Paul McCartney to play Montreal for first time since 1989

MONTREAL – Long-suffering Montreal Beatlemaniacs will finally get relief Aug. 12 when Paul McCartney returns here for a Bell Centre concert.

Tickets for Sir Paul’s show go on sale June 14 at noon. Prices are $59.50, $89.50, $185 and $250 (plus service charges) and tickets will be available via Evenko at evenko.ca or 514-790-2525. (A fan club pre-sale, however, is due to be launched Wednesday.) There is a six-ticket-per-customer limit for the show.

The concert comes as part of McCartney’s Up and Coming tour, which brings him to unexpected venues, mostly cities in which he’s never performed or markets he has not visited in some time.

Montreal certainly qualifies as part of the latter group: McCartney’s last appearance here was a concert at the Forum on Dec. 9, 1989, when he was promoting his then-current album Flowers In the Dirt. His only visit before that was when the Beatles played the same venue Sept. 8, 1964.

Two years ago, McCartney played a free show on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. The event drew more than 200,000 people.

Judging from recent set lists, McCartney can be expected to deliver the same smartly-balanced blend of Beatles and solo favourites he’s been offering for some time, with occasional variations. I’m Looking Through You and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, for example, have recently made their live debuts.