Lucky fans on the acclaimed Liverpool tour got the ultimate surprise from the icon this week
Beatles fans aboard Liverpool’s Magical Mystery Tour — the longest‑running sightseeing tour in the U.K. dedicated to the Fab Four — were astounded this week when Paul McCartney himself pulled up next to them.
While waiting at a red traffic light, McCartney was spotted in the car next to the tour bus and waved, according to the BBC, which first reported the encounter on Monday. The driver and tour guide, Neil Morton, called the surprise cameo “surreal.”
To sweeten the moment, McCartney leaned out of his window and showed the passengers that he was on a Facetime call with former bandmate Ringo Starr. Understandably, “the passengers could not believe it,” said Morton.
On Instagram, Starr later posted a photo of McCartney taken by Morton during the impromptu appearance. “How about that for a Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool? Peace and Love, Ringo,” wrote the drummer in the caption.
Earlier this year, the city’s Magical Mystery Tour took the top spot in U.K. Tripadvisor’s 2026 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Things To Do Awards. The unofficial tour takes fans across Liverpool and explores the Beatles formative years through the places that helped shape their careers and inspire their music. Named after the glorious 1967 album, the 2-hour trek takes fans to the Beatles’ childhood homes and schools, Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, and the Cavern Club, where the band made their debut on Feb. 9, 1961.
McCartney and Starr released their first duet together in May, “Home to Us,” which features on his splendid LP, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Several songs on the album look back at McCartney’s early years in Liverpool, and its title references a street in the neighborhood where both he and George Harrison grew up.
