Demand ‘boiling’ for McCartney US tour tickets

Former Beatle Paul McCartney’s first American tour for almost 10 years has sparked a rush on tickets, with the first shows selling out in 30 minutes today.

Fans snapped up the 75,000 tickets for the first five shows in the Driving USA tour, which starts next month, according to US promoters Clearchannel.

The 15,000 tickets for Sir Paul’s show in Toronto, Canada, the first show to go on sale, sold out in 30 minutes, with the Washington event selling out in 28 minutes.

The other three shows out of the 19-venue tour which sold out today were Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.

A Clearchannel spokesman said: ‘‘Maccamania is here again. We knew the gigs would be hot but this demand is boiling.’’

The Driving USA tour, Sir Paul’s first tour since his 1993 New World Tour, kicks off in Oakland, California on April 1.

He will perform numbers from his new album, Driving Rain, along with hits from the Beatles, the Wings and his solo career, according to his official spokesman.

The spokesman added that Sir Paul was persuaded to extend his tour, which was originally planned to last only one month, because of anticipated demand.

Tickets for his Oakland and San Jose shows go on sale tomorrow with shows at Rutherford, New York and Detroit going on sale on Monday.