During the opening night of Paul McCartney’s ‘Got Back’ Tour the rock legend debuted a live rendition of the newest track from The Beatles, ‘Now and Then’.
McCartney played ‘Now and Then’ during his set at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay on October 1.
The show in Uruguay kickstarted the return of McCartney on the stage which will see him perform across South America, the United Kingdom and Europe in the upcoming months.
It was rumoured McCartney would potentially be performing ‘Now and Then’ after many fans took to social media to share their excitement over hearing McCartney perform the track during soundcheck for the show.
Paul McCartney Now And Then Soundcheck at Centenario Stadium, Montevideo Uruguay September 30 2024 pic.twitter.com/ok9AkqPuOe
— DIÁRIO DOS BEATLES (@Diario_Beatles) October 1, 2024
‘Now and Then’ was released in November 2023, as the ‘final’ song from The Beatles. To many fans surprise, the track was completed with the assistance of AI technology and even featured contributions from all of the Liverpudlian four-piece. It was the last track to feature all members: McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison.
‘Now and Then’ originated as a ballad written and recorded by Lennon in 1977. It remained as an unfinished solo home demo. Due to production difficulties the track was shelved for almost three decades until it was completed by McCartney and Starr, featuring additional lyrics from McCartney, guitar contributions from Harrison from an abandoned session in 1995 and vocals by Lennon extracted from the original demo commissioned by Peter Jackson for The Beatles: Get Back, his 2021 documentary.
McCartney’s performance of ‘Now and Then’ suggests the legacy of The Beatles continues to live on, having a fond and prominent place in McCartney’s heart.
The performance of the track appeared as the 19th song in the immense 37-track setlist. Seen as a worthy finale for The Beatles, ‘Now and Then’ appeared after ‘Here Today’, a tribute to Lennon alongside footage from the single’s music video.
This gesture from McCartney honours the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership that was prominent in The Beatles.
McCartney’s ‘Got Back’ tour highlights the musical legend’s finest contributions to the music industry, including popular hits from The Beatles, Wings and McCartney’s solo catalogue.
Paul McCartney’s Uruguay setlist:
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (The Beatles)
‘Junior’s Farm’ (Wings)
‘Letting Go’ (Wings)
‘She’s a Woman’ (The Beatles)
‘Get to Get You Into My Life’ (The Beatles)
‘Come On to Me’
‘Let Me Roll It’ (Wings)
‘Getting Better’ (The Beatles)
‘Let ‘Em In’ (Wings)
‘My Valentine’
‘Nineteen Hundred and Eight-Five’ (Wings)
‘Maybe I’m Amazed’
‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ (The Beatles)
‘In Spite of All the Danger’ (The Quarrymen)
‘Love Me Do’ (The Beatles)
‘Dance Tonight’
‘Blackbird’ (The Beatles)
‘Here Today’
‘Now and Then’ (The Beatles)
‘New’
‘Lady Madonna’ (The Beatles)
‘Jet’ (Wings)
‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’ (The Beatles)
‘Something’ (The Beatles)
‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ (The Beatles)
‘Band on the Run’ (Wings)
‘Get Back’ (The Beatles)
‘Let It Be’ (The Beatles)
‘Live and Let Die’ (Wings)
‘Hey Jude’ (The Beatles)
‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ (The Beatles)
‘Birthday” (The Beatles)
‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)’ (The Beatles)
‘Helter Skelter’ (The Beatles)
‘Golden Slumbers’ (The Beatles)
‘Carry That Weight’ (The Beatles)
‘The End’ (The Beatles)
