Shameless post about Paul at Glastonbury and how great he is incoming!…
I want to start off by echoing what has been said by the vast majority of us who cannot believe the immense performance that Paul can do at his age. It has to be said because it just isn’t normally done, it feels almost superhuman, and to me, he is.
I was extremely lucky to be in the crowd on Saturday at Glastonbury, wishing I didn’t have a bladder and not being able to feel my legs after standing for 4 hours waiting for his set to start. But it’s Paul, and I would never pee again if it meant I could be at the front, waiting for him to perform.
I was right at the front and we were all jammed in together, literally couldn’t move. A small part of me was scared of the reception he would receive, because last time Paul’s voice was televised was the olympics/golden jubilee, and it was slated. But I was proved totally wrong when Paul started singing. His voice sounded stronger than it had been in a while, and the crowd were so warm and welcoming straight away, the words to ‘can’t buy me love’ just flowing from everyone’s lips as though they were engrained in their hearts. I knew then, the crowd was right there with him, and this would be a special night.
And this is a crowd of mixed ages but predominantly young people, who wouldn’t know some of the wings or solo stuff, but they were grooving right along with the rest of us, and that made me happy they were so respectful of Paul.
There was some surprises in the set list, ‘Juniors Farm’ being one of them that I freaked out when he started playing. One song I never expected to hear live was ’Spite of all the Danger’. At that moment I felt this was something monumental, the staggering history of these songs, Paul and The Beatles’ journey. It was a feeling that was part nostalgia, part keening loss of George and John and the passage of time.
It was also one of the most unexpectedly emotional of Paul’s gigs. When Paul played ’Here Today’ you could hear a pin drop as everyone drank every word Paul was singing, almost as though noise would severe the connection Paul was having with John at that moment. Same thing with ‘I got a feeling’ with John’s voice. When Paul said ‘“It’s like we’re back together again.”’ I was moved but also surprised at his emotional bluntness. Paul was never anyone to let his emotions show, but I can see that has changed now, which is lovely to see.
Let me tell you, I’ve never heard ’Get Back’ and ’Live and Let Die’ played to such an enthusiastic crowd, rocking out to ’Helter Skelter’ like they were at a heavy metal concert, this a song from nearly 50 years ago! It really makes the songs, and for nearly 3 hours, I could not keep the grin from my face.
I started my morning shift on Glastonbury farm after 3 hours sleep, a bounce in my step despite it being 5.30 in the morning. The sun was shining and everyone I spoke to that day were telling me how great Paul had been. I do feel like I’m protective of Paul, which is silly because his legacy is already cemented. But I feel a surge of pride regardless, his performance was a triumph, hailed as maybe the greatest performance ever. Perhaps it is because I feel he only ever deserves love, well he got it from me and thousands of others that night.
