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Jul 14, 2025 By Adrian Peel Photography by ISHASHAH Photography (Lead Photo) Web Exclusive

What turned out to be the penultimate concert in the British Summer Time (BST) series of shows for 2025 (the cancellation of Jeff Lynne’s ELO on the Sunday meant Stevie Wonder’s headline performance on the Saturday was the last) saw three icons of popular music roll back the years in the (very hot) summer sun on Friday, July 11, as Van Morrison, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, and Neil Young - all of whom are in their 70s - delighted the capacity crowd.

Neil Young’s headline performance came two weeks after he closed the proceedings on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday, June 28.

I had read on the Time Out website that Van Morrison was due on stage at 5.15pm, but he actually came out at 4.45pm (I’d forgotten that I had the BST app from last year so could have checked that!) so I was a bit late for his set, but I could hear the 79-year-old vocal powerhouse do his thing as I made my way to the entrance - and he sounded in fine voice.

Highlights of his solid showing included the soulful “Carrying a Torch”, the bluesy “Ain’t Gonna Moan No More”, and the gospel-esque “Whenever God Shines His Light” - and the star also impressed with his saxophone and harmonica playing.

The famously curmudgeonly singer even managed a smile when introducing his band, who were playing under a gazebo - presumably because of the 30-degree heat.

Next up was Yusuf / Cat Stevens, 76, who was a lot more talkative between songs (personally, I’d rather they just sang!). He’s also one of those artists where you know more of their songs than you think you do, and early on he delivered the beautiful “The First Cut Is the Deepest”.

Also covered by Rod Stewart, of course, I was more familiar with Rod’s version and had forgotten that this gem was actually written by Stevens.

The acclaimed singer-songwriter dedicated a more recent song, “Midday (Avoid City After Dark)” from 2006, to Van Morrison. “I love Van Morrison,” he exclaimed.

“There’s a full moon,” commented Stevens before the melodic sing-along “Moonshadow” and, on a more sombre note, he revealed that it was the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, which took place during the Bosnian War, ahead of the heartfelt “The Little Ones”, which tonight was sung in support of Palestine.

It seemed everyone in the crowd was singing along to the glorious “Father and Son” and also to the catchy “Wild World”, again serving to remind us just how many great tunes Cat Stevens has been responsible for over the years. His voice faltered a little at times but it didn’t matter as he more than succeeded in getting his musical points across.

Further demonstrating his restless, rebellious nature, the singer kept saying that he was being hurried along and that he had to finish. “If they pull the plug, start the revolution,” he announced, adding, “Peace starts here.” Apt, then, that the final song of his warmly-received set was “Peace Train”.

Neil Young quietly took to the stage with his four-piece band at 8.20pm. I think some people were unaware that the main event had in fact started, remaining seated as the Canadian-born troubadour, responsible for so many timeless classics in the rock/pop/folk/country rock genres, launched into “Ambulance Blues” - a song off his 1974 LP, On the Beach, one of his most revered albums.

Young, 79, has often been called the ‘Godfather of Grunge’ and there was a hard-edged, grunge-y feel to quite a few of these early numbers, and to be honest I found some of them a bit noisy, tuneless and samey. Personally, I much prefer his more laidback, country-tinged material.

Talking was kept to a minimum. “Thanks for coming everybody,” said the no-nonsense, down-to-earth musician early on, later commenting, “Thank you, folks, I really appreciate you being here. And I’m happy to be here.”

He also asked “How are you doing out there?” from time to time, but, thankfully, no long monologues or political statements.

“Southern Man”, the song that famously led to “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, was good, though even better was the wonderful “Harvest Moon” - definitely my favourite musical moment up to that point. Young’s distinctive voice truly shone on it too.

It was nice to hear the lovely “Looking Forward” by popular supergroup, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (the quartet’s “Name of Love” was also given an airing later on), and the piano-led “After the Gold Rush” was hymn-like in its sheer delicate beauty.

After the last song of the main set, “Old Man”, the two-song encore consisted of “Throw Your Hatred Down” and, inevitably, the anthemic “Rockin’ in the Free World”. After going past the strict 10.30pm curfew, Young - like Bruce Springsteen in 2012 - literally had the plug pulled on his performance.

Although I didn’t really care for some of the songs - particularly during the first part of the show before the acoustic guitars came out - there is a pleasing, totally unpretentious authenticity to Neil Young, and it’s always a delight to witness in full flow an artist of legendary status who is undeniably the ‘real deal’.