Tribute night in Brighton explores Paul McCartney's solo and Beatles careers

After ten years as one of The Beatles, Joe Kane steps out from fab foursome tributes for a solo Paul McCartney show and tour.
Joe KaneJoe Kane
Joe Kane

He brings McCartney: The Songbook to Brighton Theatre Royal on January 16.

From the producers of shows including That’ll Be The Day and Walk Right Back, Joe is promising the ultimate McCartney experience, recreating masterworks spanning six decades.

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Joe (Let It Be – West End and touring, Cavern Club, Bootleg Beatles) will chart Sir Paul’s career from the early days with the Fab Four through to the Wings days and through Paul’s prolific solo career with tales of life on the road and flashbacks to life in Liverpool.

Songs will include Band On The Run, Can’t Buy Me Love, Yesterday, Live and Let Die, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Hey Jude.

“I have been a massive fan since I was a kid,” says Joe. “I got into The Beatles when I was about 12. I saw the film Help! on TV, and I started collecting the records.

“I think I was the last generation to do that before all the downloads came in. This was early 90s.

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“I just loved everything about them. As a teenager, I think you get quite impressed, and with The Beatles, I think it was because it was something that was so different.

“It was particularly the song Help! I just became obsessed with everything about them, the way they played, the way they looked, their guitars, their humour.

“As a teenager, I became really obsessed with John. Because he died, there was like an emotional connection, but when I was in my 20s I met a friend who was really into Paul and my friend played me a lot of his stuff from the 70s, and I became completely obsessed with Paul.

“With The Beatles, John was the strong one until about 1966 and then Paul started to take over in terms of quality and quantity.”

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And the great songs have just kept on coming, with McCartney’s most recent album the acclaimed Egypt Station a couple of years ago.

“I think there are some great songs on that, but I am not so keen on his choice of producers. They try to make him sound too contemporary, but there are still some really good songs and really good ideas on there.”

As for the show: “My acting ability doesn’t really go beyond talking as Paul. I wouldn’t be too confident doing anything too dramatic and telling the story.

“But in the first half, we take you back to 1976 and we do a full Wings concert.

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“We have got a Linda McCartney on stage, and it really rocks. It is a really nice set piece to do, and then in the second half we do a modern Paul show, a mix of his Beatles stuff and his solo stuff so you get like two different Paul McCartney live experiences.

“I have only just started with this show. I have done Beatles for the last ten years. This is the first time I have done a solo McCartney, so it is quite a jump from being part of that Beatles dynamic.

“I got asked to do this show last year, and I wasn’t too sure about it at first.

“I was a bit scared being the only singer and singing all the time, but then I just thought it would be a good opportunity. Originally they had another chap that was supposed to be doing it, and then he got ill, and I was asked. And I thought if someone else did it, I would really regret not doing it!

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“And I am really glad I have. So far, it is going really well!”