Billy Joel delivers stunning live performance at BST Hyde Park

The Piano Man returns to London in stunning fashion

Words: Kahmel Farahani

Photos: Louise Phillips

Another fabulous weekend of British Summer Time at Hyde Park begins with a rather special bill topped with Billy Joel and his band on the Friday.

The main support on the great oak stage is the one and only Daryl Hall who takes the stage with an impressive band and a platinum plated songbook to choose from. Unfortunately, it is Hall himself who is the weak link in today’s performance. With a voice that’s clearly struggling and a lack of energy, Hall’s performance often drifts closer to wedding band than rock band and renders classics like Out Of Touch and Everytime You Go oddly flat and with the audience doing most of the heavy lifting. It’s a let down, but even the finest songwriters can have their off days. It  may have been just that for the 76 year old Hall this Friday.

In total contract, as soon as Billy Joel and his band walk on, it’s all steam ahead and an absolute joy to watch. “Hey London” says a smiling Billy Joel lowering his sunglasses, “I hope you’ve got your sunscreen on! It’s going to be a long one”. What follows is an  absolutely incredible performance that starts with My Life before a thrilling Moving Out (Anthony’s Song).

“This one is the only single from an album called Streetlife Serenade” says a smiling Billy Joel,  “don’t lie and say you have it!” . The Entertainer is a perfect blend of prog keyboards and pop melodies and it’s the first of many treats in tonight’s setlist.

At age 74 , Billy Joel’s voice is simply stunning and he still reaches for the high notes at every opportunity, including a fabulous run through of Innocent Man. The high notes are veritable mountain peaks that would deter a singer half his age yet Billy Joel nails them.

It’s not just Joel himself who is in fine form.  His band is so impressive it’s almost sicking to see so much musical talent in one place. All seasoned multi instrumentalists, the horn section takes on percussion, backing vocals, piano, triangle and almost any instrument you can throw at them. Percussionist and singer Crystal Taliefero deserves an extra special mention for playing all of the above instruments before taking centre stage to belt out a jaw dropping River Deep Mountain High in tribute to the late great Tina Turner in the middle of River Of Dreams.

Hits like New York State Of Mind and the iconic Piano Man come thick and fast along side brilliant album cuts like the jazzy Zanzibar and rocking Big Shot. A gorgeous version of Nessun Dorma leads fittingly into Scenes From An Italian Restaurant and leads the entire park in singing and dancing along.

As the clock ticks over the 2 hour mark, Billy Joel and his band are still going strong as they launch into The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night before finally ending with an outstanding You May Be Right. As the crowd keep the standing ovation going and calling for even more Billy smiles and points at his wrist watch indicating the coming curfew. As the band finally leave the stage, they leave a crowd overjoyed and having witnessed n0thing short of a masterclass in rock and roll songcraft and performance. There will never be another Piano Man and this time he performed the arguably the best show of the summer.