Paul McCartney joined by Ringo Starr at London show
The two surviving members of The Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, reunited at London’s O2 Arena on December 19th during McCartney’s concert.
The event marked the final show of McCartney’s ‘Got Back 2024’ tour. In the past week, he played two concerts at the Co-op Live in Manchester and also performed at the O2 on December 18th. However, McCartney saved the best until last, as he unveiled his former bandmate to play two Beatles classics. Ronnie Wood also joined him earlier in the set to play on ‘Get Back’.
During McCartney’s encore, he revealed to the 20,000 fans in attendance, “We’ve got another surprise for you”. Amidst loud applause, he continued, “Bring to the stage the mighty, the one and only Mr Ringo Starr.” The pair then proceeded to play renditions of The Beatles’ classics ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)’ and ‘Helter Skelter’.
Upon finishing the songs, Ringo thanked the crowd for their deafening applause, before saying: “Give it up. I’m off now, but I’ve had a great night. It’s fantastic playing with me old mate, but there comes a time when we’ve got to go home. All that remains to be said, I’ll see you next time.”
While McCartney and Starr, the only two surviving Beatles, have played regularly throughout the years, including at Starr’s 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and on McCartney’s last tour in 2019, the on-stage collaboration still proves an emotional moment for both.
In the show, McCartney played his original Hofner 500/1 bass guitar for the first time in over fifty years. The iconic instrument was famously stolen in 1972, but earlier this year, McCartney was reunited with it and used it during his rendition of ‘Get Back’ with Ronnie Wood.
It was a lengthy performance that saw McCartney reeling off his extensive back catalogue, playing over 40 songs. Within that set list, he played iconic tracks from Wings and The Beatles, as well as ‘In Spite of All the Danger’, the first song recorded by his first band, The Quarrymen, of which John Lennon and George Harrison were also members.
Elsewhere in the set, he played ‘Now and Then’, The Beatles’ most recent track that was created from one of John Lennon’s demo tapes and was completed with the help of modern technology that allowed McCartney and Starr to record with isolated vocal parts from the late singer. The song is nominated for two Grammy Awards, including ‘Record of the Year’.
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