One of the highlights of BST Hyde Park was a stunning performance on Friday night by Stevie Nicks
Former Fleetwood Mac singer, Stevie Nicks headlined the Great Oak Stage night at a sold out American Express presents BST Hyde Park on Friday, for one of the most iconic performances in the stage’s history. The 76-year-old star arrived on stage to a sea of applause, following minor surgery in the last few weeks. Nicks performed a stunning display of her hits across a two hour long setlist that was utterly spellbinding.
With a crowd comprising fans of all ages, Nicks took a tour of her hits from “Outside The Rain” teasing what was to come, through Fleetwood Mac’s iconic “Dreams.” A stream of hits followed, including, “If Anyone Falls”, “Gypsy”, “For What It’s Worth”, “Free Falling”, “Wild Heart” and “Bella Donna” – the latter picked from Nicks’ debut platinum-selling 1981 album of the same name. Nicks also made a heartfelt dedication to her friend and fellow artist Tom Petty – performing his most famous track, “Free Fallin.” Prior to singing ‘Gypsy,’ Nicks drew attention to her trademark black and gold cape. The second half of the set brought to life the likes of, “Stand Back”, “Gold Dust Woman” and “Leather and Lace”. Meanwhile, “Edge of Seventeen” came with an epic four-minute guitar intro from another legendary musician, Waddy Wachtel. Wachtel, who has also played with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Jon Bon Jovi and Iggy Pop, was at Nicks’ side for the entire set.
“You have been awesome…” Nicks thanked the crowd before the stage went dark, an encore looming. The finale stole the show that evening as she kicked off with “Rhiannon”, before the night climaxed with the arrival of Harry Styles on stage. The pair went on to duet on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Styles on the guitar, before a spell-binding and tear-jerking performance of “Landslide” in dedication to Nicks’ former Fleetwood Mac bandmate, the late Christine McVie, which was one of the most special performances in London from the last several years.
“I asked Harry to do this, and it’s always heavy to ask someone to come and sing this song with you, when you’re singing about your best friend that died so suddenly and so sadly. What I want you to know is that Christine was Harry’s girl and she was my girl, she was your girl. And she loved all of this. And today was her birthday, so, it’s taken me all this time to try to deal with this situation.
“One thing my mum used to say to me when I was little, when I was hurt, was ‘Stevie when you’re hurt, you always run to the stage’. And that’s what I have been doing ever since Chris passed away, I’ve been running to the stage. And the only people who have helped me to get over all of this, has been all of you.”
