Home Flashbox

Watch The Rolling Stones Honor the Beatles in Liverpool With ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’

It marked their first performance of the 1963 classic in a decade, and their first time ever playing it in the Beatles’ hometown

Published by

The Rolling Stones’ 60th anniversary tour touched down at Liverpool, England’s Anfield stadium Thursday night, and five songs into the set they honored hometown heroes the Beatles by covering “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

“We had decided to rehearse a special version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’” Mick Jagger told the crowd before playing it. “But we decided instead to do a cover song written by other local lads, so we’ll do this especially for you.”

He was referencing the Gerry and the Pacemakers song “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which is played before kickoff at every Liverpool soccer match at the stadium. The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers were briefly rivals on the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early Sixties.

The Beatles and the Stones were also seen as rivals by many in the press, but they were actually quite friendly with one another. In 1963, the Beatles gave the Stones “I Wanna Be Your Man” shortly after writing it. It became their second single and peaked at Number 12 on the British charts. The Beatles released their own version of the song just weeks later on Meet The Beatles.

The Stones dropped it from their live repertoire in early 1965, but they brought it back in 2012 for their three stops on their 50th anniversary tour. This performance in Liverpool was their first time playing it in a decade, and their first known time ever playing it in Liverpool. Paul McCartney played it during three VIP soundcheck shows on his ongoing Got Back American tour in April and May, and Ringo Starr breaks it out every single night of his current tour with the All Starr Band.

The Stones continue their tour Monday night in Amsterdam at the Johan Cruyff Arena. They wrap July 31 in Stockholm, Sweden at the Friends Arena. Early shows have featured an unusual number of Sixties songs, including “Out of Time,” “Get Off Of My Cloud,” and “19th Nervous Breakdown.” They’re rehearsed the 1966 deep cut “Mother’s Little Helper, but they’ve yet to play it publicly.

From Rolling Stone US.

Recent Posts

The Best World Cinema of 2024

As the credits roll signaling the end of 2024, here are some of the films…

December 24, 2024

Gminxr Promises Legacy-Building Set at Zomaland Mumbai

Punjabi hip-hop artist part of hits like AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Shinda Kahlon’s ‘Brown…

December 24, 2024

SulaFest 2025: Divine, Ritviz x Karan Kanchan to Perform at Comeback Edition in Nashik

When Chai Met Toast, Madboy/Mink, Dualist Inquiry and more will also perform at the wine…

December 24, 2024

Paul McCartney Wants to Finish a New Solo Album Next Year

The musician says he hopes to return to a bunch of songs he was working…

December 24, 2024

‘Babygirl’ Lets Nicole Kidman Get Her Kink On

The actor delivers a no-holds-barred, everything-bared performance as a woman who finds sexual liberation through…

December 24, 2024

‘Nosferatu’: Robert Eggers’ Remake of Horror Classic Is Anything But Bloodless

The only thing that sucks here is a vampire — otherwise, 'The Witch' director's take…

December 24, 2024