The Concert for Linda was a benefit tribute to Linda McCartney, wife of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 10 April 1999."Paul McCartney leads Linda tribute"
''BBC'', 11 April 1999 Linda McCartney died after a long battle with cancer nearly a year earlier, when she was 56. They were married for 29 years. The event was organised by two of their friends, Chrissie Hynde and

Carla Lane Romana Barrack (5 August 1928 – 31 May 2016), known professionally as Carla Lane, was an English television writer responsible for several successful British sitcoms, including '' The Liver Birds'' (co-creator, 1969–1979), ''Butterflies'' (1 ...

.Costello, Elvis. ''Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink'', Penguin (2015) ch. 5 Comedian

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

hosted the concert, with proceeds going to various

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

charities. Hynde and Linda had worked together supporting various animal rights groups, including PETA. Tickets to the show, with 5,000 people attending, sold out within an hour after going on sale.

Performances

Besides Paul McCartney's unannounced performance, the show featured more than a dozen artists singing their own versions of Beatles' material. Among the other groups performing were George Michael,

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinead O'Connor,

Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits " Feel So High", " You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kiss ...

Heather Small Heather Margarita Small (born 20 January 1965) is a British soul singer and former lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, ''Proud'', was released in 2000. Career 1987–1998: Hot House and M People Small ...

, guitarist Johnny Marr,

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

and

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of '' isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album '' Graceland'', and have won ...

. Faithfull, who wanted to appear, said "I didn't know Linda well, but she made my friend very happy, and that's the main thing." McCartney was not expected to perform, as he had not done any shows since his wife died. However, he attended the event with his four children. After he took to the stage to thank the audience, at the urging of Chrissie Hynde, he sang one of his and Linda's favorite 1950s songs,

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

's "

Lonesome Town "Lonesome Town" is a song written by Baker Knight. A version sung by Ricky Nelson became a hit single in the United States, reaching #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #15 on the R&B chart in 1958. The song was featured on his 1959 album, '' ...

." He was backed by members of the Pretenders, along with Costello. The song was Paul's first recorded song since Linda died. He followed that with his 1963 hit, " All My Loving," originally performed by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

."The Night Paul McCartney Dedicated an Emotional Concert to His Late Wife Linda"
''Ultimate Classic Rock'', 12 April 2014 Most of the night's performers joined him on stage to provide the chorus. Costello said that for this particular event, "there was something incredibly poignant" about the song's opening lyrics: ''Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, Tomorrow I'll miss you, Remember I'll always be true.'' After those songs, Hynde rushed over and gave McCartney an emotional embrace. Everyone then joined in for the closing song, " Let It Be."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concert for Linda Paul McCartney Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall 1999 in British music 1999 in London Tribute concerts in the United Kingdom April 1999 events in the United Kingdom