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Bristol Post

Entertainment

Mark Taylor

Paul McCartney's possible Glastonbury set list including 'virtual duet' with John Lennon

Paul McCartney John Lennon The Beatles Glastonbury Festival Beatles (Organization) United States Wings

When he takes to the stage on Saturday (June 25) evening, Paul McCartney will be the oldest-ever solo headliner at Glastonbury but speculation is mounting about which songs the 80-year-old legend will perform at Worthy Farm. After more than 60 years of writing and recording - not to mention 18 solo albums on top of his vast Beatles and Wings back catalogue - Sir Paul certainly isn’t short of material.

The last time the former Beatle took to the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm it was the Saturday night of the 2004 festival and he performed a memorable set of 33 songs. The Beatles songs that night included Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Helter Skelter, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Back in The U.S.S.R., Penny Lane and Yellow Submarine.

In 2004, Sir Paul also performed several Wings songs including Jet, Let Me Roll It and Live and Let Die. The legendary musician also performed cover versions of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and In Spite of all The Danger, a song originally recorded with his pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen.

Eighteen years on and Sir Paul has plenty of newer material to choose from. Since then, he has released six more studio albums including 2020’s McCartney III.

Although Sir Paul is still finalising the set list for his headlining Saturday night performance at Glastonbury, it has been reported that he plans to ‘virtually reunite’ with John Lennon, who died in 1980. Sir Paul’s recent US tour has included a ‘virtual duet’ with John, and sources close to him say he may well include it in the Glastonbury set.

The Beatles performing at Colston Hall on November 15, 1963 (Mirrorpix)

On the recent US dates, there has been some footage of Lennon singing I've Got a Feeling, from The Beatles’ Let It Be album, which Sir Paul puts up on the big screen, and then he turns around and sings to him.

As well as the virtual duet with John Lennon, Sir Paul’s US tour dates have also included a number of memorable moments, such as a surprise rendition of Happy Birthday from rockstar Jon Bon Jovi. At another US show, Sir Paul was joined on stage by veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen to sing Springsteen’s Glory Days and The Beatles’ songs I Wanna Be Your Man and The End.

Sir Paul’s recent US shows around his 80th birthday celebrations have included around 40 songs each night. The average show length has been just under 160 minutes.

His Pyramid Stage slot on Saturday night is scheduled to start at 9.30pm and end at 11.45pm - an epic two hour 15-minute set of back-to-back classics spanning eight decades of making music. And if this month’s US shows are anything to go by, music fans are in for a treat as his current set list features 22 Beatles songs and eight Wings songs. The rest of the show has been made up of solo McCartney numbers and covers.

Sir Paul McCartney at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004 (Andy Butterton/PA Wire)

The most recent show was on June 16 at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, and, give or take a few tweaks, it’s highly likely that the set will be similar at Worthy Farm on Saturday. To get you in the mood for what promises to be an unmissable performance at the first Glastonbury Festival since 2020, here are the songs McCartney and his band performed last weekend.