Sir Paul McCartney last night played to a record crowd of 350,000 people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

The concert was the biggest the country had ever witnessed but was almost as wash out as thunder, lightening and heavy rain battered the crowd.

Organised by Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk, the free Indepedence Concert was broadcast on TV across the country while screens were erected in five other cities.

McCartney told the soaked crowd: "It's great to be here. Thank you for coming out in the rain."

The former Beatles set included renditions of "Back In The USSR", "Drive My Car", "Penny Lane", "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be".

The likes of Elton John and The Rolling Stones have previously played similar huge shows in Kiev.

(by Daniel Melia)