Magical Mystery Tour

The Monday before Christmas husband and I escaped, to a concert at the MEN arena in Manchester, for some much needed pre-Christmas cheer. I had bought the tickets on a wet afternoon in October and was really looking forward to this concert which was going to be one of the highlights of my year but recent events overshadowed it and we could easily have forgotten to go. I had previously seen the Beatles about 1964 at the Hull ABC. I had pestered my parents so much to go to see them that my father had queued up for tickets for a friend and I. Didn't I have the best father in the world and December 19, the day of the concert, would have been his birthday. I am sure that he would have approved.  We arrived at the arena later than we would have liked courtesy of an accident on the motorway and roadworks once we hit Manchester itself. There were only 20 minutes to go until the concert was due to start and it seemed as if the entire audience was still outside trying to get through the doors. There was no way that the concert was going to start on time and it did not.

We had seats in the lower tier with a good view of the stage and the screens on either side of it. These were the most expensive concert tickets that we have ever bought, but they were worth it! Twenty minutes later than advertised the arena lights were dimmed then without any announcement or fanfare the man that we had all come to see and his band walked on stage. There he was, Paul McCartney looking slim and fit in a dark blue/grey suit with the familiar Nehru jacket and his equally familiar bass guitar. Within seconds the stage was lit by psychedelic lights and the Magical Mystery Tour had started.  After the fourth number he removed his jacket, with a flourish, revealing the pink lining, then tossed it aside as a multimillionaire can.

He played songs that had been hits for the Beatles, for Wings and for other artists - all written by him. Some I had not realised that he had written, but now that I know, I can see the McCartney stamp. We had a sing along to Ob la di, Ob la da then Hey Jude with McCartney on  a psychedelically painted piano. While for other numbers he retreated to a grand piano at the back of the stage. One of the highlights was the Bond theme Live and Let Die accompanied by fireworks.

Once we got to the two hour mark I kept thinking 'this must be the last number', then he would launch into another one. He actually played for three hours, including two encores, finishing at 11.20 pm. He seemed as if he could have gone on all night and I am sure that most of the audience would have stayed. There is no question about his versatility or his brilliance as a songwriter and performer. According to a review of this concert he played an amazing 39 songs.