Concert for Linda
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{short description|1999 benefit concert by Paul McCartney}}
The Concert for Linda was a benefit tribute to Linda McCartney, wife of Paul McCartney. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 10 April 1999.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/316419.stm "Paul McCartney leads Linda tribute"], BBC, 11 April 1999 Linda McCartney died after a long battle with cancer nearly a year earlier, when she was 56. They were married for 29 years.
The event was organised by two of their friends, Chrissie Hynde and Carla Lane.Costello, Elvis. Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Penguin (2015) ch. 5 Comedian Eddie Izzard hosted the concert, with proceeds going to various animal rights charities. Chrissie Hynde and Linda had worked together supporting various animal rights groups, including PETA.Billboard magazine, 20 October 2001 Tickets to the show, with 5,000 people attending, sold out within an hour after going on sale.Badman, Keith. The Beatles Diary, Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970-2001, Omnibus Press (2009) e-book
Performances
Besides Paul McCartney's unannounced performance, the show featured more than a dozen artists singing their own songs and their own versions of Beatles' material.[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-information-on-a-concert-for-linda-mccartney-1087160.html "The Information on: A Concert for Linda McCartney"], Independent, 13 April 1999 Among the other groups performing were George Michael, the Pretenders, Elvis Costello,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2w-pmz4Yr0&t=19s Elvis Costello performs at "Concert for Linda"], April 1999 Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, Des'ree, Heather Small, guitarist Johnny Marr, Neil Finn, Marianne Faithfull and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Faithfull, who wanted to appear, said "I didn't know Linda well, but she made my friend very happy, and that's the main thing."Hodkinson, Mark. Marianne Faithfull: As Years Go By, Omnibus Press (2013) e-book
McCartney was not expected to perform, as he had not done any shows since his wife died. However, he attended the event with his four children. After he took to the stage to thank the audience, at the urging of Chrissie Hynde, he sang one of his and Linda's favorite 1950s songs, Ricky Nelson's "Lonesome Town".[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eYyaV2IR9Q Paul McCartney performs at the "Concert for Linda"] He was backed by members of the Pretenders, along with Costello. The song was Paul's first recorded song since Linda died.
He followed that with his 1963 hit, "All My Loving", originally performed by the Beatles.[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/paul-mccartney-concert-for-linda/ "The Night Paul McCartney Dedicated an Emotional Concert to His Late Wife Linda"], Ultimate Classic Rock, 12 April 2014 Most of the night's performers joined him on stage to provide the chorus. Costello said that for this particular event, "there was something incredibly poignant" about the song's opening lyrics: Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, Tomorrow I'll miss you, Remember I'll always be true.
After those songs, Hynde rushed over and gave McCartney an emotional embrace. Everyone then joined in for the closing song, "Let It Be".