Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Paul McCartney Kicks Off U.S. Tour by Playing 'Help!' in Full for First Time Since 1965 (Rolling Stone)
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-help-first-time-since-1965-1235436696/Paul McCartney launched his 2025 North American tour Friday night with a last-minute warmup gig at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California. He kicked off the night by playing the Beatles classic “Help!” in its entirety for the first time since 1965.
The Santa Barbara Bowl seats a mere 4,562 people, meaning it’s roughly a quarter the size of the arenas he’s hitting on the rest of the tour. The show was announced just two weeks ago, it sold out within minutes, and fans had to secure their phones in Yondr pouches for the night. That’s why footage of “Help!” from the show has yet to emerge online. An enterprising fan did capture 30 seconds of “Help!” from soundcheck that provides at least a rough idea of what it sounded like.
McCartney last performed just a section of “Help!” on the final leg of his 1989/90 Flowers in the Dirt tour when he did a medley of John Lennon songs that also features snippets of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Give Peace a Chance.” The “Help!” segment lasted less than a minute. He last played “Help!” in full on December 12, 1965, when the Beatles played the Capitol Theater in Cardiff, Wales.
-snip-
The Santa Barbara Bowl seats a mere 4,562 people, meaning it’s roughly a quarter the size of the arenas he’s hitting on the rest of the tour. The show was announced just two weeks ago, it sold out within minutes, and fans had to secure their phones in Yondr pouches for the night. That’s why footage of “Help!” from the show has yet to emerge online. An enterprising fan did capture 30 seconds of “Help!” from soundcheck that provides at least a rough idea of what it sounded like.
McCartney last performed just a section of “Help!” on the final leg of his 1989/90 Flowers in the Dirt tour when he did a medley of John Lennon songs that also features snippets of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Give Peace a Chance.” The “Help!” segment lasted less than a minute. He last played “Help!” in full on December 12, 1965, when the Beatles played the Capitol Theater in Cardiff, Wales.
-snip-