Paul McCartney Ushers in Holidays With Live ‘Wonderful Christmastime’

He’s not Mariah Carey, but Paul McCartney has his own way of heralding in the holiday season, which he did with a rare performance of “Wonderful Christmastime” at his Manchester concert Saturday.

McCartney and his band were joined by a group of kids from the You Should Be Dancing Theatre Academy for the performance, one of only a dozen or so times that McCartney has played the seasonal classic live during his lengthy solo career.

The last time McCartney unwrapped “Wonderful Christmastime” onstage was back in 2018, when he played it at a trio of December shows in England. Before that, McCartney had only played the track once more this decade, during a December 2016 visit to The Tonight Show.

McCartney has three more shows on his pre-Christmas slate — tonight again at Manchester’s Co-op Live, then two gigs this coming week at London’s O2 Arena — giving him three more opportunities to perform his 1979 single, one of Rolling Stone’s Greatest Rock & Roll Christmas Songs of All Time.

The bassist’s current Got Back tour has also seen McCartney deliver the live debut of the Beatles’ “Now and Then” and lead an all-star jam of “The End” with Jack White and St. Vincent.