Paul Receives Special PRS Award for 'Yesterday'

Last Saturday 23rd May, Paul celebrated his 50th London solo performance at a sell-out show at The O2. The concert – part of his ‘Out There’ tour – is also part of an on-going celebration of the writing of one of the world’s most loved and popular songs: ‘Yesterday’. In testament to its popularity, when Paul performed the song that evening the whole crowd sang along.

Although the song’s exact writing date remains uncertain, it is 50 years this May that Paul finished writing the classic anthem. Before the O2 concert on Saturday British TV personalities Ant and Dec presented Paul with a special award from the PRS to commemorate the song’s anniversary.

Speaking about the anniversary, Paul said; "I’m often never aware of these anniversaries until someone points it out. People always say to me, ‘Hey, did you know it was 30 years since this and 30 years since that?’, so it’s impossible to stay on top of it all. But I never need an excuse to celebrate so it’s always nice to hear! For me it’s a happy coincidence that The O2 show falls at this time. It’s great that people all over the world reacted so well to the song, it’s all you can hope for!  It feels like it has taken on a life of its own over the years. The song still is and always has been an important part of our live show.  It’s always very emotional for me to hear crowds singing it so loudly at my concerts…"

Robert Ashcroft CEO, PRS for Music also commented that, “Yesterday is not just an iconic song in Paul's body of work but an iconic song of the last century. PRS has collected rights for the composition since it was released fifty years ago and in that time it has inspired countless writers, been covered by countless artists and has resonated with musicians, radio broadcasters and the public in a way that goes beyond words. It is this 'magic' that PRS wanted to recognise in this unique award.”

Paul will be getting back #OutThere this evening in Birmingham and in Liverpool tomorrow. Let us know if you’ll be going to either of the shows in the comments below...