Paul McCartney closes Stephen Colbert’s final ‘Late Show’ with The Beatles classic ‘Hello Goodbye’

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Paul McCartney was the final guest on the last episode of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' which aired on Thursday, May 21.

The former Beatle, along with Colbert, even sang the classic ‘Hello Goodbye’ before the 83-year-old turned out the lights at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where 'The Late Show' has been filmed since its debut in 2015.

Paul McCartney recalls The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan debut

The theater also holds significant value for McCartney, as he and the other members of The Beatles made their American television debut there in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was reportedly watched by 73 million people.

During the finale, the comedian asked the singer, 83, about his first visit to the theater, and the latter recalled, “We’d never been to America; we came here and people said this is the biggest show. To tell the truth, we’d never heard of it. You know, England.”

He, however, noted that the visit was “fantastic… You had to go a few floors down to get makeup… We went down there and the girls put makeup on us and it was, like, bright orange.”

Stephen Colbert jokes about Trump reference

“That’s very popular in certain circles these days. Now we know where it started. Thanks a lot, Paul McCartney,” Stephen Colbert quipped as he appeared to take a dig at President Donald Trump.

The writer also asked McCartney if the rock band was nervous about their first US TV appearance.

“We were a little bit nervous, but we’re young kids and we’re sort of full of ourselves. It was very exciting. America’s where all the music we loved came from, rock ‘n’ roll, the blues and the whole thing, even going back to Fred Astaire,” he replied.

Stephen Colbert calls ‘Late Show’ a ‘Joy Machine’

Also during the finale, Colbert addressed his audience, saying, “This show, I want you to know, has been a joy for us to do for you. In fact, we call this show the 'Joy Machine’.” 

“But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn't hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears. And I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other,” Colbert added.

He also appreciated his staff, noting, “I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other.”