I saw Paul McCartney at The O2 this weekend. I will admit that I have been a fan of his for more years than I care to remember, but this gig absolutely blew me away. Two and a half hours of brilliant, mesmerising, memorable hits from the early days of the world's greatest music act through his Wings days to his recent stuff.
To put his output into perspective, The Beatles' album "1" has seventeen number one singles. Of the 38 songs in McCartney's set, he only included half of those. What other band can muster seventeen number one singles? And what other band would regard half of them as surplus?
I am lucky enough to have seen three-quarters of The Beatles, live. This weekend's gig was right up there amongst the very best I have seen anywhere.
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Rarely these days, given high ticket prices and soulless venues, does it feel like an unalloyed privilege to go to a rock show. Too often one feels short-changed about something. But watching Paul McCartney play for almost three hours at the O2 was one of those infrequent things: a complete honour.
Aged 72 and with the finest back catalogue in music, McCartney could be forgiven for coasting with a perfunctory review-style show. But the pensioner drilled deep into his musical vault with all the energy and dexterity of those senior citizens who allegedly did Hatton Garden recently. And he handed out gem after gem to the audience over an astonishing 38-song set that left no part of his Beatles, Wings or solo repertoire untouched.
The first five songs provided a neat snapshot of the genres that the man effectively invented over the years. They included opener Eight Days a Week, the embodiment of jangly 1960s Merseybeat, and Wings’ Listen to What the Man Said, a slice of radio-friendly 1970s pop. Then, for the first time ever live, McCartney played Temporary Secretary from his 1980 solo album McCartney II. The song’s wonky electronics baffled fans at the time. But it single-handedly created the style of synth-pop that decades later gave us Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. Temporary Secretary has, 35 years on, become a hipster favourite.
And so it continued. Songs such as Paperback Writer, The Long and Winding Road, Blackbird and Lady Madonna were interspersed with rarities like Another Day, his first solo single.
McCartney is a natural raconteur and the show was peppered with anecdotes. “I was round John’s house…” was typical of how they started. And there were moving tributes to Lennon, Linda and George Harrison. Something, from Abbey Road, started slowly on a ukulele before building gloriously. “Let’s hear it for George,” he shouted.
McCartney knows the importance of doing the songs justice because The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and many tracks were never played live. And he did that in spades.
One assumed the concert was over after the closing salvo of Band on the Run, Back in the USSR, Let it Be, Live and Let Die and Hey Jude. But no. McCartney came back with Another Girl — from Help! and again never played live before this tour — before being joined by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl for a raucous I Saw Her Standing There. Then, as if that weren’t enough, he did Yesterday and Helter Skelter before closing with the Golden Slumbers medley from Abbey Road.
It was an exhilarating masterclass from music’s great innovator.
Perhaps the production has improved.
One of the greats of Rock 'n Roll.
McCartney belted out 38 songs on Saturday (plus a sound check) and (after another sound check), on Sunday it started to crack about song 35.
If I can play bass, piano, ukekele and guitar, as well as sing and keep a packed crowd enthralled when I am 72, I will be pretty chuffed!
However, Giles (George's son) has done a lot of work on Beatles tracks and on Paul's latest album, New.
And there is one, tantalising project still to be completed. Yoko Ono passed to Paul, Ringo and George (Harrison) a tape of John singing what eventually becamse the last Beatles song, Free as a Bird. However, there is another song on that tape. And Paul has hinted that he wants to work on it...
Sure at certain events his voice has sounded a bit off but hey ho he's 72 and a music legend so who cares.
I've never seem him live let alone the Beatles (but then very few have seen them live). I've seen pretty much seen all the other legends live, including Hendrix and Morrison, but if I could choose to go back in time for any music event it would be to the Shea Stadium on 15 August 65.
His voice is, of course, not what it was, and his hair is truely an odd colour, but hes still performing for nearly three hours at 72, never leaving the stage. There are no gimmicks or costume changes, and the only lazer/explosive fest is with Live and Let Die which seems appropriate.
He's on stage because he still loves it. He was always the Beatle who really missed performing after they stopped in 66, and as soon as they split was out touring Uni's with his own band in a bus- unfortunately taking Linda along for the ride.
The additional fact hes selling 30,000 odd thousand tickets @£50 plus each night probably may also motivate.