It’s NEVER too late! Carole King’s first show in Britain for 27 years
THERE may be a few more lines than before but Carole King’s zest for performing seemed undiminished as she played her first concert in Britain for almost three decades.
Smiling warmly for her fans, her trademark corkscrew curls flowing around her face, she told the sell-out audience: ‘So this is what 74 looks like. I’m old and embracing it.’
The acclaimed singer-songwriter last performed in the UK in 1989 when she appeared at the Albert Hall, but she returned on Sunday evening to play to 65,000 at Hyde Park as part of the BST Festival.
Grammy award-winning Miss King was in London to perform her 1971 classic album Tapestry in full for the first time.
Tapestry was recently described by music magazine NME as like ‘Adele’s 21 [recordbreaking album] for your nana’.
It topped the US album chart for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained in the charts for more than six years, selling more than 25million copies worldwide. It contains hits including It’s Too Late, Will You Love Me Tomorrow? and You’ve Got a Friend.
During Sunday’s performance, Miss King was accompanied by a recording of her younger self singing (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
She also delighted fans as she danced on stage, playing guitar before returning to the piano. She performed a duet with her daugh- ter Louise Goffin for three songs, while the cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical joined her to sing I Feel The Earth Move.
Miss King was introduced on stage by Sir Elton John, 69, and Hollywood star Tom Hanks, 59. In a video message, Hanks said: ‘There wasn’t a woman on the planet Earth ... sometimes your mom ... who didn’t take Tapestry to their heart. It was one of those timeless LPs.’