The Daily Howl: Paul starts and ends Live 8

Paul starts and ends Live 8
Sir Paul McCartney Starts and Ends Live 8 Paul McCartney (photo by Ros O'Gorman) Related Content: at Live Aid by Paul Cashmere 3 July 2005 The Live 8 concert was kicked off with Sir Paul McCartney performing a Beatles classic. The event ended the same way.McCartney joined U2 for an incredible version of his Beatles classic 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band'. 10 hours later, the event concluded in London with a brilliant set of Beatles standards again performed by Sir Paul McCartney. McCartney's finale kicked off with the Beatles rocker 'Get Back'. He was then joined by George Michael for the Rubber Soul track 'Drive My Car' before slamming the event into total rock with the acid-tinged 'Helter Skelter'. It concluded with 'The Long and Winding Road' followed by the outro from 'Hey Jude' with the London performers. This was a performance which endorsed McCartney's reputation as the greatest songwriter of a generation. "I'm honored that they would want my songs for such a noble cause but that is the power of The Beatles" he says in a posting at his official website. "What we did in The Beatles really overtook us and our intentions. When it is remembered and loved that way, you can only appreciate that something mighty has happened way beyond anything we get out to do. I think the same thing is happening with Live 8 now. The idea is overtaking us". McCartney also reconfirmed Geldof's intentions about the concert. "This is not a fund raiser" he says. "It is about speaking out on behalf of the African people being born this very moment into eternal debt. There is no way they can get out of it on their own. All we are trying to do is get that debt excused. It is a little amount to us but everything to them". The McCartney and U2 version of 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' and the closing version of 'The Long and Winding Road' are now available for download via iTunes from the www.live8live.com site.

Posted by Robin at 11:56 AM