Watch Paul McCartney Play ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ for First Time in 51 Years
Macca performed two Beatles songs he hadn’t played in more than 50 years on Wednesday night.
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
The first night of Paul McCartney's One on One Tour opened up with a historical moment: Macca performed the Beatles hit "A Hard Day's Night" for the first time in 51 years and the first time ever during his solo career.
Sir Paul played that and 37 other songs for a sold-out crowd Wednesday evening at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. Along with the classic title track to the Fab Four's first feature-length film, McCartney also played their first single and No. 1 hit “Love Me Do” for the inaugural time during his solo career (and the first time since 1963).
According to Rolling Stone, McCartney last sang “A Hard Day’s Night” during a Beatles concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif., on Aug. 31, 1965. (Macca briefly belted out the song during his 2002 Super Bowl haltime show performance, but we won’t count that.)
The original studio recording of “A Hard Day’s Night” featured lead vocals from John Lennon on the verses, with McCartney singing only the middle-eight section. The hit was credited to the oft-used Lennon—McCartney partnership.