Hyde Park Calling 2006 - Saturday, Main Stage

United Kingdom | by Ben H. Murray | 05 July 2006

Chris Difford is first on-stage at 3.30pm and judging by his attire, he is off to a wedding after this. The blazer, shirt and jean combo certainly gives the impression he has something more important to do later and his set is well performed if a little lacklustre, despite some fantastic slide guitar work and a smattering of classic Squeeze songs such as 'Tempted' and 'Take Me I'm Yours'.

Antipodean trio Breaks Co-Op draw the short straw today and begin their set as England's footballers began to look forward to their own summer break. Part-time member Zane Lowe looks at home behind a set of decks but you begin to cringe when he introduces a track with "this is for anyone who's had their heartbroken" and - even worse - "this is one for the ladies" but when he grabs a mic and launches into a Run DMC-inspired rap you feel embarrassed for him – it's John Barnes circa 1990 with a bit of early Mike Skinner thrown in, but it all adds to the football fever.

Although Starsailor might not be your first choice of late-afternoon listening in a sunny park their melodic pop sound and James Walsh's piercing vocals sound great. 'Alcoholic' and 'Four to the Floor' gets even the most avid football watcher singing along.  Their set is the best of the day so far on a very warm afternoon in Hyde Park and their friendly manner and concern for the plight of the nation's football team also ingratiates the band to a patriotic crowd.

It's early evening now and there's a sizzling atmosphere around the park as the air cools and the crowd bulges around the Main Stage area waiting for Texas to come on. The familiar slide guitar hook from their 1989 hit 'I Don't Want a Lover' is greeted with a huge cheer and they throw themselves into a lively set despite today being the hottest day of the year. Sharleen Spiteri is wearing an unseasonal black outfit which possibly fires her temper as a disgruntled England fan launches a shoe at her following a few un-wise comments about the day's football result but they end in style with a fine version of 'Say What You Want'.

As the sun begins to set Roger Waters strides into view and the crowd erupts. The first half of the evening's set covers most of Pink Floyd's best known material including 'Wish You Were Here', a glorious version of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' accompanied by some striking images of Syd Barrett and 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' which lacks the flowing pschyedelia of the original studio version but still sounds fantastic on the quadraphonic speaker set up. The backing band, particularly Snowy White, Andy Fairweather Low and the three backing vocalists, lend a depth of sound and volume that perfectly compliments Waters' theatrical on-stage presence and stunning visuals on the three stage screens.

Tonight's set has an overtly anti-war theme and throughout several conflict-themed tracks such as 'The Post War Dream' images from various wars are shown on the big screens. Waters takes several opportunities to express his opinions about such world events on the weekend that falls exactly a year on from Pink Floyd's historic Live8 performance.

After a short break Waters and the band reappear with Nick Mason to perform 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. Mason receives a huge ovation as one of the founder members of Pink Floyd although what he actually contributes to the set is unclear as they already have a drummer who plays throughout and Mason seems to be filling in any gaps at a leisurely pace.

Although originally recorded in 1973 it seems as though the rest of the music world has only just caught up, the sampled vocals and multi-instrumental parts that glue the ten tracks together produce an epic sound that's entirely modern yet still manages to capture the essence of a youthful Pink Floyd. The first proper track 'Breathe' has a symphonic quality and the soulful female vocal part on 'Eclipse' is sung superbly by one of the three backing singers, who each take a turn in performing lead vocals when the need arises, whilst 'Money' gets Hyde Park dancing like nobody else has managed all day.

As the evening draws to a close with 'Eclipse' and Dark Side Of The Moon is finished the entire band perform a lengthy encore starting with 'Another Brick In The Wall' and continuing with 'Vera'. Finally the top of the stage erupts in an eyebrow-singeing pyrotechnic display and the chorus of 'Comfortably Numb' fills Hyde Park. Thousands go home having experienced a truly special headline performance.