Paul McCartney has delivered a history book Glastonbury headline set, including a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.
When he went up to the pyramid stage on Saturday night, the former Beatles became the festival’s oldest solo headliner a week after celebrating his 80th birthday.
To commemorate a significant opportunity, McCartney treated the masses in the crowd with his own selection of songs and his beloved tracks from The Beatles and his later group Wings.
He played classic songs such as Hey Jude, Blackbird, 007 Dying Slave, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Di, and Get Back on a set of more than two hours.
Introducing Groll to the stage and singing I Saw Her Standing There and Band on the Run further amplified the inspiring show.
The Foo Fighters frontman revealed that he had flown from the United States, especially for his appearance, but admitted that the trip wasn’t without some bumps as multiple flights were cancelled. However, he said with McCartney, “I will never miss the stage.”
Following Groll, McCartney announced that when Springsteen went on stage, he had another surprise from the east coast of the United States.
After American rockers celebrated McCartney’s 80th birthday, they played Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man.
McCartney also remembered his most intimate and loved one in the headline set, dedicating a piano-driven version of My Valentine to his wife Nancy and something to Beatles bandmate George Harrison.
After John Lennon’s death, he described it as a “letter form” and said he couldn’t write to his bandmates because he said he “couldn’t express” when he was a kid. Stated. They had so much love for each other because they “worked hard and became too cool and too busy”.
When the song was over, he added:
Elsewhere on the set, McCartney offered an energetic guitar solo after playing Let Me Roll It.
Following the production, he explained that he would add that section to the end as a homage to “The Great Late Jimi Hendrix.”
He also told a nostalgic anecdote about Hendrix, messed up his guitar while covering the Beatles song Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Clubband, and asked Eric Clapton, a guitar maestro in the audience, to repair the instrument. I remembered that.
During the talk, McCartney paused to allow festival staff to check the status of the crowd and resumed after being informed that it had been classified.
After finishing the main set with Hey Jude, the crowd chanted the famous lyrics to the singer until he returned to Angkor.
When he returned to the stage, he was waving the Ukrainian flag while members of his band were flying the Rainbow Pride flag and the Union Jack.
How do you follow Dave Grohl’s guest spots? Bruce Springsteen with guest spot !!! CS pic.twitter.com/pffdeN0R76
— Glastonbury Live (@GlastoLive) June 25, 2022
As part of the encore, McCartney was able to duet the Beatles track I’ve Got A Feeling with his ex-bandmate on the pyramid stage through a special technology that could separate Lennon’s vocals from older recordings.
To end the historic set, he sang the Beatles song “The End,” and Springsteen and Groll also returned to offer a guitar solo.
Despite most of Glastonbury’s headline performance being broadcast live on BBC iPlayer, McCartney wasn’t aired on the broadcaster’s channel until an hour into the set.
The BBC was contacted for comment.
Prior to the historic set on the Pyramid Stage, McCartney gave a surprise preview performance at an intimate venue in Fromm, Somerset, where he played some of his most famous material.
At the beginning of Saturday, the Pyramid Stage also hosted a speech from Greta Thamberg, where she called on society to take on “historical responsibility to get things right” in the global climate crisis.
A 19-year-old environmental activist told the crowd that he still feels that the world has the hope of choosing a path that is “sustainable” and “leading to the future of all.”
Following Ms. Toonberg’s speech, pop-rock band Heim took the set, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Bird appeared on the pyramid stage.
Musical stars AJ Tracey, Easy Life, Joy Crookes and Rare Amazones Duffrick were also held on Saturday at the Pyramid Stage.
American pop star Olivia Rodrigo and rapper Megan Thee Stallion both performed on the other stage, and Mercury-winning Celeste performed on the Westholtz stage.
Billie Eilish closed the first day of his performance at Glastonbury with an inspiring headline performance on the Pyramid Stage on Friday.
Her appearance was a milestone at the festival when she became the youngest solo headliner in history at Glastonbury.
