TOPPING OFF FESTIVITIES at Buckingham Palace this past weekend in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s fifty years on the throne was a rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza featuring the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Ricky Martin, and Aretha Franklin, just to name a few. But no doubt the biggest star of the evening was Sir Paul McCartney, fresh off his Driving USA tour. At the height of Her Majesty’s concert, McCartney led 12,000 fans in a rendition of “All You Need Is Love” (as opposed to “Her Majesty”). I found it strange that Sir Paul would cap the night with this anthem since it’s John Lennon’s song.

Strange, but hardly surprising. By McCartney’s own account, his recently concluded tour had a set list of more than twenty Beatles hits (out of about thirty-six songs per show). They included “Hello, Goodbye” (which he opened with), “Fool on the Hill,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “Lady Madonna.” That he plays such songs is the primary reason fans have come out in droves to see him. Despite tickets costing up to $250 a piece, the 27-date U.S. tour sold out at almost every venue–and at record speed: It took 19 minutes for tickets to sell out in Philadelphia, 15 minutes in Boston. At some sites, tickets were being sold at a brisk rate of 867 per minute. All told, McCartney raked in more than $50 million. And with little help from his friends.