Back when The Beatles ruled the Earth, Israel didn’t want to hear it.
Now that half the band has passed and the region is aflame with political and cultural conflict, it asked Paul McCartney back for a blockbuster concert.
In the process, it shook a 44-year-old Beatlemania snub off its back.
At least, that’s the cynic’s view. Sometimes reality is far more banal.
Only McCartney knows, and today he sounded a lot like John Lennon.
“I’m here to highlight the situation and to say that what we need is peace in this region, a two-state solution,” he explained in a press conference outside Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the spiritual birthplace of Jesus. “I’m bringing a message of peace, and I Think that’s what the region needs.”
A noble ideal, Sir Paul.
To achieve it, I would suggest avoiding “Live and Let Die” and “Yesterday” when your concert kicks off in Tel Aviv.
And although I hate it nearly as much as Phil Collins’ mind-numbing “One More Night,” perhaps playing “Ebony and Ivory” might not be a bad idea.
Whatever works, dude. Whatever works.
This article appeared at Wired
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