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Paul Simon announces 'farewell show' in Hyde Park this summer

Paul Simon performing in 2016 -  PAUL BERGEN
Paul Simon performing in 2016 - PAUL BERGEN

Paul Simon will make his last ever appearance on stage this summer, as part of the Barclaycard British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park. He will perform with support from Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor on Sunday, July 15.

The US singer-songwriter came to fame as half of Sixties folk duo Simon & Garfunkel but made his name as a solo artist, and won a Grammy for his comeback album Graceland in 1986. 

The 76-year-old is yet to make a statement on the finality of what is being called "the farewell performance". His last performance in the UK was in 2016, when he played two nights at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the European leg of his Stranger to Stranger tour. 

However, Simon hasn't been shy about the fact he has contemplated retirement in recent years. In June 2016, he told The New York Times that “showbiz doesn’t hold any interest for me”, before saying, “It’s an act of courage to let go.  I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I’m going to see, who am I? Or am I just this person that was defined by what I did? And if that’s gone, if you have to make up yourself, who are you?”

Simon & Garfunkel best songs
Simon & Garfunkel best songs

Many suspected that the Stranger to Stranger tour would be Simon's last. But few predicted what could be a final performance in the UK – 54 years after his first British solo performance: in the Railway Hotel Folk Club in Brentwood. 

Simon's performance will round off the 10-day festival. Roger Waters will kick off proceedings on July 6, with shows from The Cure, Eric Clapton, Michael Buble and Bruno Mars running during the following week. 

Ticket prices start at £69.95 and go on sale at 2pm, Tuesday January 30 for Barclaycard members, with a further presale at 9am on Thursday February 1. They will be made available for general sale at 9am on Friday, February 2.