Fact #113850
When:
Short story:
On the second night of his mammoth Out There tour Paul McCartney plays in Serra Dourada Stadium, Goiania, Brazil, South America. Unexpectedly, the stage is swamped by a swarm of grasshoppers, several of which perch on McCartney's shoulders during the performance. During Hey Jude, he inclines his head towards the insects as he sings the line, "The movement you need is on your shoulder." At another point, he jokingly introduces the audience to a grasshopper on his arm, saying, "He's called Harold."
Full article:
Abe Laboriel Jr. (drummer, Paul McCartney band) : Soundcheck was a normal, sunny afternoon in a beautiful setting, and there was no sign or indication of the epic swarm that would be attracted to the show lights! It took everything in our power to stay focused and sing without opening our our mouths too wide.
(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)
Paul 'Wix' Wickens (keyboards, Paul McCartney Band) : A bizarre gig. Those things were big!
(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)
Stuart Bell (publicist, Paul McCartney) : The grasshoppers in Brazil was a great story, and it really put the town on the global map because that story was reported everywhere.
It was absolutely sensational to see. Even standing out in the audience, I got grasshoppers on me. There were meetings going on backstage about how to deal with it, did we need to abandon the show, but Paul just went right through it and didn't let it affect the quality of the show at all.
They got inside the equipment because, when they opened up the crates at the next show, grasshoppers were jumping out. A lot of them had been knocked unconscious by the pyrotechnics during Live And Let Die.
(Source : interview with Johnny Black, Audience magazine, Sep 2014)
Paul McCartney : It was a hot sweaty night and I'd noticed a couple of little insects flying around while I was at the front of the stage. Then I went back onto the piano and noticed a grasshopper on my piano ... then realised there were a few more of them.
Then I felt one on my shoulder, then one on my head, and I thought, 'Hmmm, better keep playing here.' So I went to play a chord and I noticed a couple of them on the keyboard - so I had to quickly flick them out the way, then play the chord. Suddenly, there were loads of them.
I realised later it was because the piano was really near to the big video screen and the lights had attracted loads of moths. Soi the grasshoppers were sitting there waiting for the moths to fly off the screen, which happened in a big way during Live And let Die! During the explosions, the moths all flew off and the grasshoppers all flew into the air, so suddenly there were loads of them.
(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)
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(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)
Paul 'Wix' Wickens (keyboards, Paul McCartney Band) : A bizarre gig. Those things were big!
(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)
Stuart Bell (publicist, Paul McCartney) : The grasshoppers in Brazil was a great story, and it really put the town on the global map because that story was reported everywhere.
It was absolutely sensational to see. Even standing out in the audience, I got grasshoppers on me. There were meetings going on backstage about how to deal with it, did we need to abandon the show, but Paul just went right through it and didn't let it affect the quality of the show at all.
They got inside the equipment because, when they opened up the crates at the next show, grasshoppers were jumping out. A lot of them had been knocked unconscious by the pyrotechnics during Live And Let Die.
(Source : interview with Johnny Black, Audience magazine, Sep 2014)
Paul McCartney : It was a hot sweaty night and I'd noticed a couple of little insects flying around while I was at the front of the stage. Then I went back onto the piano and noticed a grasshopper on my piano ... then realised there were a few more of them.
Then I felt one on my shoulder, then one on my head, and I thought, 'Hmmm, better keep playing here.' So I went to play a chord and I noticed a couple of them on the keyboard - so I had to quickly flick them out the way, then play the chord. Suddenly, there were loads of them.
I realised later it was because the piano was really near to the big video screen and the lights had attracted loads of moths. Soi the grasshoppers were sitting there waiting for the moths to fly off the screen, which happened in a big way during Live And let Die! During the explosions, the moths all flew off and the grasshoppers all flew into the air, so suddenly there were loads of them.
(Source : interview in Out There tour souvenir book)