Sir Paul McCartney welcomes Ringo on stage for Beatles classics at gig
Sir Paul McCartney has welcomed his former Beatles bandmate to the stage while playing to a packed crowd.
Sir Paul was reunited with Sir Ringo Starr on Thursday night in a surprise reunion at London's O2 Arena which saw the drummer, 84, take to the stage for the finale of his friend's world tour.
The duo performed the band’s hits Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Helter Skelter to the delight of 20,000 fans.
"I've had a great night and I love you all," Sir Ringo said later as he walked offstage.
Sir Paul and Sir Ringo, who are the last surviving members of The Beatles, have played together a number of times since the band broke up in 1970.
That includes at Sir Ringo's 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and on Sir Paul's last tour, Freshen Up, in 2019.
Thursday's performance was the last in Sir Paul's Got Back tour, which saw the 82-year-old play in France, Spain and Brazil and two nights in Manchester.
The £154million-earning tour has seen Sir Paul front up 59 shows across four continents including a Glastonbury headline slot.
It has seen the legendary musician sing his classic hits while also paying touching tribute to late Beatles duo John Lennon and George Harrison.
At the start of the night, Sir Paul told the crowd: “Oh London, this is the last night of our current tour, we’ve been around South America and all over the place.
“So it’s great to be back and we’re going to have some fun tonight.”
The audience was thrown into Wings’ prog rock song Junior’s Farm and the bluesy grind of Letting Go, before Sir Paul prompted hysteria with Drive My Car.
Later in the set, the singer played a snippet of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Foxy Lady and took to a second elevating stage to perform The Beatles’ Blackbird and solo track Here Today.
After playing the Hendrix snippet, Sir Paul said: “I was lucky enough to know him a bit in the 60s and he was a great guy, a great guitar player but a very humble person.”
He also played The Quarrymen’s (Sir Paul’s first band which he played in alongside John Lennon and George Harrison) In Spite Of All The Danger, before performing what is thought will be The Beatles’ last single in 2023’s Now And Then.
The set also saw him repeat his virtual duet with John Lennon on I’ve Got A Feeling, played during the Liverpool band’s infamous rooftop concert on top of Apple Corps’ headquarters in London.
Other set highlights included Sir Paul’s attempt at Sweet-esque glam in Jet and a euphoric rendition of Wings’ James Bond theme Live And Let Die, which prompted fireworks and pyrotechnics, replicating the film’s opening title.