Paul McCartney returned to a concert stage on Saturday in Albany, New York, after being sidelined for two months because of a virus.
"It's great to be back," said McCartney, who turned 72 two weeks ago. He looked none the worse for wear, putting on a show of just under three hours with 38 songs, including ones by The Beatles, Wings and from his solo career that has spanned more than 50 years. He finished with the three-song medley that ends the Abbey Road album.
McCartney was briefly hospitalised in Tokyo in May because of a viral infection. The illness forced him to cancel a Japanese tour and a concert in South Korea and reschedule half a dozen June dates in the United States before resuming his Out There tour in Albany.
Before his illness, McCartney last performed on May 1 in Costa Rica.
The crowd-pleasing Albany show contained a mix of expected hits such as Hey Jude and Let It Be, four songs from McCartney's latest album and a generous sampling from more obscure corners of his catalogue, including The Beatles' songs Lovely Rita and Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite.
McCartney's wife, Nancy, was on hand and he dedicated the song My Valentine to her. Perhaps one oblique reference to his absence was the new song, On My Way to Work, which McCartney said he hadn't performed publicly before.
It's a busy year for McCartney, for whom this winter marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which marked the beginning of Beatlemania in the US. He has 19 US shows scheduled, including one at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, where The Beatles made their final concert appearance in 1966.
The other surviving former Beatle, Ringo Starr, is also on the road this summer.
