It was summer time at London Stadium, the football season culminating and a string of electrifying concerts approaching. The Rolling Stones at the end of May, Foo Fighters and Jay-Z and Beyonce in June, but first West Ham ended with a high at London Stadium.
A run of two defeats in their last seven games meant they finished 13th in the Premier League, Manuel Lanzini with a superb brace to cap a victory on the season’s finale.
David Moyes would leave the club after a 3-1 win over a former club of his, Everton, on the final day. In what was a difficult season, the Scotsman guided the Hammers to league stability and reignited the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Chicarito and enhanced the level of Declan Rice who is now a first team regular.
His replacement, Chilean Premier League winner in charge of Manchester City back in 2014, Manuel Pellegrini. Bringing his vast experience and winning mentality to West Ham, it was going to be a busy summer of transition at London Stadium.
Switching scenes, another series of concerts began with The Rolling Stones, supported by Manchester’s own, Liam Gallagher and then by Florence, of Florence and The Machine.
As part of their ‘No Filter’ tour, they played twice and it was a spectacular homecoming as Mick Jagger expressed, “it’s good to be home.â€
Five years since they last played in London, NME reviewed it was ‘like they’d never been away’. Opening with ‘Street Fighting Man’, they ran through the classics and had the crowd in the palm of their hand. Gallagher then dedicated ‘Live Forever’ to the victims of the Manchester attack that killed 22 almost a year ago, it was a moving and triumphant night.
Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters then returned for another year and inevitably captivated the crowd in back-to-back nights at London Stadium. “Are you ready to do it again!!†Grohl blared out and went straight into ‘All My Life’.
Rated as a five-star show, ‘Flick of the Finger’ nicknamed it ‘Rock ‘n’ Grohl’ and if they want to come back to London Stadium for more of the same, no one will be complaining.
To finish off the summer of music, it was the first female to headline Stratford, the Queen herself Beyonce alongside husband Jay-Z. In the UK leg of ‘On The Run II’, they played successive shows at the start of June and were faultless.
In harmony to open up with ‘Holy Grail’, it was tale of their relationship and showed how in unison they are. Performing together and then apart with the rapper getting the crowd jumping to ‘N***** in Paris’ and Beyonce, flanked by her dance troop, doing what she does best, owning the stage. Even paying tribute to the victims of Grenfell Tower in ‘Forever Young’, The Independent’s Tom Rasmussen, called it ‘a show for the history books’.
Legendary rock band Muse are stopping off at London Stadium next summer as part of their ‘Simulation Theory’ tour, meaning 2019 should be another incredible year for music in Stratford.
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