Sir Paul McCartney goes back to basics at low-key gig

Published on Tuesday 14 December 2010 17:07

Sir Paul McCartney is to play his smallest show for more than a decade - with a gig for just 300 people at threatened punk venue the 100 Club.

He will make a lunchtime appearance on Friday at the tiny London venue, which hosted shows by the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in the 1970s. The last time Sir Paul played such a small concert was when he performed at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1999.

His back-to-basics "Packed Lunch" show is expected to be a hot ticket.

Gig-goers will be allowed a maximum of two tickets, each costing 60, when they go on sale tomorrow at 10am.

The future of the 100 Club is uncertain after the rent for the venue, on London's Oxford Street, rocketed in recent months.

Earlier this week Sir Paul played the world-famous Harlem Apollo Theatre in New York, after playing to millions of fans during stadium tours.

He is also due to play a pair of theatre shows in London on Saturday and Liverpool on Monday, with his 100 Club show acting as a warm-up.

Sir Paul said: "I've played all sorts of different venues over the years and this kind of show presents a different kind of challenge to performing in a stadium. I love performing and I love connecting with audiences, be it in a stadium or arena or in a club.

"I'm looking forward to being able to interact with fans on a face-to-face basis, not to mention the smell of sweat and beer."

Extra tickets are also to be released for shows at the HMV Apollo at Hammersmith, London, and Liverpool's O2 Academy.