Paul McCartney

“Thank you, yeah, you're right, I've got a birthday comin' up,” McCartney said with feigned disgust, a don't-remind-me sort of gag. “And I'm not trying to ...

The thought of McCartney needing a moniker to record “experimental” music amuses me: He's Paul McCartney; the albums under his own name always have cool-weird ...

This is gorgeous inanity in pan and scan; this is the kind of uproarious twaddle in which the singer climaxes with “Oklahoma was never like this!” (It wasn’t). The outro is McCartney at his most unhinged: The machines clatter, Linda and Stewart harmonize like addled Muppets, and McCartney interjects shit like “Ooh, that’s right!” over a beautiful, high synth line. Then he inserts an “ooh!” like the Paul of “She Loves You” — the bleakest “ooh” of his life, a guy leaning on a reflex to keep himself alive. As a result, Band On The Run hit #1 on the Billboard album chart for the first of three residencies. In “The Back Seat of My Car,” the admixture of lyrical banality and orchestral grandeur results in a uniquely hysterical product. Co-writer and uncredited co-producer Eric Stewart of 10cc: “It was ghastly, it was ghastly, and I really felt very sorry that I’d got myself involved…” Because the memory of programming syndrums haunts ’60s casualties like a bad trip, few decent reappraisals of a typically hit-and-miss McCartney album have appeared. No “ Band On The Run,” “ Silly Love Songs,” or “ Ebony And Ivory,” tunes that range from the sublime to the execrable and not part of my McCartney canon. A nimble acoustic-based hook and a straightforward lyric turn “Every Night” into one of the album’s most realized performances. It’s McCartney’s vocal that turns “No Other Baby” into one of the decade’s bleakest depictions of derangement. The odd stresses (“If ya’d taken an ar-rah/ And put it right through me!”) and the after-midnight glow of Linda and Denny Laine’s harmonies suggest an acquaintance with Michael McDonald’s recent Doobie Brothers work. However, it still sounds ungainly, with hits like “ Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” striving for the “Beatlesque” without purpose: an adjective in search of a noun. And McCartney, singing at the top of his range, sounds jazzed, hoping listeners “feel the sense of childlike wonder.” For decades the possibilities of the pop song has been this religious agnostic’s only faith. In the days of mixtapes and CD burning, Paul McCartney was one of those acts like the Fall and Wu-Tang Clan whose immense catalog concealed overlooked corners and underused trails the former Beatle himself had no interest in mentioning.

In celebration of the former Beatle's 80th birthday, we look back at the songs that showcase his melodic genius.

You might hate some of the songs that were chosen, and you might love some that were left off. For the purposes of this list, McCartney’s solo career includes things like Ram, which is credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, and the releases with his post-Beatles band Wings. Not included, however, is McCartney’s classical work or the Fireman, his experimental project with Youth. Obviously, these kinds of lists are subjective and intensely personal, and many of you will have issues with this one. McCartney’s solo work has undergone a well-deserved critical reevaluation since the ’90s, with once reviled albums like Ram and McCartney II now hailed as hidden gems and ahead-of-their time masterpieces.

Paul McCartney is turning 80 and in honor of his brilliant songwriting, we've ranked his 80 best songs. See if you agree with our list.

Forget about the astute narration (barbershops, bankers and roundabouts). Don’t even pay much attention to the heavenly pop melody. Yes. Indicative of McCartney’s desire to stay on the charts (i.e., commercial)? Sure. But it’s also unfairly maligned because Macca is completely in on the ridiculously catchy joke. The original is a gratifying valentine. At just over two minutes, the mostly instrumental platform would barely be a blip for most bands. Part of McCartney’s new wave/disco phase of the times that initially included sped-up vocals. Between the intricate guitar work from George Harrison and Lennon and a set of double-tracked vocals, a new sound in 1960s British pop was born. Songs that he wrote that became hits for others (such as Badfinger’s "Come and Get It" and Elvis Costello’s “Veronica”) weren’t included. As in, that is an insane amount of foresight, even for this guy. Noteworthy because it’s McCartney’s debut single following the Beatles’ breakup in 1970, and was therefore instantly dissected with microscopic precision. While his voice might have more warble to it, his ability to turn the bucolic into something infinitely listenable is still formidable. But – and this is why it squeaked onto the list – it can be considered a bold zigzag that, in retrospect, is at least interesting. But it’s hard to fault McCartney’s intentions – or the song’s easily digestible tunefulness.

The limited-edition collection, dubbed McCartney I II III, presents McCartney (1970), McCartney II (1980), and McCartney III (2020) — three albums on which he ...

McCartney also celebrated his birthday Thursday night during the New Jersey stop of his Got Back tour. Similarly, McCartney II signified the artist’s separation from his post-Beatles group Wings. He wrote, produced, and performed the entire album himself. Fifty years after the first McCartney, the artist decided to do it again with McCartney III, which came out in December 2020. The first McCartney album was the artist’s declaration of independence from the Beatles, an opportunity to show that he could do everything himself. It will be available on colored vinyl, black vinyl, and CD in slipcases that sport new design and typography (that highlights the word “art” within McCartney’s name) by pop artist Ed Ruscha on Aug. 5. A day before he turns 80, Paul McCartney has picked out his own present: a compendium of his self-titled albums, which span a half-century of his life.

Paul McCartney welcomed his 80th birthday singing timeless tunes with Bruce Springsteen and getting serenaded by Jon Bon Jovi in concert.

McCartney was so touched, he took to social media to share a photo of his birthday surprise after the concert. “Paul always has the audience eating out of his hand. Bon Jovi gave Paul a kiss before he handed Paul the birthday balloon.”

Springsteen wished McCartney "80 more years of glory days" before performing his 1984 hit "Glory Days" with the former Beatle, whose 80th birthday is on ...

"I have a tattoo on my arm, which is cause this person is my hero," he said. So I'm deeply looking forward to getting out there in front of our fans." Onstage, McCartney referred to Springsteen's appearance as a "birthday present to myself."

Just two days before his 80th birthday, Paul McCartney put on quite a show at MetLife Stadium.

Bruce Springsteen joined the Beatles legend to sing his hit "Glory Days." He wish McCartney a happy birthday, saying, "Here's to 80 more years of glory days." Springsteen wasn't the only New Jersey rocker to share the stage. This was the final night of McCartney's brief U.S. tour.

Late in the set, Springsteen took the mic for a performance of his '80s hit “Glory Days” and the Beatles' “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

Paul McCartney e Bruce Springsteen cantando “I Wanna Be Your Man” no MetLife Stadium, em East Rutherford (16/06)— The Beatles BR 🍏 (@TheBeatleBR) #PaulMcCartneyGotBack pic.twitter.com/BbWOP6qvbB June 17, 2022 With the Jersey show, McCartney wraps his North America’ Got Back tour. Sir. Paul McCartney brought out special guest and New Jersey native, Bruce Springsteen, for electrifying performances of “Glory Days” and “I Wanna Be Your Man” in Paul’s final concert of his 2022 tour.— The Beatles (@BeatlesEarth) pic.twitter.com/NZRfnZwOqv June 17, 2022 Hot night in Jersey with— MicheleAmabile (@MicheleAmabile) @springsteenon stage with @PaulMcCartneyat @MetLifeStadium! pic.twitter.com/Ibqxj9xngy June 17, 2022 Paul McCartney + Bruce Springsteen in Jersey. 💀— Erik Ortiz (@erikjhortiz) #GloryDays pic.twitter.com/G7uBsxIx1L June 17, 2022 Jon Bon Jovi singing “Happy Birthday” to Paul McCartney at Paul’s MetLife stadium concert, June 16, 2022:— The Beatles (@BeatlesEarth) pic.twitter.com/lJxUOTJzZL June 17, 2022

As Paul McCartney performed on June 16, 2022, at MetLife Stadium, fans showed their love for Sir Paul with a "happy birthday" rendition ahead of his 80th ...

He then invited the women in the audience to give the distinctive Beatles scream — to which they deliriously responded. It rocketed to the top of the American charts in 1964. Generations of McCartney fans were singing "Happy Birthday" to the songwriting genius two days early. It first appeared to be a ruckus of some kind — the swelling, disorienting murmur such as those heard when a fight erupts. The girls in England could scream, he joked. Those songs, he said, are almost always Beatles classics.

Bon Jovi, meanwhile, appeared on stage for sing “Happy Birthday” to McCartney, who turns 80 on June 18.

McCartney last toured in 2019 as a 2020 Europe run was squashed by the pandemic. Bruce and Bon Jovi came back for the encore. Springsteen previously performed “I Saw Her Standing There” with McCartney at the musician’s show at London’s Hyde Park in 2013.

Hard to think of a better way for Paul McCartney to celebrate his 80th birthday than by singing "Glory Days'' onstage with Bruce Springsteen.

He couldn’t have imagined that in 2022, one adult standing in line to get into MetLife being overheard asking a companion: “Where are Mom and Dad?” The fragility in his voice was evident while singing “Blackbird” on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief U.S. tour. For most artists, the appearance of such local royalty would be a hard-to-top moment. He struggled for the high notes in “Here Today,” his love letter to John Lennon, who was robbed of a long life by an assassin’s bullet. “He has a youthful exuberance that is ageless,” said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer. Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday Monday.

It's hard to think of a better way for Paul McCartney to celebrate his 80th birthday than by singing Glory Days onstage with Bruce Springsteen or being serenaded by some 60,000 well-wishers. That's right, the "cute Beatle" turns 80 on Saturday.

With the help of Peter Jackson, who re-imagined the Get Back sessions for last year's television project, McCartney was able to perform a virtual "duet" with Lennon singing his part of I've Got A Feeling from the Apple rooftop concert. He couldn't have imagined that in 2022, one adult standing in line to get into MetLife being overheard asking a companion: "Where are Mum and Dad?" The fragility in his voice was evident while singing Blackbird on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief US tour. Stereogum's feature illustrated the varied entry points musicians of different generations have into a living, breathing catalogue. Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday on Monday. -- along with an appreciation of what he still has to offer.

Renowned musician and former Beatle Paul McCartney has always had a playful sense of style. To celebrate his birthday on Saturday, we take a look back at ...

By 1993, the singer had ditched the '70s lapels and moved with the times. Graphic knits and striking shirts were a mainstay for the former Beatle, pictured here with British rock group Wings at Abbey Road Studios in 1974. While performing his theme tune for the new Bond movie "Live and Let Die," McCartney paired a beaded necklace with a funky sweater vest. Anywhere was a runway for McCartney -- including the airport runway, where he was often photographed boarding and exiting jets sporting purple-lense aviator sunglasses or decorative Western shirts with a child perched on his hip. While the former Beatle may be known for his immeasurable contribution to music, Paul McCartney also has a well-documented penchant for fashion. Renowned musician and former Beatle Paul McCartney has always had a playful sense of style.

Hard to think of a better way for Paul McCartney to celebrate his 80th birthday than by singing "Glory Days" onstage with Bruce Springsteen.

McCartney also paid tribute to George Harrison, who died in 2001, with a version of "Something" that began with Paul on a ukulele George gave him and built to a full band version. He couldn't have imagined that in 2022, one adult standing in line to get into MetLife being overheard asking a companion: "Where are Mom and Dad?" "Yeah, yeah, right, I've got a birthday coming up," McCartney said, scanning signs in the audience that reminded him. The fragility in his voice was evident while singing "Blackbird" on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief U.S. tour. For most artists, the appearance of such local royalty would be a hard-to-top moment. "He has a youthful exuberance that is ageless," said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer.

Paul McCartney is celebrating his 80th birthday after decades of success. He was one of the four Beatles with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

David Fincher’s semi-fictional retelling of Zuckerberg’s life details the education of the Harvard student, creating the social media site on a whim one day as a result of his own social dissatisfaction. It’s no secret that Wes Anderson loves a good musical score, with The Royal Tenenbaums featuring one of the very best of his entire filmography. Like many of the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza gives audiences an objective, atmospheric impression of a certain place and time. The film was made all the better by one scene in which Russell uses ‘Live and Let Die’ by The Beatles when Jennifer Lawrence’s character is cleaning the house. As such, they have gone on to influence some of the finest minds in music and cinema, including the likes of Dave Grohl, Brian Wilson, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen and Noel and Liam Gallagher. Paul McCartney also recently revealed on the radio show ‘John Lennon at 80’ that he, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Lennon had been greatly influenced by the work of Bob Dylan.

How better to celebrate an 80th birthday than by singing about “Glory Days” onstage with Bruce Springsteen, and being serenaded by some 60000 well-wishers?

McCartney also paid tribute to George Harrison, who died in 2001, with a version of "Something" that began with Paul on a ukulele George gave him and built to a full band version. He couldn't have imagined that in 2022, one adult standing in line to get into MetLife being overheard asking a companion: "Where are Mom and Dad?" "Yeah, yeah, right, I've got a birthday coming up," McCartney said, scanning signs in the audience that reminded him. The fragility in his voice was evident while singing "Blackbird" on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief U.S. tour. "He has a youthful exuberance that is ageless," said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer. Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday Monday.

Fans and stars alike have flocked to social media to pay tribute to Paul McCartney on the legendary singer-songwriter's 80th birthday.

Recreating Band On The Run with Kasabian in 2010, Cologne was something else on tour in 2009 (I think?), visiting Windmill studios in Sussex or MPL in Soho, where he noodled away on an acoustic. “Let it be” that Sir @PaulMcCartney know that his musical generosity of spirit and love have forever changed the world with positivity, joy and screaming happiness. you have inspired me and many others through your music and through the years you've never stopped sharing your talents with us, thank you so so much. He asked “What should we do”? I said, “Can we sing ooooooh”? Happy Birthday Sir. ❤️ @PaulMcCartney pic.twitter.com/fF8DbeOEjq (And, yes, I was a John person, but how can you not LOVE Paul?)pic.twitter.com/dUe7IZXqAg Happy 80th Birthday to his royal highness Paul McCartney. Here's an illustration I did in celebration. Working class northern council estate kid who changed the history of the world. Thanks for all the memories Paul. Love you x pic.twitter.com/ZX0taiV5JX Thanks for all the memories Paul. Love you x” He shares his birthday with my Daughter who is now 15 and admires the Beatles enormously. Simply Red‘s Mick Hucknall tweeted: “Britains greatest living songwriter Sir Paul McCartney is 80 today. The official Twitter accounts for McCartney’s late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison each posted a birthday message.

Born on June 18, 1942, Paul McCartney grew up in Liverpool, England, with his parents and younger brother Peter Michael. His dad was a self-taught musician, ...

In 2002, Paul married model and activist Heather Mills, but the pair's divorce made way more headlines beginning in 2006. The Beatles won Best New Artist at the 7th annual Grammy Awards, and took the United States (and the world) by storm with their harmonies and charm — not to mention Paul's good looks. The latter put the band's music on hold for a while — until George brought them back together in 1959. on newsstands and Amazon.com now. Paul adopted Heather as the newlywed's family grew. "We had a rule," Paul once said. I'm happy." Paul's mom died of complications from breast cancer in 1956, while John's mom was hit by a car in 1958. Despite the untimely deaths of bandmates John and George, Paul and Ringo have remained close, joining each other on stage once in a while like at the 2014 The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute to the Beatles in L.A. He could have been somebody!" "You saw him rather than met him," Paul once said of John. "He grew long sideburns, he had a long drape jacket, he had the drainpipe trousers and the crepe-soled shoes." Paul was a solid student and sang in the church choir while balancing piano and trumpet lessons.

in the 1950s, the likes of Elvis Presley, Hill Haley, and Chuck Berry streamlined the music of black blues musicians, interfusing it with white country music to ...

With The Beatles, Paul McCartney played a key role in forming the blueprint for pop stardom. We played it through a few times and changed some of the tapes till we got what we thought was a real good one.” There was one rule: the album was to be released solely in the USSR and nowhere else. We had one and tried the bass through it and it sounded really good.” McCartney’s use of the fuzz bass was subsequently adopted by everyone from Black Sabbath and Metallica to Tame Impala. Today, it is one of the most iconic sounds in rock music. While recording ‘A Day In The Life’ in the studio, The Beatles decided to leave a long gap after Paul’s “I’d love to turn you on” lines. The difficulty was that his manager had already had a batch of LPs pressed with special Russian-language covers. That was the whole idea of the album: all the normal things that you record that are great and have all this atmosphere but aren’t that good as recording or production jobs. Today, the track endures as the perfect encapsulation of the inventiveness of the psychedelic era. While it’s George Harrison we have to thank for The Beatles’ absorption of early synth technology, it was Paul McCartney who ended up using the Mellotron most effectively. With Sgt. Pepper’s The Beatles held a mirror up to the countercultural age, offering an idealised image of hippiedom. Not only did it allow for a new camaraderie among the ‘Fab Four’ but it also afforded McCartney a new sense of possibility. The Beatles, who had grown up on the music of Presley and the like, made their name by imbuing this American art form with a uniquely British flavour.

The former Beatle's long and rich musical career is marked by a refusal to rest on his artistic laurels.

For the past several years, he has made a point of performing Jimi Hendrix's epic guitar lick for "Foxy Lady" during the outro for "Let Me Roll It," a Wings-era track from "Band on the Run." As you raise a glass in honor of McCartney's 80th birthday, consider his motives for breaking off the same guitar pyrotechnics virtually every time he steps on stage. Take last Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, where McCartney closed out the Stateside leg of his "Got Back" tour. The same composer who reconceived the rock album in 1967 with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was still mining out new sounds in 2020 with "McCartney III." And still he persists in searching out uncharted creative vistas — and, whenever possible, showing off. He was barely 21 when British Beatlemania came into vogue in the autumn months of 1963. By all rights, he should be marking time as a pensioner, renting a cottage in the Isle of Wight or some such thing. A decade later, when the Who declared "I hope I die before I get old" in "My Generation," no self-respecting rocker set his sights on retirement, much less living into middle-age.

A 15-year-old McCartney met John Lennon during a fateful performance of Lennon's skiffle band, The Quarrymen. While setting their instruments up for the evening ...

Same as McCartney, the new LP was recorded at a small at-home studio with Paul playing the majority of the album himself. Rich in experimentation, the LP saw McCartney take a step back from the often polished nature of the Beatles, opting for a spacier sound. On June 25, McCartney will take the Pyramid Stage for the first time since his 2014 appearance. Across the album are the likes of Beck, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, Dev Hynes, Damon Albarn, and more. Taking just two weeks to complete, Wild Life was a spontaneous debut album full of one-take recordings and songs that seemed more like jam sessions. In 1971, Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Paul, and Linda began working on their debut album under the Wings moniker. The McCartney’s and Laine then brought on guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English. The Beatles did just that beginning in the early ’60s, taking their homegrown success to a world eagerly opening up to the burgeoning phenomenon that was rock n’ roll. Their career launched to new heights with an iconic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they played “All My Lovin,” “Till There Was You” and “She Loves You.” Known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, McCartney is one of the most celebrated musicians of all time. By 1964, it was full-fledged “Beatlemania” worldwide, as the four mop tops dominated the U.S. and UK pop charts. Struck by his performance, Lennon asked McCartney to join the outfit permanently.

It's another day in Twickenham studios, where McCartney is single-handedly wrestling the Beatles into recording a new album. John Lennon, George Harrison and ...

In recent decades, he has worked with younger producers including Mark Ronson, Nigel Godrich and Kanye West and recorded three freewheeling albums with Youth under the alias The Fireman. He is also a generous live performer who knows fans want to hear three hours of the songs that have soundtracked their lives. He closed, as always, with The End, his simple valediction to the Beatles, Lennon’s favourite McCartney lyric, and the purest expression of his worldview: “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Rock stars are accustomed to receiving love: McCartney is just as good at giving it back. Standards such as Let It Be and Yesterday are almost too famous to appreciate as entities that a young man sat down and wrote rather than plucking out of the ether. “It was going to be: John was the one.” What must be especially satisfying for McCartney is the long, ongoing reassessment of his post-Beatles work: the DIY farmhouse intimacy of his self-titled solo debut; the ambitious multi-part songwriting of Wings’ 1973 blockbuster Band on the Run, recorded in Lagos; the eccentric synthesizer experiments of 1980’s McCartney II. Tom Doyle’s biography Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s makes a strong case for McCartney as a risk-taking adventurer whose efforts to reinvent himself were far from cosy. “People say, I’m really scared to meet you,” he told Q in 2001. The Beatles became a global advertisement for youth and friendship – Paul and John wrote many of those early hits knee to knee, eyeball to eyeball – and their split was a generational trauma. “He used to be the one to get things moving,” Starr said after the band’s break-up in 1970. “I understood that now there was going to be revisionism,” he told Esquire in 2015. “It was this idea of ‘What do I do now?’” His daughter Stella, the fashion designer, reflected that “we spent a lot of our childhood with dad recovering from the turmoil and the break-up”. “The job was gone, and it was more than the job, obviously – it was the Beatles, the music, my musical life, my collaborator,” he told the New Yorker last year. In this particular scene he’s at the piano, guiding the band through a hymn-like new number while his fiancée Linda Eastman chats to Yoko Ono in the foreground.

Ex-Beatle turned 80 on Saturday, days after a brief US tour which saw him joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen.

During his career, Sir Paul has won 18 Grammys, been awarded an OBE and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Thank you for raising awareness of the SaveCrueltyFreeCosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative.” The ex-Beatle turned 80 on Saturday, days after finishing a brief US tour.

As a worldwide treasure, everyone poured out love for McCartney's 80th trip around the sun. Happy 80 birthday to the legendary Paul McCartney! pic ...

Some of the more famous (or, really, the very best, in this writer’s opinion) include: Back in 2017, our Charles Curtis embarked on quite an ambitious endeavor and ranked all 188 (!) Beatles songs and ranked all of their albums the following year. With McCartney celebrating his 80th birthday Saturday, we thought it appropriate to quickly sum up the man, the myth, the heartthrob.

Sean Ono Lennon calls Paul McCartney the "emperor of pop" in his thoughtful birthday message, complete with a song as tribute.

In his Instagram video, he plays ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ as a tribute to the artist, a song his father had once called one of The Beatles best. Sean Ono Lennon posted on both Twitter and Instagram to wish McCartney a happy birthday, calling him the “emperor of pop” in the process. Having the names Ono and Lennon tacked onto your title is enough to create a big expectation or two.

Paul McCartney turned 80 years old on June 18 and received numerous celebratory tributes on social media.

— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive)June 18, 2022 — Aerosmith (@Aerosmith)June 18, 2022 — Julian Lennon (@JulianLennon)June 18, 2022 — The Beatles (@thebeatles)June 18, 2022 “So Happy Birthday! Thank you for all the beautiful music. Yoko Ono also tweeted a birthday message to McCartney. “Dear Paul, Happy 80th Birthday and many, many more!

A little birdy told me this was one of your your fav Beatles tunes. So Happy Birthday! Thank you for all the beautiful music. You have mine and the whole ...

The Beatles’ Twitter also marked the occasion with a minute-long tribute video: (This version is a bit rough because it’s such a pretty song I kept getting choked up and staring again!)” You have mine and the whole world’s undying love and respect.

Aging Beatle marks milestone with New Jersey concert, highlighting over a half-century of music, and all he still has to offer.

McCartney also paid tribute to George Harrison, who died in 2001, with a version of “Something” that began with Paul on a ukulele George gave him and built to a full band version. The fragility in his voice was evident while singing “Blackbird” on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, the final night of a brief US tour. For most artists, the appearance of such local royalty would be a hard-to-top moment. He struggled for the high notes in “Here Today,” his love letter to John Lennon, who was robbed of a long life by an assassin’s bullet. “He has a youthful exuberance that is ageless,” said Bob Spitz, a Beatles biographer. Another 1960s icon, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is scheduled to play at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City on his 80th birthday Monday.

Renowned musician and former Beatle Paul McCartney has always had a playful sense of style.

Paul McCartney turned 80 on Saturday and a week later becomes the oldest headliner to play at the Glastonbury Festival.

McCartney and Starr remain friends and have continued to collaborate over the years. Drummer Ringo Starr is due to start touring again later this year, aged 81. McCartney formed Wings with his first wife Linda in 1971, and used his ingenious ear for melody — which had earlier given life to classics such as “Hey Jude” and “Blackbird” — to rack up a decade of hits with the new group. He has also famously duetted with the likes of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, and in 2012 fronted a brief Nirvana reunion. A source told The Sun newspaper in March that “the idea of offering him the chance to sit as a cross-bencher in the House of Lords has been mooted.” Born in the port city of Liverpool in northwest England, McCartney met John Lennon at the age of 15 and the pair formed the Quarrymen, the skiffle band that eventually metamorphosed into the Beatles.

Paul McCartney received a touching birthday tribute from the youngest son of his former songwriting partner, John Lennon.

So Happy Birthday! Thank you for all the beautiful music. So Happy Birthday! Thank you for all the beautiful music. You have mine and the whole world's undying love and respect."

McCartney turned 80 on Saturday (18 June), 11 months after Starr reached the milestone age. To mark the ocassion, Starr tweeted out a photo of himself flashing ...

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. Lennon was killed in 1980, while Harrison died of cancer in 2001.

It's no secret that John Carpenter is a lifelong fan of The Beatles, and now, for Paul McCartney's 80th birthday, he's chosen his favourite song written by ...

There was a particular time in their music, and it’s before Sgt. Pepper. That’s when I fell in love with the Beatles, and Paul’s ballad-y stuff. But I love it, I love the way they arranged it, with the harmony in the background. I was a raving maniac all the way to the end.” At different points, he has mentioned his love of acts such as Tangerine Dream, The Police, Goblin, The Beatles, and Warren Zevon. Much of Carpenter’s aptitude as an artist can be traced back to the fact that before all else, he is a musician, and a brilliant one at that. This sense of atmosphere carries all of his films, and in terms of suspense, he ranks among the finest auteurs such as Alfred Hitchcock and Federico Fellini.