London in the summer months is awesome with no end of outdoor gigs and concerts and I was lucky enough to go to two in one weekend – the first of which was Florence & the Machine in Hyde Park.

Florence manages to achieve the almost impossible, combining sexiness with an ethereal quality. She sings healing songs from the heart, with beautiful messages that incorporate nature in a very special way.

Before she made her appearance we watched the Cuban Brothers on the Bacardi stage. They were hysterical. A bonkers medley of banter, break-dancing and beats that climaxed with head honcho Miguel Mantovani stripping down to his pants. You really had to be there! They lifted the whole mood and I for one can’t wait to see them again.

Bare foot as always Florence took to the stage in a diaphanous, and at times windswept, blue dress that magically turned into the same dress in red as the show neared its end. I’m on a mission to find out who made that dress as I want one.

The highlights were many, but my particular favourite was Delilah, the perfect showcase for her formidable, pitch-perfect vocals.

Beyoncé’s show at Wembley the next night was another story. A stadium not a park. And a spectacular stadium show. A production beyond belief, from the minute the star marched to the middle of the stage for Formation, dressed in that now-iconic funereal outfit, through to the rendition of Halo that brought things to a close.

Along the way we were treated to an amazing mix of the old and the new, with the likes of Lemonade’s Sorry and its now infamous line “You better call Becky with the good hair” closely followed by the decade-old Irreplaceable. The home videos of her husband and her daughter Blue Ivy added a particularly poignant touch.

Beyoncé is a world class super star for sure. The first time I saw her perform was 15 years ago at Party in the Park when she was still one third of Destiny’s Child. I remember saying to my husband then that she would be a massive solo performer. Maybe I should have been in A&R??

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