Paul McCartney has kicked off his Got Back tour in Uruguay, with plans to tour South America before heading to Europe in December. Last night, during the tour's opening night at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, the legendary musician performed 'Now And Then' live for the first time. This track was released in November 2023 as the final song from the iconic Liverpool quartet—the last track to feature McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
Check out some of the footage from last night's performance: And another angle: 'Now And Then' originates from the same collection of unreleased demos penned by the late John Lennon. These demos were previously used to create the songs 'Free As a Bird' and 'Real Love' in the mid-1990s. McCartney, Starr, and Harrison initially worked on 'Now And Then' during the same sessions, but technological constraints hindered its completion. However, in 2022, the duo was able to employ the same technical restoration methods used in director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, The Beatles: Get Back. With the aid of AI, they successfully isolated Lennon's voice from the original cassette and finalized 'Now And Then'.
The song features guitar recorded by Harrison nearly three decades ago, a new drum part by Starr, along with McCartney's bass, piano, and a slide guitar solo dedicated to Harrison, who passed away in 2001. McCartney and Starr provided backup vocals. Last night in Uruguay, the song was part of a 37-track setlist that included The Beatles' hits, as well as songs from Wings and McCartney’s solo career.
Here’s the full setlist for those curious about what might be played during the European leg of McCartney’s tour: 'A Hard Day’s Night', 'Junior’s Farm', 'Letting Go', 'She’s a Woman', 'Got to Get You Into My Life', 'Come On to Me', 'Let Me Roll It', 'Getting Better', 'Let ‘Em In', 'My Valentine', 'Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five', 'Maybe I’m Amazed', 'I’ve Just Seen a Face', 'In Spite of All the Danger', 'Love Me Do', 'Dance Tonight', 'Blackbird', 'Here Today', 'Now And Then' (live debut), 'New', 'Lady Madonna', 'Jet', 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!', 'Something', 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Band on the Run', 'Get Back', 'Let It Be', 'Live and Let Die', 'Hey Jude', 'I’ve Got a Feeling', 'Birthday', 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)', 'Helter Skelter', 'Golden Slumbers', 'Carry That Weight', 'The End'. McCartney is set to perform in Europe in December.
