Montevideo

From For Whom The Bell Tells: ‘GOT BACK’ Central and South American Tour 2024, January 13, 2025:

“An explosion of happiness” – El Observador

⁠Being away from home really does heighten one’s tribal yearnings, therefore being surrounded by so many colleagues on a daily basis is a relief, but it also makes you hyper aware of the beautiful power of family when you see it being played out in front of you by a multitude of smiling faces.

A Paul McCartney gig is designed for all ages to enjoy, and every night they do. “It’s incredible to see,” Paul remarked. “There are one, two, three, maybe even four or five generations, all coming together to share the experience.”

He does not take for granted the power he wields, creating special moments for all to share and remember forever, and there is no more powerful reminder that music has the magic to transcend any differences and bring people together.

“This is how life should be,” Paul continues, as he takes a break from rehearsing in Los Angeles one week before the 2024 tour launches. It’s his bagel break, and as the band and crew take a little down time before their afternoon session, Paul is talking on the phone to the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais ahead of his first trip there in a decade. “Instead of fighting, we’re all in the same place, doing the same thing, with nothing but joy. That’s what’s so special to me about these concerts.”

Sure enough, fast-forward a week, and there is Paul taking to the stage on a chilly evening in Montevideo, and as he surveys the vast audience in front of him, yet again you can see he is visibly struck by the reception. It’s an incredible sight, especially if you are lucky enough to see it from my vantage point side-of-stage (I’m not showing off, I promise!). The feeling coming off the crowd is electric and unbelievable. Spanning the stadium are generations of fans, from different backgrounds, all united by a love for his timeless and ubiquitous songs.

Paul and the band launch into their explosive opener, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, and the crowd
absolutely erupts! They’re singing along with everything, their voices blending into one elated chorus, and instantly the temperature in the stadium ramps up.

From that first spine-tingling moment, Paul’s third ever performance at the Estadio Centenario (site of the first World Cup final in 1930, which FIFA officially declared a Historical Monument of World Football in 1983, and is where the opening game of the 2030 World Cup will take place) was a hit.

This may, in part, be due to the affectionate place in which McCartney is held in the hearts of the people in Uruguay’s capital. “Paul really changed things here in Montevideo,” a local reporter tells me the day before the show. “If it’s okay for Paul McCartney, it’s okay for everyone.” Being an infrequent host of international acts, he explained, the Estadio Centenario has become an increasingly popular tour stop for artists in the wake of Paul’s inaugural trip in 2012, with names such as One Direction, The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, and Guns N’ Roses opting to drop by.

Standing on stage, in the shadow of the looming and appropriately-named Torre de los Homenajes (Tower of Homage), Paul is swept up in a tsunami of love. This is what the Got Back tour is all about: spreading great pleasure in one wonderful, unifying experience. As one review will confirm the following morning, it’s an “explosion of happiness,” and it’s so exciting to think about all the destinations that are yet to come, and the hundreds of thousands of people down the line that will have this life-affirming celebration indelibly scratched into their memories.

That’s the fuel that drives Team Macca, and bonds us as a family. Happy to be reunited on this amazing continent, it’s profoundly moving to see everyone working together in harmony to ensure that all aspects of these concerts are perfectly executed in order to allow Paul to walk out onto that stage every evening without a single worry except for smashing it out of the park. And, of course, he does!

Stuart Bell – Paul McCartney’s publicist – From For Whom The Bell Tells: ‘GOT BACK’ Central and South American Tour 2024, January 13, 2025