Secret gig at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms • Saturday, June 9, 2018

Highlights

About

Paul spent June 9, 2018 in Liverpool along with English television host James Corden, filming an instance of Corden’s show “Carpool Karaoke”. The day ended with a gig at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms pub, where Sir Paul debuted an upbeat new song, “Come On To Me“, which would be formally announced and released on June 20, 2018. From bestclassicbands.com, June 10, 2018:

When audience members shouted that they were celebrating a 60th birthday that day, McCartney said: “Today? Alright, we’ve got a song for you.” And to the assembled crowd: “Would you like to hear some new stuff?  This hasn’t been released yet, but for you, this is the first time we’ve played it for anybody.” (One site ID’d the title as “When I Come Home to You.”)

From Variety, June 11, 2018:

McCartney also did a short show at a pub called Philharmonic Hall that included a song he said he’d never played before. He didn’t reveal the title, but videos of the song, a rocker, have popped up on various social media sites and the words include a chorus that sounded like “If you come home to me.” The Sun reported that the song will be featured on McCartney’s next album — the first of his third stint on Capitol Records, which is expected to be announced soon.

From Liverpool Echo, June 8, 2018:

Television tickets company SRO Audiences is looking for Liverpool people for a secret gig with a ‘global superstar’. […]

Details for the event in Liverpool this weekend are under wraps but all will be revealed to the lucky few who are chosen to be audience members.

The mystery show will take place on Saturday, June 9 from 2.30pm to 4.30pm , so those who apply for free tickets must be available at this time.

About the venue, from Wikipedia:

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms is a public house at the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and stands diagonally opposite the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. It is commonly known as The Phil. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

[…] The interior is decorated in musical themes that relate to the nearby concert hall. These decorations are executed on repoussé copper panels designed by Bare and by Thomas Huson, plasterwork by C. J. Allen, mosaics, and items in mahogany and glass. Two of the smaller rooms are entitled Brahms and Liszt. Of particular interest to visitors is the high quality of the gentlemen’s urinals, constructed in “a particularly attractive roseate marble”.

[…] Pollard and Pevsner, in the Buildings of England series, state that it is the most richly decorated of Liverpool’s Victorian public houses, and that “it is of exceptional quality in national terms”. The Grade II* listing means that it is included among “particularly important buildings of more than special interest”. Pye describes it as one of Liverpool’s “architectural gems”. […]

From Carpool Karaoke (nicholsonspubs.co.uk):

A once in a lifetime event recently took place at The Philharmonic in Liverpool, which saw Sir Paul McCartney perform an hour long exclusive set to 50 lucky guests as part of his appearance on ‘Carpool Karaoke’ for The Late Late Show.

The gig was “top secret” with confidentiality agreements in place, which included a temporary bar and stage being installed in the Grand Lounge, where the filming took place.

50 lucky guests were selected by ballot in conjunction with the Liverpool Echo to attend the gig — they were completely unaware of what was about to happen until they entered our pub! At midday only six people were outside The Philharmonic, but thanks to the power of social media — which spread rumours of Sir Paul McCartney being in Liverpool — we saw hundreds of people outside by the time he left.

The barmaid filmed on the show is Lisa Tyrer, one of our fantastic team members from The Philharmonic, who was also unaware of what was happening until James Corden appeared to help her serve the beer! Even guests such as John Bishop were invited to share the surprise with no idea of what was happening.

The private gig ensued and Sir Paul McCartney wowed us with hits such as; Back In The USSR, Jet, Lady Madonna, A Hard Day’s Night, and he ended his set with a duet with James Corden — singing a hair-raising version of Hey Jude! The selected fans and The Philharmonic team were also lucky enough to hear two brand new songs — what an exclusive!!

It was an amazing and unforgettable experience for The Philharmonic and Nicholson’s, and is one which will not be forgotten. Before he left, Sir Paul McCartney even went behind the bar to have his picture taken with Annette Mooney, Terry Edwards, Coelina Chapman (GM), and Phillippa Hulse.

This episode of Carpool Karaoke was aired on Friday 22nd June on The Late Late Show, Sky One, and seen by millions. If you fancy taking a look, you can find it on Catch-up TV, Sky, or on YouTube, where it had a massive six million views after just one day!! With any luck, The Philharmonic will be part of history in the making as this episode is expected to surpass the Carpool Karaoke’s current record featuring Adele, which saw 180 million streams.

Last updated on April 4, 2021

Philharmonic Dining Rooms

This was the 1st and only concert played at Philharmonic Dining Rooms.

Setlist for the concert