BURSTCo-op Live, Manchester
Stretching an almost three-hour set from the Quarrymen through to the ‘final Beatles single’ this is like an arena-sized Last Night at the Proms, with Beatlemania
‘I’m just going to take a little moment to enjoy it for myself,” says Paul McCartney, standing aside to take in an atmosphere which is like an arena-sized Last Night at the Proms, with Beatlemania. This extraordinary first of two nights at this venue, as McCartney’s Got Back tour reaches the UK, delivers so much.
It opens with A Hard Day’s Night and ends two and three quarter hours, 36 songs later with a sublime three-song suite from Abbey Road. The newest song (in a way, at least) is 2023’s “final Beatles single” Now and Then, completed from John Lennon’s old demo and performed in this country for the first time. The oldest is pre-Beatles band the Quarrymen’s lovely skiffle era In Spite of All the Danger. McCartney talks about civil rights for Blackbird and emotionally sings with an onscreen Lennon in I’ve Got A Feeling. The visuals are stunning throughout and even Ebenezer Scrooge might be moved by a seasonal Wonderful Christmastime, complete with children’s choir and descending “snow”.
Continue reading...