Paul McCartney announces a set of UK and European live shows as part of his 'Out There' tour, including The O2 Arena in May, plus shows in Birmingham, Liverpool and a headline slot at Roskilde Festival in Denmark in July - full set of dates below.
The O2 Arena on May 23rd coincides with the 50th anniversary of 'Yesterday', to which Paul says, "I'm often never aware of these anniversaries until someone points it out. People always say to me 'hey, did you know it was 30 years since this and 30 years since that', so it's impossible to stay on top of it all. But I never need an excuse to celebrate so it's always nice to hear! For me it's a happy coincidence that The O2 show falls at this time. It's great that people all over the world reacted so well to the song, it's all you can hope for! It feels like it has taken on a life of its own over the years. The song still is and always has been an important part of our live show. It's always very emotional for me to hear crowds singing it so loudly at my concerts and I'm looking forward to singing it along with the audience at the O2 in May."
Paul McCartney to bring his 'Out There' tour to Europe in 2015
First shows in the UK for three years
Saturday May 23rd – The O2, London, Great Britain
Wednesday May 27th – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain
Thursday May 28th – Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain
Friday 5th June - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
Sunday 7th June – ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
Thursday 11th June - Stade De France, Paris, France
Saturday 4th July – Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Tuesday 7th July – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Thursday 9th July – Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Tickets on sale Monday 9th March at 10am
In the first 18 months since its launch, Paul's incredible 'Out There' tour has been seen by almost two million people around the world. So far, this tour has seen Paul and his band perform a total of 64 shows in 12 different countries in venues of all different shapes and sizes.
Now, Paul announces plans to come back to Europe this year for nine special dates in places he's not yet visited with his current tour. The shows will include his first concerts in the UK since 2012's special Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall. Paul will return to France for two concerts for the first time since being awarded France's highest award, the Legion of Honour, in 2012 for services to music. The last time that Paul visited the Dutch capital of Amsterdam was when he toured with Wings in 1972. In July the tour will see Paul and his band at their first European festival in five years with a headlining slot at Denmark's Roskilde. The show in Norway, Oslo sees him returning after last playing there as part of 2004's 'O4 Summer Tour' and his show in Stockholm will be his first there since 2011's 'On The Run' tour.
These new shows will mark the second time the 'Out There' tour has come to Europe since June 2013 when Paul performed in Poland, Italy and Austria.
Talking about playing shows in the UK Paul said: "It's always great when you get to play in your home country. It's been a little while since I've performed here so we're planning a few surprises and looking forward to playing some songs we've never played here. We've taken this tour all over the world but there's nothing quite like rocking out with your home audience. We'll see you soon."
Tickets for the UK shows go on sale Monday 9th March. Tickets available here.
Tickets available here.