McCartney performs first concert in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Paul McCartney has performed his first concert in Israel, decades after his band, the Beatles, was banned for fear it would corrupt the country's youth.

Haaretz reported the British rock 'n' roll icon sang "The Long and Winding Road," "Yesterday," "Sgt. Pepper," "The End" and "Live and Let Die" during Thursday night's concert, which lasted more than 2 1/2 hours.

The Jerusalem Post said about 40,000 fans turned out for the historic performance at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv where McCartney also sang classics like "Eleanor Rigby," "Let it Be" and "Hey Jude."

The Post said the 66-year-old performer showed "boundless energy" as he sang, as well as played bass, acoustic and electric guitar and piano throughout the night.

He also dedicated his song "My Love," to his late wife, Linda, who died of breast cancer 10 years ago, paid tribute to late Beatle George Harrison with a rendition of "Something" and honored slain Beatle John Lennon with a performance of "A Day in the Life," which the Post said "evolved into an audience sing-along" of "Give Peace A Chance."

Haaretz said tickets ranged in price from about $146 for lawn seats to $1,455 for VIP seats.