May 23, 2003

McCartney In Red Square

"Sir" Paul McCartney -- still hard to say the full thing -- is finally getting a chance to sing Back In the USSR in Russia. He will be headlining a concert in Red Square that shows just how far the old Soviet Union has come in a mere decade. As the Moscow Times explains:

Recordings by both the Beatles and McCartney's now defunct 1970s band Wings were banned by authorities during the Soviet era. . . . Though the Beatles never performed in the Soviet Union, before their breakup in 1970 the band's enormous popularity coupled with its illicit status here spawned numerous rumors that a Moscow gig was in the offing. According to one such rumor popular in the early 1970s, the band had at one point traveled to the capital but was not allowed to leave the airport, where it was said to have given an impromptu show. Another rumor had the band playing a secret concert for a select audience of Soviet-era top brass.

Update:  More than 20,000 people attended the concert, including Russian President Putin.

 Posted by glenn

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