There are few names more iconic in the world of rock music than Neil Young and Paul McCartney, the former a member of Buffalo Springfield who has since had a prolific solo career, and the latter, of course, a founding member of The Beatles, then Wings, and then also a solo artist. As such, when Young and McCartney performed live together back in 2009, it marked a significant moment in the history of the genre, with one viewer calling the performance one of the greatest moments in rock and roll.
This now-legendary moment took place when Young was headlining the Hard Rock Calling festival at Hyde Park in London. For his final song of the night, he launched headfirst into The Beatles’ era-defining ‘A Day In The Life’ – which Young has long cited as a favorite of his – prompting a cheer from the crowd when they realized what the song was. A riotous rendition of the song’s first section followed, with Young replacing that famous orchestral transition segment with a dirty rock guitar.
Suddenly, the thousands of people in the crowd began to scream and cheer even more; Paul McCartney himself had just run onstage, joining Young for the second section of the song which he sang on the original Beatles recording. The pair looked as though they shared an incredible chemistry, with McCartney clearly having the time of his life as he waved his arms in the air and ran around the stage, whilst Young continued to lead the song with flourish, looking every inch a rock star.
Music Man readers probably won’t be surprised to learn that this wasn’t Young and McCartney’s first time performing together either. At a Bridge School Benefit concert in 2004 (organized by Young and his wife), McCartney joined Young onstage to perform ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’, a gorgeous acoustic ballad that the latter released as a single in 1970. Despite the poor quality of the footage, the duet sounds poignant and beautiful, with the two singers complementing each other beautifully.
Based on these two very different videos, it’s clear to see that Paul McCartney and Neil Young have a serious aptitude for performing together. The respect they clearly share for one another ensures that their onstage chemistry is always a joy to witness, and subsequently, fans of both artists are no doubt looking forward to hearing another collaboration very soon from these two legends of rock.