“Here’s a local boy,” Sir Paul McCartney said to the packed MetLife Stadium on Thursday night before bringing out Bruce Springsteen. The June 16 show marked the end of the North American leg of Paul’s “Got Back” tour, and McCartney, who turns 80 on Sunday, went out with a bang. He and Bruce, 72, covered The Beatles’ “I Wanna Be Your Man” and Bruce’s 1984 hit, “Glory Days,” per Rolling Stone. However, that wasn’t the only Jersey legend that joined Paul for this East Rutherford show.
Macca brought out Springsteen!!! pic.twitter.com/uA2nEBpU8C
— Brenna Ehrlich (@BrennaEhrlich) June 17, 2022
Jon Bon Jovi joined Paul onstage, bringing out some balloons before leading the packed house in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Paul. Jon, 60, and Bruce returned during the encore. Springsteen picked up the guitar for a performance of The Beatles’ “The End” while Jon sang along. Rolling Stone’s Brenna Ehrlich was in attendance for the show and remarked on Paul’s endurance. “Bruce and Bon Jovi came back for the encore. The audience is wrung out. Paul hasn’t even stopped for a sip of water.”
Jon Bon Jovi singing “Happy Birthday” to Paul McCartney at Paul’s MetLife stadium concert, June 16, 2022: pic.twitter.com/lJxUOTJzZL
— The Beatles (@BeatlesEarth) June 17, 2022
Bruce and Bon Jovi came back for the encore. The audience is wrung out. Paul hasn’t even stopped for a sip of water. pic.twitter.com/aM1IlWKJQh
— Brenna Ehrlich (@BrennaEhrlich) June 17, 2022
Paul’s tour — named “Got Back” on the heels of the success of Peter Jackson’s epic Beatles documentary, Get Back – kicked off in April. At the start of the tour, Paul performed “a smorgasbord of Beatles, Wings, and solo classics,” according to Rolling Stone. McCartney also said that this tour was his way of fulfilling a promise made by his band. Well, we said we’d come back, and we got back,” he told the crowd in Spokane, Washington. “And believe me, we’re really happy to be back. I’m gonna take a moment for myself to drink it all in.”
McCartney hinted at the start of the tour that there would be surprises. At that kickoff show, Paul said he had “something a bit special for you here.” The band began playing “I’ve Got A Feeling,” and the late John Lennon appeared on the screen. The video, taken from the Beatles’ final live set atop the Apple Records building in 1969, began to play, and it became clear that Paul and his band were playing along with John’s isolated vocals. McCartney said that Jackson had texted him on how they could “extract John’s voice and he can sing with you.”
“Yeah, we all got back,” McCartney said at the end of that first show. “Together in the same room.” For Paul, he’ll now have a short break before performing at the Glastonbury festival in the U.K. on June 25.