Paul McCartney O2 review: Energetic Beatles star, 82, honours John Lennon at epic show

Having hit the road in April 2022, Sir Paul McCartney’s post-pandemic tour comes to an end with two nights at London’s O2 before the Christmas break.

Express.co.uk was lucky enough to attend the first concert yesterday evening, and boy, what a treat for Beatles and Wings fans, young and old.

Other octogenarian rock stars may struggle in their later life, but Macca remains incredibly sprightly at 82, with only a slight raspy ageing to his vocals.

He may struggle with some of the top notes, but given the raw energy he gave across an epic set of over 30 songs, we barely noticed.

If anything, we were just in utter awe that a man who was doing this 60 years ago is still going with just as much of a twinkle in his eye as when he first started with The Beatles.

It’s hardly surprising that the most successful singer-songwriter in history remains extremely talented into his 80s.

Joined on stage by his guitarists Brian Ray and Rusty Anderson, Paul Dickens on keyboards, and wonderfully enthusiastic drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., McCartney kicked off the almost three-hour show with the Beatles' classic Can’t Buy Me Love, getting that joyous party atmosphere going. Macca’s first half, on which he mainly played the bass surrounded by laser lighting, rocked through Wings classics like Letting Go and 1985, mixed in with Beatles picks such as Drive My Car, Love Me Do, and even the Quarrymen song In Spite of All the Danger. Then came the acoustic section with the old boy raised high up on a platform with bird projections as he played us through Blackbird and Here Today before the big tributes to old friends long gone.

Performing on his psychedelic piano, McCartney gave a live rendition of the final Beatles song Now and Then, put together with old audio of John Lennon’s vocals and George Harrison’s guitar strums. As the track’s vibrant music video played behind the band, with young versions of the two late stars performing with Paul and Ringo, audience members became visibly tearful in this emotional segment. The chirpy cheerfulness of Lady Madonna immediately followed to brighten the mood, alongside Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Band on the Run before a festive special treat. Since it's December, Macca couldn’t resist bringing out Wonderful Christmastime, joined onstage by the Capital Children’s Choir and multitudes of “snow” (or “dandruff” as he joked) descended from above in all its wintery glory. But then came a crescendo of absolute greats.

Macca blasted us through Get Back before Let It Be brought the tears streaming again. Then came his James Bond theme Live and Let Die, which engulfed the stage in flames thanks to that bombastic pyrotechnic magic. That was before Hey Jude had the audience belting out the Na-Nas in unison ahead of the encore. For the latter, McCartney kicked off with a virtual duet of I’ve Got a Feeling with footage of Lennon from The Beatles final live performance on the roof of Savile Row’s Apple Corps, back in 1969.

Sadly there was no Sir Ringo Starr in person for Helter Skelter (we half suspected he’d show up given he’s been in town promoting his new Country album) but perhaps the drummer will cameo at tonight’s tour concluding show? After all, he’s done it a few times before. Nevertheless, we can’t complain, having witnessed a living legend showing no sign of stopping in an infectiously joyous feat. Here’s hoping Macca has many more touring years ahead of him. We’re not ready to see him retire anytime soon.