Elvis Costello discussed loud fans drowning out an emotional Paul McCartney performance in a new Rolling Stone essay, discussing a performance of The Beatles’ “All My Loving.”
“In 1999, a little time after Linda McCartney’s passing, Paul performed at the Concert for Linda, organized by Chrissie Hynde,” Costello recalled. “During the rehearsal, I was singing harmony on a Ricky Nelson song with him, and Paul called out the next tune: ‘All My Loving.’
When Paul performed the song in concert, Costello was less interested in the track’s lyrics and more in the audience’s reaction. “At the show, it was very different. The second Paul sang the opening lines, the crowd’s reaction was so intense that it all but drowned the song out. It was very thrilling, but also disconcerting.”
Costello couldn’t hear Paul sing over the loud fans hysterically screaming like it was 1969. Costello learned from this performance that The Beatles’ catalog belongs to the fans, and not Paul and the other members. The performance was emotional, as it was a tribute to Paul’s wife Linda, who died from breast cancer on April 17, 1998.
