Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” documentary got an unexpected sequel moment Thursday on the opening night of Paul McCartney‘s “Got Back” tour, when Macca duetted with a video of John Lennon on the Beatles’ classic “I’ve Got a Feeling.”
The homage took place in Spokane, Washington, where video footage shows McCartney and his longtime band performing the song as the crowd erupts when Lennon’s image appears on the video screen. Such video duets have become common at recent concerts, although they’re usually deployed for things like guest raps and moments like Elton John and Dua Lipa’s recent duet on “Cold Heart.” However, this creative use of the tactic is a new peak.
McCartney revealed that Jackson had isolated the vocals after getting the idea of having Lennon “sing” along with the live band, as reported by Rolling Stone.
“We can extract John’s voice, and he can sing with you,” McCartney recalls Jackson texting him, to which the Beatle replied: “Oh, yeah!”
McCartney, who has impressively mixed up his setlists during his recent years of touring. led the arena through a variety of hits from the Beatles, Wings, and his solo hits. As he has in the past, he dedicated “Here Today” to Lennon, and told the crowd that he lamented the fact that he hadn’t “properly told [Lennon] he loved him while he had the chance.”
McCartney also paid tribute to the late George Harrison, using a ukelele that Harrison had given him to play the late singer’s “Something.”
“Well, we said we’d come back, and we got back,” the singer told his audience at the Spokane Arena. “And believe me,” he continued, “We’re really happy to be back. I’m gonna take a moment for myself to drink it all in.”
McCartney last toured in 2019 and had plans for a 2020 European run that were eventually tossed due to the pandemic. During that time he recorded the solo LP “McCartney III,” playing every instrument and recording everything on his own — and followed with a new take on the album featuring a galaxy of guest vocalists including Beck, Phoebe Bridgers and many more.
