In this story: A year of pride and pain 'I love Liverpool' RELATED STORIES, SITES

December 14, 1999
Web posted at: 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT)

(CNN) -- It had the potential to be the most-watched concert ever. But when all was said and done, only one thing was certain: Paul McCartney's Internet-broadcasted return to The Cavern Club -- where The Beatles dreamed of stardom in the early 1960s -- was a short affair that featured energetic renditions of influential pre-Beatles tunes.

An estimated 300 people were packed into the tiny Liverpool, England, club for the Tuesday evening gig; another 15,000 people were expected to watch the show live on a giant video screen in Liverpool's Chavasse Park, with an untold number more expected to log on to a Web site to witness sound and streamed video from the concert.

What the Internet audience saw was a choppy feed of McCartney and his bandmates -- featuring Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour and Deep Purple's Ian Paice -- as they opened with the Big Joe Turner-penned "Honey Hush." The set include music made famous by Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Ricky Nelson, and ended in less than 50 minutes with "Party," a song once sung by Elvis Presley.

"Welcome to The Cavern," McCartney said at the opening. "It's been a long time and it's great to be back."

The Associated Press reported an estimated three million fans watched the concert on the Internet but some had trouble logging onto the site. UK internet servers were so congested that some could only connect to the concert through a United States link.

	BEATLES DISCOGRAPHY
Listed below are albums released by the Beatles, excluding compilations, box sets and bootleg varieties. Introducing...The Beatles (Vee-Jay, 1963) Please Please Me (Capitol, 1963) With the Beatles (Capitol, 1963) Songs, Pictures and Stories (Vee-Jay, 1964) Meet the Beatles (Capitol, 1964) The Beatles' Second Album (Capitol, 1964) A Hard Day's Night (UK, Capitol, 1964) Something New (Capitol, 1964) Beatles for Sale (Capitol, 1964) Beatles VI (Capitol, 1964) A Hard Day's Night (US, United Artists, 1964) Sing a Song with the Beatles (Tower, 1965) The Great Beatlemania Tour (Lloyds ER-MC-L, 1965) Beatles '65 (Capitol, 1965) Help! (UK and US, Capitol, 1965) Rubber Soul (UK and US, Capitol, 1965) Yesterday and Today (Capitol, 1966) Revolver (UK and US, Capitol, 1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Capitol, 1967) Magical Mystery Tour (Capitol, 1967) The Beatles White Album (Capitol, 1968) Yellow Submarine (Capitol, 1969) Abbey Road (Capitol, 1969) The Beatles Christmas Album [Record Club] (Apple, 1970) Let It Be (Capitol, 1970) Live! At the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany (Lingasong, 1977) Live in Hamburg 1962 (K-Tel, 1977) Live at Star Club 1962, Vol. 1 (CBS, 1977) Live at Star Club 1962, Vol. 2 (Sony, 1977) Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Capitol, 1977) Live from the Pound (Dove, 1995)

The Beatles, of course, led the British invasion on pop culture with catchy, caterwauling rock melodies, mop-topped heads, and witty sensibilities. They then evolved into creative musicians who laid the musical groundwork for every band to follow, churning out hit after hit that defined and led the turbulent '60s.

The Beatles had broken up by 1970. Even so, today's younger generations of music fans can sing along with their work -- songs like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "All You Need Is Love," and "Yesterday."

McCartney, 57, has remained one of the most revered and visible musicians on the planet. The last few years of his life have been touched by triumph and tragedy. In April of 1998, McCartney lost his wife, Linda, to breast cancer.

A year before that he was knighted, and two years later he was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame (the Beatles had already been inducted).

He has also watched his daughter, Stella, blossom into a respected fashion designer for Chloe.

	MESSAGE BOARD
36 years of Beatlemania: Share your thoughts

But McCartney felt the Beatles' beginning needed to be revisited before the year 2000.

"I'm back here because I love Liverpool and there's no better place to rock out the century," McCartney said at a news conference before the concert.

The performance featured one Beatles' song ("I Saw Her Standing There"), and instead focused on McCartney's latest CD, "Run Devil Run," which is filled with old rock tunes that influenced McCartney.

Fans from New York to Tokyo had been clamoring for tickets to The Cavern. The lucky winners were picked in a raffle; organizers claimed they were even offered free sex by fans desperate to see pop history being made.