“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”― keeping the sounds of one of the most influential bands in history, the one and only Sir Paul McCartney finally graced the Korean audience with his first concert on the peninsula at Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on Saturday.
The 72-year-old rock god is best known as one of the front-men for The Beatles, which as John Lennon once quipped was more popular than Jesus. And over the weekend the legendary musician proved that even now, the spirit of rock and roll is still in his blood as he induced mass nostalgia for the near-45,000 local fans who attended the historic performance.
Originally slated to perform in Seoul last May before canceling his performance due to illness, McCartney kept his promise that he would reschedule Korea back into his “Out There” world tour schedule.
Legendary Beatles member Paul McCartney performs in front of nearly 45,000 fans at his first concert in Korea on Saturday at the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul. (Yonhap)
“The PAUL McCARTNEY Hyundai Card Super Concert 20” had no trouble selling-out nearly all the 46,000 available tickets for the live show, including the VIP seats, which were priced at a whopping 300,000 won ― making it one of the country’s priciest rock concerts.
During the nearly three-hour show in the pouring rain, McCartney performed more than 35 tracks in total, including classic throwback Beatles’ tunes, as well as hits from Wings and the rocker’s solo singles.
Despite getting off to a 20-minute late start, McCartney delighted the local fans right from the start with The Beatles’ 1964 hit, “Eight Days a Week,” followed by “Save Us” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” ― sparking a frenzy.
It was reported that the artist dedicated about two-thirds of his Asia tour set list to The Beatles’ hits looking to give the people what they truly came to hear, on a night that included performances of “Black Bird,” “Obla Di Obla Da,” “Back in the USSR” and others.
However, among all the mega hits in the artists’ repertoire that worked-up his fans, McCartney still managed to silence the masses with his personal ode to Lennon singing, “Here Today,” in one of the most touching moments of the concert.
Near the end of the show, the legend went on to perform The Beatles’ hit “Let It Be,” to which thousands of concertgoers whipped out their phones’ flashlights illuminating the massive outdoor stadium.
Before returning to the stage for his encore performance, McCartney sat at the piano and performed one of The Beatles’ most iconic singles ― and undoubtedly of the night’s biggest crowd-pleasers ― “Hey Jude.”
By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
