Pictures: Soundgarden close first day of rainy Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park

Saturday, July 14, 2012
3:53 PM

Rock fans in London were treated to a career-spanning set from headline act Soundgarden to end the first day of Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park.

Festival goers brave the rain at the Hard Rock Calling music festival in Hyde Park. Photo: Lewis Whyld/PA Wire

The Superunknown group - who reunited in 2010 after a 12-year hiatus - braved the rain to deliver a hit-packed set including Black Hole Sun, Gun, Outshined, Pretty Noose and Jesus Christ Pose.

Frontman Chris Cornell also promised the band are working on new material, telling the crowd: “Tonight we’re gonna play songs from every album we’ve done. Next time we’re going to have a new record and new songs.”

He also thanked fans for sticking by the Seattle-based grunge group during the period they were inactive. The show was only the band’s second in the UK since reforming, after playing Download festival in June.

Backstage, Cornell - who is in the band with Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron - said as soon as they had started rehearsing, they knew they could write new songs.

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Pic via Bang Showbiz

He told Absolute Radio: “We turned down a lot of shows, but we slowly decided that was ok, and once we were actually in a room, playing music, creatively we knew we could make at least an album of material.”

Iggy and the Stooges, Cold Chisel and Black Stone Cherry also played at the event, which continues today, headlined by Bruce Springsteen, and concludes on Sunday with a performance by Paul Simon.