As recording of The Beatles Again drew to a close, the band’s discussions inevitably turned to touring. Although the Fab Four had not toured together since 1966, the Beatles had been touring steadily since 1972 and George had toured twice since he left the band. McCartney wanted to build on the success of the last tour, making it even more of a production. To his surprise, he found agreement from George.
“The last tour was huge, and had a big production, and I wanted even more of that. George agreed with me, and I was like, ‘woah’. Because George always hated touring back in the Beatlemania days, and later on in the 60s and early 70s he and I would never agree on anything. So it was beautiful to have him so enthusiasticc about the tour and everything, it really felt like the band was back together.” – Paul McCartney, 2007
Paul wanted a huge sound, and a chance to really do some of the songs right. With George’s support, he convinced the others that they would need to hire a horn section to appear on some of the songs. Jimmy McCulloch (whose band White Line would serve as the opening act) would also cover bass duties on certain songs where Paul was playing piano, and John and George would both be occupied with guitar parts. Lennon was the most resistant to these ideas at the time, and would later speak out about them (although he seemingly mistakenly attributed the ideas for horns to Harrison, perhaps because George had called on his old friend Jim Horn to lead the players).
“On the last one, we had the horns and all that. We were trying to be more than four guys, even though we were finally four guys again. George had the horns on his tours, so we thought we had to have them on this one. But at the core, we’re just four guys up on a stage with guitars and drums. This is rock ‘n’ roll, not Broadway.” – John Lennon, 1978
Another bit of friction was the material they would play. The Beatles and Harrison had had separate, parallel career paths for almost four years. There was question of whether to play material from that period, and if so, whose. That tension, however, was dissolved rather quickly and amicably by most accounts.
“I expected an ultimatum from George, saying ‘you can’t play anything after Imagine’ or ‘we have to play my solo material’, but he didn’t say anything like that. We went over the setlist with him, and we did pull some numbers out, put some of his [Beatles] material in. HE just wanted a fair billing as far as number of songs goes. And we did add in a few more from the last time he was in the band [material from ’69-‘71], too, but he didn’t force us, we wanted to. The only thing he was really adamant is changing the opening, because he wanted the show to start with a song from when we were all together, so we pulled out the “Venus/Rockshow” opening, even though I was pretty fond of that.” – Paul McCartney, 2008
“Reporter: Why aren’t you playing any George Harrison songs?
GH: Well that’s news to me, because I’ve been singing plenty in the set-
RS: More than enough
[laughs]
Reporter: I mean any of your solo songs – “My Sweet Lord”, “Give Me Peace”, “You”-
GH: Well it’s a Beatles tour, not a George Harrison tour, so we’re playing Beatles songs.
Reporter: So does that mean there’s going to be another George Harrison tour?
JL (ignoring last question): Plus, we had to cut ‘em to make room for Revolution number nine.
[laughs]”
- An exchange between the Beatles and a reporter at a press conference, 1976
With the setlist being worked out and some backing musicians hired, the Beatles rented a theater to begin rehearsals, following the end of recording for The Beatles Again. Neil Aspinall and Alistair Taylor (who had taken over most of the Beatles’ management from Peter Brown) began booking dates. Mal Evans was officially managing the tour, and was overseeing the rehearsals and preparation of gear, but much of the hands-on work was done by a new member of the Beatles team. John Hammel1 was hired as the Beatles’ personal assistant and road manager just before the start of the tour. He would stay in that position for years to come, becoming an invaluable part of the Beatles’ inner circle.
Of course, the Beatles were not just a business affair anymore; they were a family affair. Both Ringo and Paul would bring their wives and children on the tour, as they had for the last several. But the Beatles family was also expanding. George’s girlfriend Olivia Arias would come along for the first time, as would John’s son Julian. Julian had been seeing more and more of his father since the latter’s divorce from Yoko Ono, and both saw this as a perfect opportunity to grow closer. The younger Lennon would later look fondly on the tour, citing the happy times he had with his father and the other Beatles children (citing especially the times he spent jamming on the drums with Zak Starkey). More happy news broke just before they went out on tour: Linda McCartney was pregnant. All the Beatles shared in Paul’s joy as they set out to conquer the world once again.
The Beatles – “Back in the World Tour” (1976)
Back in the US (US, Canada): 29 Shows, 24 April- 20 June
Back in the East (Japan, Australia, New Zealand): 19 Shows, 1-25 July
Back in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland): 10 Shows, 8-22 August
Back in Europe (France, Germany): 5 Shows, 25 August – 2 September
Setlist:
Electric Set 1:
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. It Don’t Come Easy
3. What You Got
4. Beware of Darkness
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Yer Blues
7. This Song
8. Come Together
9. Photograph
10. Move Over Ms. L
11. Lady Madonna
12. Silly Love Songs
13. What Is Life
14. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Acoustic Set
15. I’ve Just Seen a Face
16. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
17. Two of Us
18. This Boy
19. Here Comes the Sun
Electric Set 2:
20. Band On the Run
21. #9 Dream
22. Hi Hi Hi
23. Crackerbox Palace
24. Imagine
25. Octopus’s Garden
26. Something
27. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
28. Let it Be
29. Live and Let Die
Encore:
30. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
31. Give Peace a Chance
32. Hey Jude
The tour was a Beatle fan’s dream. Absolutely packed with hits and other favorites, most thought it improved over the last tour, which many thought wasn’t possible. Critics and fans alike delighted at the addition of “Sgt. Pepper” as the opening number. The addition of several Harrison songs was also met with praise. And finally, the inclusion of the singles from The Beatles Again ensured that each became hits. The biggest hit of the four, however, was Paul’s “Silly Love Songs”, a new crowd favorite which the audience delighted in singing along to.
Despite the immense positive reaction, however, the tour was grueling. More than four months on the road led to exhaustion, with even Starr stating to the press: “Well sure, it was fun. But I don’t know if we can do another like it. Certainly not every year. We’re not teenagers anymore.”
“The last tour was huge, and had a big production, and I wanted even more of that. George agreed with me, and I was like, ‘woah’. Because George always hated touring back in the Beatlemania days, and later on in the 60s and early 70s he and I would never agree on anything. So it was beautiful to have him so enthusiasticc about the tour and everything, it really felt like the band was back together.” – Paul McCartney, 2007
Paul wanted a huge sound, and a chance to really do some of the songs right. With George’s support, he convinced the others that they would need to hire a horn section to appear on some of the songs. Jimmy McCulloch (whose band White Line would serve as the opening act) would also cover bass duties on certain songs where Paul was playing piano, and John and George would both be occupied with guitar parts. Lennon was the most resistant to these ideas at the time, and would later speak out about them (although he seemingly mistakenly attributed the ideas for horns to Harrison, perhaps because George had called on his old friend Jim Horn to lead the players).
“On the last one, we had the horns and all that. We were trying to be more than four guys, even though we were finally four guys again. George had the horns on his tours, so we thought we had to have them on this one. But at the core, we’re just four guys up on a stage with guitars and drums. This is rock ‘n’ roll, not Broadway.” – John Lennon, 1978
Another bit of friction was the material they would play. The Beatles and Harrison had had separate, parallel career paths for almost four years. There was question of whether to play material from that period, and if so, whose. That tension, however, was dissolved rather quickly and amicably by most accounts.
“I expected an ultimatum from George, saying ‘you can’t play anything after Imagine’ or ‘we have to play my solo material’, but he didn’t say anything like that. We went over the setlist with him, and we did pull some numbers out, put some of his [Beatles] material in. HE just wanted a fair billing as far as number of songs goes. And we did add in a few more from the last time he was in the band [material from ’69-‘71], too, but he didn’t force us, we wanted to. The only thing he was really adamant is changing the opening, because he wanted the show to start with a song from when we were all together, so we pulled out the “Venus/Rockshow” opening, even though I was pretty fond of that.” – Paul McCartney, 2008
“Reporter: Why aren’t you playing any George Harrison songs?
GH: Well that’s news to me, because I’ve been singing plenty in the set-
RS: More than enough
[laughs]
Reporter: I mean any of your solo songs – “My Sweet Lord”, “Give Me Peace”, “You”-
GH: Well it’s a Beatles tour, not a George Harrison tour, so we’re playing Beatles songs.
Reporter: So does that mean there’s going to be another George Harrison tour?
JL (ignoring last question): Plus, we had to cut ‘em to make room for Revolution number nine.
[laughs]”
- An exchange between the Beatles and a reporter at a press conference, 1976
With the setlist being worked out and some backing musicians hired, the Beatles rented a theater to begin rehearsals, following the end of recording for The Beatles Again. Neil Aspinall and Alistair Taylor (who had taken over most of the Beatles’ management from Peter Brown) began booking dates. Mal Evans was officially managing the tour, and was overseeing the rehearsals and preparation of gear, but much of the hands-on work was done by a new member of the Beatles team. John Hammel1 was hired as the Beatles’ personal assistant and road manager just before the start of the tour. He would stay in that position for years to come, becoming an invaluable part of the Beatles’ inner circle.
Of course, the Beatles were not just a business affair anymore; they were a family affair. Both Ringo and Paul would bring their wives and children on the tour, as they had for the last several. But the Beatles family was also expanding. George’s girlfriend Olivia Arias would come along for the first time, as would John’s son Julian. Julian had been seeing more and more of his father since the latter’s divorce from Yoko Ono, and both saw this as a perfect opportunity to grow closer. The younger Lennon would later look fondly on the tour, citing the happy times he had with his father and the other Beatles children (citing especially the times he spent jamming on the drums with Zak Starkey). More happy news broke just before they went out on tour: Linda McCartney was pregnant. All the Beatles shared in Paul’s joy as they set out to conquer the world once again.
The Beatles – “Back in the World Tour” (1976)
Back in the US (US, Canada): 29 Shows, 24 April- 20 June
Back in the East (Japan, Australia, New Zealand): 19 Shows, 1-25 July
Back in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland): 10 Shows, 8-22 August
Back in Europe (France, Germany): 5 Shows, 25 August – 2 September
Setlist:
Electric Set 1:
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. It Don’t Come Easy
3. What You Got
4. Beware of Darkness
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Yer Blues
7. This Song
8. Come Together
9. Photograph
10. Move Over Ms. L
11. Lady Madonna
12. Silly Love Songs
13. What Is Life
14. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Acoustic Set
15. I’ve Just Seen a Face
16. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
17. Two of Us
18. This Boy
19. Here Comes the Sun
Electric Set 2:
20. Band On the Run
21. #9 Dream
22. Hi Hi Hi
23. Crackerbox Palace
24. Imagine
25. Octopus’s Garden
26. Something
27. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
28. Let it Be
29. Live and Let Die
Encore:
30. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
31. Give Peace a Chance
32. Hey Jude
The tour was a Beatle fan’s dream. Absolutely packed with hits and other favorites, most thought it improved over the last tour, which many thought wasn’t possible. Critics and fans alike delighted at the addition of “Sgt. Pepper” as the opening number. The addition of several Harrison songs was also met with praise. And finally, the inclusion of the singles from The Beatles Again ensured that each became hits. The biggest hit of the four, however, was Paul’s “Silly Love Songs”, a new crowd favorite which the audience delighted in singing along to.
Despite the immense positive reaction, however, the tour was grueling. More than four months on the road led to exhaustion, with even Starr stating to the press: “Well sure, it was fun. But I don’t know if we can do another like it. Certainly not every year. We’re not teenagers anymore.”