Sir Paul McCartney welcomed his former bandmate Sir Ringo Starr on stage at London’s O2 Arena as the two living members of The Beatles performed together once again
The two living members of The Beatles have reunited on stage once again.
Sir Paul McCartney welcomed his former bandmate Sir Ringo Starr to share the stage with him at London’s O2 Arena. In a shock to fans, Sir Ringo appeared on stage and said: “I’ve had a great night tonight, it’s been a great show.” The pair then tore through Helter Skelter and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, before The Beatles’ drummer left, adding: “I’m off now, I’ve had a great night and I love you all.”
Sir Paul was also joined by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood for the song Get Back, which saw him play his original Hofner 500/1 bass for the first time in 50 years, after it was stolen in 1972. The performance was the last in Sir Paul’s Got Back Tour, which began in October, with the veteran singer playing dates in Paris, Madrid and Sao Paulo, as well as two dates at Manchester’s Co-Op Live and The O2.
During the show, he treated fans to a jumbo set packed with the hits of The Beatles and Wings, and more. Opening with a raucous rendition of the Fab Four’s A Hard Day’s Night, the 82-year-old kept up his tradition of having no opening act, performing just under 40 tracks from one of the most impressive songbooks the UK has produced.
The audience was thrown into Wings’ prog rock song Junior’s Farm and the bluesy grind of Letting Go, before Sir Paul prompted hysteria with Drive My Car. Later in the set, the singer played a snippet of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Foxy Lady and took to a second elevating stage to perform The Beatles’ Blackbird and solo track Here Today.
He also played The Quarrymen’s (Sir Paul’s first band which he played in alongside John Lennon and George Harrison) In Spite Of All The Danger, before performing what is thought will be The Beatles’ last single in 2023’s Now And Then. The set also saw him repeat his virtual duet with John Lennon on I’ve Got A Feeling, played during the Liverpool band’s infamous rooftop concert on top of Apple Corps’ headquarters in London.
Other set highlights included Sir Paul’s attempt at Sweet-esque glam in Jet and a euphoric rendition of Wings’ James Bond theme Live And Let Die, which prompted fireworks and pyrotechnics, replicating the film’s opening title. Sir Paul was also joined by a children’s choir for Wonderful Christmastime, adding some festive cheer to the evening.
Sir Paul previously shared how it is “very emotional” to play new Beatles track Now And Then on his current tour – because it is a “John song” and so it feels wonderful to be singing with him. Now and Then was released at the end of 2023, after a recording process that started in the late Seventies with a John Lennon demo, and ended with Ringo Starr and Sir Paul in the studio in 2022 finishing the song.
Sir Paul has been including it in all his sets on his Got Back world tour and speaking for the first time about playing it, he says: “It’s really great. When you introduce a new song, even though it’s an old song, like ‘Now and Then’, the first reaction is, people aren’t quite sure what it is or what you’re doing.
“But during the run of the concerts, they get the idea. The word gets out on the internet, you know. So now the reaction is really strong, and for us it’s great to play because it’s a nice song to play, and for me, it’s particularly great because it’s a John song. And so it’s very emotional for me. I love it. I love doing it, and the audience seem to love it too.”
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