In a Hyde Park weekend that also included sets from rarely understated The Cure and Eric Clapton, there was the uncommon sight of a man for whom the vast space seemed far too small for his vision.
Beneath giant video screens twice as wide as the stage, Roger Waters performed multiple highlights from classic Pink Floyd albums as well as last year’s Is This the Life You Really Want? — his first rock recording since 1992.
The music in the first half outweighed the imagery, which struggled under the sun’s glare. Then Battersea Power Station’s chimneys, complete with real smoke, rose from the top of the stage, along with flying pig, and the spectacle really began.
Schoolchildren from the Grenfell Tower community in orange Guantanamo Bay-style suits, Donald Trump as a pig and a baby, and the angry bassist in manacles, stressed that Waters was not here just for fun. His bleak visions seem increasingly relevant, and new songs such as The Last Refugee were worthwhile additions to a dystopian catalogue.
However, as Eclipse rang out and the iconic Dark Side of the Moon album sleeve was recreated with lasers, the crowd had nothing more to concern them than getting a great photo of a remarkable night.
British Summer Time at Hyde Park: The headliners
