Paul McCartney wows the crowds in Manchester with stonking three-hour set – and Beatle John Lennon makes appearance too

REVIEW: SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY: GOT BACK TOUR. MANCHESTER’S CO-OP LIVE ARENA, DECEMBER 14, 2024.

★★★★★

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Sir Paul McCartney wowed the crowds at Manchester’s Co-op Arena on Saturday[/caption]

Beth Allcock

The 82-year-old put on a set filled with fireworks and fun[/caption]

PA

Sir Paul promised the northern crowd they’d ‘have fun tonight’ – and he lived true to every word[/caption]

“I’ve a feeling we are going to have fun tonight,” cheered Sir Paul McCartney as he greeted the capacity crowds at Manchester‘s Co-op Live Arena.

“Alright Manchester,” he chipped, “it’s good to be back.”

Yet this – the welcome at Sir Paul’s first Got Back tour date on home turf for 2024 – was perhaps the understatement of the year.

This was a show filled with fireworks – literally, snow – albeit the paper kind, and a tear-jerking performance of I’ve Got A Feeling with an AI version of his late The Beatles bandmate, John Lennon.

The icon, in one of a handful touching moments on-stage, fought back tears as he hailed it “great, because I get to sing with John again.”

So, the fact there was one-quarter of The Beatles in an M11 postcode on a Manchester derby weekend was, by far, the least surprising thing of the night.

Sir Paul, quite simply, brought the magic to a typically rainy northern night – and made it shine in a way only the Jet hitmaker can.

A setlist crammed with The Beatles hits – some rarely heard – and his subsequent band Wings kicked off with A Hard Day’s Night and wrapped with a psychedelic Golden Slumbers soundtrack two hours and 45 minutes later.

No support act, no huge delay on a start time, no lengthy breaks between songs – just a joke that whipping off his blazer would be “the one big wardrobe change of the evening.”

In a set underpinned by emotive references to The Beatles band which saw the 82-year-old rocket to fame decades before, the thread between Paul and his three best mates is clearly one that endures.

Bittersweet, in parts, when he pulled out George Harrison’s mandolin and ukulele, the latter used in a rendition of Something where a wave of respectful silence swept over the the 50K plus crowd, and his clearly emotional state after singing Here Today – penned for John after his death – simply to tell him “I love you man.”

Macca’s amazing vocal talent then saw him knock out Let It Be, Live And Let Die and Hey Jude back-to-back – not to mention 30 other hits in his back catalogue.

In the mix were The Beatles ditties about their first ever song, tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Nancy his wife and, of course, a splash of festive feeling with Wonderful Christmas Time and a talented kids choir.

Co-op Live’s stunning visual and acoustic capabilities came to the fore in the Alton Towers-esq rollercoaster graphics for Helter Skelter, an invitation to boogie when all the crowd were already on their feet for Dance Tonight and an absolutely jaw-dropping set of fireworks and flames fit for any James Bond in Live And Let Die.

But, in reality, Macca didn’t need to lean on the bells and whistles for his first UK gig since his 2022 Glastonbury headline set.

The proud Brit – along with the silhouettes of his bandmates beamed on screen behind him and his stellar band – had the Manchester crowd in the palm of his hand.

Got Back is, quite simply, a gig that knocks the socks off any Arena concert you’ll see this year.

“I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time,” sung out Sir Paul to a sea of adoring fans waving phones and shouting cheers, hooked on the Liverpudlian’s every word.

And it certainly is, with three more UK dates to come.

Paul McCartney’s Got Back tour continues today, December 15, at Co-op Live, Manchester, UK.

He then plays The O2, London, UK on December 18 and 19.

Beth Allcock

Sir Paul was joined by an AI version of John Lennon in an emotional moment[/caption]

Beth Allcock

This was a setlist filled with more than 30 songs from Wings and The Beatles eras[/caption]

PA

Sir Paul had the Manchester crowds in the palm of his hand for the three-hour set[/caption]