James D. Morgan/Getty ImagesPaul McCartney is in Australia for a brief tour leg that gets underway this Saturday in Perth, and in advance of the kickoff show, he took part in an intimate Q&A session attended by 20 contest winners and some media members, The Australian reports.
During the event, held Wednesday at the Regal Theatre in the suburb of Subiaco, the rock legend treated attendees to a performance that, according to PerthNow.com.au, featured the Beatles classics “Drive My Car,” “Lady Madonna” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” and the Wings hit “Junior’s Farm.”
One nine-year-old fan, who came to the event dressed as George Harrison, asked McCartney how he “could change the world and bring as much happiness to people as you have?” Sir Paul responded by telling the boy to go to school and “just be good to people,” adding, “Learn about the world and where there’s issues that you think need changing, just be very strong…change them.”
McCartney also shared recollections about the first time he toured Australia, in 1964 as a member of The Beatles. “It was amazing for us, the welcome was phenomenal,” he said. “We’d had [big] welcomes in Europe and all over the place, but this was mega. It was like we were royalty.”
In addition, McCartney discussed his continued passion for writing songs and performing live.
“It’s kind of a magical thing because when you write a song you’ve got nothing and you suddenly produce something like a rabbit from a hat and it feels really good and you get a bit addicted to that feeling,” he explained. “And then you perform it with an audience and you get addicted to that, too.”
McCartney’s Down Under tour will wind down December 16 in Auckland, New Zealand. Here are all his dates:
12/2 — Perth, Australia, Nib Stadium
12/5 — Melbourne, Australia, AAMI Park
12/6 — Melbourne, Australia, AAMI Park
12/9 — Brisbane, Australia, Suncorp Stadium
12/11 — Sydney, Australia, Qudos Bank Arena
12/12 — Sydney, Australia, Qudos Bank Arena
12/16 — Auckland, New Zealand, Mt. Smart Stadium
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