London, April 19 : Sir Paul McCartney used his appearance at California's Coachella music festival on April 17 to pay tribute to his late wife Linda - who died of breast cancer in 1998 on the same day.

In an emotional performance, the ex-Beatle dedicated The Long and Winding Road and My Love to Linda.

He played a two-and-a-half hour set for 75,000 fans on the first night of one of the biggest festivals in the US.

Macca said that initially he was reluctant to perform on the death anniversary of his late wife but eventually agreed.

"Linda introduced me to the desert because she used to go to Arizona a lot, so I just fell in love with it," the BBC quoted him as saying.

"At first I thought, oh god, I can''t do a show on that day. But then it was like, well, no, it''s the desert, it''s music, it''s rock ''n'' roll... I''m doing it for Linda tonight," he added. (ANI)