FANS have described the excitement of seeing Beatles legend, Sir Paul McCartney perform in Frome, at a gig at the Cheese and Grain last month. Frome’s night to remember was a surprise pre-Glastonbury warm-up gig.
Announced just the previous day, tickets sold out in less than an hour, and news of the impromptu gig made local and national news – once again putting Frome on the map!
On the night, the lucky 800-strong crowd who managed to grab a ticket enjoyed a set list full of all the classics – with the 80-year-old musician likening the heat and atmosphere of the Cheese and Grain to Liverpool’s Cavern Club, the venue where The Beatles played their first gig.
Locals have described the night as ‘surreal’, ‘emotionally overwhelming’, and a night that Frome will never forget.
“It was the best night I’ve ever spent in any entertainment venue,” said Martin Dimery, who was previously a member of Beatles tribute act, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Only Dart Board Band’.
“To be able to see Paul McCartney is a great privilege anyway, but to be able to see him from 15 yards back, and for him to do what was an amazing set for two hours, was a real privilege and very, very moving. I became a bit overwhelmed at times – I spoke to others there and they had exactly the same feeling.
“It was a fantastic night for the venue and for Frome. Seeing him that close up was quite remarkable, and in my home town as well – it’s a moment that a lot of people felt very proud of; just knowing that he chose to come to Frome.”
“It was surreal!,” said lucky local Beccy Byrne. “I feel very privileged to have been there, and proud of Frome to have put that show on – the amount of coverage that Frome got on both the local and national news was amazing. Sir Paul has certainly put Frome on the map – again!
“He had clearly done his homework too as he knew how to say Frome and kept calling us ‘Fromians’. He did also equate the Cheese and Grain to the Cavern, explaining that it was just as hot and sweaty in the venue as it was back in the day in the Cavern. But he did add that thankfully there was no sweat dripping off the ceiling, and no staff fainting in the heat!
“He played loads of tracks – stuff from the Beatles, Wings, his own stuff, and some of his more recent stuff. But it was the old favourites by the Beatles, the ones everyone knows that really got the crowd going! Standing 20ft away from the legend that is Paul McCartney singing ‘Hey Jude’ with the crowd doing the ‘Na na na nanananas’ – well, it was a surreal experience.
“And the mobile phone ban was a great idea – it was lovely to enjoy an evening without people around you trying to record it on their phones. Come Monday morning, back at work, the whole evening did not feel real, I almost questioned that it had actually happened!”
“What a coup for the venue!” said Frome’s mayor, cllr Sara Butler, “and indeed the whole town, which was buzzing for a solid 48 hours as the news seeped out, tickets went on sale and the build-up continued. The story made the national news; it’s not every day a Beatle comes to town, and it once again reminded me that anything is possible in Frome!”
