Beatles admirers have witnessed something they thought would never happen again: Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon harmonising together on stage. Sir Paul has candidly shared that performing the recent Beatles track ‘Now And Then’ on his current tour evokes profound emotions, describing it as “very emotional” because it’s a “John song” and it feels extraordinary to be singing in unison with him.
The nostalgic ‘Now and Then,’ which dropped at the end of 2023, originates from a John Lennon demo dating back to the late Seventies. The recording journey concluded in 2022 with Ringo Starr and Sir Paul finalising the tune in the studio.
Touted as the ultimate Beatles song, its release sent ripples of awe through fans worldwide, and it has now secured two Grammy nominations.
Sir Paul McCartney has been faithfully incorporating ‘Now and Then’ into every set of his ‘Got Back’ world tour. Commenting publicly for the first time about the experience, he revealed: “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.”
Currently back in the UK, Sir Paul reflects on the tour after captivating audiences across South America and Europe since its commencement in October.
The legendary musician and his talented band, marking a partnership of 22 years, are set to round off the year with a bang, performing four momentous gigs starting in Manchester this weekend before heading over to London for sell-out events. Excluding his monumental headline performance at Glastonbury in 2022 and an intimate pre-show in nearby Frome, these are the iconic Beatle’s first UK appearances since 2018.
Reflecting on returning to familiar grounds, Paul shared: “Manchester is like, you know, next to my old hometown. It’s a great city, and we love it really. So that’s going to be good to be there. And then London, we finish it up around Christmas time. So that’s exciting. We’re looking forward to London, and then that will finish this tour, and we’ll all be very glad to have a nice Christmas holiday.”
Recounting his year, he recalls certain shows in October that stood out as particularly joyous. Sources close to him remark upon his unmistakable passion for live performances, spoiling fans with nearly three-hour long sets featuring a repertoire of over 35 tracks each night.
“The audiences in South America are insanely wonderful,” he enthused about the 15-show stint there that drew in crowds of more than half a million. “And they are so keen and crazy that we have a party every time we play to them. So it’s been great.”
The storied performer most recently wowed audiences in Paris and Madrid, where fans savoured the rarer opportunities to witness the 82 year old music icon in action.
Sir Paul McCartney has shared the secret to curating his set lists amidst an illustrious career that boasts 12 Beatles studio albums, 26 solo albums, and 22 UK number ones. In the tour programme, he pens: “If I see a movie and then hear one of my songs in it, I think: ‘Oh, I should do that one.’ Sometimes it will give me the impetus to actually look at that song and think of doing it. It may even just be someone saying to me, ‘Oh, I love that song of yours,’ and you go, ‘Oh…’ They love it enough for me to think, ‘Yeah, I should do that, just for you.’ There are songs that some people say, ‘Oh, I love that one,’ and it makes a difference. That’s always happened. One of my own Wings albums, I’ll be thinking, ‘Well, it didn’t do too well, so maybe it wasn’t that good,’ and then you find some kids are playing the hell out of it saying, ‘This is a great album,’ so it gets me back into it.”
He shared: “I’ll just hear it at a random place like you say, on the radio, at a party, and decide to include it. That’s always a good feeling, it’s like a little light bulb moment “ding, eurika” we should definitely try that one. That is often the way I decide how to do things, or decide what to do. You work on the setlist over time, and you finally feel you get it to a place where it’s working well. That’s how we all feel on the tour now – and it looks like the audiences agree! ” One downside of social media is fans coming to see the tour have had a good idea of the show they are going to see and especially what it will look like. As with all music gigs these days, thousands of phones are out to record the songs, perhaps even more so when it is a Beatle on stage.
But Sir Paul, who will be supported at the UK gigs by friends and family including wife Nancy McCartney, does his best to keep an element of surprise, so fans coming to the shows in the coming days won’t know exactly what to expect apart from some huge singalong hits. He adds: “On the first night we can pull some surprises, but then the minute that gets on social media… It’s like the old comedians who used to complain that their jokes got told, so the next people who saw them knew the jokes.”
“I approach every show and every audience in a slightly different way depending on the location of the show, so I suppose that’s the way I change it up a little bit. “.
In an interview about trying to keep concertgoers on their toes, Sir Paul McCartney explained: “You’ll see your set list published and we’ll go, ‘Right, we’re gonna change it! ’ We keep trying to be ahead of the guy who’s giving the game away. I would like it much better if people had no idea what they were coming to see, but the only answer to that is for us to make changes occasionally. So if he said, ‘They open up with this song,’ we’ll go, ‘Let’s open up with a different song,’ just to prove them wrong.”
Recent performances have seen tunes such as ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ in Madrid and ‘Hard Days Night’ in Paris kick off the shows. With excitement building for McCartney’s forthcoming Manchester dates, it’s certain Beatles enthusiasts are set for a thrill – unpredictability is key!
*Sir Paul McCartney’s Got Back tour concludes its UK leg with two nights at the Manchester Co-Op Live before moving onto London’s O2 Arena next week. Meanwhile, fans can indulge in Beatlemania with the new documentary ‘Beatles 64’ recently released on Disney+.
