Paul McCartney Pays Tribute to John Lennon by Playing Beatles Classic ‘Help’ for the First Time in 35 Years

The musician kicks off his Got Back Tour on Monday, Sept. 29

Paul McCartney in London in December 2024. 

Paul McCartney paid tribute to John Lennon in more than one way at his latest concert.

Ahead of his Got Back Tour, the Beatles legend remembered his late bandmate, who died in 1980, with a virtual duet during the encore at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26.

McCartney, 83, performed the song “I’ve Got a Feeling” in front of a projection of Lennon from Peter Jackson’s 2021 Disney+ documentary series The Beatles: Get Back.

The pair duetted using Lennon’s vocals and video, per Variety.

The show, which was announced on Sept. 15, served as a warm-up for his North American trek this fall, which kicks off on Monday, Sept. 29, in Palm Desert, Calif.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon in New York in August 1965.
McCartney kicked off the show with Lennon’s Beatles tune, “Help!” playing it live for the first time since 1990.

Per setlist.fm, other songs he performed included Beatles hits “Blackbird,” “Love Me Do,” “Lady Madonna” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

He also mixed in songs from his band Wings such as “Jet,” “Let Me Roll It” and “Live and Let Die.”

Along with the tribute to Lennon, the show’s encore featured “Sgt.

Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “Helter Skelter” along with “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End” from Abbey Road.

Following the show, McCartney shared pictures on Instagram.

“Amazing night in Santa Barbara on Friday! Notice anything missing from these pictures? 📸,” he wrote on Monday, Sept.

29, alluding to the lack of cell phones in the crowd.

“Got Back 2025 takes flight in North America tonight.

See you soon, Palm Desert!”

Throughout the Got Back Tour’s stops this fall, McCartney will perform 19 shows across 16 different cities, including Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Denver, New Orleans and Montreal, before wrapping up in Chicago for two nights.

“With songs like ‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Live and Let Die,’ ‘Band on the Run,’ ‘Let It Be’ and so many more, the Paul McCartney live experience is everything any music lover could ever want from a rock show and more: hours of the greatest moments from the last 60 years of music — dozens of songs from Paul’s solo, Wings and of course Beatles songbooks that have formed the soundtracks of our lives,” a press release said in July when the shows were announced.

Paul McCartney in London in December 2024.

In February, McCartney performed at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special singing “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.”.

Days before, he performed three sold-out surprise shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York.