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We don’t like to overstate things, but most music fans see Paul McCartney as a god. We feel lucky to live in the same timeline as him, let alone share oxygen at one of his gigs. We’re talking about a man who helped to invent modern pop and rock as we know it, then somehow managed to follow the Beatles with another commercially successful, era-defining band in Wings. When you go to see Macca, you’re not just watching a gig – you’re a part of history.
He’s also a homegrown hero, which explains why in viagogo’s recent annual review of the top 10 most in-demand acts across 12 UK cities in 2024 – Sir Paul appeared in the top ranking for five of them. (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham).
For the sake of sanity, we’re going to focus on solo Paul in this piece, rather than his songs and performances with The Beatles and Wings. When you’re talking about an out-and-out musical genius, a cultural behemoth and a living legend, you need some ground rules.
What to expect
Put it this way: he has a lot of hits to draw from. Perhaps because he’s had so many beloved eras – and continues to enjoy one – Macca’s never been stingy when it comes to dishing out the Beatles tunes. A typical gig will boast a relentless onslaught of some of the most influential songs ever written, a few cracking stories and a generation-spanning audience well aware they’re in the presence of greatness.
His best moments
Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1990)
After Wings, Macca didn’t embark on a major tour for a decade. He – ahem – got back onstage for the pointedly titled Paul McCartney World Tour, which began in Norway in September 1989. The setlist groaned with a brain-melting array of Beatles tracks, as ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ rolled into ‘Good Day Sunshine’ and ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’. The tour peaked at Rio’s Maracana Stadium, where 184,000 fans helped to set what was then a world record for attendance.
Super Bowl XXXIX, Everbank Stadium (2005)
This Super Bowl half-time show featured a rendition of ‘Live And Let Die’ that’s understandably become a firm fan favourite. With flamethrowers and a dizzying light show, here was an extravaganza that would have blown the roof off the stadium if it had one. Instead Macca was content to remain rooted at the piano, the stage marooned in the middle of the field as the sky filled with fireworks and tens of thousands of fans roared along. Touchdown!
Glastonbury (2022)
He overstayed his allotted headline slot by 30 minutes, brought out Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen, performed a duet of ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ with a virtual John Lennon and played a ukulele gifted to him by George Harrison. Not enough for ya? How about a rendition of ‘Hey Jude’ that featured backing vocals from more than 100,000 punters, who also sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ as he’d turned 80 – 8-0! – the week before? This was a Glasto set for the ages.
His biggest bangers
‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ (1970)
It’s impossible to say which songs Paul McCartney will be most remembered for, but in 2004 he said he’d like this one to be his epitaph. Macca felt lost in the wake of the Beatles split, and channelled his confusion into the track. It’s also an unabashed love song for Linda, his first wife and bandmate in Wings – and there’s an unmistakable sense of ecstasy and longing when his voice cracks at the line: “Maybe you’re the only woman who could ever help me.” Amazing.
‘Temporary Secretary’ (1980)
Fans didn’t know what to make of this weird, atonal electro track upon its release. Certainly it was an about-turn from the smooth sound of Wings, but the years have been extremely kind to the song’s forward-thinking mix of synth, padded drums, acoustic guitar and that vocal delivery. Macca’s solo career has been marked by moments where he was ahead of his time – it took critics years to come around to ‘Ram’ – which is part of what makes him such a genius.
‘Fuh You’ (2018)
What a silly song. What a fabulous song. There are so many mind boggling moments in Macca’s career that the smaller ones can understandably get lost in the mix. But how brilliant is it that a man who started making music in the late ‘50s should team up with ultra-modern producer Ryan Tedder for a glossy, swaggering pop song in the year 2018? What the fuh? Macca has claimed it’s about loving someone so much you want to steal for them (“I just want it for you”), but come on. We all know.
Setlist study
These days, Paul’s solo material tends to nestle on the setlist between Beatles and Wings tracks, with the emphasis inevitably on the Fabs. One of the most astonishing moments arrives when he performs ‘In Spite of All The Danger’, a song from his days in The Quarrymen, the pre-Beatles band John formed in 1956. It’s been known to share a setlist with ‘Now And Then’, the AI-assisted Beatles track (originally a Lennon demo) that was released nearly seven decades later. That’s the magic of Macca.
Where to see him next
DECEMBER
10 – WiZink Center, Madrid
14 – Co-op Live, Manchester
15 – Co-op Live, Manchester
18 – The O2 Arena, London
19 The O2 Arena, London
Fans can buy and sell tickets at global marketplace, viagogo here
The post 100 Artists To See Before You Die: Paul McCartney appeared first on NME.
