Paul McCartney's Glastonbury Festival show was two years late. Fans thought it was worth the wait.
The former Beatle pulled out all the stops — and brought on big-name rock 'n' roll guest stars — for a 2½-hour concert at the southwest England festival on Saturday night.
McCartney was due to play Glastonbury in 2020. That year's festival and the 2021 edition were both scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, at 80, he's the festival's oldest-ever solo headliner.
McCartney and his band treated the huge crowd to Beatles classics like "Get Back," "Hey Jude," "Blackbird" and "Let it Be," along with solo hits including "Live and Let Die" and newer material.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl came on to play "Saw Her Standing There" and "Band on the Run." Then Bruce Springsteen and McCartney — the Boss and the Beatle — dueted on Springsteen's "Glory Days" and the early Lennon-McCartney song "I Wanna Be Your Man."
McCartney paid tribute to Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who died in 2001, by performing the Harrison-penned "Something." Thanks to technology, he sang with footage of John Lennon, murdered in 1980, on "I've Got a Feeling."
"I think I've probably just seen one of the most legendary performances ever," fan Jake Richardson said after the show.
Actor-comedian Steve Coogan, who was also in the crowd, described the experience as "quite overwhelming."
"I don't think there's anyone else in the world who can just give such unadulterated joy to people," he told the BBC.
Glastonbury wraps up Sunday with a headline set by Kendrick Lamar.
Some 200,000 people are attending the four-day festival at Worthy Farm in southwest England, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The 3,000 performers included Billie Eilish, Ziggy Marley, Megan Thee Stallion, Foals, Olivia Rodrigo, Diana Ross, Herbie Hancock and the Pet Shop Boys.
Guests also included environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who made a passionate speech about climate change, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who addressed the festival by video on Friday.
Droga5 Appoints Emma Montgomery As Global Chief Strategy Officer
Creative agency network Droga5 has appointed Emma Montgomery as global chief strategy officer. She is the third global appointment for the agency this year, with Pelle Sjoenell named worldwide chief creative officer this past March, and global CEO Mark Green recently appointed this fall. Montgomery will be responsible for connecting and supercharging Droga5’s strategy and creative offerings globally. She will be based in its headquarters in New York City.
“Emma is a world-class strategic leader and authority that I’ve long admired and dreamt of being partners-in-crime with,” said Sjoenell. “Her work inspires the creativity that connects people and brands in ways that move business and culture forward, so I’m excited to finally be able to work with her alongside Mark, and to see her lead and further strengthen our leadership and strategy teams around the world.”
Montgomery joins Droga5 after serving as CEO of DDB Chicago. She’s been in the industry for over 20 years, and has served in several high-level leadership positions throughout her career, including as president and CSO of Leo Burnett Chicago, global CSO of TBWA, and CEO of Leo Burnett Australia. She’s also worked across a breadth of categories and multiple global clients such as Kraft, Aldi, Diageo and Molson Coors, among many others, including challenger brands and startups.
“I’m excited to join Droga5 and have the opportunity to help carve out a new path for the brand globally, building on its tremendous legacy of creative leadership,” said Montgomery. “The potential of Droga5, combined with the possibilities of Accenture Song, was too exciting to pass up. No other agency has what they have, and as marketing shifts, the chance to make creativity a genuine... Read More