STONES IMMACULATE

The first Rolling Stones shows in the capital sans Charlie provide the epitaph he deserves. Good tonight: Kris Needs

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The Rolling Stones

London Hyde Park 3/7/22

 As Mick Jagger told an ecstatic 65,000 packing Hyde Park, this second "American Express British Summertime Covid super-spreader" marked the 203rd show that The Rolling Stones have played in London, as they treated their home city to a consummate thrill-packed rollercoaster of a set.

Fate, and a kindly PR, brought this fan of 59 years closer to the stage than at any Stones mega-gig in the last five decades. It was almost overwhelmingly emotional and enthralling, watching the band that have essentially soundtracked my whole life mix their magic so up-close on my 68th birthday (compounded by my beaming little sister popping her live Stones cherry). The Stones' eternal, infernal spirit was flying at full bore tonight, from a rejigged running order to infecting the vast crowd singing along with every classic number.

For this long-time Stones set-list fiend, it's been fascinating watching the European tour selections evolve, since opening night in Madrid, on 1 June, particularly the first half, which has seen one-off nuggets such as Dead Flowers in Milan, or I Wanna Be Your Man in Liverpool, or, as with Out Of Time, more obscure numbers that have become unexpected set staples. This unpredictable element served to highlight the Stones' vast, gem-studded catalogue, and demolish the concept of slickly choreographed sets trotted out as per other stadium bands.

After the inevitably moving Charlie Watts video tribute opening, the show boasted their most audacious programming yet, starting by replacing traditional opener, Street Fighting Man, with the core unit of Jagger, Richards, Wood, bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan, revisiting Get Off Of My Cloud, with new-found metronomic churn, followed by hotwiring 19th Nervous Breakdown into an energised pop-cowpunk hybrid, Jones replicating Bill Wyman's divebomb bass runs.