“Thank you, Scousers”: McCartney joins Springsteen to play Can’t Buy Me Love at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium

Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney
(Image credit: Youtube/Quentin Lejeune)

Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance with Bruce Springsteen at the second of the Boss’s two nights at Anfield Stadium on Saturday night.

The ex-Beatle stepped up at the start of the encore to play Can’t Buy Me Love and Kansas City, the latter being an old Leiber and Stoller number that Little Richard popularised and which, of course, ended up on the Beatles For Sale album. After the performance, McCartney reportedly addressed the crowd, saying, “Thank you, Scousers.”

As you can see from the footage below, McCartney was looking pretty damn sprightly for a man who celebrates his 83rd birthday next week.

It’s not the first time that the two rock icons have shared a stage together. Macca brought on Bruce as a guest during his 2022 Glastonbury headlining set when the pair played Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man, so Saturday night’s appearance was very much McCartney returning a favour.

Earlier on in the day, McCartney and Springsteen made a surprise visit to the Liverpool Institute For the Performing Arts (LIPA), which McCartney himself founded in 1996.

LIPA later put out a statement saying it had been a "truly incredible day", with the two music legends taking time out to talk to students and share their experiences.

"Thanks to Bruce Springsteen for sharing such rich insights with our students. And thanks, as ever, to Paul McCartney for his generosity and passion as he introduced Bruce to LIPA."

The Anfield date wrapped up the UK leg of Springsteen’s Land Of Hopes And Dreams tour, which has seen him make headlines around the world for his vituperative comments about Donald Trump. He moves on to Berlin for a gig at the Olympiastadion on Wednesday night, and shows in Prague, Frankfurt, San Sebastian, Gelsenkirchen and Milan, before returning to the States (if, of course, he’s let back in...)

Categories
Will Simpson
News and features writer

Will Simpson is a freelance music expert whose work has appeared in Classic Rock, Classic Pop, Guitarist and Total Guitar magazine. He is the author of 'Freedom Through Football: Inside Britain's Most Intrepid Sports Club' and his second book 'An American Cricket Odyssey' is due out in 2025

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.