Paul McCartney Launches U.S. Tour In California, Plays “Help!” In Full For First Time Since 1965

Paul McCartney kicked off his 2025 North American tour on Friday night (September 26) with an intimate, surprise show at Santa Barbara Bowl in California. In addition to the scaled down venue featuring only 4,562 lucky fans – instead of the large sports stadiums featured on the rest of his tour – the 83-year-old McCartney treated the crowd to a rendition of the Beatles’ classic “Help!” in full for the first time since 1965, marking a rare revival of the John Lennon-penned song. Paul’s last full performance of the tune was at the Beatles’ Cardiff concert in 1965, with McCartney also playing brief snippets of the song during his 1989/90 tour as part of a medley of Lennon hits. The sold-out, phone-free Santa Barbara show featured a selection of Beatles hits, Wings favorites, solo material, and a virtual duet with Lennon on “I’ve Got a Feeling” featuring footage from the 1969 Beatles Apple Records rooftop performance. McCartney’s tour continues on Monday (September 29) at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California. (Rolling Stone)