Sir Paul McCartney has performed his first show in the Republic of Ireland for six years, as part of his Good Evening Europe tour.
The show was in front of 9,500 people at The O2 in Dublin. McCartney’s previous concert in Ireland was in May 2003, his first in the republic since he played with The Beatles in November 1963 (they also played Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1963 and 1964).
Before the concert he performed a special soundcheck set for VIP ticket holders. The songs played were:
- ‘Honey Hush’
- ‘Honey Don’t’
- ‘Coming Up’
- ‘Birthday’
- ‘All My Loving’
- ‘C Moon’
- ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’
- ‘Celebration’
- ‘San Francisco Bay Blues’
- ‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’
- ‘Midnight Special’
- ‘Mull Of Kintyre’
- ‘Dance Tonight’
- ‘Something’
- ‘Mother Nature’s Son’
- ‘Yesterday’
During the main show, McCartney introduced George Harrison’s ‘Something’ with a short version of George Formby’s ‘Leaning On A Lamppost’, with the Dublin audience singing along.
Prior to singing the 1973 Wings song ‘My Love’, McCartney told the crowd that the guitarist on the original recording, Henry McCullough, was in the audience. The spotlight shone on the balcony, where McCullough took a bow.
As with his previous recent shows in Cologne, McCartney added the 1979 festive hit ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ to the set. In Dublin the song was part of the main set rather than an encore.
Here’s his version of ‘Helter Skelter’ from the concert:
The 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’
- ‘Eleanor Rigby’
- ‘Leaning On A Lamp Post’/‘Something’
- ‘Mrs Vandebilt’
- ‘Sing The Changes’
- ‘Wonderful Christmastime’
- ‘Band On The Run’
- ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
- ‘Back In The USSR’
- ‘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...
- 2011: Paul McCartney live: Echo Arena, Liverpool
- 2010: Paul McCartney live: O2 Academy, Liverpool
- 1974: UK album release: Dark Horse by George Harrison
- 1971: US album release: The Concert For Bangladesh by George Harrison & Friends
- 1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono are interviewed for CBC Weekend
- 1969: Television: John Lennon in conversation with Marshall McLuhan
- 1966: Recording: When I’m Sixty-Four
- 1966: Television: Reporting ’66
- 1962: Live: Star-Club, Hamburg
- 1961: Live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
- 1958: Live: wedding reception, Speke, Liverpool
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.