Paul McCartney rocks Hollywood record store

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paul McCartney’s informal world tour of small venues brought him to Hollywood on Wednesday when he played a free concert at a record store for an audience that included fellow Beatle Ringo Starr.

"No shoplifting please," McCartney jokingly told the 900-strong crowd, who had come from as far afield as Canada, Japan and Australia for the historic 85-minute event.

Any illegal activity would have been difficult. Fans were herded into rows behind the display racks, hemmed in by yellow tape as fire marshals and security guards patrolled the aisles making sure no one left their designated areas. Visibility for those at the back and sides was severely limited.

Hundreds of fans started lining up at Amoeba Records on Monday when the concert was announced. The lucky ones were given blue wristbands on a first-come, first-served basis.

Earlier this month, McCartney played clubs in London and New York, all part of an unorthodox promotional blitz for his well-received new album, "Memory Almost Full."

The set list was largely the same each time, heavy on late-era Beatle tunes such as "Get Back," "Hey Jude," "The Long and Winding Road" and "I’ve Got A Feeling."

He dropped in a few cuts from his new album, including the single "Dance Tonight" and the .....continued below

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Wearing a red sweater that he later took off to reveal a white "Von Dutch"-branded t-shirt, McCartney was in a playful mood, at one time asking the audience to repeat various silly sounds, and then to nod their heads in unison.

He got serious once when he played "Here Today," his 1982 tribute to fallen Beatle John Lennon.

Others at the venue included Olivia Harrison, the widow of George Harrison, English rocker Jeff Lynne, and actress Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Reuters