PaulMcCartney.com in 2022 - Year in Review

2022 began with the rumour mill going into overdrive: was Paul going back on tour? Would he be playing Glastonbury? 

It truly was the year we got back to where we once belonged. So, as the year winds down and we look forward to starting afresh in 2023, we invite you get cosy, settle in, and join us on a journey through the hits, the remixes and the deeper cuts of 2022…

January

Starting the year as he meant to go on, Paul introduced us to a fun new band ‘Linstrom’ via Instagram Stories on New Year’s Day – this was perhaps a teaser of what was to come, with Paul reuniting with his tour band a little later in the year. Paul joined his daughter Mary in the kitchen for the second season of Mary McCartney Serves It Up on Discovery Plus. Check out all episodes here, and look out for Paul’s famous Maccarita recipe!

February

We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Wings’ debut album Wild Life. A limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing hit record store shelves around the world, and Paul gave his thoughts on the formation of Wings in our website ‘You Gave Me The Answer’ Q&A. Read it here!

Then, it was official – Paul announced he was going back on the road in 2022, with the aptly named GOT BACK tour.

“I said at the end of the last tour that I’d see you next time. I said I was going to get back to you. Well, I got back!” - Paul

February is the month for all things love, on February 14th Paul shared a touching photo of wife Nancy and the aptly named ‘My Valentine’ received a special release, performed by Michael Bublé with Paul himself working on the production. That wasn’t the only song that Paul featured on this month as international band The Umoza Music Project announced that the lead single from their upcoming album features Paul playing his Höfner bass. 

February was of course a difficult month for many, as the devasting events unfolded in Ukraine. Paul remembered the show he played in the country in 2008, and shared this message of solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people:

“Remembering playing for our friends in Ukraine in Independence Square in 2008 and thinking of them in these difficult times. We send our love and support. 🇺🇦 #StandwithUkraine” - Paul

March

After some subtle teasing, March gave us the confirmation we’d been waiting for – Paul announced he would headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday 25th June 2022, joining Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish and a whole host of artists playing across the weekend. We spoke to Paul to get the lowdown on his plans for the festival – including what to expect in his festival survival kit!

Even with all the exciting news Paul still found time to wish a “Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums around the world"  and to mark St Patrick’s Day with a special message for fans . Sadly, at the end of the month the tragic news broke that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had passed away. Paul reflected on the time he spent with Taylor in the studio and when he inducted the band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

April

We finally did it – in April we GOT BACK to where we once belonged, as Paul’s US Tour kicked off in Spokane, Washington! Plus, new tour = new merch! A new collection of clothes and accessories for the GOT BACK Tour launched, along with a newly-designed merch store.

⁠Paul started the month sharing a fun photo on April Fools' Day; he also wished everyone a happy Passover; marked Easter Sunday; and dedicated St George’s Day to ‘all the George’s’. Earth Day on the 22nd April marks a special time for our “Beautiful planet”, and while we’re on the subject of doing something good for the earth, did you see Paul in the new video for Linda McCartney Foods’ Grow Your Own campaign? 

May

In May, PaulMcCartney.com had a makeover! Working closely with Paul and a team of talented designers and developers, we gave the website a new look and feel and introduced a career timeline for Paul, pulling together key moments from the 1970s onwards.

Meanwhile over in the US, the GOT BACK Tour continued! The return of a US tour also meant the return of the ‘Penned on the Run’ tour blog by Paul’s publicist Steve Martin, and the PaulMcCartney.com team found out Paul’s all-important pre-show routine, as well as learning how he decides the tour setlist. Over on Paul’s TikTok channel, we took you along for ‘a day in the life’ behind the scenes of the GOT BACK tour in California. You’re welcome!

Elsewhere in the world, we received the amazing news that Paul’s book THE LYRICS: 1956 to the Present took home the Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year Award at the prestigious British Book Awards, aka ‘The Nibbies’! And we celebrated 150 years of Liverpool’s Sefton Park, with a portrait of Paul rowing on the park's boating lake, taken by brother Mike. 

June

Wow… How can we even begin to sum up June?! Paul finished his stateside stint as the GOT BACK tour ended in a showstopping climax in East Rutherford on the 16th June. With this New Jersey performance taking place just two days before his birthday, surprise guests Bruce Springsteen (sneakily warming up for Glastonbury…) and Jon Bon Jovi led the crowd in a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’.

Paul’s birthday celebrations continued with the Capitol Records tower displaying a ‘Happy birthday’ flag, billboards lining the roads to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford and a new ‘Which Paul McCartney era suits you?’ Instagram filter launching. As fans and friends shared tributes to Paul online, Paul thanked everyone for their well wishes. 

All of this led up to Paul’s historic headline set at Glastonbury Festival, but the surprises didn’t stop there as with Paul announced an intimate warm-up show at the Cheese & Grain in Frome, Somerset the day before.  And even now, we’re still reeling from Paul’s Pyramid Stage performance! There was laughter, there were tears and two very special guests: Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen. To relive every moment, we made the 36-song setlist available as a Spotify playlist. For a full recap, check out the ‘For Whom the Bell Tells’ tour blog from Paul’s UK publicist Stu Bell.

On the night of the show fans were treated to an insider's look at the backstage comings-and-goings, as Mary McCartney took over Paul’s Instagram Stories. Also reporting from the festival site were Linda McCartney Foods, who served vegetarian treats, including a ‘Glastonburger (which got a cool shout out from Paul on stage), and Meat Free Monday who spread the word about the benefits of going veggie! 

What more could Paul possibly fit in this jam-packed month? Oh, just a couple of new releases… an exclusive ‘Women and Wives’ 12” single released as Record Store Day’s inaugural Song Of The Year!, and in the publishing world, Paul’s Hey Grandude! sequel Grandude’s Green Submarine was released in paperback. Paul celebrated Father's Day with an old family photo of himself and his father Jim, while the summer solstice was the perfect time to share a sunny photo and message. 

July

Whilst we were dealing with the post-GOT BACK and Glastonbury blues, Paul celebrated the anniversary of the Wings Over Europe Tour with a brand-new merchandise collection.

Congratulations were in order as The Beatles: Get Back and McCartney 3,2,1 received several EMMY nominations, and Paul shared his best birthday wishes for two special men in his life - Ringo and his dad Jim. Rounding off the month in a colourful way, we asked Paul if he’s ever experienced the sensory phenomenon synaesthesia for the ‘You Gave Me the Answer’ website Q&A.  

August

If we could sum August up in one word, it would be ‘McCartney’ – or McCartney I II III to be precise. For the first time ever Paul’s trilogy of self-titled solo albums were packaged together in a limited edition box set! The albums also received the Dolby ATMOS treatment, and we tested our inner wordsmith as we created a new online game ‘McCartney Minute’.

Paul also teamed up with Cosmic Kids Yoga to create a brand new yoga adventure following the story of Grandude’s Green Submarine, and gave us an insight into his own yoga practise. It was then bittersweet later in August, when Paul shared a touching photo of himself and his brother-in-law John Eastman practising their yoga poses together to mark John’s sad passing. 

For August’s ‘You Gave Me The Answer’ fan Q&A we took a trip down ‘The Long and Winding Road’ and heard about Paul’s favourite moments from Peter Jackson’s docu-series Get Back, in advance of the films EMMY awards sweep in September.

September

September turned out to be a month of reflection, marking the sad passing of the UK’s longest reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Paul posted a heartfelt tribute to Her Majesty, recounting their meetings over the years from receiving his MBE with The Beatles in 1965 to accepting the Companion of Honour medal in 2018. 

The news came just after Paul’s latest live performance, honouring Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins at a special tribute show in London. Reuniting with Dave Grohl after their electric Glastonbury performance, they were also joined by Chrissie Hynde for a performance of ‘Oh! Darling’ – the first time the Beatles’ track had been performed as a live duet. Take a look at photos from this moving performance here.

October

There were no tricks this October - just treats! This month The Maccaboard - a fan-first forum, uniquely hosted on Paul’s website was updated with a brand new look!  Also getting an update was the Beatles’ Revolver album, which was newly-mixed and released in expanded Special Edition packages! The team at Abbey Road Studios worked with Peter Jackson’s team to bring a new clarity to the audio - find out more here. We asked Paul about his memories of recording Revolver at EMI Studios, and more Beatles love was shared when Paul posted a photo from his recent Got Back tour to mark John Lennon’s birthday. 

October also marks Vegetarian Awareness Month, as Paul marked World Vegetarian Day with his daughters Mary and Stella tucking into a veggie feast and encouraged people to watch the documentary Eating Our Way To Extinction in a special video message.  

November

In November we gave fans a brand new way to connect with other fans; introducing the Paul McCartney Official Fan Group on Facebook! To join, simply follow this link and let us know a little bit about yourself by answering the group questions. PaulMcCartney.com also kept getting better all the time as we launched the new and improved Media section.

This time last year Paul’s career-spanning book The Lyrics: 1956 to The Present landed on bookshelves around the globe! We celebrated the 1st anniversary by sharing a new clip from his 2021 chat with Bob Mortimer. This month Paul also celebrated Bonfire Night in the UK and on the other side of the pond on the 24th November, he shared a selfie with Nancy to mark Thanksgiving.

December

Christmas came early this December as Paul released The 7” Singles Box, an awe-inspiring collection of 80 x 7” vinyl singles featuring 163 tracks totalling over 10 hours of music. This incredible box set was also released digitally, which means a whole host of B-side rarities are available to stream for the first time including ‘Growing Up Falling Down’, ‘Secret Friend’, and ‘Summer of ‘59’.

On PaulMcCartney.com fans could get a sneak peek at The 7” Singles Box essay book introduction, written by music journalist Rob Sheffield, and also find out how Paul chooses a single in a special website Q&A. To coincide with this release, we also took the opportunity to dig into the archives and remaster selected music videos in HD such as ‘Tug of War’ and ‘Mull of Kintyre’! Plus, we set fans a new challenge of guessing as many Paul McCartney singles as possible in a new online game.

Of course, there’s one Paul McCartney single that we always listen to at this time of year… ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ is on the radio and on the PaulMcCartney.com homepage, as we finally got Paul to confirm – or deny – a fan theory about the song. The track also provided the inspiration for the holiday cover of DC’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest comic!

If you’re wondering where to catch Paul on your TV screens this December, Mary McCartney’s new documentary about Abbey Road Studios – If These Walls Could Sing – is out now on Disney Plus! The show features an interview with Paul at the studios, where he talks about the importance of the studios throughout his life and career. Rounding off the year, the BBC included Paul’s Glastonbury set as one of their highlights of the year, and Paul shared new photos and a behind-the-scenes video from that amazing day in June. 

Phew… It’s hard to believe that all happened in one year! As Paul himself says – ‘it’s getting better all the time’. We hope you have a wonderful Christmastime, and a very happy new year. Bring on 2023!

All the Best,

PaulMcCartney.com