Sir Paul McCartney has kicked off the European leg of his 2009 World Tour with a concert in Hamburg’s Color Line Arena.
Hamburg is the city in which everything changed for The Beatles: they became a rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse, lost their bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, discovered sex and drugs, and acquired their famous haircuts.
Not that such significance meant much to parts of the Hamburg audience, who booed and slow-handclapped McCartney. The show’s late start was due to McCartney having to attend a school play in London in which his daughter Beatrice was appearing.
McCartney was noticeably surprised by the reaction from elements of the crowd. But after a shaky start, the audience was soon won over with songs from the Beatles, Wings and solo eras.
“I’m so happy to be back in Hamburg where it all began 49 years ago,” the 67-year-old told the crowd in German.
From the rehearsals for the tour, here’s McCartney and his band performing A Day In The Life:
During the show McCartney acknowledged several old friends, including Astrid Kirchherr and Klaus Voormann, who were both in the audience. He was also reunited backstage with Horst Fascher, the former nightclub bouncer who befriended The Beatles during their first Hamburg trip in August 1960.
At the Color Line Arena, McCartney’s band played new song ‘(I Want To) Come Home’ for the first time. The song features on the Robert De Niro film Everybody’s Fine.
Other changes from the recent US tour included the omission of ‘I’m Down’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, and the addition of opening song ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’.
Here’s the full setlist:
- ‘Magical Mystery Tour’
- ‘Drive My Car’
- ‘Jet’
- ‘Only Mama Knows’
- ‘Flaming Pie’
- ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’
- ‘Let Me Roll It’
- ‘Highway’
- ‘The Long And Winding Road’
- ‘(I Want To) Come Home’
- ‘My Love’
- ‘Blackbird’
- ‘Here Today’
- ‘Dance Tonight’
- ‘And I Love Her’
- ‘Mrs Vandebilt’
- ‘Eleanor Rigby’
- ‘Band On The Run’
- ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
- ‘Sing The Changes’
- ‘Back In The USSR’
- ‘Something’
- ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’
- ‘Paperback Writer’
- ‘A Day In The Life’/‘Give Peace A Chance’
- ‘Let It Be’
- ‘Live And Let Die’
- ‘Hey Jude’
Also on this day...
- 1974: US single release: Walking In The Park With Eloise by Paul McCartney
- 1969: George Harrison live: Colston Hall, Bristol with Delaney & Bonnie
- 1969: Mixing: Lady Madonna, Rain, Octopus’s Garden
- 1969: Television: 24 Hours: The World Of John And Yoko – day one
- 1969: John Lennon is interviewed for Man Of The Decade
- 1968: US album release: Wonderwall Music by George Harrison
- 1966: Mixing, editing: Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas
- 1965: George Harrison’s Gretsch guitar is destroyed
- 1964: Ringo Starr’s tonsils are removed
- 1963: Live: Grosvenor House, London
- 1963: Television: The Morecambe And Wise Show
- 1962: Live: Embassy Cinema, Peterborough
- 1961: Live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
