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London — Beatles legend Paul McCartney announced his first European tour for five years on Thursday, starting in Hamburg — where the Fab Four cut their teeth — and ending with a Christmas show in London.
The Good Evening Europe tour will start in the northern German city on December 2 and end at London’s O2 Arena on December 22 — 46 years to the day after the first Beatles Christmas gig in their hometown, Liverpool.
"This is my chance to bring our current show home to where it all began. Starting in Hamburg, ending in London and rocking everywhere in between," he said, announcing the seven-date, five-country tour on his website.
"I’m very much looking forward to ending the year on a high," added the 67-year-old, one of the two surviving Beatles.
The Europe concerts follow a sold-out US stadium tour this summer and come ahead of the release of live album, Good Evening New York City, recorded at the site of the city’s former Shea Stadium, where the Beatles played in 1965.
The show in Hamburg — where the Beatles honed their craft before going on to worldwide fame in the early 1960s — will be McCartney’s first concert there since 2003.
After Hamburg, he will travel to Berlin, Arnhem in the Netherlands, Paris, Cologne, Dublin and London. Tickets will go on sale on Monday.
The announcement came after last month’s launch of the Fab Four’s digitally remastered albums, and a new video game, The Beatles: Rock Band, which lets players follow the band from the Cavern Club in Liverpool to global stardom.
AFP/Expatica