Macca struggles to sell Hampden concert tickets
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* Tickets went on sale 10 weeks ago for Sir Paul McCartney’s city gig
Russell Leadbetter
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17 May 2010
The long-awaited Sir Paul McCartney gig at Hampden Park in June is still not a sell-out – 10 weeks after it was first announced.
McCartney’s concert will mark the former Beatle’s first Scots gig in nearly 20 years and tickets, priced between £55 and £85, are understood to have sold steadily, with front row briefs still selling on eBay for £110 a pair.
His sales compare with that of boy band Take That, who put on a third show at the national stadium after their original two dates sold out quickly last year.
Dozens of fans also camped out overnight in order to obtain tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s first gig in Glasgow for 13 years in July 2009, which went on to be a sell-out, as did U2’s concert at the same venue last year.
Ken McNab, a Glasgow-based expert and author of The Beatles in Scotland, said: “I think the fact that the Hampden show is not sold out yet is simply down to the state of the economy.
“People are having to be very careful with their money, and the tickets are quite expensive.
“I bought four tickets at £80 each. I have seen him several times before, but I did hesitate on the grounds of cost and also McCartney’s age – he is now 67.”
The Hampden Park setlist is expected to include a number of Fab Four songs that the Beatles never performed live.
McCartney said: “It’s always good to get back to Scotland because I’ve got a special affection for the wee place. I’ve never done Hampden before and it’s legendary.
“The country is a very special part of the isles we live in. It’s had a kind of romantic thing for me since I first went there with the Beatles.”
McCartney added that “the crowds are always great”.
His last gig in Glasgow was on June 23, 1990, when he played the SECC as part of Glasgow’s European City of Culture celebrations.