Liverpool Gears Up for McCartney Homecoming
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Paul McCartney fans said on Monday they were itching to welcome him home next month for his first major solo concert in his northern England home town since 1990.
The Liverpool-born musician, who made his name as one quarter of 1960s rock and roll phenomenon the Beatles, will play the 90th and final gig of his “Back in the World” tour to 30,000 fans on the banks of the city’s River Mersey on June 1.
One fan who is well aware of the value of his concert ticket is Eddie Porter, who for 24 years has been a guide on the “Magical Mystery Tour” bus that shuttles tourists to Liverpool’s many sites of Beatles interest.
“Put it this way: you can buy me love, but you can’t buy my ticket,” he said over a beer near the Cavern Club, where the Beatles performed nearly 300 times.
McCartney had 17 number one hits in Britain with the group.
“They were a unique band, they were teenagers talking to teenagers. When they played, your whole body could feel the heat of the music,” Porter said.
Since the band split in 1970, McCartney has had further success with the group Wings and as a solo artist.
In all, some two million people will have seen his latest tour, which started in California in April 2002. It has made McCartney the world’s highest earning celebrity and will have taken him through more than 15 countries including concerts in Rome’s Colosseum and Moscow’s Red Square.
Liverpool city council said tickets for the final date sold out in four hours.
Bob Scott, head of Liverpool’s bid to become a European city of culture, said: “It’s probably the biggest concert to come to Liverpool in a generation and will be one of the most memorable in Britain this year.”
McCartney’s tour crew will erect a 70-foot (20-meter) stage in an open-air arena that will buzz to the sound of more than 30 solo hits and Beatles classics like “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday” and “Let it Be.”
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