Pearl Jam make massive UK return

Pearl Jam have celebrated their UK festival return with a greatest hits set at Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival tonight (August 25).

The Seattle five-piece headlined the opening night on the main stage and took the opportunity to roll through a series of classic tracks from their back catalogue.

Borrowing heavily from their debut album ‘Ten’ and their second album ‘Vs’, among the favourites played were ‘Black’, ‘Don’t Go’, ‘Daughter’ and ‘Alive’.

Playing festivals has been difficult for Pearl Jam in recent years. In 2000, nine people were killed in the crowd at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark where the band were playing. Following the tragic events, the band shied away from playing larger events.

In reference to their long absence, singer Eddie Vedder said: “It has been a few years since we last played here and a lot has happened. It is an honour to be playing in the dark. There were reasons why we haven’t played a festival for a long time. It was nothing to do with the fact we had no guts, we just needed your trust.”

The band ended their set with Neil Young cover ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.

The set was:

‘Don’t Go’
‘Animal’
‘Corduroy’
‘World Wide Suicide’
‘Hail Hail’
‘Severed Hand’
‘Given To Fly’
‘Green Disease’
‘Even Flow’
‘Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town?’
‘Insignificance’
‘Daughter’
‘Lukin’
‘Whipping’
‘Not For You’
‘State Of Love And Trust’
‘Black’
‘Porch’
‘Why Go’
‘Evolution’
‘Life Wasted’
‘Alive’
‘Rockin' In The Free World’

For full festival coverage go to our festival mini site NME.COM/festivals.

Plus check out next week's issue of NME, on newsstands nationwide from August 30, for the ultimate review of the Carling Weekend: Reading And Leeds Festivals.