Pearl Jam paid tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins on their second night headlining American Express Presents BST Hyde Park.
The US rockers took to the stage in London on Saturday (09.07.22) and during their set, frontman Eddie Vedder took the time to remember the Foo Fighters drummer, who passed away in March.
He said: “There’s another guy who really loved London… we all knew him and loved and respected, and we were enlightened by him. It was one of the brutal losses we’ve had recently. I’m talking about Mr Taylor Hawkins.”
Later in the set, the 57-year-old singer took a moment to acknowledge those fighting against Russia in Ukraine.
He said: “I just want to send one out to the good folks fighting for their homeland back in Ukraine.”
The group had also performed in the park on Friday (08.07.22) and when they came out on stage, Eddie promised to sing “all the songs we didn’t play last night”.
He added: “We are very, very grateful to you – you great bunch of humans. With two years of no shows we’re out of practice, but you’re already better than ever.”
Sure enough, fans assembled at the Great Oak Stage were treated to an overhauled 22-song set, with ‘Animal’, ‘Black’, ‘Rats’ and ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ among the tracks given an airing.
During the show, Johnny Marr – who had been one of the support acts earlier in the day – came out to perform a cover of ‘Throw Your Hatred Down’ before returning for the evening’s final song, a cover of The Whos ‘Baba O’Reilly’.
As they left the stage, Eddie said: “Thank you for the last two days. Take care of yourselves, take care of our planet. We love you.”
Ahead of their performance, the crowd basking in the late afternoon sun enjoyed a greatest hits from Stereophonics, who were performing the only London show of their 2022 European tour, with ‘Dakota’, ‘Just Looking’,and ‘The Bartender and the Thief’ among the highlights.
