Paul McCartney Reveals the TV Show He Watches Before His Concerts
Paul McCartney has many pre-show rituals he does before performing at his concerts. The former Beatle has been touring for over 60 years, so he knows what to do to prepare himself. One of his habits includes watching TV to relax, and Paul McCartney says he loves to watch this American game show.
Paul McCartney loves to watch ‘Family Feud’ before starting his concerts
Paul McCartney isn’t too much of a TV connoisseur. He’s often too busy with his music or other projects that occupy his time. He also loves exploring nature and lounging around his farm. However, a few shows still occupy his time, especially if he’s channel surfing.
In an interview with The Adam Buxton Podcast, McCartney said he appreciates shows like Storage Hunters and American Pickers but also enjoys comedy.
“I love comedy. I watch it on TV, you know Live From The Apollo, you see wonderful people on that,” McCartney shared. “Then I like shows like Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You, I like those shows. And I like Would I Lie To You? I think there’s some very funny people on that, Lee Mack is a very talented boy. You sit at home with your friends or family, and you say, ‘He’s lying, he’s lying”!’ That’s the kind of thing I like.”
One American show has become a part of the former Beatles’ pre-show ritual. In the book for his Freshen Up tour, McCartney said he watches Family Feud before each concert. He said it’s not only a funny show that puts him in a relaxed mood, but he also loves participating in the game, which gives everyone a chance to get the questions right.
“I like to watch Steve Harvey in ‘Family Feud’! I don’t like to watch anything too serious before a show. I like to keep it light and something you can dip in and out of. So if I’ve got to go in the back dressing room to change, it doesn’t matter if I miss a bit of the program. I can come back in, and ‘100 people said,’ and I’ll give the top answer, hopefully. That’s a good fun show, and I just like the fact that you can give your answer.”
McCartney has other pre-show rituals but isn’t sure if they work
So many artists have their own pre-show rituals. Some are relatively normal, while others are bizarre. Watching TV is a standard ritual for Paul McCartney, but it’s not the only one he does. While speaking with the Fly on the Wall podcast, the “Let It Be” singer said he does a trick to loosen his voice, but he isn’t sure if it works.
“Yes, I do certain things,” McCartney explained. “I boil a kettle because I know I’m going to do a steam thing for the voice. I do that and then some nights, I question it every night, with the boiled water, I get a salt, like a brine solution which I then gargle with. I have no idea if it does anything.”
Sir Paul also said he likes to quickly play with the band 10 minutes before the show starts to ensure everyone is in tune.
“So I do a few things like that and then get dressed and into the stage stuff,” he added. “And then about 10 minutes before we’re going on, I will go into the band’s dressing room and we then have a little sort of routine where we do Rusty, one of our guitar players, will play a C chord, and I’ll go, ‘Let it be, let it be.’ And they’ll all go ‘woo,’ the harmony. So we’ll just do a little burst of that. Then we’ll do a little burst of ‘Hey Jude,’ and they’ll do the harmonies with that. Then the guy comes and says, ‘Hey, showtime.’”
