I also picked up an early copy of the DVD at Best Buy. I've been reading a lot of complaints from the people out there with the Red Square disc. Doesn't anyone realize that between the Red Square DVD, Back in the US DVD, Back in the US CD and Back in the World CD, there are over 50 live/soundcheck tracks available from the Driving Rain tours? Anyway you slice it, that is the most comprehensive set of songs from a tour in Paul's career. This should be a Beatles' fan dream come true. I just thought I would point that out. Awesome site by the way. Keep up the good work.

I know the official release for the "Paul at Red Square" DVD is scheduled for June 14...but in Las Vegas you could have picked it up earlier than that. It was on some of the local record stores shelves by Wednesday the 8th, even on sale!

Update (6/11/05)

Hi,

I just wanted to write and say I purchased the "Live at Red Square" DVD last night at a local WalMart. They had several sitting out. The DVD is good and it has a cardboard longbox type cover with a sticker on the shirink wrap advertising the bonus concert footage. It does make it sound like it has the complete 2004 show but it's only 50 minutes of highlights - but good nonetheless. Also, Let Em In is listed on the inside booklet as "Someone's Knocking at the Door" but on the screen where you can select songs on the actual DVD it says "Let 'Em In."

I haven't watched the complete DVD but have sampled the extra 2004 footage and was pleased - except for the quick camera fades. The sound is excellent.

Thanks,
James Grant
Fort Wayne, IN

Just to add to your list, I’ve had a screener of the McCartney At Red Square DVD for a couple of months now and the fake sticker (it actually LOOKS like a sticker but it’s printed on the cover) on the front lists a number of featured songs – including the famous “Lucky Guy”. I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet but I’m guessing it MIGHT be “Things We Said Today” (“Me, I’m just a lucky guy…”)

Hi Steve...

I almost picked up the new Paul Red Square DVD at my local Costco yesterday for CAN$16.99. It was in a nice cardboard longbox with full album graphics (no song title errors btw). I was surprised to see it on the shelves, knowing about the release date later this month from your News Briefs. Sure enough, it didn't scan at the cash register and quickly caused a small incident: Two supervisors appeared and wanted to know where I'd got it... I told them they had boxes of them on the floor! I tried to argue that I should be allowed to purchase the disc since it was on display for sale but that didn't work (hey, I tried). They quickly went off to pull the rest of the DVD's off the shelves. The guy standing in line behind me has his copy confiscated as well. So we had our own little Beatles recall adventure! lol! Guess we'll have to wait for the official release now. I'll be going back to Costco though, that longbox was really nice!

Cheers,
Pete Frame Montreal, QC

Dear Steve,

According to provisional information from Warner Music Germany, the release date of "Paul McCartney: In Red Square" in Germany is set for June 27. Technical details and tracklisting see http://www.germanbeat.info/sh_irs_dvd.html

Thanks and best regards, Sven

Update (6/6/05)

Hi Steve...

More errors to report listed in the inner booklet to Paul McCartney In Red Square DVD. Besides "Let 'Em In" being listed as "Someone's Knocking On The Door," we also get "It's Getting Better" and "Every Little Thing!" One would have to be a wizard to guess that "Every Little Thing" is actually "Things We Said Today." On top of that, the so called bonus concert is merely 50 minutes of highlights from Paul's full 2004 St. Petersburg show. Whether it's McCartney or A&E Home Video who is responsible, it's truly sad that Paul's fans are treated with such lack of respect. Things like this hamper what is otherwise an enjoyable, energetic performance. By the way, in and around Toronto, the Paul McCartney In Red Square DVD can easily be found at Sunrise Records stores, who obviously jumped the official June 14th release date.

I also purchased the DVD yesterday at my Best Buy store and while it is very entertaining and Paul is in fine form, the inner booklet lists the song "Let 'Em In" as "Someone's Knocking At The Door" !!!!? So either I got a bootleg or somebody dropped the ball proofreading. For the record, the DVD chapter listing correctly names the song.

(5/13/05) A press release issued Thursday:

PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE SET FOR RELEASE JUNE 14

DVD FEATURES EMMY® AWARD-WINNING CONCERT IN RED SQUARE; NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN FULL-LENGTH BONUS CONCERT FROM ST. PETERSBURG’S PALACE SQUARE AND RARE BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE; A&E HOME VIDEO RELEASE FEATURES SONGS OF THE BEATLES, WINGS AND McCARTNEY SOLO YEARS.

NEW YORK, NY, May, 2005 -- As a member of the Beatles, Paul McCartney helped to launch the British Invasion and bring rock and roll onto the global stage. Though their music was banned and The Beatles were never able to visit the U.S.S.R., their music provided hope and inspiration to a beleaguered people. On May 24th, 2003, McCartney ended decades of anticipation with a landmark concert in Russia, electrifying a crowd of over 100,000 jammed into Moscow’s Red Square. Next month, on June 14th, during the 20th anniversary year of Perestroika, A&E Home Video will release McCartney’s history-making, Emmy® Award-winning concert on DVD. More than just a concert film, PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE is a backstage pass to a defining moment in rock and roll history.

PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE captures the historic sights and sounds of the nearly three-hour concert which included more than 30 classic hits from The Beatles, Wings and McCartney’s solo career. There’s ‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Maybe I’m Amazed,’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ ‘Live And Let Die,’ ‘Let It Be,’ ‘Back In The USSR,’ ‘Band On The Run,’ and many, many more. Other DVD bonus features include an interactive menu and guide, as well as previously unreleased concert footage from McCartney’s second trip to Russia, where he performed in St. Petersburg’s Palace Square. Filmed during McCartney’s ’04 Summer Tour,’ fans will be granted their exclusive ticket to see songs never before released including, ‘Helter Skelter,’ ‘Penny Lane,’ and ‘I’ve Got A Feeling.’

McCartney’s songs and records were once condemned as agents of subversion, but for one very special night, his music blasted open the once-impenetrable Iron Curtain and forever changed Russia’s relationship to Western music. PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE is also a remarkable historical document featuring rare, behind-the-scenes footage of the star’s whirlwind tour of Russia, including a private meeting with President Putin, and interviews with important members of Russia’s cultural community, who reveal the importance the Beatles and McCartney played in the development of the former Soviet Union’s future.

Destined to become an indispensable part of any music fan’s DVD collection, PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE has been digitally-remastered for optimal viewing and features several audio options: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and DTS Digital 5.1 Surround. The director’s cut of the program will feature 20 minutes of never-before-aired footage, along with extras that include a 10-minute featurette from The History Channel®, song selection, an interactive guide and an archival photo gallery, along with an 8-page, full color booklet. But music fans will thrill to one exclusive and unprecedented extra – a full-length, bonus concert from St. Petersburg! The 50-minute long concert from McCartney’s Russian jaunt is every bit as electrifying as Red Square, and gives home audiences another chance to revel in rock and roll history.

For those who spent years under an oppressive regime, rock and roll was an escape from the horrors of everyday life. As President Putin proclaimed of the Beatles’ music, “it was like a gulp of freedom…an open window to the world.” Now, as McCartney readies his Fall 2005 tour, don’t miss out on this concert – a seminal event in rock history – and the ultimate collector’s item for music lovers everywhere. PAUL McCARTNEY IN RED SQUARE was directed by Mark Haefeli.

www.paulmccartney.com