Paul McCartney performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City, USA, on 15 December 1989.
It was the 42nd date of the Paul McCartney World Tour, which lasted for 102 dates across 14 countries between September 1989 and July 1990, and the last of four non-consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden.
McCartney’s band was Linda McCartney on vocals, keyboards, and percussion; Hamish Stuart on guitar, bass guitar, and vocals; Robbie McIntosh on guitar and vocals; Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens on keyboards and vocals; and Chris Whitten on drums and percussion.
I’d always wanted to play Madison Square Gardens. When I was crossing over from training as a classical pianist and I started buying rock ‘n’ roll records I used to see ‘Recorded at MSG’ on the sleeves such a lot that when I saw we were going to play there I thought, Brilliant! You dream, you think it’s a pipe dream, then it comes true. At the end of the concert, when I jumped down off the riser to take a bow Robbie gave me a big hug because he knew what it meant to me.
New World Tour book
McCartney had previously performed at Madison Square Garden with Wings on 24 and 25 May 1976. He returned there for The Concert For New York City on 20 October 2001; the Driving World Tour on 26 and 27 April 2002; the US Tour on 30 September, 1, 4, and 5 October 2005; the Concert For Sandy Relief on 12 December 2012; and the One On One Tour on 15 and 17 September 2017.
Concert setlist
- ‘Figure Of Eight’
- ‘Jet’
- ‘Rough Ride’
- ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’
- ‘Band On The Run’
- ‘Ebony And Ivory’
- ‘We Got Married’
- ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’
- ‘The Long And Winding Road’
- ‘The Fool On The Hill’
- ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
- ‘Good Day Sunshine’
- ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’
- ‘Put It There’
- ‘Hello, Goodbye’
- ‘Things We Said Today’
- ‘Eleanor Rigby’
- ‘This One’
- ‘My Brave Face’
- ‘Back In The USSR’
- ‘I Saw Her Standing There’
- ‘Twenty Flight Rock’
- ‘Coming Up’
- ‘Let It Be’
- ‘Ain’t That A Shame’
- ‘Live And Let Die’
- ‘Jingle Bells’ (snippet)
- ‘Hey Jude’
- ‘Yesterday’
- ‘Get Back’
- ‘Golden Slumbers’
- ‘Carry That Weight’
- ‘The End’
Paul McCartney World Tour dates
- 26 September 1989: Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
- 28 September 1989: Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 29 September 1989: Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
- 30 September 1989: Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
- 3 October 1989: Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
- 4 October 1989: Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
- 6 October 1989: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
- 7 October 1989: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
- 9 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
- 10 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
- 11 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
- 16 October 1989: Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
- 17 October 1989: Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
- 20 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
- 21 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
- 22 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
- 24 October 1989: PalaEUR, Rome, Italy
- 26 October 1989: PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy
- 27 October 1989: PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy
- 29 October 1989: Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
- 30 October 1989: Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
- 2 November 1989: Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain
- 3 November 1989: Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain
- 5 November 1989: Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
- 7 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 8 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 10 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 11 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 23 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
- 24 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
- 27 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
- 28 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
- 29 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
- 3 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
- 4 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
- 5 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
- 7 December 1989: SkyDome, Toronto, Canada
- 9 December 1989: Forum, Montreal, Canada
- 11 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
- 12 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
- 14 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
- 15 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
- 2 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 3 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 5 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 6 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 8 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 9 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
- 11 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 13 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 14 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 16 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 17 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 19 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 20 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 21 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 23 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 24 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 26 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
- 1 February 1990: The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA
- 2 February 1990: The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA
- 4 February 1990: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA
- 5 February 1990: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA
- 8 February 1990: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA
- 9 February 1990: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA
- 12 February 1990: Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, USA
- 14 February 1990: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA
- 15 February 1990: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA
- 18 February 1990: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA
- 19 February 1990: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA
- 3 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 5 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 7 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 9 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 11 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 13 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
- 29 March 1990: Kingdome, Seattle, USA
- 31 March 1990: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA
- 1 April 1990: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA
- 4 April 1990: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, USA
- 7 April 1990: Texas Stadium, Irving, USA
- 9 April 1990: Rupp Arena, Lexington, USA
- 12 April 1990: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, USA
- 14 April 1990: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA
- 15 April 1990: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA
- 20 April 1990: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 21 April 1990: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 23 June 1990: SECC Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
- 28 June 1990: King’s Dock, Liverpool, England
- 30 June 1990: Knebworth Festival, England
- 4 July 1990: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA
- 6 July 1990: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA
- 9 July 1990: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA
- 11 July 1990: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA
- 14 July 1990: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA
- 15 July 1990: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA
- 18 July 1990: Cyclone Stadium. Ames, USA
- 20 July 1990: Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, USA
- 22 July 1990: Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, USA
- 24 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA
- 26 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA
- 29 July 1990: Soldier Field, Chicago, USA
Also on this day...
- 1991: George Harrison live: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
- 1979: Wings live: Odeon, Edinburgh
- 1974: George Harrison live: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale
- 1969: Plastic Ono Band live: Lyceum Ballroom, London
- 1969: Mixing, editing: Get Back album
- 1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘War Is Over’ poster campaign is launched
- 1969: Ringo Starr records a charity appeal for BBC radio
- 1966: Recording, mixing: Strawberry Fields Forever
- 1964: US album release: Beatles ’65
- 1963: Television: Thank Your Lucky Stars
- 1962: The Beatles live: Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead
- 1961: The Beatles live: Tower Ballroom, New Brighton, Wallasey
- 1961: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.