Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have surprised Beatles fans who were on the Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool recently.
The tour has run for years now and takes fans of The Fab Four around the city, showing where each member of the band grew up as well as key locations that they visited when starting out their career.
During a recent tour, fans were left amazed when a car pulled up at a red traffic light beside them, and Sir Paul McCartney leaned out the window to greet them.
As if the chances of bumping into a member of The Beatles on the sightseeing tour were not slim enough, the guests were also greeted by Ringo Starr, who was on a FaceTime call with McCartney at the time.
“It was surreal,” said tour guide Neil Morton to the BBC. “I had pulled up at the traffic lights on Hope Street when who should I see – Sir Paul with Ringo on FaceTime!
“He waved to us and everybody took photos. The passengers could not believe it,” he continued, also adding that while McCartney took time to wave to the fans, “nobody really got a chance to speak with him”.
Paul McCartney in Liverpool, talking to Ringo Starr inside the car, July 20, 2026. pic.twitter.com/9mh5zpAUd8
— DIÁRIO DOS BEATLES (@Diario_Beatles) July 20, 2026
Imagine exploring Liverpool aboard the Magical Mystery Tour bus—today, the 20th—when, just when you least expect it, you glance at a car and see Paul McCartney inside, chatting with Ringo Starr!!!! pic.twitter.com/oykuYVeHwL
— DIÁRIO DOS BEATLES (@Diario_Beatles) July 20, 2026
The songwriting legend was back in Liverpool to present Adolescence actor Stephen Graham with an award from his performing arts school.
McCartney is a co-founder of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), and was enlisted to present a companionship honour to the actor – who grew up in the Merseyside town of Kirkby.
As highlighted by BBC News, the institute has other connections to The Beatles, as it is based at the former Liverpool Institute school attended by McCartney and George Harrison, and is also a neighbour to the Liverpool Art College where John Lennon previously studied.
In other Beatles news, there has been the first ever Official Global Beatles Day held last month, and the Fab Four are also going to be the subject of a four-film series by Sam Mendes, slated for a simultaneous release in April 2028.
Set to star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, each film will tell the story of the band from a different member’s point of view. Other actors set to star in the films include Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Aimee Lou Wood, who are playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, Maureen Starkey, and Pattie Boyd, respectively.
As well as that, it has been confirmed that 3 Savile Row – an iconic London landmark long associated with the band – will open its doors to the public for the first time next year for the first ever official Beatles fan experience.
Paul McCartney dropped his new album ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane‘ earlier this year, which is the first from the music legend since 2020’s ‘McCartney III’, and features his first duet with former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr on ‘Home To Us’.
Ahead of the album’s release, McCartney sat down with NME to look forwards and back on his extraordinary career, share his “excitement” at contributing to the new The Rolling Stones album, and also reveal if he has plans to retire.
Read that interview in full here, or tune in the video above.
