Sir Paul McCartney has played a triumphant set to more than 200,000 in Quebec to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the city – overcoming objections from nationalists in the process.
The former Beatle played a storming set last night (July 20th) before a huge crowd, speaking both English and French to the massive audience of ‘les quebecois’. Previously, there had been debate amongst the people of the city as to whether it was appropriate to have a British headliner due to the historic tension between the city and the UK.
In 1760 Britain mounted a mission into Quebec, which involved a daring storm raid of the city – an event celebrated by the British army but remembered with some bitterness by the people of Quebec who lost their independent status.
McCartney’s set drew from all eras of his career, including some Beatles and Wings classics as well as more recently composed material. The Quebec concert was Macca’s only scheduled North American date of 2008.
