Paul McCartney answers questions from lucky SA fans ahead of Entertainment Centre concert

Sir Paul McCartney has recalled the “insane” moment the Beatles were greeted by 300,000 screaming fans in Adelaide’s CBD in 1964, as he answered questions from 35 lucky SA megafans.

Sir Paul McCartney has recalled the “insane” reception The Beatles received in Adelaide in 1964, ahead of his return to the Australian stage on Wednesday night.

During a rare fan Q&A session at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the music legend said he remembers being “overwhelmed” as 300,000 screaming South Australians swamped the streets to welcome the Fab Four for the first time.

“We just stood there … we’d got famous and had big crowds before but that was insane,” said McCartney, who’s making his first Adelaide appearance in 30 years.

“It was overwhelming. Something very special.”

Paul McCartney performs at the Q&A session at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Paul McCartney playing for a lucky few fans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday. Picture: Kelly Barnes

McCartney, 81, opened the doors to his Got Back tour rehearsal to give a lucky group of competition winners a sneak peek of Wednesday night’s show.

He also answered a series of fan questions during a special Q&A session, revealing John Lennon had the “most profound” impact on his musical life, and said playing for the Queen was one of his biggest career highlights.

Paul McCartney gave a group of local fans the chance to take part in a rare Q&A session at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Afterwards, McCartney played a short set for the small group of 35 fans, including his Beatles classics Can’t Buy Me Love and Drive My Car.

“Here we are Adelaide. We’re making this up as we go along,” he admitted.

McCartney also surprised one of the competition winners, Adelaide’s Vince Cavaleri, by singing his hit track, Birthday, ahead of his 61st birthday on Saturday.

“I just couldn’t believe it. It’s a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” Mr Cavaleri said.

Nicola Cavaleri with her dad Vince Cavaleri at the Q&A. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Paul McCartney during his rehearsal and Q&A at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Competition winner Patrick Ayles at the Q&A. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The concert will be McCartney and his band’s first in about 16 months, since they played the closing set at the Glastonbury music festival in June 2022.

It’s expected McCartney’s much-anticipated gig – his debut show on the Australian leg of his world tour – will feature his usual mix of Beatles classics and Wings hits, along with some of his solo material.

McCartney’s kept a low profile since jetting into Adelaide on Sunday morning.

It’s understood he’s staying at the luxurious Sequoia Lodge in the Adelaide Hills but otherwise his visit has been without fanfare.

A crowd waiting for @PaulMcCartney to leave his hotel in the Adelaide Hills for a sound check. One man has even brought his piano to be signed!@9NewsAdelpic.twitter.com/NGu4IgnZg0

— Gus Macdonald (@Gus_Macdonald_) October 17, 2023

Dressed casually in a navy blue zip-up hoodie and black jeans, McCartney said he has spent much of his time in Adelaide catching up on sleep and trying to get over the jet lag.

“I haven’t seen a kangaroo yet,” he said.

Several diehard fans staked out his accommodation while others have waited patiently outside the Entertainment Centre, hoping to catch a glimpse of the music icon.

Rumours were circulating online this morning that Sir Paul might pay Semaphore a visit while in Adelaide, and a lot of locals were feeding into the hype.

Co-owner of Sotos Fish Shop, Craig McKay, is a huge Beatles fan and said it would be so exciting so see Sir Paul visit Semaphore.

“I’d be keen to see how our chips compare to what he’s used to back home,” Mr McKay said.

“We do cook our chips the old fashioned way in lard, so he may not be keen.”

Mr McKay knows that Macca is a devout vegetarian, and said there are some vego-friendly options at Sotos.

“We can always grill him one of our veggie burgers and mushy peas,” he said.

A more fitting option for Macca’s dietary requirements would be Raw & More, a vegan cafe on Semaphore’s main strip.

“There’s nothing here that he couldn’t eat,” co-owner Mara Hoppo said.

“Everything here is plant-based, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free.”

Ms Hoppo said she would be “absolutely starstruck” if McCartney stepped foot in her cafe.

Super fan Vic Flierl owns Mr V Music on the main street and even has a huge Abbey Road poster signed my McCartney when he was last in Adelaide in 1993.

Mr Flierl bought the poster, which used to call Adelaide’s EMI office home, for $3000 about 25 years ago.

Mr Flierl is going to the concert on Wednesday but doesn’t think Macca will stroll into Semaphore.

“There’s no way, there would be too many nutters trying to latch onto him,” he said.

“He may do impromptu stuff but I seriously doubt it, it wouldn’t be worth the grief.”

Vinnies volunteer Margaret Raison, a huge McCartney fan, said the store even thought of making a welcome sign for his arrival.

Fab Four: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

McCartney’s low key stay in Adelaide is a far cry from the 300,000 South Australians who lined the streets for the Beatles’ arrival in 1964 – giving the pop idols their largest reception anywhere in the world.

McCartney and his bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison, with drummer stand-in Jimmie Nicol, famously played two shows at Wayville’s Centennial Hall on that visit.

His last show in SA was more than three decades ago, at Adelaide Oval on March 13, 1993, as part of his The New World Tour.

In 2017, his SA fans were left disappointed when McCartney’s first Australian tour in 24 years included stadium shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth but skipped Adelaide.

Prior to that, a 1975 tour with his post-Beatles band Wings, played two nights at Apollo Stadium – the former home of the Adelaide 36ers in Richmond with capacity for just 4000 people.

After his Adelaide concert, McCartney will play Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Saturday before shows in Newcastle, two in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.