THE DARKNESS, THE PRETENDERS AND LARKIN POE ANNOUNCED AS GUNS N ROSES SPECIAL GUESTS AT BST HYDE PARK
Guns N Roses are headlining BST Hyde Park on Friday 30 June and have today announced who their special guests will be. The Darkness, Larkin Poe and The Pretenders will join GNR this summer
The Darkness crashed the mainstream in the early 2000s, resurrecting classic rock ’n’ roll with their breakthrough debut, 2003’s Permission to Land. After scoring armfuls of awards and chart records the BRIT Award winners broke up after their sophomore release, but reunited again in 2011. Their comeback album, Hot Cakes, alongside their reliably raucous and nostalgia-indebted hard rock catalog paved the way for four more studio albums, and the band have been captivating fans with their theatrical live shows ever since. The Darkness is centered around irrepressible frontman Justin Hawkins, who, along with his guitar-playing baby brother Dan, bassist Frankie Poullain, and drummer Ed Graham, single-handedly resurrected the rather unfashionable sounds and attitudes of late-’70s hard rock for an unsuspecting generation.
Prominent English-American rock band The Pretenders are coming to BST Hyde Park after playing dates across the UK and Ireland. Forming in 1978 during the punk and new wave movement, the band gained success due to their innovative songwriting and charismatic performances. Despite numerous personnel changes over the years, founder, songwriter and vocalist Chrissie Hynde has remained the sole constant. With their initial records, the group crossed the bridge between punk/new wave and Top 40 pop more than any other band – their self-titled debut album went to No.1 in the UK, also featuring the No.1 single ‘Brass in Pocket’. With Hynde at the helm, the band experienced a critical resurgence with a trio of albums released between the mid-90s and early 00s that explored a more mature side of the band’s classic sound. Now 45 years and 11 studio albums later, The Pretenders are still producing incredible music, with Associated Press calling their latest record, 2020’s Hate For Sale, “among the best this legendary band has ever produced”.
Multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, aka Larkin Poe, fortify their storytelling with a rock and blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart. The Nashville-based duo have reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart twice, in 2020 with Self Made Man and first in 2018 with their widely lauded work Venom & Faith, which was also nominated for a GRAMMY. The band’s latest record Blood Harmony came out last year, affirming Larkin Poe as an essential force in shaping the identity of Southern rock-and-roll, breathing new energy into the genre with both forward-thinking perspective and a decidedly feminine strength.
Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Guns N’ Roses are one of the biggest selling acts in history. With two No.1 albums and four Top 5 albums on the Billboard charts, the band were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and are AMA, Billboard and MTV Award winners.
Guns N’ Roses are just one incredible headliner at these iconic once-in-a-lifetime shows. They join P!NK (24 + 25 June), Take That (1 July), BLACKPINK (2 July) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (6 + 8 July) and Billy Joel (7 July) on the BST Hyde Park billing for 2023.
2022’s BST Hyde Park saw three monumental weekends of music; the Rocketman himself Elton John performed as a part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, The Rolling Stones were reunited with Hyde Park for two incredible sell out nights, with an emotional and triumphant tribute to the late Charlie Watts. London’s global star Adele brought it home for two shows with an incredible all female line up. The Sunday vibes were offered up by Americana legends Eagles and Pearl Jam provided two packed nights of rock n roll. Finally, one of Britain’s best loved groups, Duran Duran, closed the final night with a day of singalong smash hits.
