The surviving Beatles members reunited at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday, Dec. 19
By Ilana Kaplan
On Thursday, Dec. 19, Sir Ringo Starr made a surprise appearance at Sir Paul McCartney’s final show on his Got Back tour at London’s O2 Arena. Additionally, The Rolling Stones’ guitarist Ronnie Wood joined them onstage.
McCartney, 82, invited Starr, 84, out during the encore, where they played a pair of Beatles classics, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “Helter Skelter, per fan-captured footage.
Announcing the drummer, McCartney told the crowd, according to fan-captured video: “The one and only Mr. Ringo Starr!”
As Starr arrived onstage, he embraced the “Maybe I’m Amazed” performer and said: “I want to tell you, I’ve had a great night tonight.”
Then McCartney, 82, turned to his 84-year-old friend and said: “Shall we rock?”
The “Ever Past Present” musician reflected on the evening in an Instagram post on Friday, Dec. 20.
“Thank you, London! We’ve been all over South America and Europe and here we are back home for the last shows of the 2024 ‘Got Back’ tour,” he captioned a series of photos featuring him, Starr and Wood from the gig.
He also revealed that he performed with his original bass — which was returned in February 2024 after being stolen in 1972 — the night prior.
“Making its first stage appearance in 50 years… is my original bass! I haven’t played it in 50 years and what is more, here’s a special guest, a Rolling Stone: Ronnie Wood. And another surprise for you – the mighty, the one and only, Ringo Starr! See you next time!” McCartney added.