Carnival of Soul

Even after 50 years in the music business, Stevie Wonder still performs with the same level of passion, hunger and humbleness as he did in his former Motown days, which is why it came as a huge surprise when he disclosed his health problems at the end of day two of the British Summertime Hyde Park festival.

Stevie, 69, may not have been feeling 100% but he made no excuses and still gave us 60,000 fans a Song Party to remember – the mark of a dedicated artist built in the golden era of music in the ‘60s.

It was the second time Stevie’s headlined BST Hyde Park and while this set wasn’t as lengthy as it was in 2016, the crooner gave it his best shot, giving us two hours of his own classics interspersed with his favourites from other talented artists.

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During a small break – which gave Stevie a much-needed breather – his DJ Qwess Coast spun classics from David Bowie’s Let’s Dance to Amy Winehouse’s Rehab, Aretha Franklin’s Respect and John Lennon’s Imagine.

All roused massive singalongs from the mammoth crowd but the recorded tracks being wedged into the middle of Stevie’s wondrous live band seemed ill-fitting. The homage to those big iconic songs probably would have meshed better with live versions from the band.

But nothing excited the crowd more than Stevie’s own stellar back catalogue that includes 32 number one singles and those glorious rhythmic blues of Motown. Stevie is one of the few artists we have with the unique ability to unite fans as young as 12 all the way to the pension years.

He’s also one of the few artists whom fans will happily stand in the rain for even after being threatened by dark, gloomy clouds for much of the set.