Miscellaneous questions about Paul McCartney | Page 7 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

In front of a crowd of just 300, Paul plays his historic concert at the new Cavern Club in Mathew Street, Liverpool. He comments: “I can’t think of a better way to end the century than with a party at The Cavern, singing the songs of my heroes.” Fans are naturally desperate to witness the show. “Women have been blatantly accosting me in the (Cavern) club,” says an exasperated Billy Heckle, the Cavern Club’s co-manager. “They’ve been trying to bribe me with their bodies. I’ve been repeatedly offered sex in exchange for a ticket!” Many people are, naturally, disappointed that they can’t get in, none more so than The Beatles’ former manager, Allan Williams, who blasts: “I can’t believe they’re not letting me in there tonight. If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Beatles!” (In fact, Williams was intoxicated at the time of the concert.)

Paul arrived in Liverpool this afternoon at Speke airport at around 2pm. His flight was delayed 45 minutes before it arrived at Speke. On his arrival, after giving a couple of autographs and a quick chat with the Liverpool Echo, he quickly transferred to his Jaguar car, which was escorted by half a dozen policemen to the rear of The Cavern where he was driven into the completely sealed off parking area, situated under the Cavern Walks complex. Paul entered The Cavern Club via its emergency doors at the back. Afterwards Paul and his band held a two-hour rehearsal.

The press entered the building at 4pm and, at 5pm, Paul held the short press conference, which turned out to be just a small statement and photo call. When Paul arrived on the tiny stage, he kissed the “wall of fame” behind him. The statement he read to the press was as follows: “I just want to say that it’s fantastic to be back at The Cavern. What better place to rock out the century? This is where it all began and, for me, the century is going to end with playing rock’n’roll. You’ll remember that before The Beatles were The Beatles, they were a fabulous little rock’n’roll band, which is what held us together for so long and made us so good. I think. And I’m back here because I love Liverpool and I’m playing the music I love best in the city I love most. There is no more fantastic place to rock out the century.”

Following the conference, Paul sneaked out to a nearby hotel where he was reunited with his local family for a private cup of tea and to record an exclusive interview for a BBC Radio Two special to be broadcast later this evening.

For the 45-minute evening show, which began just after 8pm, Paul’s band, as expected, consists of the following: David Gilmour, Mick Green (guitars), Pete Wingfield (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums) and Chris Hall (accordion). They perform the following songs: ‘Honey Hush’, ‘Blue Jean Bop’, ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’, ‘Fabulous’ (with a false start), ‘What It Is’, ‘Lonesome Town’, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, ‘No Other Baby’, ‘Try Not To Cry’, ‘Shake A Hand’, ‘All Shook Up’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There ‘ and ‘Party’. Paul leaves the tiny Cavern stage saying: “See you next time …”

VIPs in attendance include, amongst others, the Apple boss, Neil Aspinall, the old Cavern Club boss, Ray McFall, the old Cavern Club DJ, Billy Butler and Bob Wooler. Paul’s immediate family is also present.

A large outdoor screen in Chavasse Park, near the Albert Dock, in Liverpool, is erected so approximately 12,000 people can also watch the show live in the freezing cold. Paul had rented the park.

After the concert, Paul, his band and friends, go to the nearby Sports Bar, Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s, which is owned by Cavern City Tours. While there, Paul signs an authentic copy of his Hofner violin bass guitar, scribbling: “Cool Cavern! Cheers. Paul McCartney Dec 14. ’99” on the scratch plate. Paul leaves the Sports Bar through a private corridor, around midnight.

Media transmission notes for the Cavern Club gig: for the Radio 2 broadcast (transmitted between 10:31 and 12:01am on the night of the concert), hosted by Richard Allinson and recorded in a BBC van parked in nearby Harrington Street, ‘Shake A Hand’ is omitted and for the first television transmission, on BBC1, the following night, Wednesday December 15, between 11:15 and 11:55pm, both ‘Blue Jean Bop’ and ‘Try Not To Cry’ are cut. The show is transmitted in Canada on Much More Music on Thursday December 16 and Saturday December 18, 1999, with all 13 songs. The first television repeat of The Cavern gig takes place on Saturday January 15 with further screenings taking place on Friday May 5, 2000, Thursday August 10, 2000 and December 2000, while further radio broadcasts of The Cavern gig occur on Thursday January 20, 2000 (see all entries). The very first television clip of Paul’s Cavern gig, ‘Honey Hush’, actually appears on Sky News when they air a brief segment live, perhaps accidentally, during a report on the concert.

The show is also broadcast live on the Internet worldwide, on MCY.com, which features an exclusive introduction by Paul, who remarks: “This is going to be a thrilling and emotional night for me and it’s fantastic that fans around the world can log on to the gig and party with us.” But, because of the limitations, it is nearly impossible to get online. Ninety minutes before the start of the show, the system is already jammed to anyone trying to log on. Later, about 30 minutes after the concert has ended, EMI and MSN originally plan to make the programme available for “on demand” viewing for the following fifteen hours. But, due to the extraordinary interest in the webcast, the host MCY.com ends up re-broadcasting the concert until Sunday December 19. (Also see entries for Friday December 24 and June 30, 2000.)