I enjoyed it. It was a little long but cool to see. Paul needs to retire. His voice has not been good the last 2 yrs.

I saw a bit of him performing at the Super Bowl a few years ago and turned the channel. He just didn't sound like himself. Judging from your post, he got worse?

He started Hey Jude and he was hoarse as heck. He caught himself and laughed. I felt bad for him.

Oh, I love Paul, but his voice yesterday ..... it was impossible to hear, painful to the ears.

JoeBala said:

He started Hey Jude and he was hoarse as heck. He caught himself and laughed. I felt bad for him.

OUCH!

At what age did all these old rockers start looking like Lesbians?

Jon Bon Jovi

Joe Elliott

Paul McCartney

Ozzy Osbourne

Elton John

Prince

I don't know what it is about these guys, but it seems that when they hit a certain age, they turn into Melissa Etheridge.

Overall I thought Danny Boyle did a great job, really enjoyed it....some very poignant moments (the tribute to 7/7 victims with "Abide With Me" was very moving). Some musings:-

- Why does "Sir Paul" have to close every British event with the same cheesy rendition of Hey Jude? Can't we move on? The Jubilee, Live Aid, Live 8...he does the lot. Its boring and predictable. They handed over the Olympic flame to the new generation, how about finally handing over the traditional closing song to a new band or singer...

- The music section, it was good (and as Trevor Nelon said you can't please everyone)....but one massive absence was Coldplay. Like them or not, they're the biggest band on the planet at the mo and have been for a few years...and they're British! Viva La Vida or Yellow (close to gold I guess! LoL) would have gone down a storm.

- No Led Zep, Radiohead or The Smiths either. But nice to see New Order, Bowie, Underworld and Tinie Tempah getting nods. And Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant was great (though God Save The Queen with the Queen in attendance would have been even better).

- Artic Monkeys performing live? Bit of an odd choice since they've dropped off the scene the last couple of years...couldn't they get anyone better?

- Awesome choice of Pink Floyd - Eclipse over the climatic fireworks display....loved that!

I do not like Paul McCartney. Wish he would retire and move to Florida.

DaveT said:

Overall I thought Danny Boyle did a great job, really enjoyed it....some very poignant moments (the tribute to 7/7 victims with "Abide With Me" was very moving). Some musings:-

- Why does "Sir Paul" have to close every British event with the same cheesy rendition of Hey Jude? Can't we move on? The Jubilee, Live Aid, Live 8...he does the lot. Its boring and predictable. They handed over the Olympic flame to the new generation, how about finally handing over the traditional closing song to a new band or singer...

- The music section, it was good (and as Trevor Nelon said you can't please everyone)....but one massive absence was Coldplay. Like them or not, they're the biggest band on the planet at the mo and have been for a few years...and they're British! Viva La Vida or Yellow (close to gold I guess! LoL) would have gone down a storm.

- No Led Zep, Radiohead or The Smiths either. But nice to see New Order, Bowie, Underworld and Tinie Tempah getting nods. And Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant was great (though God Save The Queen with the Queen in attendance would have been even better).

- Artic Monkeys performing live? Bit of an odd choice since they've dropped off the scene the last couple of years...couldn't they get anyone better?

- Awesome choice of Pink Floyd - Eclipse over the climatic fireworks display....loved that!

Exactly what I was going to say. Paul needs to retire the song. He did the same thing at the Superbowl a few years back.

missfee said:

DaveT said:

Overall I thought Danny Boyle did a great job, really enjoyed it....some very poignant moments (the tribute to 7/7 victims with "Abide With Me" was very moving). Some musings:-

- Why does "Sir Paul" have to close every British event with the same cheesy rendition of Hey Jude? Can't we move on? The Jubilee, Live Aid, Live 8...he does the lot. Its boring and predictable. They handed over the Olympic flame to the new generation, how about finally handing over the traditional closing song to a new band or singer...

- The music section, it was good (and as Trevor Nelon said you can't please everyone)....but one massive absence was Coldplay. Like them or not, they're the biggest band on the planet at the mo and have been for a few years...and they're British! Viva La Vida or Yellow (close to gold I guess! LoL) would have gone down a storm.

- No Led Zep, Radiohead or The Smiths either. But nice to see New Order, Bowie, Underworld and Tinie Tempah getting nods. And Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant was great (though God Save The Queen with the Queen in attendance would have been even better).

- Artic Monkeys performing live? Bit of an odd choice since they've dropped off the scene the last couple of years...couldn't they get anyone better?

- Awesome choice of Pink Floyd - Eclipse over the climatic fireworks display....loved that!

Exactly what I was going to say. Paul needs to retire the song. He did the same thing at the Superbowl a few years back.

Well i dont think its paul's problem as much as these events and the LACK of prospects. Whos stepping up and writing epic songs? the fact that Paul has to get up there and do let it be or hey jude or The End, at these events shows more about the lack of choices, NOT pauls problem.

When booked they ask him to do the song he doesnt tell them, so i think look more at the producers of these events and lack of talent out there that isnt coming up with new stuff. I mean the only other artist that i think can close on this scale is QUEEN and they are minus Freddie and SORRY i do not want to see that loser hack Adam Lambert up there singing we are the champions or something like that.

I heap praise on everyone who endured the opening ceremony long enough to watch Paul perform the thousandth sing-a-long version of "Hey Jude". He's still the world's top melody writer and someone with incredible musicianship, but time has diminished his vocal abilities.

lastdecember said:

missfee said:

Exactly what I was going to say. Paul needs to retire the song. He did the same thing at the Superbowl a few years back.

Well i dont think its paul's problem as much as these events and the LACK of prospects. Whos stepping up and writing epic songs? the fact that Paul has to get up there and do let it be or hey jude or The End, at these events shows more about the lack of choices, NOT pauls problem.

When booked they ask him to do the song he doesnt tell them, so i think look more at the producers of these events and lack of talent out there that isnt coming up with new stuff. I mean the only other artist that i think can close on this scale is QUEEN and they are minus Freddie and SORRY i do not want to see that loser hack Adam Lambert up there singing we are the champions or something like that.

Point taking that the problem lies partly with the producers who lacked any originality when it came to choosing someone to close the show, but surely McCartney could have said "Look guys, appreciate the offer, but isn't it about time for someone else? Seems only fair..."

And you question who has stepped up to write great songs since Hey Jude came out. Surely I don't need to list all the greats that have reached similar heights since Hey Jude was written....Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Smiths, Radiohead, Coldplay, Joy Division/New Order, Muse, Kate Bush, Clash/Joe Strummer, Blur, Police, Faithless...you're telling me none of these British acts, and the other countless greats I haven't mentioned, have written anything that can compete with the Naa Naa Naa of Hey Jude?

JoeBala said:

He started Hey Jude and he was hoarse as heck. He caught himself and laughed. I felt bad for him.

I missed that part of the show.

Glad I missed it.

Paris9748430 said:

At what age did all these old rockers start looking like Lesbians?

Jon Bon Jovi

Joe Elliott

Paul McCartney

Ozzy Osbourne

Elton John

Prince

I don't know what it is about these guys, but it seems that when they hit a certain age, they turn into Melissa Etheridge.

omg.

and no, Paul doesn't need to retire. when I saw him live this year, he did a 3 hour show and he sounded fine. yes. his voice has changed over the years, so he doesn't like what he used to.

this performance wasn't his best, but that doesn't mean he should retire...

I know voices ain't gonna always be as sharp as they used to be but what's the point of going onstage if you didn't prepare yourself to sing in another way so it wouldn't be a distraction? That's like saying Aretha, Whitney, Stevie or Patti shouldn't get help with their vocals just in case they fail on that particular day. I've seen videos of those who are great singers have more bad days than good. The voice is not something to be played with.

I'm not gonna see you just for legacy's sake. Least that's how I view it.

TERRIBLE!!!!! I can't believe he couldn't even pick another song. I think think the problem was that he's the biggest U.K. star since the last time the U.K. had the olympics and he kinda had to perform.

I liked the "digital" part of the show where they had the love story with the kids.

Those two kids were adorable.

The music took me back. "Firestarter"!

xLiberiangirl said:

and no, Paul doesn't need to retire. when I saw him live this year, he did a 3 hour show and he sounded fine. yes. his voice has changed over the years, so he doesn't like what he used to.

this performance wasn't his best, but that doesn't mean he should retire...

I agree completely. I saw him for the first time live earlier this year and was blown away by the quality of the 3 hour show (and I've seen 600+ shows so far). He may have had a cold or a sore throat friday, because he sang Hey Jude perfectly in march 2012.

hjd said:

xLiberiangirl said:

and no, Paul doesn't need to retire. when I saw him live this year, he did a 3 hour show and he sounded fine. yes. his voice has changed over the years, so he doesn't like what he used to.

this performance wasn't his best, but that doesn't mean he should retire...

I agree completely. I saw him for the first time live earlier this year and was blown away by the quality of the 3 hour show (and I've seen 600+ shows so far). He may have had a cold or a sore throat friday, because he sang Hey Jude perfectly in march 2012.

i think we saw the same show.

CynicKill said:

I liked the "digital" part of the show where they had the love story with the kids.

Those two kids were adorable.

The music took me back. "Firestarter"!

Was good to see Boyle acknowledge all the big British music revolutions and not just the ones that would sit well with the old farts in the audience (glam rock....purrrlease! ), including the dance music genre which was huge here around '89, and again ten years later.

xLiberiangirl said:

hjd said:

I agree completely. I saw him for the first time live earlier this year and was blown away by the quality of the 3 hour show (and I've seen 600+ shows so far). He may have had a cold or a sore throat friday, because he sang Hey Jude perfectly in march 2012.

i think we saw the same show.

I think so too: Ahoy, Rotterdam. I was at Gelredome also but didn't get as close to Prince as you did.

The arctic monkeys - kicked butt!

Dizzie, Emeli and Paul - sucked!

The stones singing 'satisfaction' would have been sooo much cooler.

mancabdriver said:

The arctic monkeys - kicked butt!

Dizzie, Emeli and Paul - sucked!

The stones singing 'satisfaction' would have been sooo much cooler.

I thought Emeli singing "Abide With Me" for the victims of 7/7 was very moving....especially when coupled with the dancers in the middle of the arena. I don't normally like all that interpretative dance stuff, but it was very well done and really touching.

I hear that cut this part from the USA broadcast? Is that true? The American broadcasters should be bloody well ashamed of themselves if so (though I hear all round the American broadcasting of the opening ceremony was dire...apparently when Sir Tim Berners Lee got his well deserved moment, some dumbass American commentator said "No idea who he is, the viewer needs to google him" )

DaveT said:

mancabdriver said:

The arctic monkeys - kicked butt!

Dizzie, Emeli and Paul - sucked!

The stones singing 'satisfaction' would have been sooo much cooler.

I thought Emeli singing "Abide With Me" for the victims of 7/7 was very moving

I didn't get to see it because they cut it out in the U.S !!!!

Where was Ringo? They ignored the other Beatle, damn shame.

UncleGrandpa said:

Where was Pete Best?

Well it was the opening of an international sporting event not a concert per se and as such I wasn't surprised that they went with a person and song that is widely recognizable to the entire world.

Paul did fine and we all had a nice sing along...

"nana na naaa, he-ey Juuuude"

UncleGrandpa said:

Where was Ringo? They ignored the other Beatle, damn shame.

Ringo is on tour with his All-Starr Band promoting his latest album. Paul needn't retire even though his vocals are horrible live.

DaveT said:

lastdecember said:

Well i dont think its paul's problem as much as these events and the LACK of prospects. Whos stepping up and writing epic songs? the fact that Paul has to get up there and do let it be or hey jude or The End, at these events shows more about the lack of choices, NOT pauls problem.

When booked they ask him to do the song he doesnt tell them, so i think look more at the producers of these events and lack of talent out there that isnt coming up with new stuff. I mean the only other artist that i think can close on this scale is QUEEN and they are minus Freddie and SORRY i do not want to see that loser hack Adam Lambert up there singing we are the champions or something like that.

Point taking that the problem lies partly with the producers who lacked any originality when it came to choosing someone to close the show, but surely McCartney could have said "Look guys, appreciate the offer, but isn't it about time for someone else? Seems only fair..."

And you question who has stepped up to write great songs since Hey Jude came out. Surely I don't need to list all the greats that have reached similar heights since Hey Jude was written....Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Smiths, Radiohead, Coldplay, Joy Division/New Order, Muse, Kate Bush, Clash/Joe Strummer, Blur, Police, Faithless...you're telling me none of these British acts, and the other countless greats I haven't mentioned, have written anything that can compete with the Naa Naa Naa of Hey Jude?

Well first thing is why should recommend someone else or PASS the offer, i mean i know PAUL has done this kind of thing before, but to my knowledge him opening the Olympics in his home country, maybe its a pride thing for him? why say "Oh go book Coldplay i dont want that honor", sorry but if i was him i would be honored and take pride in my country, we forget BRITS are a bit more proud than self obsessed america is. Next that is a nice list of british acts but i see two that i would even consider putting on a world stage, and thats Coldplay and the Police, and since one is not even a band anymore, i doubt they are gonna be asked. The rest are good but lets be real worldwide? they arent relevant at all.