The Killers and Tears for Fears amaze the British Summer Time festival crowd in Hyde Park

One of the year’s best festivals, British Summer Time, comes to Hyde Park this Saturday with The Killers headlining. An approximate 65,000 festival goers arriving, it’s set to be a lively and packed day.

Mystery Jets take the Great Oak Stage, an apt name for the platform of huge trees. It’s a unique viewing, with the band’s firmament backdrop. Telomere, a mellow first track, shows the acoustics are balanced beautifully. Serotonin gets the crowd dancing happily, making actual serotonin run through the veins. Young Love is another fun track, with the sun shining on everyone. Ending with the cool Someone Purer, it’s a brief set, missing some hits, but altogether a coalescent twinkling indie pop performance.

The anticipation was heightened for 80s pop legends Tears for Fears. As a female voice huskily sung the intro to Everybody Wants to Rule the World, TFF come on stage to raucous cheering, with the signature synth and guitar riffs. Secret World offers a recent track, modern in sound. Sowing the Seeds of Love is another great hark back to the 80s, Orzabal and Smith’s vocals on point, while Change delivers a sexy-beat-driven song, filled with vintage coolness. Next comes classic Mad World, a melancholic contrast to happier tunes, with everyone singing along, its poignancy withstanding time. A surprising highlight of the show is the cover of Radiohead’s Creep, hauntingly beautiful and equally rocking, a match to the original, but with the Tears for Fears touch.

The set is lively again with Pale Shelter, another über cool song, oozing with great beats. Head Over Heels brings up memories of cult film Donnie Dark, while Shout completes the set, with everyone shouting along, after which there’s an incredible instrumental outro. Tears for Fears sound as amazing as they did 30 years ago, playing to perfection, as if no time has passed at all, performing hits with graceful ease.

Next come Elbow. The Birds is a very mellow and slow start to the set, a stark contrast to the fun of Tears for Fears. Picking up a little with folk rock The Bones of You, audience members are static, uninterested. New York Morning and Lippy Kids, are slow tracks and don’t heighten excitement for the headliners. Grounds for Divorce, one of their more famous, is an anthemic stadium filler, yet Elbow’s set put the crowd on a downer, and the BST lineup may have been better with Tears for Fear performing before The Killers and Elbow replaced by White Lies.

The Killers arrive on stage and the crowd goes wild; Brandon Flowers in a bright pink blazer is enough to make anyone go weak at the knees. New single The Man, gets everyone singing amidst an explosion of pink confetti. Somebody Told Me has a killer bass, everything ablaze in golden neon. Smile Like you Mean It, an audience favourite, is infused with an undercurrent of sadness, while Jenny Was a Friend of Mine is filled with optimism despite the subject matter. Surprise tracks included tonight are This River Is Wild, Runaways and the Joy Division cover Shadowplay, showing The Killers still got it, Flowers a born showman, flirting with the crowd after the encore asking “did you miss us?” Returning with This Is Your Life and Shot at the Night, both prepare everyone for the final hits, nostalgic When You Were Young and bittersweet Mr Brightside. The Killers performed with an oozing Las Vegas flirtatious glamour, playing both hits and slower less famous songs with a passionate vigour, the beautiful pink confetti and bursting fireworks completing what was an absolute killer of a show.

Selina Begum

For further information and future events visit The Killers website here.

Watch the video for The Man here: