Morning:
14°c
Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
John Aizlewood's rating
Reader rating
Spine-tingling: Sir Paul McCartney celebrated Beatles classics at the Electric Ballroom
Rocking out: Macca rolls back the years
"It's been a while since we played a gig this size," said Sir Paul McCartney, surveying the Electric Ballroom - the venue his band Wings used as a rehearsal space in the Seventies. "We ought to do more."
If last night is any yardstick, they should do more of these intimate shows. The "secret" gig (if being announced on national radio and across the internet means "secret") was the hottest free ticket of the year and no wonder.
Gallery: See the star-studded audience at the secret gig
An audience including McCartney's daughters Mary and Stella, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Texas's Sharleen Spiteri, former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, George Harrison's widow Olivia and, with weary inevitability, Kate Moss, could scarcely believe their luck: a live Beatle playing some of the songs that form the very DNA of popular music in a venue holding fewer than 1,000 people.
This being McCartney, nothing was left to chance in his first British date with a band since Glastonbury 2004: the sound was perfect, the band were supertight and his voice was as rich as ever, even when exposed on the solo, acoustic Here Today, plucked from 1982's Tug Of War. The man who will be a pensioner in 10 days was in remarkably cheery fettle over his 90 minutes.
There was no talk of divorce and no mention of Heather Mills. Instead, his thumbs were held aloft, he shouted "calm down, calm down" in his best Scouse and he found his joke about "Camp Den" (an imaginary, "artistic" type whom McCartney pretended Camden was named after) so funny that he repeated it.
Despite mostly ignoring Wings (although C Moon was received like a longlost grandparent), McCartney was in a musically expansive mood. He introduced five songs from his new album, Memory Almost Full (it seems safe to assume the "you can come on to my place if you want" line on Dance Tonight was not meant to be taken literally), but he went further back than The Beatles, covering Carl Perkins's classic Matchbox, as did the Fab Four in their pre-fame, Hamburg days.
The most moving moment came with Here Today. Stark, beautiful and originally a tribute to fellow former Beatle John Lennon, it also now marks the passing of "fallen heroes" Linda McCartney and George Harrison. "That was," he sighed, "a difficult song to sing."
Yet the sombre tone was isolated and the Beatles canon was raided in celebratory fashion. Back In The USSR, Get Back and Lady Madonna were hard-rocking; Let It Be almost hymnal; and best of all, Hey Jude, which ended the set and restarted for the encore, was a spine-tingling burst of community singing as the audience na na na'd like they had never na na na'd before.
An evening as special as it should have been.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
[ 1 ] [ 2 ]
It is great to see Paul back performing again and recovering well from his divorce tragedy.
- Ak, Southport, Australia
Sir Paul neglected to send me one too!
- Vince Lerner, Seattle, Wa
Any chance of a DVD on this one, must have been geat.
- Steve Evans, Malta
Yet again, Sir Paul neglected to send me a 'special invite'!
- Will Oliver, Winnipeg, Canada
