Sir Paul McCartney, a famous musician best known as a member of The Beatles and affectionately nicknamed “Macca,” made his long-awaited return to Saturday Night Live on Saturday, closing out the show’s 51st season as a musical guest for the first time in 14 years. He had appeared on anniversary specials before, but those do not count as regular musical guest performances, and this time he brought company, with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith accompanying McCartney on drums for all three performances of the night.
McCartney opened with “Days We Left Behind,” a new track from his forthcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, due out May 29th. He then returned to the stage for the Wings classic “Band on the Run,” before delivering a rare third performance during the closing credits with the McCartney II fan favorite “Coming Up.”
Off the stage, McCartney also leaned into the evening’s comedic spirit. He appeared alongside Smith and host Will Ferrell in the cold open, and later played a car mechanic in a sketch with Ferrell and Marcello Hernandez.
Paul McCartney was creatively active and emotionally connected to his Beatles past, because even more than sixty years later, he was working with Ringo Starr on new music that reflects on their history working together, their early lives, their hometowns and the feeling of turning a difficult childhood place into something meaningful.
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