When Paul McCartney first pondered what life would be like when he was 64, he probably imagined a very different existence than the one he has now.
Although he did write the iconic song when he was a teenager, few could have predicted that he would still be touring when he was 16 years later, after his Came back touring two days before his 80th birthday.
Yet he is just one of a number of big-name stars who qualified eone ago for their free bus pass that still puts it to the young guns on the music scene.
As proof that quality continues, The Eagles sold out Aviva Stadium on Friday night as they brought them California Hotel tour to a packed crowd of adoring fans.
Three of the original members, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit are all 74 years old.
Last week, a crowd of clear-eyed middle-aged music fans cheered Duran Duran at Dublin’s St Anne’s Park.
Some of those present remembered the song River the first time they saw them, back in the RDS in 1987.
This week, a trio of lead performers will play Marlay Park, including Guns N ‘Roses on Tuesday, whose lead singer Axl Rose is now 60 years old.
So what’s going on in the music scene – are we all just kids who can not bear to let go of the last remnants of our youth and the musicians we honored during our formative years? Or is it proof of a very diverse music scene, as the Eagles could still sell out in Dublin the same week as a mega-star like Harry Styles?
According to Stuart Clark, Deputy Editor of hot pressure magazine, there are many reasons behind the enduring popularity of ‘vintage’ actions from the 1970s and 1980s that may still tour in 2022.
“During the day there were records where you made your money and you went on tour to whip them. Most groups, even U2, now earn about 90% of their money from touring. “While U2 was financially prudent, you will find other groups whose members have been through a few divorces, who may have had unfortunate leisure habits and who no longer sell records,” he said.
“They can no longer rely on the records to keep it in the style they are used to. They tour, some of them, out of necessity. ”
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Bruce Springsteen will return to Dublin next year
Legacy is another important aspect of continuing to tour in an effort to stay relevant and after a lifetime of admiration from fans in crowded stadiums, many of them are simply addicted to performing live.
“Someone like Paul McCartney clearly does not need the money and yet he still wants to play live. It has to do with fencing off his legacy and he has been doing it for 60 years. What else is he going to do, stay at home?
“The same goes for Bruce Springsteen. It’s clearly not about the money. “The E Street Band is worth more than a billion dollars,” he said.
“These guys and girls, they just can not stop it, they have to continue to play live. Lots of bands, they have to get back out there and there is so much demand. ”
Reliving songs from our past can also be crucial in stimulating feel-good hormones and happy memories, according to psychologist Stella O’Malley.
Scientists still do not know why certain songs or music make us feel better or why it activates a certain core part of our brain to release feel-good hormones.
“We seem to have a formative phase in our taste in music that seems to be the most defining phase of most people’s lives,” Ms O’Malley said.
“That time can be any time in our adolescence or early 20s. The vast majority of people get their tastes shaped at that point and anything else is the launch platform of that phase.
“So, that brings us back to our innermost being, when we were first turned on to music in a big way, so it’s a very, very pleasant place to visit again.
“An old song will immediately take you back to when you were first passionate about music. Most music reminds us of good times, of a common era. It is a very good gateway to feel better. ”