On this very day, July 15, in 2009, Paul McCartney shocked quite a few onlookers in New York City. In the afternoon, around 5:30 pm, McCartney and a few other musicians took to the front of the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee in Manhattan, where they performed a medley of songs for those passing by. Later that day, McCartney would appear on The Late Show With David Letterman at that very same venue.
Fun fact: Before that particularly delightful surprise, the last time McCartney performed at the Ed Sullivan Theater was with The Beatles, nearly 45 years prior.
Paul McCartney Once Stunned Manhattan With an Outdoor Rooftop Performances Outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater
In good ol’ Get Back fashion, Paul McCartney took to the rooftop of the Ed Sullivan Theater on this very day in 2009. It was a bit of a surprise and impromptu performance, but thousands of New Yorkers quickly took to the street in front of the building to get a glimpse of Macca in all his glory. McCartney performed a medley of Beatles songs from the top of the building’s marquee.
The news of the surprise event spread like wildfire among New Yorkers and on Twitter at the time, and the street was quickly closed off to accommodate the sheer volume of people that would flood the area around the venue.
One can’t help but see a similarity between the marquee performance and McCartney’s famed performance with The Beatles on the roof of Savile Row, nearly a half-century before the 2009 performance. Paul McCartney was apparently in New York to perform three different concerts and appear on Letterman’s show. But he couldn’t just do that, could he? A brief rooftop concert just had to happen.
McCartney performed a few different songs from The Beatles’ heyday to those in the street and onlookers hanging out of their apartment windows. McCartney performed The Beatles’ classics like “Get Back” and “Helter Skelter”, as well as “Back In The U.S.S.R.”. He also played a few Wings classics, including “Band On The Run”, and a few then-new solo songs.
Later that evening, McCartney would return to the venue to appear on The Late Show With David Letterman to perform on the program. The studio where Letterman hosted the show was the very same venue that The Beatles made their US television debut in, way back in 1964. So much nostalgia!
Photo by Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
