Paul McCartney played his first concert in Israel on Thursday, ending a 43-year wait for fans after a Beatles' concert was cancelled in 1965.
McCartney kicked the show off with "Hello, Goodbye" to the joy of the 40,000 who gathered in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.
The concert was billed Friendship First, as the former Beatle said he was on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.
Singing John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," McCartney stopped and let the audience sing the chorus, saying "Here tonight you sang it, you want it."
The concert set off a wave off excitement in Israel, where visits from A-list acts and celebrities are still a novelty.
Nearly all of Tel Aviv's famed nightclubs cancelled live acts Thursday in deference to the rock legend.
Just like he did at the Quebec 400th anniversary show earlier this summer, McCartney did the best to speak to the locals in their language, greeting his fans in English and Hebrew.
He wish them shana tova, happy new year, ahead of next week's Jewish new year holiday.
The setlist included many numbers from the Beatles catalogue as well as tunes from his 70s band, Wings.
McCartney was first scheduled to appear in Israel with the Beatles in 1965. In a widely repeated tale, the show was supposedly cancelled by a highly-ranked Israeli official who thought it would corrupt the nation's youth.
Only in the last few weeks, was it revealed that the story may not have been entirely true.
Israel's ambassador in London, Ron Prosor, sent a letter to the two surviving members of the band to express regret over the matter.
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," he wrote.
Only two of the four Beatles, McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr, are still alive.
The show was not completely sold-out. Tickets were priced extremely high by Israeli standards.
Show not without controversy
Some critics have said McCartney's visit supports Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
McCartney dismissed the notion that he favoured one side or the other and noted he visited sites in both Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday. He toured the town of Bethlehem and the contested Church of the Nativity, which is built over the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
"I'm here to highlight the situation and to say that what we need is peace in this region, a two-state solution," he said Wednesday, referring to Israel and a Palestinian state.
"I get criticized everywhere I go, but I don't listen to them," McCartney said. "I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."
CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer Mackey Frayer said McCartney has gone out of his way to make it clear he has no political agenda.
"That is the message he came with," Mackey Frayer said. "He did some visiting around Israel yesterday but also went to Palestinian territories. He went to Bethlehem, so he certainly is carrying the message with him that he's here for a very peaceful concert, that there's nothing political about his visit."
Earlier this week, an Israeli newspaper suggested McCartney wouldn't be appearing publicly ahead of the concert, but that he would be using a body-double over fears of an assassination attempt.
A veiled threat was made against McCartney by a sheikh in Lebanon, warning that he shouldn't come to the Middle East, Mackey Frayer said.
"But when he arrived for a press conference yesterday in Tel Aviv he jumped out and said 'yes it's me, it's very much me,' and a lot of people are looking forward to seeing him tonight."
