Paul McCartney will celebrate his 80th birthday next month but he's making a very clear statement on the first night of his new solo tour with a 36-song filled with classics from his Beatles, Wings and his extensive solo discography.
Choosing what songs to play when you're one of the greatest songwriters of all time must be tough, but there was something for everyone as McCartney and his band kicked off the Got Back tour in Spokane Washington on Thursday night ( 28 April). A set that found him revisiting his often-overlooked Wings catalogue and a duet with a video John Lennon on the Beatles' I've Got a Feeling in the show's first encore.
As McCartney turned to the archive footage of his old friend and bandmate behind him singing his part on the song, it was hard not to be moved. But it was certainly not the only memorable moment.
The band had opened with a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at the Spokane Arena thanks to the Fab Four's Can't Buy Me Love, followed up by Wings' 1974 hit Junior's Farm.
McCartney's 'other' band got plenty of love in this set too with staples Band On The Run and a pyrotechnic-filled Live And Let Die alongside welcome additions Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, Let Me Roll It and Letting Go.
There was also plenty of newer solo material played including the live debut of Women And Wives from 2020's McCartney III, along with older favourites, including Maybe I'm Amazed. And there's no doubt the demanding set pushed McCartney's the higher register of McCartney's voice at times, as to be expected, but his lower register has held up remarkably well.
Unsurprisingly, the Beatles back catalogue got the most love – and the classics just kept coming in this setlist… Hey Jude, Blackbird, Helter Skelter, Got To Get You Into My Life, Love Me Do, a rendition of the George Harrison-penned Something with McCarney's ukulele intro, Love Me Do, Get Back and Birthday… just for starters.
Abbey Road's You Never Give Me Your Money was played by McCartney for the first time since 2003 too.
So how do you end a set like that? With the greatest suite composition in pop music; Abbey Road's Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End.
Full setlist:
Can’t Buy Me Love (The Beatles)
Junior’s Farm (Wings)
Letting Go (Wings)
Got To Get You Into My Life (The Beatles)
Come On To Me
Let Me Roll It (Wings)
Getting Better (The Beatles) (First time since 2003)
Women & Wives (Live debut)
My Valentine
1985 (Wings)
Maybe I’m Amazed
I’ve Just Seen A Face (The Beatles)
In Spite Of All The Danger (The Quarrymen)
Love Me Do (The Beatles)
Dance Tonight
Blackbird (The Beatles)
Here Today
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna (The Beatles)
Fuh You
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (The Beatles)
Something (The Beatles)
Ob La Di Ob La Da (The Beatles)
You Never Give Me Your Money (The Beatles) (First time since 2003)
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (The Beatles) (First time since 2008)
Classic interview: Paul McCartney on acoustic guitar - "I never learned the proper way of picking"
Get Back (The Beatles)
Band On The Run (Wings)
Let It Be (The Beatles)
Live And Let Die (Wings)
Hey Jude (The Beatles)
Encore:
I’ve Got A Feeling (The Beatles)
Birthday (The Beatles)
Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
Golden Slumbers (The Beatles)
Carry That Weight (The Beatles)
The End (The Beatles)
