Paul McCartney Gives Historic Show Independence Concert Saturday 14th June 2008

On Saturday 14th June over 350,000 concert goers braved adverse weather conditions as Paul McCartney played the biggest concert in the Ukraine's history. Throughout the day the heavy rain and thunder put a question mark over weather the show would even be able to take place but as soon as Paul McCartney took to the stage at 9:30pm, greeting the crowd in Ukrainian, the skies cleared. He kicked off the two and a half hour concert with ‘Drive My Car' and then performed a show the likes of which Kiev had never seen.

The concert took place in Kiev's historic Independence Square. The crowds filled all the roads surrounding the square and the concert was shown all around the city on screens that were specially put up for this event. The concert was also beamed live to six major cities (Harkiv, Dniepropetrovsk, Sevastopol, Lviv, Donetsk and Odessa) across the Ukraine where over 195,000 people came out to watch the show. The show was also broadcast live on Ukraine TV. It's estimated that the total amount of people that watched the Independence Concert in the Ukraine was more than 10 million.

Paul and his band played 33 songs including some of the world's most popular hits that have become the soundtrack to so many people's lives. Paul played hits by The Beatles including ‘All My Loving', ‘The Long And Winding Road', ‘Good Day Sunshine' and ‘Hey Jude'. He played Wings hits such as ‘Jet', ‘My Love' and ‘Band On The Run' and solo songs including ‘Flaming Pie' and his most recent hit single ‘Dance Tonight'. Show highlights included a version of the Wings track ‘Mrs. Vanderbilt', which fans had petitioned for Paul to play and of course a storming version of ‘Back In The USSR'. The audience spanned generations and sang along with every word, the massive crowd made an overwhelming sound when they joined in with Paul on ‘Hey Jude' and the elaborate stage featured some of the biggest screens ever used for an outdoor show as well as lasers and fireworks.

After the audience had thought the show was over, Paul returned to the stage waving a Ukrainian flag before ending the night with an emotional performance of ‘Yesterday' and rocked up ‘Sgt. Peppers'.

Throughout the day Paul spent time meeting locals and fans that had waited over 40 years for their hero to come to this part of the world. He was given a special performance by a choir of children that perform Beatles songs and presented with a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument, the kobza, by the Ukrainian Beatles fanclub.

This unique and free concert for the people of Ukraine was organised by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. Paul McCartney and Victor Pinchuk announced the show back in April of this year.

After the show Paul McCartney said: "We came to Kiev to play and have a good time and show the people of Ukraine a good time. We did it and it felt great. When you've got all that thunder, lightning and rain, there's nothing you can do about it. The weather was in the lap of the gods but I believed it would be good. Once we got on stage the rain stopped, the umbrellas came down and we had a great show. In a way the rain made it all a bit more dramatic.

You get a big feedback from most audiences but in the Eastern block there's the fact that they've never had something like this before, they've never had one of The Beatles in their country singing. For many people the music of The Beatles means freedom as once they were not allowed to listen to it, it was punishable, you got in trouble for it, so it means much more to them. It's symbolic of the freedom and happiness that has happened since glasnost. So it's great and you really feed off it."

Victor Pinchuk said, "Today the dream of millions became a reality. It was really important that the people of Ukraine should get to hear these great songs here in their own country. All the Ukraine spoke one language. A language of peace, love and freedom. Today we were all together."

SETLIST:

Drive My Car
Jet
All My Loving
Only Mama Knows
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It

C Moon
My Love
Let Em In
The Long And Winding Road

Dance Tonight
Blackbird
Calico Skies
Follow The Sun
Mrs Vanderbilt
Elarnor Rigby
Something

Good Day Sunshine
Penny Lane
Band On The Run
Birthday
Back In The USSR
I Got A Feeling

Live And Let Die
Let It Be
Hey Jude

Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance
Lady Madonna
Get Back
I Saw Her Standing There

Yesterday
Sgt. Peppers