McCartney fans got three live performances, plus a couple other cameos from the Beatle, as Season 51 came to a close.
SNL’s season finale celebrated Paul McCartney more than its cast of players, with the Beatles legend performing three songs (rather than the standard two), in addition to getting monologue and sketch screen time, on the Will Ferrell-hosted episode Saturday night (May 16).
Paul McCartney appeared as musical guest for a fifth time on Saturday to wrap Season 51. His return to the Saturday Night Live stage came more than 13 years after his last performance slot on the late-night comedy show. McCartney was previously booked as musical guest for episodes in 1980, 1993, 2010 and 2012.
Now an SNL musical guest five-timer, he brought “Days We Left Behind,” the poignant lead single from his upcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane (out May 29), to the stage first on Saturday.
The second performance of the night was a lively “Band on the Run,” the 1974 Paul McCartney and Wings classic that was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
The English music legend got extra time on camera Saturday night — in host Will Ferrell’s monologue, for which he took over a bit that had him confusing Ferrell with doppelgänger Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and in a sketch later in the episode that had him co-starring with Ferrell and Marcello Hernández as mechanics swindling clueless car owners.
At night’s end, viewers might’ve assumed they’d get one more quick glimpse of McCartney on the Studio 8H stage, saying goodnight with Ferrell and the SNL cast as the credits rolled — but the closing moments of the show were actually extended for a musical encore. McCartney kicked off the cast party early with a lively performance of his 1980 Hot 100 No. 1 “Coming Up,” with Saturday Night Live‘s performers dancing side-stage.
Watch McCartney’s May 16 SNL performances of “Days We Left Behind” and “Man on the Run” below. His show closer, “Coming Up,” wasn’t uploaded to Saturday Night Live‘s YouTube channel at press time.