Paul McCartney live: Electric Proms, Roundhouse, London – 25 October 2007

Thursday 25 October 2007 | Live concert | Roundhouse, London, England

On 25 October 2007, Paul McCartney performed at the Roundhouse in London for the BBC’s Electric Proms. The concert was the final show in the six-date sequence commonly called the Secret Tour, a series of appearances promoting Memory Almost Full.

McCartney’s regular four-piece backing band was joined on selected songs by players from the BBC Concert Orchestra. His official concert account specifically identifies a string octet for “Only Mama Knows” and “Calico Skies”.

The result was not simply another arena-tour date. It was a festival performance combining the familiar band arrangements with a clearly identified orchestral contribution, alongside songs from the new album.

Electric Proms 2007: the essential facts

The Roundhouse and the Electric Proms setting

The BBC’s archived event page identifies the performance as taking place in the Main Space at the Roundhouse on Thursday 25 October. McCartney’s official concert page confirms the venue on Chalk Farm Road.

Electric Proms encouraged performances with a distinctive musical element. For McCartney, the added strings supplied that element without replacing the touring band or turning every song into a full orchestral arrangement.

That distinction is important when describing the show: the orchestra accompanied selected material. The regular band remained central to the concert’s Beatles, Wings and solo repertoire.

McCartney’s band

The concert featured McCartney with the musicians familiar from his touring work during this period:

• Paul “Wix” Wickens: vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion and harmonica.
• Brian Ray: vocals, guitar and bass.
• Rusty Anderson: vocals and guitar.
• Abe Laboriel Jr.: vocals and drums.

The combination supported a set that moved between electric band performances, quieter songs and keyboard-led material. These are the documented band roles, not a claim that each instrument was played on every title.

The string octet

McCartney’s official account singles out “Only Mama Knows” and “Calico Skies” as songs performed with a string octet. The former came from Memory Almost Full; the latter connected the programme to an earlier part of his solo catalogue.

The octet detail gives a more precise description than saying the whole BBC Concert Orchestra played throughout. It identifies the scale of the documented string contribution while avoiding an unsupported allocation of players to every song.

The added musicians also created a contrast within the show: a band-led opening gave way to passages where the strings changed the texture, before the concert returned to its larger catalogue of familiar songs.

Complete reported concert setlist

The sequence below separates the main set and encores. “Baby Face” is included in the reported running order; its listing should not be taken to mean that it received the same full-length treatment as every other song.

Main set

1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Flaming Pie
3. Got to Get You into My Life
4. Dance Tonight
5. Only Mama Knows
6. C Moon
7. The Long and Winding Road
8. I’ll Follow the Sun
9. That Was Me
10. Here Today
11. Blackbird
12. Calico Skies
13. Eleanor Rigby
14. Band on the Run
15. Back in the U.S.S.R.
16. House of Wax
17. I’ve Got a Feeling
18. Live and Let Die
19. Baby Face
20. Hey Jude

First encore

1. Let It Be
2. Lady Madonna
3. I Saw Her Standing There

Second encore

1. Get Back

Memory Almost Full in the live programme

The set gave the current album a clear presence through “Dance Tonight”, “Only Mama Knows”, “That Was Me” and “House of Wax”. They appeared among older songs rather than being grouped into a separate album showcase.

That programming placed the new material in conversation with different periods of McCartney’s work. “Flaming Pie” followed the Beatles opener, Wings songs appeared later, and the new album’s tracks were distributed through the main set.

The quieter stretch also included “Here Today”, “Blackbird” and “Calico Skies”. These changes in scale helped distinguish the concert from a simple uninterrupted run of the biggest ensemble numbers.

For the album’s place in the wider catalogue, explore our Paul McCartney solo discography guide.

Complete six-date Secret Tour itinerary

The six-show chronology runs from June to October 2007 across England, the United States and France. “Secret Tour” is a convenient name for this sequence, not a claim that each event was presented or ticketed in precisely the same way.

1. 7 June 2007: Electric Ballroom, London, England.
2. 13 June 2007: Highline Ballroom, New York City, USA.
3. 27 June 2007: Amoeba Music, Los Angeles, USA.
4. 5 July 2007: iTunes Festival, ICA, London, England.
5. 22 October 2007: Olympia, Paris, France.
6. 25 October 2007: Electric Proms, Roundhouse, London, England — this concert.

Our iTunes Festival article for 5 July 2007 provides another view of the same promotional period. The itinerary preserves every date, including those not yet linked here.

The concert and the BBC programme

The BBC programme archive lists an Electric Proms broadcast on 25 October 2007. Its programme listings and later concert presentations are useful evidence of the event’s broadcast history.

A broadcast track selection, however, need not reproduce the complete live running order. A shorter programme list is therefore not sufficient reason to delete songs from the reported concert setlist.

This article keeps those records distinct: the concert sequence describes the live show, while the BBC archive documents programme presentations. No claim is made that an archived listing guarantees a currently playable recording.

Venue map: Roundhouse, London

The Roundhouse stands on Chalk Farm Road in north London. The map identifies the venue used for this Electric Proms performance.

Frequently asked questions

Continue exploring: iTunes Festival, 5 July 2007 · Paul McCartney’s story · Paul McCartney solo discography · On This Day in Beatles History.

Selected official reference: Paul McCartney’s Electric Proms concert page.