- Who
- Paul McCartney
- What
- first first
- Where
- United States (Anaheim)
- When
On 12 November 2005, Paul McCartney (UK) sent a "wake-up call" to astronauts Bill McArthur and Valeri Tokarev on the International Space Station, live from his concert at Arrowhead Pond (now the Honda Center) in Anaheim, California, USA. After a raucous "good morning!" from the sell-out audience, McCartney serenaded McArthur and Tokarev with "English Tea" (from his 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard) and "Good Day Sunshine" (from The Beatles' 1966 album Revolver).
The Anaheim concert was performance number 29 of McCartney's 37-date The US Tour (16 September to 30 November 2005) and the broadcast was made in front of an audience of 28,632 fans.
According to footage taken on the night and posted to YouTube, contact with McArthur and Tokarev was made at 9.53 p.m. on 12 November. "We thank the people at NASA for giving us this opportunity to do this remarkable thing and get up there and see you guys," said McCartney from the Pond stage. "We wish you all the very best for the rest of your mission."
The broadcast to the ISS – located 219 km (136 miles) above Earth – lasted about 15 minutes and included a conversation between McCartney and the somersaulting astronauts in addition to the two songs.
