Paul McCartney just played this Beatles classic in full for the first time since 1965

30 September 2025, 09:21

Paul McCartney and The Beatles. Picture: Alamy

By Mayer Nissim

He last played it when he was younger (so much younger than today).

Loading audio...

In the first years after the break-up of The Beatles, Paul McCartney shied away from playing the Fab Four's songs in concerts.

He focused on his solo material and Wings hits until 1975, when he started playing his old band's music once again.

Since then he's been happy to pick from anything in his remarkable back catalogue,

He's occasionally played songs primarily written by bandmates George Harrison or John Lennon, usually as a tribute to his departed friends.

So over the years he's played songs like John's 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite!', or George's 'Something'.

Paul McCartney - John Lennon Medley (1990 Stereo Remaster)

In recent years he's even added a video duet of Lennon's 'I've Got A Feeling' to his setlist that includes footage of his late bandmate.

But when it comes to The Beatles' music he understandably focused on the songs he was the primary writer of, which means there's many Lennon-McCartney hits he's rarely or never played.

In 1990 he performed snippets of three Lennon-penned songs – 'Strawberry Fields Forever', 'Help!' and 'Give Peace a Chance' – as a medley – but he'd never played 'Help!' in full. Until last week.

At the Santa Barbra Bowl in California on Friday night, Macca actually opened his career-spanning 26-song set with 'Help!'.

Paul McCartney Help Live Palm Desert 9/29/25

It was the first time he's played the whole song in public since The Beatles included it on their set list when they played the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff on December 12, 1965.

And it wasn't a one off.

Across state last night (September 29) at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Sir Paul opened his set with the song once more, this time playing his recently found, long lost Höfner bass that was stolen in 1972.

McCartney is currently on the eighth leg of his Got Back tour, which is due to wrap in November in Chicago. He's been hotly tipped to release a new album and go back on the road in the UK in 2026, but nothing has yet been confirmed.