Thank you, 2025: The Year in Numbers
31.12.2024It’s been another bumper year here at PaulMcCartney.com! From the Wings music and book releases to another epic tour leg and everything else in between, Paul has continued to surprise, entertain and delight audiences all over the world.
Let’s look back at some of our highlights from 2025, as we review the year in numbers…
Over 500,000 visitors to the Eyes of the Storm exhibition
As it continues its tour across the world, Paul’s photography exhibition reached an impressive milestone in 2025: it has now welcomed half a million visitors since it first opened in London in 2023! Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm continued its run in Osaka, Japan and Portland, US early this year, before moving to the de Young Museum, San Francisco and the Frist Art Museum, Nashville.
Paul said: “I hope the visitors will get a sense of history and the sense of being allowed behind the scenes all these years later.”
The exhibition will open at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and the Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France, in 2026. Check out all current and upcoming venues for the exhibition here.
550 pages published in the Wings oral history
Throughout 2025 we’ve been referring to the ‘Wings renaissance’ on PaulMcCartney.com, due to the abundance of new content and offerings landing in bookshops and record stores. Paul’s new book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run is just one such offering, giving the world a landmark account of the Wings era across 550 pages. Its publication in November 2025 shed light on what it was like to be part of, or in the orbit of, one of the most iconic bands of the 1970s.
Paul said: “Suddenly Wings has found its moment. We have a generational shift at work, and it’s like being transported back on a magic carpet. Working on the book has awakened so many beautiful memories of our times back then.”
50 years since the release of Venus and Mars
Sticking with the Wings theme, the start of 2025 saw a celebration of one of the band’s most beloved albums, Venus and Mars. Marking 50 years since the original record was released, Paul unveiled a special edition half-speed master vinyl and mixed the tracks in Dolby Atmos for the first time. Plus, we shared not one but two Venus and Mars website Q&As with Paul!
Paul said: “I wrote a song called ‘Venus and Mars’, and thought it was a good title. We only meant the planets, but then we had a great party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and somebody said, ‘Oh, hi Venus! Hi Mars!’ to Linda and me. So, it was a great observation from them: Venus is the female; Mars is the male. It made a lot of sense, really.”
Shop the Venus and Mars collection on the Paul McCartney Official Store.
32 tracks on the WINGS definitive collection
Wings week continued in November with the bumper release of WINGS, an anthology of hits personally curated by Paul. This definitive self-titled collection spanned multiple formats, from a 32-track 3LP box set to new Dolby Atmos mixes. We also created some gorgeous new visualisers for ‘Band on the Run’ and ‘Arrow Through Me’, which you can watch now on YouTube.
Paul said: “After The Beatles, we had this tiny little band that didn't have any hits and didn't even know each other, except for me and Linda obviously. And Denny Laine, who I knew a little. We were almost an amateur outfit, but we knew we would work at it and we did. We built it brick-by-brick.”
Listen to WINGS – the definitive collection – by purchasing a copy or streaming here.
18 cities visited on the 2025 Got Back tour
2025 was the year Paul ‘got back’ on the road again, bringing his epic Got Back tour to audiences in North America! Starting with a more intimate show in Santa Barbara, and rocking through to a brilliant finale in Chicago, Paul and the band took in a total of eighteen cities across the US and Canada.
Paul said: “The tour was spectacular: the audiences were so warm and receptive. I think the tour was probably the highlight of the year for me – it was so successful and enjoyable for everyone involved.”
Take a look back at some highlights from the 2025 tour here.
3 secret shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York
Of course, some of the biggest highlights of the year were Paul’s historic gigs at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. The secret shows were announced over three nights, and hundreds of fans queued in freezing February temperatures for the chance to get a ticket into the small venue which holds just 575 people. Once in, the energy was electric, creating an unforgettable experience for those lucky few who made it inside.
Paul said: "The one or two shows that we did like the Bowery and Santa Barbara and Nashville – where we didn’t allow phones – were really cool, because it’s a completely different type of show. People aren’t just holding up phones, so you really see the whites of their eyes. It’s lovely!"
While phones were restricted, Paul’s video team covered the three Bowery Ballroom shows so everyone can enjoy the highlights! Watch the Bowery Ballroom tour diary here.
1 Man on the Run
Rounding off the year of the Wings renaissance, we were delighted to announce that the celebrations will continue into 2026, with the new feature-length documentary Man on the Run set to arrive globally on Prime Video in February. From Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville, the film chronicles the arc of Paul's post-Beatles solo career as he faces down a myriad of challenges while creating new music to define a new decade. We released the first teaser trailer for the film in October, and can’t wait to share more with you soon!
Watch the teaser trailer for Man on the Run here.
What has been your highlight of 2025? Perhaps you attended a show on the Got Back tour, or visited Paul’s photography exhibition, or enjoyed some new music or merchandise? However you’ve connected with Paul and his music this year, we want to say a huge thank you for being part of our community.
As an extra thanks, we are giving fans signed up to the PaulMcCartney.com mailing list the chance to win a bundle of 2025 goodies, from Bowery Ballroom posters to WINGS vinyl and much more! Sign up and enter the 2025 giveaway here.
Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in 2026!
