The Rolling Stones have marked 60 years since their first ever show at the Marquee Club in London with an open-air show at a festival in the capital.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood returned to the Great Oak Stage for British Summer Time in Hyde Park.
They were once again joined by Steve Jordan on the drums, following the death of drummer Charlie Watts last year.
The legendary rockers performed a 19-song set as part of their UK and European Sixty tour.
As with all the dates of the tour, the Stones opened their set with a video tribute to drummer Watts.
They then kicked the show off with Street Fighting Man, followed by 19th Nervous Breakdown.
Jagger, who recently recovered from Covid, appeared in good health and good spirits, as he started his performance in black skinny jeans, a floral jacket and a black shirt with sequins.
He told a frenzied crowd: “It’s lovely to be here. In 1962, we met a drummer from Wembley called Charlie Watts.
“And sadly, this is our first time in London without him. So, we would like to dedicate this show to Charlie.”
The Stones performed classics including Miss You, You Can’t Always Get What You Want and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
Later on, Jagger thanked the crowd for travelling to London, despite the rail strikes, which have crippled Britain’s rail network for the third day this week.
He said: “Are you feeling alright? It’s great to be back home in London. I know that getting here has not been easy. I want to really thank the effort you have made for all to get here.
“And I want to welcome everyone who has come from out of town, like the Midlands, I know people come from the North of England, and people come from overseas.”
Before a powerful performance of Paint It Black, Jagger also reminded the crowd: “It’s almost 60 years to this week that we played that first every show at the Marquee, so we want to thank you very much for coming back to see us.”
Joining The Rolling Stones on Saturday were Grammy Award-winning The War On Drugs, Pasadena indie-rocker Phoebe Bridgers, Manchester multi-instrumentalist JJ Rosa and Nashville-based Country recording artist Kelly McGrath.
As the Stones played to 65,000 people in London, Paul McCartney headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, reminding the country of the most famous battle of the bands in music history.
The Stones will play again in Hyde Park on July 3rd, and their second date will feature Geordie heartlands indie-rocker Sam Fender, lyricist and guitarist Courtney Barnett, American blues guitarist and singer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, jazz hip-hop collective Dinner Party, and Sydney alt-rockers The Flints.
Elton John played at BST Hyde Park on Friday and Adele, the Eagles, Duran Duran, and Pearl Jam will all headline the remaining nights of the festival, which will run until July 10th.
