• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Review: Sir Paul McCartney in Manchester

Home> Entertainment> Music

Updated 21:24 16 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 14:45 16 Dec 2024 GMT

Review: Sir Paul McCartney in Manchester

The Beatles icon treated fans to a whistle-stop tour of his hits

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Nostalgia is a powerful thing; with enough distance, it can make the bad seem good or the mediocre unbelievable - and it's a delusion many acts of the past live off for decades beyond their prime.

But there are a few legends in the world who are able to live up to the view offered by rose-tinted glasses, and one of them is undoubtedly Sir Paul McCartney.

The former Beatles singer has been a global icon for over half a century, and despite being well into his senior years is still able to entertain a crowd of thousands for three hours on every night of his world tour, which has seen fans in over 100 countries desperate for tickets, according to Viagogo.

Advert

Sir Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his tour in Manchester (PA)
Sir Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his tour in Manchester (PA)

I mean, it’s not hard to see why, his stamina is only matched by the hefty back catalogue he’s got to choose from, and unlike a lot of other big artists, he has no problem giving people what they want: the hits.

Kicking off the first night of the Manchester leg of his tour with the early Beatles classic ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, the crowd of 20,000 went mental - 'Yes, Paul!', 'What a legend', 'This is the best thing I've ever seen', two particularly excited fans screeched behind me, only getting more emotional as the gig went on.

And from there Macca took the packed arena on whistle-stop tour of his stacked career, flitting seamlessly between Wings tunes like 'Let Me Roll It', 'Let ‘Em In' (the postcode lottery song), 'Jet' and 'Band on the Run' while also dipping back into Beatles classics such as 'Drive My Car', 'Love Me Do' and 'Lady Madonna'.

Sir Paul's hardcore fans were also treated to a rendition of the Quarreymen's 'In Spite of All the Danger', which was the first ever song recorded by John, Paul and George back in 1958.

Advert

Sir Paul treated fans to the hits (PA)
Sir Paul treated fans to the hits (PA)

There was even time for some of McCartney's solo stuff, which sadly included the pretty drab love song ‘My Valentine’, dedicated to his wife Nancy, who was watching on in the audience.

The less said about it the better, the only saving grace is that it came up fairly early on, so fans had more than enough time to wipe it from their memory.

One song that did help expunge it from the room's collective consciousness was ‘Blackbird’, which saw Sir Paul raised up high on a platform with just a guitar in hand to perform it. While it may be harder for the 82-year-old to reach the higher notes in some of his songs, this classic was only made more powerful by his raspier tones, as the crowd watched on in absolute silence.

Not bad for 82 (PA)
Not bad for 82 (PA)

Advert

And talk about giving the people what they want, with us now well into the festive period, fans were treated to a timely rendition of ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ - its first live performance in six years - a song that defies the rule that yuletide pop is largely terrible.

The set was then rounded off with a flurry of his biggest hits, 'Get Back', 'Let It Be', 'Live And Let Die' and 'Hey Jude' before Macca returned to the stage for the encore, eventually telling fans it was time they went home after a mammoth two-and-a-half-hour set - which is fair enough, I reckon.

Not a hair out of place or seemingly a beed of sweat on his head, McCartney gave a bow and left the stage.

Anyone who has had a career like his will struggle to escape the shadow of their own success, and while many came out to see 'the Beatles legend', he gave them more than their money's worth.

Setlist:

A Hard Day’s Night

Advert

Juniors Farm

Letting Go

Drive My Car

Got To Get You Into My Life

Come On To Me

Advert

Let Me Roll It

Getting Better

Let ‘Em In

My Valentine

Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five

Maybe I’m Amazed

I’ve Just Seen A Face

In Spite Of All The Danger

Love Me Do

Dance Tonight

Blackbird

Here Today

Now And Then

Lady Madonna

Jet

Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite

Something

Ob La Di, Ob La Da

Band On The Run

Wonderful Christmastime

Get Back

Let It Be

Live And Let Die

Hey Jude

Encore:

I’ve Got A Feeling

Sgt Pepper / Helter Skelter

Golden Slumbers

Carry That Weight

The End

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Music, Entertainment, UK News, Reviews

Dominic Smithers
Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

X

@SmithersDom

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

27 mins ago
2 hours ago
16 hours ago
17 hours ago
  • 27 mins ago

    Kaleb Cooper speaks out on 'incompetent' Jeremy Clarkson and heated arguments they regularly have

    Kaleb and Jeremy arguing? Surely not

    Entertainment
  • 2 hours ago

    Man from iconic 'rave gurner' video shared every substance he was on at the time

    You'll know Shaun Jackson by face but not by name

    Entertainment
  • 16 hours ago

    People can't believe what woman who played Ross and Rachel's baby in Friends looks like now

    People were all saying the same thing after watching Alexandra Conley's viral video

    Entertainment
  • 17 hours ago

    Staff who quit Jeremy Clarkson's pub explained the problems they had before leaving the next day

    Senior staff at Jeremy Clarkson's pub walked out after explaining problems at The Farmer's Dog

    Entertainment
  • There’s still time to see Lionel Richie in Manchester - and VIP tickets are cheaper than you think
  • How to get Busted and McFly tickets as bands announce ultimate nostalgia tour
  • Brit, 21, facing 25 years in prison breaks down in tears at court as police share everything 'found in her luggage'
  • Cheryl stops Girls Aloud show in Liverpool to 'clear something up' to the crowd