Guns N' Roses deliver an electrifying set at BST Hyde Park 2023

1 July 2023, 12:51 | Updated: 21 March 2024, 17:53

Guns N' Roses play Paradise City at BST Hyde Park 2023

By Jenny Mensah

Axl Rose and co returned to London for a career-spanning set at BST Hyde Park. Find out what we thought of the gig and get the full setlist here.

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Guns N' Roses played an incredible set at BST Hyde Park this Friday (30th June).

Given their recent performance at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park and last week's headline show on Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage (which was marred by sound issues for those watching at home), it would have been easy for the Hollywood rockers to phone in their set.

But Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan and co played the London park as if it was their last gig ever, delivering up an unforgettable and an electrifying 28-song set, with songs spanning four decades.

What an amazing gig @BSTHydePark @gunsnroses loved it 👏 pic.twitter.com/C2VnT79ti8
— darren vaudin (@zacnmax2004) July 1, 2023

Among the support acts were special guests The Darkness and The Pretenders, who warmed up the daytime crowd with their undeniable hits. Starting unusually early to make way for GNR's mammoth three-hour set, Justin Hawkins and co treated fans to well-known hits Growing On Me, I Believe In A Thing Called Love plus an unseasonable version of Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End).

Chrissie Hynde then delighted crowds with favourites from The Pretenders' back-catalogue, giving pitch-perfect renditions of Back on the Chain Gang, Don't Get Me Wrong and I'll Stand By You.

Despite giving an energetic performance on Glastonbury's Park stage less than a week before, the 71-year-old rocker proved why she's an act worthy of any music fan's bucket-list, delivering up perfect vocals to her nostalgic hits.

The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde at BST Hyde Park 2023. Picture: Gus Stewart/Redferns/Getty

When Guns N' Roses did take to the stage (on time we might add), they opened as is customary with Appetite For Destruction favourite It's So Easy, before playing the likes of Bad Obsession, Chinese Democracy and Mr. Brownstone.

It wasn't long before Axl screamed: "Do you know where you are?," launching the band into their epic anthem Welcome To The Jungle, whipping up the London crowd into a frenzy.

Guns N' Roses play BST Hyde Park. Picture: Guilherme Nunes Cunha Neto /@guilhermeneto

The set continued to take a trip through the band's back catalogue and down memory lane, including the likes of Double Talkin' Jive, Rocket Queen and You Could Be Mine, with Axl providing as many costume changes as the decades they covered.

And as for covers; it wouldn't be a GNR gig without their versions of Wings' Live and Let Die and Bob Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door - both providing the biggest singalongs of the night.

Elsewhere, bassist Duff McKagan lent his silken vocals to the Stooges classic TV Eye, while Axl gave his take on UK Subs track Down on the Farm.

After witnessing the blazing temperatures at Glastonbury last weekend, fans may have been disappointed for the change in weather for their London show, but it did mean when it was time for Axl to sit down at the piano for the band's iconic rock-opera November Rain, it was fittingly accompanied by a downpour.

There may have been sound issues for the coverage of GNR's Glasto set, but the band certainly silenced their critics when it came to their London gig.

By the time they finished their BST Hyde Park set on Paradise City, they'd proved several times over deserving of the the same respect as their rock counterparts.

Their UK dates may be over, but Guns N' Roses are certainly far from done.