Paul McCartney says harmonizing with John Lennon is ‘very emotional’ | Music | Entertainment

Beatles fans have witnessed something they thought would never happen again: Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon harmonizing together on stage. Sir Paul has opened up about performing the recent Beatles track ‘Now And Then’ on his current tour evokes deep emotion, describing it as “very emotional” because it’s a “John song” and it it feels extraordinary to sing with him.

The nostalgic ‘Now and Then’, which dropped in late 2023, originates from a John Lennon demo dating back to the late seventies. The recording journey ended in 2022 with Ringo Starr and Sir Paul completing the tune in the studio.

Hailed as the ultimate Beatles song, its release sent waves of awe through fans worldwide and has now secured two Grammy nominations.

Sir Paul McCartney has faithfully incorporated ‘Now and Then’ into every set of his ‘Got Back’ world tour. Commenting publicly for the first time about the experience, he revealed: “It’s really amazing. When you introduce a new song, even if it’s an old song, like ‘Now and Then’, the first reaction is that people aren’t quite sure what it is or what you do.

“But during the concerts they get the idea. The word gets out on the internet, you know. So now the reaction is really strong and for us it’s great to play because it’s a nice song to play and for us me, it is particularly great because it’s a John song and so it’s very emotional for me, I love it and the audience seems to love it too.

Currently back in the UK, Sir Paul reflects on the tour after captivating audiences across South America and Europe since its start in October.

Marking a 22-year partnership, the legendary musician and his talented band are set to round off the year with a bang, performing four landmark concerts starting in Manchester this weekend before heading over to London for sold-out shows. With the exception of his monumental headline performance at Glastonbury in 2022 and an intimate pre-show in nearby Frome, these are the iconic Beatles’ first UK appearances since 2018.

Reflecting on returning to familiar grounds, Paul shared: “Manchester is like next door to my old hometown. It’s a great city and we really love it. So it’s going to be good to be there. And then London , we’ll finish it around Christmas time, so it’s exciting.

He talks about his year and remembers certain shows in October that stood out as particularly joyful. Sources close to him note his unmistakable passion for live performances, treating fans to nearly three-hour sets with a repertoire of over 35 tracks each night.

“Audiences in South America are insanely wonderful,” he enthused about the 15 shows there that attracted crowds of more than half a million. “And they’re so eager and crazy that we throw a party every time we play for them. So it’s been great.”

The renowned artist most recently wowed audiences in Paris and Madrid, where fans enjoyed the rarer opportunities to see the 82-year-old music icon in action.

Sir Paul McCartney has shared the secret to curating his set lists amid an illustrious career that boasts 12 Beatles studio albums, 26 solo albums and 22 UK number ones. In the tour programme, he writes: “If I’m watching a film and then hear one of my songs in it, I think: ‘Oh, I should do that’.” Sometimes it will give me impulses to actually look at that song and think about doing it. They love it enough that I think, ‘Yeah, I should do that, just for you.’ There are songs that some people say, ‘Oh, I love that,’ and that makes a difference. It has always happened. One of my own Wings albums, I’ll think, ‘Well, it didn’t do that well, so maybe it wasn’t that good,’ and then you find some kids playing the whole thing and going, ‘This is a great album,’ so it brings me back to it.”

He shared, “I’ll just hear it in a random place like you say, on the radio, at a party, and decide to include it. It’s always a good feeling, it’s like a little light bulb moment “ding, eureka” we should definitely give it a try. That’s often how I make up my mind or decide what to do we all feel on tour now – and it seems the audience agrees ” A downside of social media is that fans who coming to see the tour, have had a good idea of ​​the show they are going to see and especially what it will look like. As with all music concerts these days, thousands of phones are out to record the songs, perhaps even more so when it’s a Beatle on stage.

But Sir Paul, who will be supported at the UK gigs by friends and family including wife Nancy McCartney, is doing his best to maintain an element of surprise so fans coming to shows in the coming days won’t know exactly what to expect expect apart from some huge hit songs. He adds: “On the first night we might get some surprises, but then the moment that comes on social media… It’s like the old comedians who used to complain about their jokes being told, so the next people who saw them knew, jokes.”

“I approach each show and each audience in a slightly different way depending on the location of the show, so I guess that’s the way I change it up a bit.”

In an interview about trying to keep concert-goers on their toes, Sir Paul McCartney explained: “You’ll see your setlist published and we’ll say, ‘Okay, we’ll change it!’ We keep trying to be in front of the guy who gives the game away, I’d be much better off if people had no idea what they came to see, but the only answer to that is we make changes every now and then to this song,’ we say, ‘Let’s open up with another song,’ just to prove them wrong.”

Recent performances have seen tunes like ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ in Madrid and ‘Hard Days Night’ in Paris kick off shows. With excitement building for McCartney’s upcoming Manchester dates, Beatles enthusiasts are sure to be in for a thrill – unpredictability is key!

*Sir Paul McCartney’s Got Back tour concludes its UK leg with two nights at Manchester Co-Op Live before moving on to London’s O2 Arena next week. In the meantime, fans can indulge in Beatlemania with the new ‘Beatles 64’ documentary recently released on Disney+.