even legendary musical artists get nervous Before coming out on stage. Paul McCartney he has performed for millions of people around the world, but still had to overcome stage fright like just about everyone else. To counteract his nervousness, McCartney told himself something that helped cure his stage fright later in his career.
Paul McCartney believed that the public initially hated him
Although Paul McCartney shows confidence on stage, he was nervous at first, especially in the early days of the beatles. In an interview with the Fly on the wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, the “Maybe I’m Amazed” singer said his nerves stemmed from believing the audience hated him and that he had to win the crowd over with his performance.
“When we started, I used to get really nervous,” McCartney said. “I was trying to think why because, you know, we were pretty popular even in the beginning. I thought he would look at the audience and think, ‘Everybody hates me. So I have to do something good to make them like me.’ That’s where my nerves came from. They all look at me like, ‘What’s wrong?’”
Paul McCartney cured his stage fright with a revelation
Later in his career, Paul realized that these people were paying for tickets to see him perform. He’s leading the way because everyone loves him and is excited to see him. He said his nerves went away after this revelation because he was able to focus on giving the crowd a great show.
“Over the years, I suddenly realized at one point, ‘Wait a minute. They’ve all paid to come see me. So they probably like me,’” McCartney shared. “And once I realized that they probably liked it, I really relaxed. So yeah, I’m pretty relaxed now, and if I do new things or try a trick, I’m relaxed enough to do it.”
McCartney loves to hug the crowd.
McCartney is one of the most famous and beloved artists in the world. Even at 80, the former Beatle is still sell out shows worldwide. He told the podcast that he likes to be on stage, doing nothing, just enjoying the hug of the audience every time he performs in a new place.
“What I started doing a couple of years ago was…getting to an audience that really loves you, for example, if you haven’t been there before, which I love, when you go to a town you’ve never been to because they’re more excited, I would feel this energy coming out of them, ‘Oh, gosh, this is great,’” he explained. “So I started by saying, ‘Just a minute. You know what, this is all great. I’m going to take a minute to take all of this for myself. Then I get off the mic and just stand there… I love it. It’s a great thing with the audience.”
McCartney acknowledges that it’s pretty conceited to stand on stage and have a crowd cheer you on, but he also knows that people have paid to see him. He is confident that he can stand on stage and do nothing, and the crowd will still clap.
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