Paul's gig at Sheffield was rescheduled as we know. Apparently those who held the original tickets were able to use them. But there were actually some tickets that were printed again with the correct show date, green background, and without Paul's picture. As I understand, not many of these "reprinted" tickets were issued. Anyone out there have a "green" ticket with the correct May 29th date ?

(5/31/03) From David Shaw:

Hi Steve,

I went to Paul's re-scheduled Sheffield concert last night (Thursday 29th May) and it was a fantastic show. Paul was on great form; his singing was strong and clear and all the band put in an energetic and spirited performance.

I was a bit concerned at the start, though, because they kept us waiting until 8.30 for the beginning of the pre-show and it's usually more punctual than this. I went with my wife, Janet, my daughter, Emma (who's five and a half), and a friend from work, Lee. I'd seen Paul twice before on this current European Tour but last night we were in much better seats, about halfway back on the floor of the arena. The pre-show was as spectacular as ever- I've enjoyed and understood it more with each viewing. Then Paul and the band were on stage and burst into a stomping "Hello Goodbye".

All the musicians were dynamic and enthusiastic with their playing and the power of the opening rock set was energising. "Lonely Road" was particularly fired-up with Paul screaming out the cathartic coda.

After a couple of songs Macca said it was great to be back in Sheffield and how disappointed he had been to lose his voice before; then he joked, "Oh, it's gone again!"

Paul also said he recognised some faces from earlier shows and made a point of thanking the fans for their support on this tour. Just before "Your Loving Flame" Paul dedicated the song to Heather as usual, then added ".and we've just had some good news" in reference to her pregnancy announced the day before.

The solo set was superb and during this section he read out a banner saying, "Screw Channel 4 - We Love Heather" which got a round of applause. After the touching tributes to John and George, someone shouted loudly "What about Ringo?" so Paul led the crowd through a quick chorus of "Yellow Submarine", backed by the band. Paul mentioned that he'd told Ringo that people were calling for a song for him and said Ringo was pleased to hear it! "Band On The Run" had an extended slow intro with Paul singing over a backwards loop, much like the Radio 2 commercial, before going into the full song.

After a blistering "Back In The USSR" Paul said they'd recently played it in Red Square and that was almost as good as Sheffield! I was delighted to hear "Maybe I'm Amazed" back in the set ("Things We Said Today" was dropped) and Paul gave a virtuoso delivery at the grand piano. Wix talked about the recent trip to Ireland, saying that they'd stayed in a wonderful castle (Castle Leslie???) and then he put on a huge "Guinness" top hat and said they'd all downed plenty of the famous Irish drink.

My daughter, Emma, was having a great time and was dancing in the aisle during "Lady Madonna". A security man came up to us and I thought he was going to tell us to stay in our seats, but incredibly this kind gentleman said she could go down to watch the band from the front!!! Janet went with Emma just as they launched into a storming rendition of "I Saw Her Standing There".

On the big screen I could see Heather Mills in a white top, dancing to the song; and during the solo all three guitarists went right up to the left corner of the stage where she was bopping (in the security pit).

After this song, Janet (knowing how much it would mean to me) swapped places and the security guard rushed me right to the very front of the arena. I picked up my daughter and held her above shoulder height and we were directly in front of Brian Ray's microphone. We were at the metal security barrier, at the front of one of the aisles, even further forward than the front row seats! To our left only about 15 feet away was Sir Paul McCartney. He was wearing black jeans and a red "No More Land Mines" T-shirt and he looked fantastic. We were so close that we could see every detail of Paul and the band. It happened so suddenly that I was in shock, actually shaking and so excited for us both to be right in front of Paul as he put on his acoustic guitar and played a sublime "Yesterday". It was a spellbinding, beautiful performance and totally magical to see Paul's phenomenal musical talent so close up.

There was a moment when, unusually, he invited the crowd to sing a couple of lines on their own. It really was a dream come true. Paul then said a thank you to the crew and the band launched into "Sgt Pepper (reprise).

I was cheering and Emma was waving her arms and bopping around at shoulder height and then Paul saw us and made eye contact as he was singing this Summer of Love classic. He looked directly at me and gestured with his head for me to get Emma's attention (she had momentarily looked to the side). I told her to wave at Paul, and would you believe it Macca waved back at my daughter!! This was seconds before the change into "The End".

Then Paul smiled back at me and gave me a knowing look, like he knew how it was to be a proud Dad when someone makes your child happy.

All this happened in a couple of seconds, while Paul was still singing and playing "Sgt. Pepper". I couldn't believe it was really taking place.

I looked further to our left and could see Heather Mills watching the band from the security pit. To see the guitar duelling of "The End" at such close quarters was awesome. Paul was screaming away on his sunburst Les Paul and Rusty and Brian were rocking out.

Then it all stopped dead as Paul sang those immortal closing lines "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make" standing right in front of us. It was totally incredible!! Paul let the final chord ring out, resonating around the arena, his arm held up in a salute to the audience. The show was over; he signed a programme and two LP covers which had been thrown onto the stage. He took the trouble to throw them back to the right fans.

Then it was "See you next time" and Paul left the stage as the ticker tape showered over us. I shouted my thanks to the kind security guard.

It was a fantastic night and for my daughter an unforgettable first rock concert. What a nice guy Sir Paul really is!