Seal - Live at BST Hyde Park

Reviewed by Deban Aderemi

Photos Decibel Report

At the BST (British Summertime Festival) last night, Seal looked immensely happy to be there on stage in his hometown.

Sporting an all-black casual sportswear look, he punctuated his monochrome outfit with silver jewellery and glossy brown nail polish.

He exuded simplicity whilst remaining focused on delivering his string of hits to studio perfection. This was particularly evident mid-set when he performed one of his most celebrated songs ‘Kiss From A Rose’.

Marking his 30th year anniversary in music, Seal treated the crowd to treasured cuts from his roster of 10 albums with his signature smokey, soulful vocals. Like a clock-watching melody machine, he would casually update the crowd on how much time he had remaining to perform on stage, leaving them to guess how many songs left to sing.

During one of his conversational moments, he praised his longtime producer Trevor Horn for having good foresight, and for being a friend as well as a good mentor. 'Crazy ' his first collaboration with the famed producer resulted in a global smash hit peaking within the Top 10 in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany, France and Canada.

However, his accolades don’t stop there. Seal has won multiple awards throughout his career, including the Best British Male award at The Brits in 1992. He also earned four Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

And he's had his fair share of press coverage too! He dated supermodel Tyra Banks in the mid-90's, and went on to marry another supermodel Heidi Klum in 2005. Together, they raised 4 children. He has graced primetime networks from Australia to the USA by being a judge and coach on TV talent shows. In recent years, he has gone on to mentor an emerging stable of artists and up and coming talent.

At BST though, he was the one being judged by thousands of revellers. However, by the look on their faces, and the many sing-a-long moments shared, Seal passed his performance with flying colours.