Sunday 22 July 1990 | Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
On 22 July 1990, Paul McCartney performed at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina — the 99th date of the Paul McCartney World Tour. The tour, which ran for 102 shows across 14 countries between September 1989 and July 1990, was McCartney’s first major solo tour and one of the largest concert tours of its era. The Raleigh show came near the very end of the run, with just three dates remaining after it.
The Paul McCartney World Tour 1989–90
The Paul McCartney World Tour opened on 26 September 1989 in Drammen, Norway, and closed on 29 July 1990 at Soldier Field in Chicago — a span of ten months and 102 performances across Europe, North America, Japan, and South America. It was McCartney’s first major solo tour, and his first sustained live performances since Wings had disbanded in 1981.
The tour was built around the release of Flowers in the Dirt (1989), McCartney’s critically acclaimed comeback album co-written with Elvis Costello. But the setlist reached far beyond the new album, drawing on the full depth of McCartney’s catalogue — Beatles classics, Wings hits, and solo material — to create shows that ran to over 30 songs and lasted more than two and a half hours.
The tour was a commercial and critical triumph. It grossed over $130 million, making it one of the highest-grossing tours in history at the time. McCartney played to an estimated 2.8 million people across the 102 dates, including record-breaking runs at Wembley Arena, Madison Square Garden, and the Tokyo Dome.
The Band
The musicians performing with McCartney at Carter–Finley Stadium on 22 July 1990 were:
- Linda McCartney — vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Hamish Stuart — guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- Robbie McIntosh — guitar, vocals
- Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens — keyboards, vocals
- Chris Whitten — drums, percussion
Hamish Stuart had been the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Average White Band before joining McCartney’s touring group. Robbie McIntosh had played with The Pretenders. Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens would go on to become one of McCartney’s longest-serving musical collaborators, remaining with him through subsequent decades of touring and recording. Chris Whitten had previously drummed for The Pretenders and Dire Straits.
The Soundcheck Setlist
The soundcheck at Carter–Finley Stadium on 22 July 1990 included:
- Just Because
- Figure of Eight
- Hit the Road Jack
- C Moon
- It’s Now or Never
The Concert Setlist
The full concert setlist performed at Carter–Finley Stadium on 22 July 1990 was:
- Figure of Eight
- Jet
- Got to Get You into My Life
- Rough Ride
- Band on the Run
- Birthday
- We Got Married
- Let ‘Em In
- The Long and Winding Road
- The Fool on the Hill
- Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Good Day Sunshine
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- Put It There
- Hello, Goodbye
- Things We Said Today
- Eleanor Rigby
- This One
- My Brave Face
- Back in the USSR
- I Saw Her Standing There
- Coming Up
- Let It Be
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Help!
- Give Peace a Chance
- Live and Let Die
- The Hustle (snippet)
- Hey Jude
- Yesterday
- Get Back
- Golden Slumbers
- Carry That Weight
- The End
The setlist is a masterclass in catalogue management: it opens with Flowers in the Dirt material (Figure of Eight, Rough Ride, This One, My Brave Face), moves through Wings classics (Jet, Band on the Run, Let ‘Em In, Coming Up, Live and Let Die), and closes with an extended run of Beatles songs that builds from Back in the USSR through to the Abbey Road medley of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End. The inclusion of Give Peace a Chance — John Lennon’s 1969 anthem — was a regular feature of the tour, a tribute to his former partner that never failed to move audiences.
Carter–Finley Stadium
Carter–Finley Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, opened in 1966 and primarily used as the home of NC State University’s Wolfpack football team. With a capacity of over 57,000, it was a natural choice for the stadium-scale shows of the McCartney World Tour’s American leg.
Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina, sits in the Research Triangle region alongside Durham and Chapel Hill — a university-dense area with a large and enthusiastic concert-going population. The 22 July 1990 show was one of the few major stadium concerts the city had hosted to that point, and McCartney’s presence was a significant event for the region.
The Final Stretch: July 1990
The Raleigh show on 22 July 1990 was the 99th of 102 dates. The final three shows of the tour were:
- 24 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- 26 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- 29 July 1990: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
The tour had begun nearly ten months earlier in Norway. By the time it reached Raleigh, McCartney and his band had played across Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Brazil — including a landmark show at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 21 April 1990, which drew an estimated 184,000 people and set a world record for the largest paying audience for a solo performer at the time.
Key Facts: 22 July 1990
| Date | Sunday 22 July 1990 |
| Venue | Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA |
| Tour date number | 99th of 102 |
| Tour span | 26 September 1989 – 29 July 1990 | 102 dates | 14 countries |
| Band | Linda McCartney, Hamish Stuart, Robbie McIntosh, Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens, Chris Whitten |
| Songs performed | 34 (including soundcheck 5) |
| Tour gross | Over $130 million | approx. 2.8 million attendees |
Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina — where Paul McCartney performed on 22 July 1990, the 99th date of his World Tour.
Paul McCartney: Wings Over America ‘76
The tour that conquered America. Officially licensed Paul McCartney tee.
Paul McCartney: Wings Over America
McCartney live in America. Officially licensed Wings Over America tee.
Paul McCartney World Tour 1989–90: Full Itinerary
| 26 Sep 1989 | Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway |
| 28 Sep 1989 | Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 29 Sep 1989 | Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden |
| 30 Sep 1989 | Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden |
| 3 Oct 1989 | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany |
| 4 Oct 1989 | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany |
| 6 Oct 1989 | Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany |
| 7 Oct 1989 | Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany |
| 9 Oct 1989 | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France |
| 10 Oct 1989 | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France |
| 11 Oct 1989 | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France |
| 16 Oct 1989 | Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany |
| 17 Oct 1989 | Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany |
| 20 Oct 1989 | Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany |
| 21 Oct 1989 | Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany |
| 22 Oct 1989 | Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany |
| 24 Oct 1989 | PalaEUR, Rome, Italy |
| 26 Oct 1989 | PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy |
| 27 Oct 1989 | PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy |
| 29 Oct 1989 | Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland |
| 30 Oct 1989 | Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland |
| 2 Nov 1989 | Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain |
| 3 Nov 1989 | Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain |
| 5 Nov 1989 | Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France |
| 7 Nov 1989 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 8 Nov 1989 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 10 Nov 1989 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 11 Nov 1989 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| 23 Nov 1989 | Forum, Inglewood, USA |
| 24 Nov 1989 | Forum, Inglewood, USA |
| 27 Nov 1989 | Forum, Inglewood, USA |
| 28 Nov 1989 | Forum, Inglewood, USA |
| 29 Nov 1989 | Forum, Inglewood, USA |
| 3 Dec 1989 | Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA |
| 4 Dec 1989 | Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA |
| 5 Dec 1989 | Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA |
| 7 Dec 1989 | SkyDome, Toronto, Canada |
| 9 Dec 1989 | Forum, Montreal, Canada |
| 11 Dec 1989 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA |
| 12 Dec 1989 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA |
| 14 Dec 1989 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA |
| 15 Dec 1989 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA |
| 2 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 3 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 5 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 6 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 8 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 9 Jan 1990 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England |
| 11 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 13 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 14 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 16 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 17 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 19 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 20 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 21 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 23 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 24 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 26 Jan 1990 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
| 1 Feb 1990 | The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA |
| 2 Feb 1990 | The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA |
| 4 Feb 1990 | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA |
| 5 Feb 1990 | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA |
| 8 Feb 1990 | Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA |
| 9 Feb 1990 | Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA |
| 12 Feb 1990 | Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, USA |
| 14 Feb 1990 | Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA |
| 15 Feb 1990 | Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA |
| 18 Feb 1990 | Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA |
| 19 Feb 1990 | Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA |
| 3 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 5 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 7 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 9 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 11 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 13 Mar 1990 | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan |
| 29 Mar 1990 | Kingdome, Seattle, USA |
| 31 Mar 1990 | California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA |
| 1 Apr 1990 | California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA |
| 4 Apr 1990 | Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, USA |
| 7 Apr 1990 | Texas Stadium, Irving, USA |
| 9 Apr 1990 | Rupp Arena, Lexington, USA |
| 12 Apr 1990 | Tampa Stadium, Tampa, USA |
| 14 Apr 1990 | Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA |
| 15 Apr 1990 | Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA |
| 20 Apr 1990 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 21 Apr 1990 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 23 Jun 1990 | SECC Arena, Glasgow, Scotland |
| 28 Jun 1990 | King’s Dock, Liverpool, England |
| 30 Jun 1990 | Knebworth Festival, England |
| 4 Jul 1990 | RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA |
| 6 Jul 1990 | RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA |
| 9 Jul 1990 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA |
| 11 Jul 1990 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA |
| 14 Jul 1990 | Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA |
| 15 Jul 1990 | Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA |
| 18 Jul 1990 | Cyclone Stadium, Ames, USA |
| 20 Jul 1990 | Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, USA |
| 22 Jul 1990 | Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, USA ★ This show |
| 24 Jul 1990 | Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA |
| 26 Jul 1990 | Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA |
| 29 Jul 1990 | Soldier Field, Chicago, USA |
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Paul McCartney play Raleigh, North Carolina?
Yes. Paul McCartney performed at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina on 22 July 1990. It was the 99th date of his 102-show World Tour, which ran from September 1989 to July 1990 across 14 countries.
What was the Paul McCartney World Tour 1989–90?
The Paul McCartney World Tour was McCartney’s first major solo tour, running from 26 September 1989 to 29 July 1990 across 102 dates in 14 countries. It grossed over $130 million and was attended by approximately 2.8 million people. The tour supported the Flowers in the Dirt album and featured setlists drawing on McCartney’s full catalogue of Beatles, Wings, and solo material.
Who was in Paul McCartney’s band in 1990?
Paul McCartney’s 1989–90 touring band was Linda McCartney (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Hamish Stuart (guitar, bass, vocals), Robbie McIntosh (guitar, vocals), Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens (keyboards, vocals), and Chris Whitten (drums, percussion).
What songs did Paul McCartney play on the 1990 World Tour?
The Raleigh setlist included Figure of Eight, Jet, Got to Get You into My Life, Band on the Run, Birthday, The Long and Winding Road, Eleanor Rigby, Back in the USSR, I Saw Her Standing There, Let It Be, Strawberry Fields Forever, Help!, Give Peace a Chance, Live and Let Die, Hey Jude, Yesterday, Get Back, and the Abbey Road medley of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End.
What was the largest show on the Paul McCartney World Tour?
The largest show on the Paul McCartney World Tour was at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 21 April 1990, which drew an estimated 184,000 people — setting a world record for the largest paying audience for a solo performer at the time.
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