Sir Paul McCartney was joined by his former Beatles bandmate Sir Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood for a rendition of ‘Get Back’ at The O2 in London on Sunday night (16.12.18).
The 76-year-old music icon wrapped up the UK leg of his ‘Freshen Up’ tour with a special treat for fans as he was joined by the Fab Four drummer and The Rolling Stones guitarist on the track which was part of his six song encore.
Hopes of a possible Beatles reunion on the night were raised when
Ringo was spotted arriving at the arena to take his seat to watch his friend play.
Beatlemania – the term used to describe the intense reaction of fans to Paul, Ringo and the late John Lennon and George Harrison in the 1960s – was in full swing again as the 78-year-old sticksman was surrounded by fans with camera phones desperate to get a snap of their idol.
After storming through an incredible career spanning set made up of Beatles classics such as ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’, Wings tracks such as ‘Live And Let Die’ and ‘Band On The Run’ and songs from his latest solo LP, ‘Egypt Station’, another drum kit was wheeled onto the stage as anticipation grew for the reunion, which it turned out had been planned just hours before.
Paul announced: "We’ve got a little surprise for you. It’s a surprise for us, actually, it only happened today."
After introducing Ronnie to the stage, Macca then said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the ever fantastic Ringo Starr."
After the mind-blowing performance Ronnie and Ringo left the stage, with the latter admitting: "I don’t know about you, but it was incredible for me."
Another highlight of the impressive 40-song set list was a rendition of McCartney’s festive classic, ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’, featuring the Capital Children’s Choir.
The sold-out concert drew a star-studded crowd with McCartney’s daughters Stella and Mary and actors Emma Thompson, Idris Elba, Simon Pegg and Rami Malek among those in the audience.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin, One Direction’s Harry Styles, Spice Girl Geri Horner and The Who’s Roger Daltrey and his daughters also witnessed one of the hottest gigs of the year.
After the holiday period, the ‘Fuh You’ singer will hit the road again in 2019, when he brings the ‘Freshen Up’ tour’ to South America.
Paul McCartney setlist at The O2 arena:
A Hard Day’s Night
Junior’s Farm
All My Loving
Letting Go
Who Cares
Got To Get You Into My Life
Come On To Me
Let Me Roll It
I’ve Got A Feeling
Let ‘Em In
My Valentine
1985
Maybe I’m Amazed
I’ve Just Seen A Face
In Spite Of All The Danger
From Me To You
Dance Tonight
Love Me Do
Blackbird
Here Today
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna
Eleanor Rigby
Fuh You
Mr Kite
Something
Obla Di Obla Da
Band On The Run
Back In The USSR
Let It Be
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude
Encore:
Birthday
Wonderful Christmas Time
Get Back (with Sir Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood)
Sgt Pepper
Helter Skelter
Golden Slumbers