World Premiere
Southport Theatre & Convention Centre - 21st January
2017
This new stage show
stars Emanuele Angeletti, from the hit stage show “Let it be”, as Paul, with
Jill Schoonjans playing Linda.
The first half of the show
takes us back to the Wings 1976 World Tour, kicking off as it did then with
“Venus and Mars/Rock Show”. Dressed as Paul was on
that tour, the vocals and musicianship are great and take you back to that
time, if you were lucky to see it, like I was. If you weren’t in the
audience during that tour, it gives you a great insight into what Wings were
all about, at what was probably their peak.
Some of the songs are
shortened versions, so that more great songs can be included, but in this first
half we are treated to “Too Many People” and “Another Day”, both songs from the
70’s but which didn’t feature on that 1976 tour. This adds to the
pleasure experienced during the show.
Emanuele looks and
sounds like Paul and has many of his mannerisms, making it seem like you are at
a Paul McCartney gig. Denny Laine is
represented with a great rendition of “Go Now”, and the acoustic section
features “Yesterday”.
The second half of the
show focuses on the post 1970’s part of Paul’s career, featuring a number of
songs that Paul has yet to play live including “Pipes of Peace”, “No More
Lonely Nights” and “Ebony and Ivory”. Jill covers the Michael
Jackson part of “Say Say Say” superbly, giving a fresh look to the song.
One of the highlights
for me was the inclusion of “Hope of Deliverance”, a lesser known song but one
that sounds great when performed live. We have a few Beatle
numbers too such as “Got to Get You into my Life”, before the band take their
leave of the stage before the inevitable encore. “I Saw Her Standing
There” had everyone up and dancing in the aisles. The encore has a few
surprises including “Mull of Kintyre” and “Dance Tonight” before we finish with
a shortened version of “Hey Jude”.
All in all an excellent
show, which Paul fans who love Wings and his concerts of today will thoroughly
enjoy.
The show brings
together a great selection of Paul’s post Beatles work making you realise what
a great catalogue he has.
It is touring the UK
for the next three months so watch out for it in a town near you.
Enjoy.
~ Ernie
Sutton.
Just have to put you straight on Ebony and Ivory. It was performed live in 1989 ( and 90, I think). Paul pulled it from the set because critics kept singling it out for criticism. It was a shame, ad it was performed as a duet with Hamish Stewart, and was a highlight for me.
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