Live In Frome • Friday, June 24, 2022

About

This impromptu concert was a warm-up for the Glastonbury performance scheduled on June 25. It was announced on June 23. The 800 tickets, which could only be purchased at the venue and were available on a strictly first come first served basis at a price of £25, were sold within one hour.

Paul McCartney and his band arrived on stage at 6 pm and performed a trimmed-down version of the recent “Got Back” tour setlist. Olivia Harrison, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Brian Johnson from AC/DC and Olivia Rodrigo were in the audience.

Good evening Frome – why am I getting a feeling we are going to have some fun!

Paul McCartney – After playing “Junior’s Farm”

Here’s a song that we’ve never done live in England until tonight, so it’s a first for Frome.

Paul McCartney – Before playing the “Out Of College” section of “You Never Give Me Your Money”

Ok so there does come a time when we’ve got to go and it coincides with the time you’ve got to go. Most of all we want to thank you for coming along and having a ball with us tonight!

Paul McCartney – Before playing the last track “Golden Slumbers” – From nme.com, June 24, 2022

Thank you Frome-anians, we had a good time in here tonight. This was a good idea.

Paul McCartney – Before leaving the stage – From nme.com, June 24, 2022

From paulmccartney.com, June 23, 2022:

⁠In 24 hours time Paul will be performing live in Frome, Somerset, at the Cheese and Grain.
⁠
⁠Tickets for this extraordinary experience are available now from the Cheese and Grain box office – in-person only – and will be available on a strictly first-come first-served basis. The box office will be open for extended hours this evening until tickets have sold out.
⁠
⁠This is an incredible opportunity to watch Paul warm up for his Glastonbury headlining performance this weekend, and won’t be Paul’s normal set, so expect an afternoon full of wonderful surprises.

Tickets are £25 each and limited to 2 per person and are non transferable.

From Cheese & Grain (cheeseandgrain.com), June 23, 2022:

Paul McCartney – Live in Frome – 5pm, Friday 24th June

In 24 hours time from now Paul McCartney will be performing live, here in Frome, at the Cheese and Grain.  Tickets for this extraordinary experience are available now from our box office in person only and will be available on a strictly first come first served basis. The box office will be open for extended hours this evening until tickets have sold out.  What an incredible opportunity to watch Paul warm up for his Glastonbury headlining performance this weekend. What an amazing treat… we are told this won’t be his normal set either so should be an afternoon full of wonderful surprises.

Tickets are £25 each and limited to 2 per person and are non transferable. 

From About | Cheese & Grain (cheeseandgrain.com):

The Cheese and Grain is a not-for-profit, member owned social enterprise and also a registered charity. Its main aim is to promote and boost Frome’s social, cultural and economic life.

The Cheese and Grain has an important role in Frome because we can host meetings, large (with a capacity of 835 standing and 500 seated) and small (up to about 30 people in our mezzanine).

Every year we hold an annual member’s meeting (the Annual General Meeting – the AGM). This is the meeting where the membership elects the Board of Trustees. There’s plenty of time at the AGM to meet other members. […]

From paulmccartney.com, August 15, 2022:

The day before Paul’s massive headline appearance at Glastonbury, something much more intimate happened on the spur of the moment about half-an-hour from the festival site. These are my diary entries for the 48 hours prior to the weekend, which give you an exclusive insight into the crazy circumstances of a last-minute gig that brought an entire town to a standstill!

THURSDAY 23 JUNE

Today, Paul will announce his surprise Glastonbury warm-up show, which will take place tomorrow in Frome, a small, picturesque but quite sleepy Somerset town just 20 miles from Glastonbury, at the local venue (a former cattle market) Cheese & Grain.

Last week, I got a call from Paul’s promoter, Barrie Marshall, which started with Barrie saying: “Paul’s had this idea…” which is always a very exciting way for any call with Barrie to begin! And what an exciting idea it is too! I finished the call buzzing.

When I arrived at the Cheese & Grain this morning, the place was completely unsuspecting of what was about to unfold! Normal life carried on, but a few canny locals spotted that there was quite a lot of extra activity happening around the venue. There were more people than normal, and a fewer bigger vehicles than they might be used to…. A small crowd started to form – and nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.  

At 4:50pm the venue posted a message on their social media:

“Paul McCartney live in Frome? OK then! Tickets are available now from our box office in person only. First come, first served.”

At the same time, the venue put posters on the front of the venue that were met by an audible gasp from the already small crowd that had formed there. “OH MY ACTUAL GOD,” shouted one attendee! 

Within seconds, people literally came flying out of the nearby woods and through the carpark. Like a surprise attack, the venue was surrounded! As they continued to appear, that line from ‘Eleanor Rigby’ kept circling in my head over and over again: “Where do they all
come from?” 

About 10 minutes later, Frome traffic had ground to a halt. We’d hit gridlock. The town of 26,000 had come to a standstill, with police now on the scene looking to restore some sense of order.

Meanwhile, the line had grown all around the venue and its car park, backing into the woods. There were school kids with their parents, office workers, shop workers, teenagers, retirees and everything in between – even the Mayor of Frome (a gardener by day) was in the queue!

Unsurprisingly, the 600 tickets got snapped up very quickly, disappearing within an hour. Such an amazing response points to tomorrow’s show being a huge success! 

FRIDAY 24 JUNE

My phone and emails had been going crazy since 5pm yesterday. This was such a hot ticket but I couldn’t help anyone. It was a case of first come, first served. 

But those locals who didn’t get tickets turned up anyway and set up camp in the car park, not wanting to miss out on their town’s big occasion.

“It’s probably the best moment of my life,” said Richard Churchyard, owner of Frome’s independent record store Raves From The Grave. “The thought of actually seeing Paul in my own hometown… I can’t put it into words. It’s a dream.” He summed up the feelings of many of the locals who congregated at the venue today.

They were rewarded when Paul arrived for soundcheck, winding down his window to wave and give a thumbs up. All of a sudden, it started to actually feel real…!

In amongst the 600 lucky locals were some notable guests: Brian Johnson from AC/DC had turned up, as had Hollywood couple Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, pop phenomenon Olivia Rodrigo, and another Olivia – Paul’s good friend Olivia Harrison, wife of the late, great Beatle, George.

You’d think that a warm-up show intended to get the juices flowing ahead of a huge, landmark concert the next day would be a fairly brief affair – check everything’s working, that everyone knows the chords, test some songs out – but no, not for Paul. TWENTY-SEVEN songs later, we all piled giddily out of the Cheese & Grain, blown away by the intimacy of the occasion, when star and fans were brought together under one relatively small roof for an unforgettable performance. […]

Stuart Bell – Paul McCartney’s UK publicist

Chris Whitten, who was the drummer of Paul’s backing band circa 1989-1990, posted the two following photos from Frome, on June 25, 2022:

Last updated on December 3, 2022

Cheese & Grain

This was the 1st and only concert played at Cheese & Grain.

Setlist for the concert