Taylor Hawkins Tribute
Chrissie Hynde and Foo Fighters back Beatles legend on debut performance of Abbey Road classic
Paul McCartney, with help from Chrissie Hynde and Foo Fighters, performed the Beatles classic “Oh! Darling” live for the first time Saturday at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London.
McCartney was a surprise guest at the benefit concert — he was not listed among the participating artists prior to the show — but what he did on the Wembley Stadium stage was perhaps an even bigger shock to the audience, as McCartney had never sang the Abbey Road ballad live onstage before.
“God bless Taylor, me and Chrissie are going to do a song here that I haven’t done since recorded it 100 years ago, I’ve never done it as a duet but we’re gonna do it for the first time for you,” McCartney said before launching into the track, which featured Foo Fighters serving as the world-class backing band.
(McCartney’s appearance begins at the 5-hour, 29-minute mark of the video up top.)
McCartney hung around to perform one more song, “Helter Skelter,” with Foo Fighters, who brought out special guests and a “revolving door” of all-star drummers during the band’s portion of the tribute concert.
The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert also featured the reunion of Them Crooked Vultures and a parade of one-night-only supergroups, including Liam Gallagher leading the Foo Fighters through a pair of Oasis songs, Hawkins’ Chevy Metal and Coattail Riders combining forces along with Kesha and the Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich rocking out with the Foos, Grohl drumming for Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and more.
The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert, presented by Foo Fighters and the late drummer’s family, began 11:30 a.m. EST and be streamed live on Paramount+ and MTV’s YouTube channel; the livestream can also be viewed in the video above.
Additionally, a one-hour primetime special featuring highlights from the show will air on CBS later today at 10 p.m. EST, while the full show will be available to stream on-demand starting the week of Sept. 5.