It seemed somehow fitting that Paul McCartney chose to finally wrap up his mammoth “Got Back” tour in London at Christmas time.
He might not have graced the U.K. with his presence too much on this jaunt — this, the penultimate night of a 59-date run that started way back in April 2022, is only the fifth gig on home soil — but, like any old friend, family member or Santa Claus, he’s always a welcome visitor at this time of year.
And, like your favorite uncle or the big red guy, McCartney always delivers. Faced with the same sort of rowdy all-ages crowd that will be gathering around a turkey across the nation this time next week, he happily played the role of the twinkly-eyed host who merrily serves up a feast to keep absolutely everyone happy.
And, of course, it came with all the trimmings. Macca does not carve his past up into easily digestible eras, but they’re all plated up nicely, from the Quarrymen’s very first recording (a woozily charming “In Spite of all the Danger”) to “Come on to Me” from 2018’s “Egypt Station” – or perhaps “Now and Then”, the “newest” Beatles song, depending on which timeline you’re following. Either way, “Now and Then” was played in such beautifully poignant fashion it appeared to leave McCartney misty-eyed as he leant on his piano to survey the ecstatic crowd reaction.
It’s the bits in between those moments that most people were here to see, of course. The Beatles, unsurprisingly, were well represented, from the bouncy opener “Can’t Buy Me Love” to the buzzing “Got to Get You into My Life” and a jaunty “Getting Better”. Meanwhile, “Drive My Car” was accompanied by some brilliantly literal footage of, well, cars being driven (although not by babies, sadly).
But, elsewhere, McCartney deployed rather more imagination in order to give even the most timeworn standards a lift. He requested a “Beatles scream” before “Love Me Do” – the crowd obliged so loudly he muttered, “Trying to be heard over that – impossible!” – and demanded the audience take over on a riotous “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (they didn’t need much persuading, to be fair).
But he also knew exactly when to calm things down, via heartfelt tributes to John Lennon (a duet on “I’ve Got a Feeling” with his former bandmate even larger than life on the big screen) and George Harrison (a version of “Something” that started sparsely on the ukulele and blossomed into a widescreen rock epic). A gorgeous acoustic “Blackbird”, meanwhile, saw McCartney poised above a big screen moon on an elevated stage, reminiscing about the time the Beatles refused to play to a segregated crowd in Jacksonville, Florida.
There was also quite the Wings span throughout the show as well, with McCartney’s “other” band done justice via an early salvo of “Junior’s Farm” and “Letting Go” through to a stompy “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” in the mid-section and thunderous renditions of “Jet” and “Band on the Run” as the set drew towards its conclusion.
There was even time for a relatively rare rattle through “Wonderful Christmastime,” complete with a Christmas tree, snow, a brass section dressed as elves and a choir of children that sang their song right on cue.
Such moments of relative spontaneity gave the evening a pleasingly relaxed feel. At one point, the brass section popped up in the crowd, “Love Actually”-style, while McCartney forgot to play “My Valentine” in its allotted slot, but added it back in later, following frantic prompting from drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. Meanwhile, as he removed his jacket with a flourish before “Let Me Roll It”, McCartney quipped, “That’s the big wardrobe change of the evening.”
The former Beatle genuinely seemed to be enjoying every moment, regularly giving himself a moment to savor the atmosphere. And, while his voice may have lost a little of its power, he remained positively sprightly compared to some other elder statesmen of rock’n’roll, still more than capable of a high (well, medium height at least) kick or two.
Unlike many stars of his vintage, there was no hint that this tour might be a farewell, but the closing section would be worthy of any send-off. A raucous “Get Back” was followed by a lavish “Let It Be”, a chaotic, pyro-heavy “Live and Let Die” and an immense “Na-na-na”-athon on “Hey Jude”, during which many of the crowd held up homemade signs (“Long live Paul!”, “Your songs saved my life!”), as if to prove you’re never too old for Beatlemania.
He re-emerged waving a Union Jack for the encore (not in a Brexit way; Irish and rainbow flags also featured) before the show ended, as these things always should, with McCartney center stage, conducting a wonderful finale.
A gnarly “Helter Skelter” was followed by a sumptuous “Abbey Road” triptych, featuring “Golden Slumbers” (practically a Christmas song in the U.K. after Elbow’s version featured on the ubiquitous John Lewis festive advert a few years back), “Carry That Weight” and “The End”, making for the musical equivalent of a Christmas Day blowout to end all blowouts.
“There’s only one thing that remains to be said…” he grinned, as he kissed the camera and departed in a haze of confetti and adulation. “See you next time!”
Not even Sir Paul McCartney can go on forever. But on this sort of form, his live shows remain the gift that keeps on giving, whatever the time of year.
