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The Paul McCartney World Tour

Debut tour byPaul McCartney
Cover of the tour booklet
Location	Europe • North America • South America
Associated album	Flowers in the Dirt
Start date	26 September 1989
End date	29 July 1990
Legs	9
No. of shows	103
Paul McCartney concert chronology
The Paul McCartney World Tour (1989–90) Unplugged Tour 1991 (1991)

The Paul McCartney World Tour was a worldwideconcert tour byPaul McCartney, notable for being McCartney's first tour under his own name, and for the monumental painted stage sets by artistBrian Clarke. The 103-gig tour, which ran from 1989 through 1990, included a concert played to what was then the largest stadium crowd in the history of rock and roll.^[1]

TheWorld Tour was Paul McCartney's first world tour under his own name; it was also his first major tour outing in ten years, following theWings UK Tour 1979, and his first world tour since the 1976Wings Over the World Tour (both also withLinda McCartney).

While the tour coincided with the release of the solo albumFlowers in the Dirt, and promoted that record by inclusion of its songs in the set list,The Paul McCartney World Tour has been characterised as thematically more about him embracing hisBeatles past; for the first time in any of his tours, a substantial number of Beatles songs were featured in theset list.

The tour was documented by the 1990 live albumsTripping the Live Fantastic andTripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!, and the 1991 concert filmGet Back. A one-hour tour documentary was also aired onChannel 4 in the UK, titledFrom Rio to Liverpool.

The sets for the tour were designed by regular McCartney collaborator, the artist Brian Clarke, who together with Linda McCartney created the album cover forFlowers in the Dirt. The hand-painted stage set backdrops, notable for their scale, were executed under Clarke’s supervision by the scenic painters Elms Lesters, at the Los Angeles Painting Rooms. The scale designs for the tour, individual artworks by Clarke in acrylic and paper collage on Velin, were first publicly exhibited in 1990, at the Mayor Gallery in London. Elements from the sets appear as the graphic basis of much of the promotional material.

Concert attendees received, free of additional charge, a lavish 9x12-inch 98-me page booklet, containing the tour itinerary, lengthy profiles of the band members, descriptions of the tour's stage and logistics, and an extended description of Friends of the Earth's mission. Two-thirds of the booklet consisted of McCartney's reflections upon his life and career, illustrated by many photographs.

The following set list is obtained from the September 28, 1989 concert in Scandinavium, Gothenburg. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.

• Paul McCartney –lead vocals, guitars (acoustic,electric andbass),keyboards
• Linda McCartney –backing vocals, keyboards,percussion
• Hamish Stuart – backing vocals, guitars (acoustic, electric and bass)
• Robbie McIntosh – backing vocals, electric guitar
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – backing vocals, keyboards
• Chris Whitten –drums, percussion

• List of most-attended concerts

• Paul McCartney concert tours
• 1989 concert tours
• 1990 concert tours

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