is already extremely fun to listen to, but the live showing of tracks from new album With Love From displayed the true pedigree that Aly and AJ both possess as musicians. Both sisters were playing guitar or keys throughout the set, and with the addition of their live drummer and bassist their set became more country-rock than classic pop, leading to 40 minutes of musical perfection

The sisters worked their way through hit after hit, with early songs Break Yourself and 'Pretty Places' being loudly responded to by the crowd. The new album's title track 'With Love From' had to go down as one of the best songs of the set, whilst another newer song ' Take Me' had the audience chanting back the chorus like their lives depended it on it.

'Baby Lay Your Head Down' provided the perfect soundtrack to what was now a packed-out sun-covered field of joy, a song that would be a welcome addition to any summer playlist. This led into the perfectly titled 'sunchoke' before a rousing performance of penultimate song 'Don't Need Nothing'.

Aly AJ closed their set with, as they joked, "the song everyone was there to see" Potential Breakup Song. The song was performed in a slightly different to the synth based single, with the backing of a band breathing a whole new life into it and closing the set perfectly. Aly & AJ are so much more than this one song however, they are a group who played some of the best pop music I have ever heard

Will Young:

Will Young has often admirably spoke about his struggles of being in the limelight, and the toll it has taken on his mental health, however as he continues to celebrate 20 years since his Pop Idol debut Will Young put across as confident a performance as you will see.

Opening with 'Sledgehammer' Will immediately had all of Hyde Park dancing, leading to his promise of fitting as many songs into his allotted time as possible going down incredibly well with those in attendance. His set was full of light-hearted energy and humour, declaring his love for the Great Oak tree that graces the stage before running to hug it, as well as announcing himself as gassy before breaking straight into song. 'Happiness' and 'Joy continued Will's mission to turn Hyde Park into one big dance floor. 

Big hits like 'Your Game' and 'Jealousy' acted as a reminder for anyone who somehow still didn't know just how stacked Will's back catalogue is, and his ever-popular cover of The Doors Light My Fire' had the crowd beginning to warm up their vocal cords.

Clearly this warmup worked well as the final two songs of Will Young's sets were met with some of the loudest singalongs of the entire day. The first came in the form of 'Leave Right Now', which was met with a collective sigh of adoration by so many when the introduction started. The second was Will's set closer Evergreen', the song that helped him win Pop Idol. 'Evergreen provided the perfect closing song with the crowd singing back so loudly you almost lost track of which voice was Will's.

Overall, Will Young's set was the pop party his back catalogue deserved, with every song being sung flawlessly, and performed to perfection by Will's backing band
 

Chloe Adams:

Chloe Adams has the stage presence of a fully-fledged popstar, and with a growing collection of hits collecting under her belt, that stardom doesn't feel far away at all. Opening her set with ' Dead to Me' Chloe danced across the stage, immediately making her positive energy felt across the field.

Chloe then gave unreleased song 'Barbie Doll' its live debut, a song that seemed to resonate with many in attendance, with many relating to the anti-misogyny message behind it. If Barbie Doll is a sign of the direction Chloe is heading in, then the sky really is the limit.

Aswell as her original songs, Chloe featured a number of unique covers throughout, including her own twists on 'Where is the love' and 'Iris'. Despite being predominately pop music, the live backing of drums and guitar gave Chloe's songs a slight rock feel, a quality which definitely took her live show to the next level

Here At Last:

As someone who largely consumes alternative-rock based music the concept of a Tik Tok famous boyband should be the antichrist, but these prejudicial views were quickly disproven as the five-piece Here at Last took to the stage. The group, composing of Pedro, Tommy, Zach, Ryan and James, took to the stage on the receiving end of a huge audience reception and it was clear that Here at Last have something special about them.

It has been a fair few years since the last truly big boyband broke out in the UK, and if this set of high-quality pop music is anything to go by, Here at Last are a safe bet for the next breakout stars. Their set absolutely flew by with an enjoyable combination of songs with catchy hooks such as 'Like the 90s' and slower emotional songs such as 'All In. Every song the boys performed received huge applause from the audience, and with their rapidly growing fanbase, the UK's next big boy band are Here At Last...

Bellah Mae:
Bellah Mae is a genuine star who seemed almost shocked at how positive the crowd's reaction was to her, really proving how genuine and authentic she is as an artist.

Bellah delivered a set full of outlandish tongue-in-cheek pop anthems, showing a singer unafraid to say exactly what's on her mind. This made for an extremely enjoyable set combining brilliant pop music, backed with a live band at the top of their game. This was fronted by Bellah's stage presence which seemed to come so naturally, yet many would train for years and still not quite reach that level of audience captivation.

A particular highlight of the set was Bellah's penultimate song 'Date Your Dad', an anthem for anyone who has an ex-that refused to show them the appreciation of they deserved. Closing song ' Boyfriend of the Year' received a great response from those in attendance and capped of a star-making set

Jazmine Flowers:

Besides the night's headliners Take That, Jazmine Flowers was the only other artist on the day that had previously performed at BST Hyde Park, a fact that definitely helped draw people to the Birdcage stage for her set, and Jazmine absolutely capitalized on this. Her set was 30 minutes of RnB inspired brilliance that head the entire field dancing along.

During her set Jazmine expressed her gratitude at being an unsigned artist after being previously messed around by past management, and the sense of joy and freedom that she now performs with really did come across. Performances of past singles like Awkward were delivered with a newfound fire from the studio recordings, and the preview of upcoming music such as 'Brainstorm showed Jazmine is only just getting started as an artist.

This set really had a must-see feel about it, and it won't be long until Jazmine is on the bigger stages!