More than 200,000 fans gathered in Mexico City's historic central square, the Zócalo, last Thursday night to see Paul McCartney in concert.
The former Beatle, who will turn 70 on June 18, performed for an impressive three hours, waved the Mexican flag, used Mexican slang and got the massive crowd on their feet by yelling "¡Viva Mexico, Cabrones!"
But the biggest surprise came when a local mariachi band joined him on stage for a performance of The Beatles' White Album classic, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." You can see the performance in the video below (The song starts after about 50 seconds of talking -- just an FYI).
"It was quite emotional and exciting that people who might not be able to afford to come to our shows could come to this. It was like Beatlemania all over again," McCartney told Hello Magazine. "When you visit places that you don't often come to, like South America, they've been saving up the excitement so when you get there they let it all go."
When McCartney performed in Mexico City in 2010, the tickets sold out in minutes, making it the fastest-sold-out concert in Mexico’s history, according to The Wall Street Journal. This current Latin American tour included stops in Uruguay, Colombia and other Mexican cities.
McCartney's next shows are June 4 in London and June 30 and July 1 in Denmark. For more info, check out his website.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
