Pinkpop Festival • Sunday, June 12, 2016

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From paulmccartney.com, February 15, 2016:

European summer festival headline appearances confirmed:

Sunday 12th June – Pinkpop, Netherlands
Thursday 30th June – Rock Werchter, Belgium

Paul McCartney has confirmed he will headline two European festivals this summer. In June he’ll perform at Pinkpop in Netherlands and Rock Werchter in Belgium. These appearances follow a year that saw Paul headline both Firefly and Lollapolooza in the US as well as closing the Roskilde festival in Denmark.

Speaking about performing at Pinkpop Paul said:
“I love a festival audience and we plan to close Pinkpop with a massive party. I’ve not done a festival in the Netherlands before so it will be an exciting new experience for me and for the audience, so we can all rock out together. Get ready Pinkpop we’re on our way. See you in June.”

Pinkpop organizer Jan Smeets said: “I am very proud that Sir Paul McCartney, one of the world’s greatest artists will play at Pinkpop. His first Dutch festival show ever. An artist who was never on our wish list because we never thought it would even be possible! A Beatle at Pinkpop, it’s almost unbelievable.”

From Stuart Bell, Paul’s publicist, paulmccartney.com, August 4, 2016:

“Can a headliner be too big? So big that he attracts all of the attention for himself, so large that it makes up all of the expectations for the weekend? So great that he still hopes to live up to the impossible?” asks the Dutch newspaper Trouw ahead of today’s concert which is another first for Paul, his Netherlands festival debut. Pink Pop is the oldest music festival in this part of the world and great things were expected. As one paper puts it: “McCartney’s appearance came after days of tense anticipation. It was as if an alien was expected from outer space.”

Ahead of the show Lionel Richie, also on the bill, pops into Paul’s dressing room to say, ahem, Hello. There is tremendous warmth between the two of them as they embrace like old mates. Lionel turns to us in the room and says: “This guy (pointing to Paul), he’s THE songwriter’s writer’s writer’s writer!” Paul is clearly very touched by the compliment.

As for the show itself, there’s more of the wet stuff. Paul even jokingly wonders, “what if it rains …?” from the stage, before the deluge, but the spirits of festivalgoers are not dampened in any way. As Telegraaf reports: “Finally after 47 years the festival got Paul McCartney on stage and just as historic, was the song he chose to open with – A Hard Day’s Night. Immediately, the audience forgot about the heavy rain.”

Last updated on March 7, 2021

Megaland

This was the 1st and only concert played at Megaland.

Setlist for the concert