Liverpool Sound • Sunday, June 1, 2008

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Liverpool Sound Soundcheck and Backstage

Liverpool Sound Rehearsal

From Liverpool’08 website:

Anfield football ground witnessed one of the greatest nights in its history on 1 June 2008 – with a stunning concert by Sir Paul McCartney to celebrate the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.

Brilliantly supported by The Kaiser Chiefs and The Zutons, the ex-Beatle – who last played in Liverpool exactly five years ago – gave a magical show with a blockbuster set of hits from his Fab Four, Wings and solo career that had the sold-out stadium on its feet for a full two hours.

With touching tributes to George Harrison – on ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Something’ – and Linda, mingled with raucous renditions of ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Live and Let Die’ the audience knew they were witnessing McCartney at the very top of his game.

Special guest Dave Grohl – of the Foo Fighters – joined on drums and vocals to take the show into rock ‘n roll overdrive which, after an encore that memorably featured ‘A Day in the Life’ and Lennon’s anthemic ‘Give Peace a Chance’, sadly but spectacularly ended with an amazing firework display.

From Wikipedia:

The Liverpool Sound was a concert held at Anfield stadium in Liverpool on 1 June 2008 to celebrate the city’s year as the European Capital of Culture. The concert was headlined by former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, playing in his home city for the first time in five years.

Anfield, home to Liverpool Football Club, played host to its first concert since the Hillsborough Justice Concert held 11 years earlier in 1997. The football club’s planned move to a new stadium in Stanley Park meant that this would be the last concert to be held at the venue.

Despite modernisation over the years, the nature of the 124 year old stadium created a number of problems. The stadium’s normal capacity of 45,362 was not realistic for a rock concert. Whilst 15,000 tickets were allocated for pitch-standing, seating in the stands had to be significantly reduced to meet health and safety standards. The stadium, built exclusively for football, was not equipped for such an event despite it dealing with sell-out crowds throughout the football season. This resulted in a total capacity for the event of 36,000.

The stage was constructed at the Anfield Road end of the stadium. The size of the entrances to the stadium (designed to accommodate the movement of people rather than stage equipment) meant that the stage had to be lifted in by crane before being constructed. The stage eclipsed the two-tier Anfield Road stand. The name of the city in giant letters, set against outlines of famous local landmarks, adorned the top of the structure.

Liverpool City Council gave £1.7 million to MPL Communications to cover costs such as stage and lighting hire, licence fees and insurance. Neither McCartney nor Liverpool F.C. charged a fee – seeing the event as their contribution to the city’s European Capital of Culture year.

Notable attendees included Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison – widows of McCartney’s former bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison – who were sat together in the audience. McCartney’s daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, who had hosted a presentation earlier in the day at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, was also seen watching her father in the wings of the stage. Liverpool F.C. manager Rafael Benítez, normally resident in the ground’s technical area was in attendance as was a member of his playing staff, Jamie Carragher. Former Liverpool F.C. player and manager Kenny Dalglish and local born footballer Wayne Rooney of Manchester United F.C. with his fiancée Coleen McLoughlin were also in the crowd.

The Liverpool Sound was a concert held at Anfield stadium in Liverpool on 1 June 2008 to celebrate the city’s year as the European Capital of Culture. The concert was headlined by former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, playing in his home city for the first time in five years.

Anfield, home to Liverpool Football Club, played host to its first concert since the Hillsborough Justice Concert held 11 years earlier in 1997. The football club’s planned move to a new stadium in Stanley Park meant that this would be the last concert to be held at the venue.

Despite modernisation over the years, the nature of the 124 year old stadium created a number of problems. The stadium’s normal capacity of 45,362 was not realistic for a rock concert. Whilst 15,000 tickets were allocated for pitch-standing, seating in the stands had to be significantly reduced to meet health and safety standards. The stadium, built exclusively for football, was not equipped for such an event despite it dealing with sell-out crowds throughout the football season. This resulted in a total capacity for the event of 36,000.

The stage was constructed at the Anfield Road end of the stadium. The size of the entrances to the stadium (designed to accommodate the movement of people rather than stage equipment) meant that the stage had to be lifted in by crane before being constructed. The stage eclipsed the two-tier Anfield Road stand. The name of the city in giant letters, set against outlines of famous local landmarks, adorned the top of the structure.

Liverpool City Council gave £1.7 million to MPL Communications to cover costs such as stage and lighting hire, licence fees and insurance. Neither McCartney nor Liverpool F.C. charged a fee – seeing the event as their contribution to the city’s European Capital of Culture year.

Notable attendees included Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison – widows of McCartney’s former bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison – who were sat together in the audience. McCartney’s daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, who had hosted a presentation earlier in the day at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, was also seen watching her father in the wings of the stage. Liverpool F.C. manager Rafael Benítez, normally resident in the ground’s technical area was in attendance as was a member of his playing staff, Jamie Carragher. Former Liverpool F.C. player and manager Kenny Dalglish and local born footballer Wayne Rooney of Manchester United F.C. with his fiancée Coleen McLoughlin were also in the crowd.

Last updated on July 31, 2021

Anfield Stadium

This was the 1st and only concert played at Anfield Stadium.

Setlist for the concert