With the deaths or John Lennon and George Harrison, the possibility of a true Beatles reunion is impossible. So, what is the next best thing? How about the remaining two members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appearing on stage together?
That is exactly what happened Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall. The two former Beatles appeared on stage together for the first time in six years to raise money for the David Lynch Foundation’s Change Begins Within Benefit concert. The David Lynch Foundation offers funding for students to learn transcendental meditation. The before and after programs of the foundation promotes the transcendental meditation technique that was used by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
If you remember, the Beatles went to India in 1968 to study with the Mararishi. McCartney credited the Marishi for stabilizing the band at the end of a “crazy” decade. Starr said, “You know, it’s a gift he gave me, something that I could use and something no one could take away.”
There was no official confirmation that McCartney and Starr would appear together at the concert, so concertgoers got quite a surprise when they got to see the two perform separately, then as one. After McCartney’s set, he said he would like his old mate, Billy Shears, to join him in singing “With A Little Help From My Friends.” The two hadn’t appeared on stage together since “A Concert for George,” a tribute to late band mate George Harrison, in 2002.
Besides McCartney and Starr, others attending the benefit were Donovan, Paul Horn, Beach Boy Mike Love, Bettye LaVette, Moby, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Howard Stern, Jerry Seinfeld, and Angelo Badalamenti, who has composed for several Lynch projects including Blue Velvet, “Twin Peaks,” and Mullholland Drive.
At the end of the benefit, everyone joined McCartney on stage for “Cosmically Conscious” and “I Saw Her Standing There” while Starr played the drums.