Paul McCartney live: Estadio El Molinón, Gijón – 25 May 2004

Tuesday 25 May 2004 | Live, Paul McCartney
Estadio El Molinón, Gijón, Asturias, Spain

Paul McCartney performed at the Estadio El Molinón in Gijón, Asturias on 25 May 2004 — the opening night of the 04 Summer Tour. The 14-date tour ran through May and June 2004, taking in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, France, and England. The Gijón show was a 36-song set that opened with 'Jet' and closed with 'The End'.

The 04 Summer Tour

The 04 Summer Tour was a relatively compact run of stadium and festival dates across Europe, bookended by the opening night in Gijón and a headline appearance at Glastonbury Festival on 26 June 2004. The Glastonbury slot — McCartney's first appearance at the festival — was one of the most anticipated headline sets in the event's history, and the tour built toward it across 13 preceding dates.

The tour came during a particularly active period in McCartney's post-millennium live career. He had completed the Driving World Tour in 2002–03 — one of the longest and most successful tours of his career — and the 04 Summer Tour represented a more selective, European-focused run before returning to larger-scale touring later in the decade.

Estadio El Molinón

The Estadio El Molinón is the home ground of Sporting de Gijón and one of the oldest football stadiums in Spain, having hosted matches since 1908. Located in the port city of Gijón in the Asturias region of northern Spain, it has a capacity of around 29,000. Choosing Gijón — a mid-sized industrial city on the Bay of Biscay, not typically a stop on major international tours — as the opening night of a European stadium tour was an unusual and generous gesture toward a part of Spain that rarely sees shows of this scale.

The Band

McCartney's touring band for the 04 Summer Tour was the same core lineup that had been with him since the early 2000s:

• Paul 'Wix' Wickens — vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, harmonica. With McCartney since 1989.
• Brian Ray — vocals, guitar, bass. With McCartney since 2002.
• Rusty Anderson — vocals, guitar. With McCartney since 2001.
• Abe Laboriel Jr — vocals, drums. With McCartney since 2001.

This lineup — stable, tight, and deeply familiar with McCartney's vast catalogue — had been forged on the Driving World Tour and would remain the core of his live band for the better part of two decades.

The Setlist

At 36 songs, the Gijón setlist was one of the most expansive McCartney had performed, drawing on The Beatles, Wings, and his solo catalogue with unusual generosity. Several inclusions deserve particular note:

1. 'Jet'
2. 'Got To Get You Into My Life'
3. 'Flaming Pie'
4. 'All My Loving'
5. 'Let Me Roll It'
6. 'You Won't See Me'
7. 'She's A Woman'
8. 'Maybe I'm Amazed'
9. 'The Long And Winding Road'
10. 'In Spite Of All The Danger'
11. 'Blackbird'
12. 'We Can Work It Out'
13. 'Here Today'
14. 'All Things Must Pass'
15. 'Yellow Submarine'
16. 'I'll Follow The Sun'
17. 'For No One'
18. 'Tres Conejos'
19. 'Calico Skies'
20. 'I've Just Seen A Face'
21. 'Eleanor Rigby'
22. 'Drive My Car'
23. 'Penny Lane'
24. 'Get Back'
25. 'Band On The Run'
26. 'Back In The USSR'
27. 'Live And Let Die'
28. 'I've Got A Feeling'
29. 'It's Time For My Massage'
30. 'Lady Madonna'
31. 'Hey Jude'
32. 'Yesterday'
33. 'Let It Be'
34. 'I Saw Her Standing There'
35. 'Helter Skelter'
36. 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)'
37. 'The End'

'All Things Must Pass' — George Harrison's song, from his 1970 triple album of the same name — was a tribute to his late bandmate, who had died in November 2001. McCartney performing a Harrison composition in concert was a meaningful gesture, and one that spoke to the reconciliation between the two men in Harrison's final years.

'In Spite Of All The Danger' — recorded by The Quarrymen in 1958, the earliest known recording by any member of The Beatles — had become a regular feature of McCartney's live sets from the Got Back Tour era onwards. Its inclusion here, on the opening night of the 04 Summer Tour, underlined McCartney's willingness to reach back to the very beginning of the story.

'Tres Conejos' was a Spanish-language children's song — a playful nod to the Spanish audience on the opening night of a tour that began in Spain. It is the kind of local gesture that McCartney has always made instinctively, and it invariably delights the crowd.

'Here Today' — McCartney's 1982 tribute to John Lennon — and 'All Things Must Pass' together gave the Gijón show a quietly elegiac dimension, honouring both lost Beatles within a single set.

04 Summer Tour: Full Dates

• 25 May: Estadio El Molinón, Gijón, Spain
• 28 May: Parque Bela Vista, Lisbon, Portugal
• 30 May: Estadio de La Peineta, Madrid, Spain
• 2 Jun: Letzigrund Stadium, Zürich, Switzerland
• 4 Jun: Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany
• 6 Jun: T-Mobile Park, Prague, Czech Republic
• 8 Jun: Forum Horsens Stadium, Horsens, Denmark
• 9 Jun: Forum Horsens Stadium, Horsens, Denmark
• 12 Jun: Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 14 Jun: Valle Hovin Stadion, Oslo, Norway
• 17 Jun: Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland
• 20 Jun: Palace Square, St Petersburg, Russia
• 24 Jun: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France
• 26 Jun: Glastonbury Festival, England

Key Facts: 25 May 2004

• Venue: Estadio El Molinón, Gijón, Asturias, Spain
• Tour: 04 Summer Tour
• Tour date: 1 of 14 (opening night)
• Songs performed: 36
• Tour finale: Glastonbury Festival, 26 June 2004
• Notable setlist inclusions: 'All Things Must Pass' (George Harrison tribute), 'In Spite Of All The Danger' (Quarrymen, 1958), 'Tres Conejos' (Spanish-language audience gesture)

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the 04 Summer Tour?

A 14-date European stadium and festival tour by Paul McCartney, running from 25 May to 26 June 2004. It opened in Gijón, Spain and closed with a headline appearance at Glastonbury Festival.

Why did McCartney perform 'All Things Must Pass'?

'All Things Must Pass' was written by George Harrison and released on his 1970 triple album of the same name. McCartney performed it as a tribute to Harrison, who had died in November 2001.

What is 'In Spite Of All The Danger'?

A song recorded by The Quarrymen — the group that preceded The Beatles — in 1958 at a private recording studio in Liverpool. It is the earliest known recording by any member of The Beatles. McCartney began performing it live in the 2000s.

What is 'Tres Conejos'?

A traditional Spanish-language children's song that McCartney performed as a gesture to the Spanish audience on the opening night of the tour in Gijón. It is characteristic of McCartney's habit of including local-language material when touring abroad.

What is Estadio El Molinón?

The home ground of Sporting de Gijón, one of the oldest football stadiums in Spain, located in the port city of Gijón in Asturias. It has a capacity of around 29,000.

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