Neil Young and Bob Dylan both wowed 65,000 fans as they shared headline billing in Hyde Park on Friday night (12.07.19).
The two music legends came together for an historic night in London which saw them play a host of their classic tracks for the capacity crowd.
First on stage was Young who joked that he had "never played in daylight before" in reference to the fact he had to go on before Dylan and the Canadian musician was in good spirits as he added "it’s great to see everybody".
Backed by his band The Promise of the Real, which features Willie Nelson’s son Lukas, the 73-year-old rocker opened with ‘Mansion on the Hill, ‘Over and Over’ and ‘Country Home’ from his Crazy Horse period before playing ‘Alabama’ – which features on his acclaimed 1972 album ‘Harvest’ – to huge cheers from the crowd.
Those cheers only got louder when Young strapped on his acoustic guitar and harmonica for beloved classic ‘Heart of Gold’, also taken from ‘Harvest’.
Appreciating the crowd’s response to the song, he followed it up with ‘From Hank to Hendrix’ and then acknowledging his fans’ love of his folk material he said with smile whilst pointing to his guitar "Do you want another one on this one?"
The huge cheers gave way to a rendition of ‘Old Man’ which sparked the biggest singalong of his set.
Young – whose stage was adorned with a Love sign and a bird flying above the band with a peace sign as an eye – also delivered an impassioned version of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ showing his political passions still burn as brightly as ever.
He and the band returned for an encore of fan favourite ‘Like A Hurricane’ and ‘Piece of Crap’ – from his 1994 album ‘Sleeps with Angels’.
It was then Dylan’s turn to take to the stage and he walked out unannounced and sat down at his piano with a wide grin before opening with ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ from his seminal 1965 album ‘Highway 61 Revisited’.
Unlike Young, Dylan likes to be playful with his most famous songs often changing the key, the melodies and the arrangements and it seemed to take the capacity crowd a minute to spot that his next song was a piano-led version of his 1964 track ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’.
The 78-year-old icon did play a faithful version of his song ‘Make You Feel My Love’ – which featured on his 1997 LP ‘Time Out of Mind’ and became a huge hit for Adele when she covered the track – and when he played ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ the crowd joined in to provide backing vocals raising a smile from their hero.
Other highlights included blues numbers ‘Thunder on the Mountain’ and ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ and ballads ‘Simple Twist of Fate’ and ‘Girl from the North Country’.
Dylan’s encore was comprised of an intriguing rendition of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry’ before he and his band took a bow in front of their adoring audience.
Both Young and Dylan were watched by a host of famous fans including actor Luke Wilson, former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and Jake Bugg.
Neil Young and Bob Dylan wow Hyde Park crowd
