Paul McCartney Performs Beatles Classic in Full for the First Time Since 1965
By Website Content Manager
At the kickoff of his U.S. tour, McCartney dusted off a Beatles classic he hadn’t played in its entirety since 1965.
Paul McCartney has never shied away from revisiting Beatles material throughout his solo career, regularly performing everything from early chart-toppers like Love Me Do and Eight Days a Week to later classics such as Let It Be and selections from the iconic Abbey Road medley.
Still, many tracks have remained absent from his setlists, partly due to his tendency to steer clear of songs most closely tied to his late bandmate John Lennon.
That changed on Friday, September 27, when fans at the opening night of McCartney’s U.S. tour at the Santa Barbara Bowl were treated to a rare moment: he kicked off the concert with a full performance of the Beatles’ 1965 anthem Help! — marking the first time in six decades he has sung the song in its entirety.
McCartney had previously only worked the track into a Lennon medley during his Flowers in the Dirt tour in 1989–90. The last complete live performance of Help! dates back to December 12, 1965, when the Beatles themselves played it at Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre — the same year the single and album were released.
The intimate Santa Barbara Bowl, with its capacity of just over 4,500, was the smallest venue on the tour. The show was announced only two weeks prior, and audience members were required to secure their phones in locked pouches.
Much of the night was devoted to Beatles favorites, including a moving “virtual duet” with Lennon on I’ve Got a Feeling from 1970’s Let It Be.
McCartney’s U.S. tour continues on September 29 at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California.