Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish make history as Glastonbury's oldest, youngest solo performers
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney was joined by special guests Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in an epic performance at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday (June 25) night that spanned the first Beatles demo to some of his latest recordings.
The English singer-songwriter, who turned 80 a week ago, was the oldest ever solo headliner at Worthy Farm in south-west England.
McCartney, who first performed at Glastonbury in 2004, had been due to take part in the 50th anniversary edition of the festival in 2020 before it was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said in March that his performance would be "a huge moment".
"It means the world getting Paul McCartney to Glastonbury," she said.
Opening with Can't Buy Me Love, McCartney entertained a capacity crowd with songs spanning more than half a century, from Beatles classics to Come On To Me from his 2018 album Egypt Station.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl joined him for I Saw Her Standing There and Band On The Run, receiving a rapturous welcome from the audience.
Following his "friend from the west coast of America", McCartney introduced another surprise "from the east coast of America": American rock legend Bruce Springsteen. The two played Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man.
McCartney, one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century with the late John Lennon, paid tribute to his former Beatles band mates in the near-three-hour show.
He played George Harrison's Something and performed a virtual duet with Lennon on I've Got A Feeling.
Grohl and Springsteen came back for the final encore of The End from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.
"Thank you Dave, thank you Bruce, thank you Glasto," McCartney said before leaving the stage.
Meanwhile, American singer Billie Eilish also made history by becoming the youngest ever solo performer on Glastonbury's Pyramid stage on Friday night.
The 20-year-old multi-Grammy winner said it was a "dark day" for American women midway through a crowd-pleasing set that kicked off with hit Bury A Friend and ended with Bad Guy and Happier Than Ever.
Without directly referencing Friday's United States Supreme Court ruling that overturned women's right to abortion, Eilish said: "Today is a really dark day for women in the US."
"I'm just going to say that because I can't bear to think about it anymore in this moment."
She then dedicated Your Power, a song about abusing power, to the subject.
Near the end of the set, she told the crowd that she was "so undeserving" of headlining.
"Thank you for letting me do it," she said. "I am so honoured to be here."
Glastonbury Festival concludes on Sunday with Diana Ross playing the Sunday afternoon legend's slot and Kendrick Lamar headlining on the Pyramid Stage.
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