It wasn't memorialised in HD. But last night Ringo Starr turned 70 and welcomed Paul McCartney onstage at Radio City Music Hall in New York for a musical celebration. There was only one song they were going to perform, and a thousand mobile phone cameras were duly held aloft to capture it. The results have sprouted overnight on YouTube, and they all have the grainy shakycam quality of all that old footage from the Cavern Club. If you're of the Fabophiliac persuasion you'll no doubt be wanting to devour the lot. Which you can do right here on theartsdesk.
This is the closest to the stage, so you can admire the creases and wrinkles:
You miss Macca's traditional larky entrance, but this one has a certain charm too. The sound's not quite the full Dolby, mind:
How about this one? The lensman seems to be jumping up and down, not to mention singing along, but the sound overall is better:
Short but sweet from stage right. Their battery must have died:
And finally a brief view from the gods. Clearly they didn't get their phone out till near the end:
By the end of today someone will no doubt have edited them all together. The blond on guitar, by the way, is Tom Petty.
For other recent Beatles-related events on theartsdesk go to
- Lennon Naked reviewed
- Classic Albums: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band reviewed
- theartsdesk Q&A with Willy Russell: fond recollections of the Cavern
- Find The Beatles on Amazon
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