Paul (who reveals the news tonight on 'Parkinson,' on BBC1 at 9:30pm) is to return to his roots to perform a night of rock and roll on Tuesday, December 14th. The concert comes 12,953 days since Paul last performed in the cellar of 10 Mathew Street.
The show - Paul's first at the tiny venue since The Beatles last played there on August 3rd, 1963 - will be his 281st show at The Cavern.
Paul is to rock The Cavern as a tribute to the rock and roll musical force that has so shaped the last part of the last century of the millenium.
Said Paul: 'Rock and roll has shaped my life, and it changed the sound and the thinking of the century. Before The Beatles ever got big, we started out playing rock and roll at The Cavern. I'm going back, for just one night, as a nod to the music that has always, and will ever, thrill me.
'I can't think of a better way than to rock out the end of the century with a rock and roll party at The Cavern, singing the songs of my heroes.'
Organizers are bracing themselves for a deluge of demand for tickets from all around the world. Due to space restrictions, it is expected that only 150-200 tickets will be available for this landmark show. The tickets will be free.
'Millions are going to want to be at this gig, and the fact that is that millions are going to be disappointed," said a spokesman. "However, there are plans for the show to be broadcast on television and radio around the world.'
Paul and his band (Dave Gilmour and Mick Green on guitars, Ian Paice on drums and Pete Wingfield on keyboards) will be performing rock and roll from his album "Run Devil Run," playing songs by Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and other of his influential heroes.
Paul McCartney first played at The Cavern on Friday, January 24th, 1958, with The Quarrymen. He first played there with The Beatles at a lunchtime show on Thursday, February 9, 1961. The band's fee was £5.
Since Paul last played at The Cavern, he has performed 587 live concerts with The Beatles, Wings and as a solo artists (252 with The Beatles, 142 with Wings, 193 as a solo artist).
The cafe worker from Tokyo said: 'It's amazing to be here I can't believe I'm going to see Paul.' Also Liverpool had its coldest day of the winter so far - but that didn't diminish the sense of excitement.
There were so many people around that members of the press had real trouble getting into the press conference in The Cavern. The press conference took place in front of the wall in the club that featured the names of many of the groups that played The Cavern in its heyday. When Ringo visited the Cavern for his 'Ringo Coming Home' show he signed the wall - next to Rory Storme and the Hurricaines name. I don't know whether Paul signed the wall though.
Paul said at the press conference 'It's fantastic to be back - what better way to rock out the century? This is where it all began and it's where the century ends - with me playing rock 'n' roll.' Clips of the press conference were included in all the early evening news shows in the UK.
When it came time for the show I joined the millions of other fans around the world trying to access the webcast - but with no luck whatsoever. The only time I got on was when the show had just finished. Oh well, I knew it was going to be on TV and radio show I wasn't too disappointed.
A report on the BBC Nine o'clock News showed a brief clip of Paul singing 'Honey Hush' and also the crowds watching the show in Chevase Park in Liverpool. They estimated 15,000 people showed up in sub zero temperatures.
The show lasted about 40 minutes and consisted mainly of songs from Run Devil Run. However he also played Twenty Flight Rock, the song he taught John the first time they met, and Fabulous, which was on the B side of 'No Other Baby' but not on the CD. However he totally bought the house down when he played 'I Saw Her Standing There.
The full set list was:
Honey Hush
Blue Jean Bop
Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
Fabulous
What It Is
Lonesome Town
Twenty Flight Rock
No Other Baby
Try Not To Cry
Shake a Hand
All Shook Up
I Saw Her Standing There
(Encore) Party
People were shouting out requests to Paul and most of the time he took no notice. However before playing 'Try Not To Cry' Paul said 'this next one's from the 90's' and a drunk in the audience shouted "Satisfaction". Paul replied by saying 'We've got a wag in the audience tonight - read my lips'. Then Paul mouthed 'f**k Off'' - to the cheers of the whole audience - apart from the drunk. it will be interesting to see if this is shown in the TV broadcast
Paul also couldn't let the occasion pass by not having a go at Liverpool City Council. He said 'You know this isn't exactly where the Cavern was. It's over there somewhere, buried under a heap of rubble. Another brilliant City Council decision. (Boos from audience) 'you know - let's fill in the Cavern - that's a good idea.' (more boos)
The show wasn't without its problems - A few seconds into Fabulous Paul stopped the band and said 'Hang on, hang on, hang on. You know with this band if you don't get it right we start again' - and they got it right the second time. Then after completing Try Not to Cry Paul decided they should play the solo again.
After All Shook Up Paul said 'This next one isn't from the 50s or >from the 90s - it's from somewhere in between' and launched in to a blistering version of 'I Saw Her Standing There'.
The Show ended with Party and Paul was offstage after about 47 minutes. Paul said 'See you next time' when he left the stage. A short but very sweet concert.
Perhaps the best coverage was in the Daily Mail, who had a full page of photos and a report by Ray Connolly, who had been reporting on The Beatles for 35 years. Paul introduced Ray to a special guest at the show. Ray says 'Taking me aside to introduce me to Bob Wooler, the disc jockey who used to present The Beatles at the Cavern, he said 'They've done a pretty good job, haven't they?' 'It's not quite the same' came in Wooler, once a rocker, now an elderly man in a cloth cap. 'They're used to be a little dressing room at the side of the stage where Paul and I would talk about Cole Porter and George Gershwin'.
The Daily Telegraph probably had the best single picture and David Cheal finished his review saying, 'Paul at the Cavern? For those lucky ballot-winners, and even for jaded pop reviewers, it was a dream ticket.' He also said, 'Backed by a phenomenally cohesive all-star four piece band....McCartney sang his socks off, raised those legendary eye-brows almost to the roof, and gave every indication he was having a fabulous time'
As usual factual mistakes were made by some papers. Perhaps the worst blooper being in the Sun who show a picture of John, Paul, George and Pete at the Cavern and said it was from 1958.