After smashing box office records across America and being hailed the most successful concert tour of 2002 by Billboard magazine, Sir Paul McCartney's "Back in the World" tour pulled into London to dazzling capacity crowds at the Earls Court Arena.
The tour is Sir Paul's first in Britain since his 'New World Tour' back in 1993. "I have had a lot of fun touring this show around America last year, but now I am bringing it on home to London and that's a special one to me as I always look forwards to playing to a home crowd," said Sir Paul.
As promised, McCartney delivered on his pre-tour hype with 22 Beatles songs included in the set, twice as many songs as the Beatles ever played on stage.
The eighteen-thousand strong London audience was transported back to the heady heights of the swinging sixties when he opened the night with 'Hello and Good-bye' followed by 'Jet' and 'All my Loving.'
"To think what songs to play I just imagined myself as one of the audience and thought, 'What would I like to hear him play?" he said.
The show also spanned the whole of Sir Paul's career including works from his time with Wings and as a solo artist.
Away from the slanging match of recent months with Ringo and Yoko, McCartney also took time to pay his respect to his deceased fellow band member, with tributes to Lennon and Harrison respectively.
The European leg of the tour began in Paris on the 25th March. Other venues included are Barcelona, Vienna, Hamburg and Dublin, with outdoor performances still to come at the Coliseum in Rome and in Red Square in Moscow.
McCartney wraps ups up his European leg of his tour returning to his home town of Liverpool on the June 1st.
He has also rescheduled a show in Sheffield which had to be cancelled earlier this month because he caught a cold and lost his voice. It will now take place on 29th May.
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McCartney wows London audience