Paul McCartney VS. Billy Shears: Performances of Yesterday

it's almost as if there was over an entire decade between the performances

Hmm. Not sure I"m convinced of this. Yes, there are differences in quality. Firstly, I think this may be due to the sound quality of the films, between the 60s footage and the 70s footage. Secondly, as a musician myself, Paul maybe felt like taking a different approach in the 70s to his guitar playing rather than playing the original version note for note or strum for strum. Lots of musicians do this to avoid getting bored and stale with the material. Thirdly, it is well known that Macartney was a huge pot head, and this may have affected both the speed of which he played the song, as well as the quality of his voice, particularly if he had a huge spliff before going on stage. Finally, the camera angles are different. In the 70s footage, the camera is below so it looks like he is tilting his head very prominently, but he does similar movements in the 60s footage, where the camera angles are more even. Also he glances down at his guitar in both if you actually look carefully.

I was 12 in 76, and I remember my Dad telling me about Shears. My Father had seen both Paul and Shears play live many times, and was a very proficient left handed player himself. He found it almost unbelievable, that more people hadn't identified the differences in playing style, proficiency, and, to him, clear vocal, and body language disparities.

I don´t know if in fact there are 2 persons or 1, but to me the 1st Yesterday in the above video sounds corny. The 2nd Yesterday (the original, the earlier Yesterday) is magical.

People change a lot in ten years, and also Ringo said in the song "I'm The Greatest" that he is Billy Shears. Also, that part going into "With a little Help From My Friends" the band say "Billy Shears" and then after that Ringo starts singing.

1976 compared to 1965.. Show me an artist who doesnt slightly vary up one of their old classics after that length of time. Hes just laying back into a live groove and giving it a different treatmet - it doesnt mean its a differnt person ffs.

Thank you so much for this! If they can replace a rock star and deceive the public, they can do the same to a President, a Prime Minister, Congressman, Senator, etc.

Notice how he wrote 9 #1 hits after the beatles.

Paul was touring - probably "Wings Over America," playing an Ovation guitar which they took on Wings tours. He looks exhausted from rocking the stadiums. Recording Paul's voice changed from Beatles days being less mid-rangish to the fuller sound during Wings. These are both Mary's son James Paul.

Well, well...BEAUTIFUL melody, voice, and person! ❤️ Speechless again....but pleasantly so. 🌹

Hes miming in the original though.. where on earth do you think the string quartet is coming from? Tape!

And the fact that Billy Shears was Ringos alter ego on Sgt. Pepper is just ignored?

Fuckin hell Look at the difference in their teeth McCartney had straight teeth Billy had slightly bucked front teeth🤯

Looks like the same person to me. In the first video as pointed out by others he was finishing a long tour. Still sounds good to me. Same voice to my ears.

Whenever I'm down(see what I did there?)and need a laugh I watch one of these videos or an ''Elvis faked his death'' one. They never fail to make me burst out laughing. Thanks for cheering me up 👍

brilliant work..

You would be shocked to learn how quickly a singer without vocal training can ruin his voice. Liam Gallagher’s voice was almost beyond repair in 2006 despite being completely fine in 1999.

Paul has a magical vibe when he sings yesterday, feels like he’s putting his whole heart when singing it…

Wasn't it Ringo they called Bill Shears for the Sargent Pepper album? Cause in the beginning of the song "With A Little Help From My Friends" they sing Biiiiiiill Sheaaaars. I don't know.