Paul McCartney performed the Beatles’ first American No 1 hit, I Want to Hold Your Hand, for the first time in 60 years at the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, according to People magazine. The performance came amid a ceremony shrouded in secrecy, with NDAs reportedly issued and few details emerging about the nuptials. Swift’s new mother-in-law, Donna Kelce, has broken her silence on the wedding, though specifics of her comments were not immediately disclosed.
McCartney, 84, last performed the song in September 1964 at the Paramount theatre in New York and had never played it in public since. The track sparked Beatlemania in the US and the wave of British bands’ success known as the British invasion. An unnamed source told People that after the ceremony, Swift’s mother, Andrea, invited everyone into the reception room where the stage was set up, adding that former Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks also performed.
“Paul McCartney performed I Want to Hold Your Hand for first time in 60 years at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding.”
McCartney and Swift, 36, have a long friendship. They appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone together in 2020. McCartney attended one of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts at Wembley Stadium in June 2024, where he was greeted by fans. Swift later attended McCartney’s intimate concert at the Fonda theatre in Los Angeles. She recently shared an Instagram post from McCartney about his new solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, hailing him as an “eternally exceptional artist” whom she was “never not inspired” by.
Days earlier, McCartney was asked during an interview if he would give Swift any advice on navigating global fame. “You so see the parallel, you know the fame and the amount of fame,” he told BBC Sounds. “The worldwide fame that Taylor Swift has and that we had, but I don’t think she needs any advice, to tell you the truth.” He added that if Swift asked, he would oblige, describing himself as “like the older brother to that generation, or more like the grandad”. He said he has met Swift and other young performers including Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter at parties hosted by his wife, Nancy Shevell, and daughter Stella. “They’re really cool people, they’re very good,” he said. “I like their voices.”
The Beatles released I Want to Hold Your Hand in 1963. It became the band’s bestselling single worldwide, selling more than 12m copies. The song would have gone straight to the top of the UK records charts on its day of release had it not been blocked by the Beatles’ first million-seller single, She Loves You.