Paul McCartney wrapped up 2023 with a visit to Brazil as part of his Got Back Tour. Now, the former Beatles star has posted a video on his YouTube channel featuring highlights from the trek, which included nine concerts in five major Brazilian cities.
Videos by American Songwriter
The presentation includes footage from all of the stops on the tour, which kicked off November 28 with a surprise club show in Brasilia and wound down December 16 in Rio de Janeiro.
The video features clips of McCartney and his band performing at various shows, as well as backstage, and screaming fans cheering for the rock legend outside and inside of some of the venues.
Near the beginning of the video, we see McCartney looking at a plaque honoring him for selling more than 2 million tickets in the country, prompting him to exclaim, “Whoa, Brazil!”
Then, in a voice-over, McCartney says, “When people ask me, ‘Why do you still do it?’ It’s ’cause of the crowds,” as we see fans yelling and cheering for him in various places. One fan apparently waiting in line to attend a show explains that she learned English by listening to McCartney’s songs.”
McCartney’s Love of Brazil and the Fans
Later in the video, we hear McCartney reflecting on the tour and the enthusiastic Brazilian fans.
“Brazil has been fantastic. It’s a beautiful nation,” he says. “When you go on stage with an audience like that, the feedback you get, it’s like meeting a dear friend in the street you haven’t seen for a long time… But it’s that 40,000 times over!”
He adds, “Brazil, the people, yeah, they love to dance, they love to sing. For us, it’s been brilliant just coming and performing for all of those crowds.”
McCartney also noted that he was surprised at how young many of the fans who attended the shows were.
“I kind of half expect everyone to be about my age,” he mused. “That’s brilliant, just to see … people singing along [to the songs], little kids singing along. They know the words better than I do. It’s really beautiful, and they have made it a complete joy, so we have had a Brazilian blast!”
Songs Featured in the Video
The video also includes snippets of McCartney and his group performing various Beatles songs and tunes from his solo career. Among them are “Got to Get You into My Life,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Helter Skelter,” “Getting Better,” “Here Today,” and “Letting Go.”
There’s also a clip of McCartney and his bandmates backstage harmonizing on “Let It Be.”
Near the end of the video, McCartney is shown at the Rio de Janeiro concert leading fans in a sing-along of “Hey Jude,” as thousands of fans hold up signs that say, “Na Na.”
McCartney currently has no concerts scheduled for 2024.
Photo: MJ Kim
