"We Want to Thank Him": Concert Honoring Paul McCartney

Created: 2022-06-20Updated: 2022-06-20 07:42

Wolfgang Niedecken, Steffi Hempel (l) and Stefan Stoppok (r) sing at the concert Celebrating Paul.

© Markus Scholz/dpa

Paul McCartney celebrates his 80th birthday - and Hamburg also wants to congratulate.

That's where the Beatles started their career.

Stars like Wolfgang Niedecken, Inga Rumpf and Otto Waalkes meet on a stage for a very special evening.

Hamburg – Numerous celebrities celebrated the 80th birthday of Beatle Paul McCartney at a joint concert in Hamburg on Sunday evening.

At the three and a half hour event "Celebrating Paul" at the sold out Fabrik Kulturzentrum, Wolfgang Niedecken, Inga Rumpf, Stoppok, Phil Siemers, Otto Waalkes and Gustav Peter Wöhler were on stage.

The thrilling show was organized by Hamburg's Beatles expert Stefanie Hempel, who offers Beatles tours in the neighborhood.

The musician also played many of Sir Paul's songs with her band, one day after his milestone birthday.

The concert was broadcast live on the internet.

"Today we celebrate the great work of Paul McCartney," Hempel said at the beginning.

"We want to thank him." Between performances, she charmingly told many colorful stories from the life of the Beatles.

The attraction of the evening was the diversity of the different artists, instruments and songs.

Whether "Eleanor Rigby", "Penny Lane", "Let it be" or "Get back" - the audience sang and clapped enthusiastically.

McCartney is considered one of the greatest song composers of the 20th century and a living legend of music.

62 years ago he started what is perhaps the greatest pop music career of all time with the Beatles in Hamburg.

Hamburg played a key role in establishing this success story with the many hour-long performances by the young band in the neighborhood.

"I was twelve when the Beatles burst into my life," said Niedecken, who sometimes played together with Stoppok in the Hanseatic city.

Actor and singer Gustav Peter Wöhler performed an acclaimed dance routine for "Coming up" from 1980.

Comedian Otto Waalkes created a good mood with "Honey Pie", which was released in 1968.

At the end, all the musicians took the stage together: they and the audience sang the song "Hey Jude" together - a moving moment.

dpa