On This Day in Beatles History: Paul McCartney Live at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – 9 March 1993
On Tuesday 9 March 1993, Paul McCartney performed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, during the early leg of his New World Tour. The concert was the sixth date of the tour and the first of two consecutive nights at the venue.
The New World Tour was one of McCartney’s most ambitious touring projects of the 1990s, eventually running for 77 concerts across 19 countries between February and December 1993.
The New World Tour
The tour supported McCartney’s 1993 studio album Off The Ground and followed the success of his previous world tour in 1989–1990. The concerts combined material from the new album with songs from The Beatles, Wings, and McCartney’s solo catalogue.
The tour began in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1993, before moving through Europe and Australia during its opening weeks.
The Melbourne concerts represented one of the first large stadium performances of the tour.
McCartney’s touring band
The band accompanying Paul McCartney during the 1993 New World Tour included several musicians who had already performed with him during the previous world tour:
- Linda McCartney – vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Hamish Stuart – guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- Robbie McIntosh – guitar, vocals
- Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens – keyboards, vocals
- Blair Cunningham – drums, percussion
This lineup allowed McCartney to recreate complex arrangements from his Beatles and Wings catalogue while also performing newer material.
Soundcheck in Melbourne
During the afternoon soundcheck before the concert, the band rehearsed several songs that were not always included in the evening setlist.
The soundcheck setlist included:
- Let Me Roll It
- Twenty Flight Rock
- Walking The Dog
- Magical Mystery Tour
- C’Mon People
- Lady Madonna
- Concert setlist
The 9 March 1993 Melbourne Cricket Ground concert featured a wide-ranging setlist drawing from multiple eras of McCartney’s career.
Songs performed included:
- Drive My Car
- Coming Up
- Get Out Of My Way
- Another Day
- All My Loving
- Let Me Roll It
- Peace In The Neighbourhood
- Off The Ground
- I Wanna Be Your Man
- Robbie’s Bit
- Good Rockin’ Tonight
- We Can Work It Out
- And I Love Her
- Every Night
- Hope Of Deliverance
- Michelle
- Biker Like An Icon
- Here, There And Everywhere
- Yesterday
- My Love
- Lady Madonna
- Live And Let Die
- Let It Be
- Magical Mystery Tour
- C’Mon People
- The Long And Winding Road
- Paperback Writer
- Fixing A Hole
- Penny Lane
- Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Band On The Run
- I Saw Her Standing There
- O Sole Mio (snippet)
- Hey Jude
The show demonstrated McCartney’s ability to blend Beatles classics, Wings hits and newer material into a single concert programme.
Concert – Quick Facts
Date: 9 March 1993
Artist: Paul McCartney
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground
City: Melbourne, Australia
Tour: New World Tour
Tour date number: 6 of 77
Notable detail: First of two consecutive concerts at the venue.
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