Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to the late John Lennon by performing Beatles hit Help for the first time in almost four decades amid his US tour in California on Friday.
The music icon, 83, who wrote the track alongside Lennon in 1965, included a whole host of the band’s songs in his setlist, with Help featuring for the first time since way back in 1990.
McCartney took to the stage for a one-off show at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Palm Desert ahead of the North American leg of his Got Back tour kicking off on Monday.
The Beatles legend also performed a string of the other band’s hits including Hey Jude, Let It Be and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Lennon was tragically shot dead at the age of 40 by fan Mark Chapman outside his home in New York City in 1980.
He had left the Beatles in 1969 and in 1970 the split hit headlines when McCartney announced publicly that he was no longer working with the group.
Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to the late John Lennon by performing Beatles hit Help for the first time in almost four decades amid his US tour in California on Friday (Pictured in February)
The icon, who wrote the track alongside Lennon in 1965, sang Help for the first time since way back in 1990 (L-R Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison 1963)
The late musician would go on to become embroiled in legal battles over the band’s back catalogue which caused tension between him, his wife and former song-writing partner.
Back in 2022 McCartney projected documentary footage of his late bandmate as he took to stage at Spokane Arena, Washington.
He projected footage of the late Lennon behind him and ‘duetted’ with his bandmate for a touching rendition of I’ve Got A Feeling.
A touching photograph of the incredible moment showed he performed on stage as Lennon sang and played the guitar on a huge screen behind him.
The footage was taken from Peter Jackson’s Disney+ documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which aired in November 2021 and followed the making of the band’s 1970 album Let It Be.
McCartney told the crowds: ‘Peter Jackson said, “I can pull John’s voice out if you’d like me to”.’
Earlier this year the cast for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics have been announced, with four huge names set to take on the roles of the Fab Four.
At CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas, Sony confirmed the cast for the four Beatles projects following a sea of speculation, with all four films set to be released in April 2028.
McCartney took to the stage for a one-off show at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Palm Desert ahead of the North American leg of his Got Back tour kicking off on Monday (pictured 2024)
Back in 2022 McCartney projected documentary footage of his late bandmate as he took to stage at Spokane Arena, Washington
Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal will play McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play Lennon, Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison in the films about The Fab Four.
Mendes, 59, appeared at the Caesar’s Palace event, revealing that all four films — called The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event — will come out in the same month, as he introduced his four leading stars to the stage.
Each of the movies will focus on one of the members of the band. According to the director, Sony’s film boss Tom Rothman dubbed the films ‘the first binge-able theatrical experience’.
‘We’re not just making one film about the Beatles — we’re making four,’ Mendes announced. ‘Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.’
‘The Beatles changed my understanding of music,’ Mendes added. ‘I’ve been trying to make a movie about them for years.’
‘I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,’ the filmmaker shared back in 2024, as per People.
Speaking at Cinemacon, Sam said that he felt the story of The Beatles were ‘too big for one film,’ and he didn’t want to turn it into a television series.
Sam went on to share that the four films will be released ‘in proximity’ with each other.
‘Frankly, we need big cinematic events to get people out of the house,’ the Skyfall frontman added.
‘There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation,’ he told the audience, adding: ‘I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.’
While onstage, the actors recited lyrics from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and concluded with a coordinated bow reminiscent of the Beatles.
It marks the first time ever that The Beatles and their Apple Corps. company have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film.
The movies are being made by Sony Pictures and Sam’s Neal Street Productions company.
Mendes explained that he pitched the idea of making four films about the group last year and wowed Sony executives Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler with his plans.
The Skyfall filmmaker told Deadline earlier this year: ‘We went out to Los Angeles just before Christmas to pitch the project, and it’s fair to say we were met with universal enthusiasm.’
‘The reason Sony stood out from competing offers was down to Tom and Elizabeth’s passion for the idea, and commitment to propelling these films theatrically in an innovative and exciting way.’
The cast for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics was confirmed. The four movies will star Paul Mescal (2nd L) as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson (L) as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan (2nd R) as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn (R) as George Harrison
The life of the iconic band (pictured in 1963) is set to be told in four biopics, which will all be released in April 2028, in what’s been dubbed ‘the first binge-able theatrical experience
Sam previously won the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on 1999’s American Beauty, and also received praise for his Bond film Skyfall in 2012, and war epic 1917 seven years later.
Barry has risen to huge stardom in the last few years with roles in Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Paul soared to fame in BBC series Normal People and has gone on to be a household name, landing the leading role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II last year.
Dickinson charmed audiences with his role as Nicole Kidman’s young lover in Babygirl.
Meanwhile Quinn catapulted into fame following his role as Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.
They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form.
The Beatles’ last commercial gig took place at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
