The Paul McCartney World Tour


The Paul McCartney World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Paul McCartney, notable for being McCartney's first tour under his own name, and for the monumental painted stage sets by artist Brian Clarke. The 103-gig tour, which ran from 1989 through 1990, included a concert played to what was then the largest stadium crowd in the history of rock and roll.

Tour

The tour was Paul McCartney's first world tour under his own name; it was also his first major tour outing in ten years, following the Wings UK Tour 1979, and his first world tour since the 1976 Wings Over the World Tour
, both also with Linda McCartney.
While the tour coincided with the release of the solo album Flowers in the Dirt, and promoted that record by inclusion of its songs in the set list, the Paul McCartney World Tour has been characterised as thematically more about him embracing his Beatles past; for the first time in any of his tours, a substantial number of Beatles songs were featured in the set list.
The tour was documented by the 1990 live albums Tripping the Live Fantastic and Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!, and the 1991 concert film Get Back. A one-hour tour documentary was also aired on Channel 4 in the UK, titled From Rio to Liverpool.

Set designs

The sets for the tour were designed by regular McCartney collaborator, the artist Brian Clarke, who together with Linda McCartney created the album cover for Flowers in the Dirt. The hand-painted stage set backdrops, notable for their scale, were executed under Clarke’s supervision by the scenic painters Elms Lesters, at the Los Angeles Painting Rooms. The scale designs for the tour, individual artworks by Clarke in acrylic and paper collage on Velin, were first publicly exhibited in 1990, at the Mayor Gallery in London. Elements from the sets appear as the graphic basis of much of the promotional material.

Tour booklet

Concert attendees received, free of additional charge, a lavish 9x12-inch 98-me page booklet, containing the tour itinerary, lengthy profiles of the band members, descriptions of the tour's stage and logistics, and an extended description of Friends of the Earth's mission. Two-thirds of the booklet consisted of McCartney's reflections upon his life and career, illustrated by many photographs.

Set list

The following set list is obtained from the September 28, 1989 concert in Scandinavium, Gothenburg. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.
  1. "Figure of Eight"
  2. "Jet"
  3. "Rough Ride"
  4. "Got to Get You into My Life"
  5. "Band on the Run"
  6. "Ebony and Ivory"
  7. "We Got Married"
  8. "Maybe I'm Amazed"
  9. "The Long and Winding Road"
  10. "The Fool on the Hill"
  11. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
  12. "Good Day Sunshine"
  13. "Can't Buy Me Love"
  14. "Put It There"
  15. "Things We Said Today"
  16. "Eleanor Rigby"
  17. "This One"
  18. "My Brave Face"
  19. "Back in the U.S.S.R."
  20. "I Saw Her Standing There"
  21. "Twenty Flight Rock"
  22. "Coming Up"
  23. "Let It Be"
  24. "Ain't That a Shame"
  25. "Live and Let Die"
  26. "Hey Jude"
;Encore
  2. "Yesterday"
  3. "Get Back"
  4. "Golden Slumbers"
  5. "Carry That Weight"
  6. "[The End (The The Beatles|Beatles song)|The End]"

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenue
2 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
3 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
5 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
6 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
8 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
9 JanuaryBirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre
11 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
13 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
14 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
16 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
17 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
19 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
20 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
21 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
23 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
24 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
26 JanuaryLondonEnglandWembley Arena
1 FebruaryAuburn HillsUnited StatesThe Palace of Auburn Hills
2 FebruaryAuburn HillsUnited StatesThe Palace of Auburn Hills
4 FebruaryPittsburghUnited StatesCivic Arena
5 FebruaryPittsburghUnited StatesCivic Arena
8 FebruaryWorcesterUnited StatesWorcester Centrum
9 FebruaryWorcesterUnited StatesWorcester Centrum
12 FebruaryCincinnatiUnited StatesRiverfront Coliseum
14 FebruaryIndianapolisUnited StatesMarket Square Arena
15 FebruaryIndianapolisUnited StatesMarket Square Arena
18 FebruaryAtlantaUnited StatesThe Omni
19 FebruaryAtlantaUnited StatesThe Omni
3 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
5 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
7 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
9 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
11 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
13 MarchTokyoJapanTokyo Dome
29 MarchSeattleUnited StatesKingdome
31 MarchBerkeleyUnited StatesCalifornia Memorial Stadium
1 AprilBerkeleyUnited StatesCalifornia Memorial Stadium
4 AprilTempeUnited StatesSun Devil Stadium
7 AprilIrvingUnited StatesTexas Stadium
9 AprilLexingtonUnited StatesRupp Arena
12 AprilTampaUnited StatesTampa Stadium
14 AprilMiami GardensUnited StatesJoe Robbie Stadium
15 AprilMiami GardensUnited StatesJoe Robbie Stadium
20 AprilRio de JaneiroBrazilMaracanã Stadium
21 AprilRio de JaneiroBrazilMaracanã Stadium
23 JuneGlasgowScotlandS.E.C.C. Arena
28 JuneLiverpoolEnglandKing's Dock
30 JuneStevenageEnglandKnebworth Park
4 JulyWashington, D.C.United StatesRFK Stadium
6 JulyWashington, D.C.United StatesRFK Stadium
9 JulyEast RutherfordUnited StatesGiants Stadium
11 JulyEast RutherfordUnited StatesGiants Stadium
14 JulyPhiladelphiaUnited StatesVeterans Stadium
15 JulyPhiladelphiaUnited StatesVeterans Stadium
18 JulyAmesUnited StatesCyclone Stadium
20 JulyClevelandUnited StatesCleveland Stadium
22 JulyRaleighUnited StatesCarter–Finley Stadium
24 JulyFoxboroughUnited StatesFoxboro Stadium
26 JulyFoxboroughUnited StatesFoxboro Stadium
29 JulyChicagoUnited StatesSoldier Field
--United States-

Personnel