Behind the scenes footage of Paul at recent gigs has been releasedDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
16:28, 27 Sep 2025
Paul McCartney performing on stage in 2018(Image: Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
As one of the biggest stars in the world, Paul McCartney is used to playing in front of stadium and arena audiences. But earlier this year the former Beatle played three more intimate gigs at the Bowery Ball Room in New York City, which holds around 600 people.
The gigs were a surprise and the first, on February 11, was announced on Paul’s social media just before it began, sending New Yorkers sprinting to the venue for a chance of securing one of around 575 tickets. No tickets were sold online and fans had to pick them up at the box office on a first-come, first-served basis. All were taken in half an hour.
Paul arrived on stage roughly on time at 6.30pm Eastern Time with his regular band, along with a three-member horn section. They had only rehearsed once, the day before, Paul said. An audience member shouted: “You don’t need to rehearse!”
He began with Beatles classic ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and also performed ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’, ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Jet’, ‘Get Back’, ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’, ‘Let it Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’. On stage, Paul said: “So, here we are, some little gig. New York. Why not?”
Before launching into ‘Let Me Roll It’, he said: “I can’t quite believe we’re here, doing this. But we are here, doing this”.
Before playing the Wings song ‘Mrs Vanderbilt’, Paul spoke of playing it in front of 350,000 people in Kyiv, when Ukraine was exuberant with a newfound freedom. “Let’s hope it gets back to that soon”, he said.
People gather outside the Bowery Ballroom where Paul McCartney’s surprise show was held in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025(Image: AP Photo/Jake Coyle)
He also performed the so-called last Beatles song, ‘Now and Then’, a ballad written by John in the late 1970s but only released in 2023 with the help of some of the technology used in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary, ‘The Beatles: Get Back’.
The song made Paul wistful for his songwriting partner, whom he noted loved New York. “Let’s hear it for John”, he said.
Paul then played two more shows at the venue over the next two nights, with the same ticketing process involved. The shows at the Bowery were the subject of Paul’s latest tour diary, released on YouTube this week.
It showed the rush for tickets as some fans camped out before the concerts. There were emotional scenes and some fans were in tears after securing their tickets.
The video also showed some of the behind the scenes footage, before Paul and his band walked out onto the stage each night.
After the first gig, Paul said: “Lovely being back in New York City, great crowd, lots of young kids – we love them. Reminds me of the old days.”
In the video, he also spoke about his delight that tickets were priced at $50 and were only available in person, saying this would cut out scalpers.
Paul was very impressed with the atmosphere at the small-scale gigs, delivering his verdict on the run of shows after the final night. He said: “Beautiful, loved it, really. Take me back to the Cavern, baby.”
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