Paul McCartney in Liverpool : Tuesday 21 July 2026

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Fans swarm Liverpool venue as Beatles legend arrives in city

Stephen Graham was honoured by Sir Paul at a special event in the city

by Luis Webster and Evelina Black

The Liverpool Echo

21 Jul 2026

Sir Paul McCartney arriving for the LIPA Graduation Ceremony at Liverpool Experience Campus (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

Sir Paul McCartney fans gathered outside Liverpool Experience Campus to catch a glimpse of the Beatle as he attended LIPA graduations today, Tuesday, July 21. Five leading figures from the creative arts industry were also made LIPA Companions at the ceremony.

More than a dozen fans swarmed the back entrance of the venue as Sir Paul waved at them from his car and played air guitar for the excited crowd. Brian Jackson, 65, from Allerton, has been coming down to the LIPA graduation ceremony for the last 28 years to try and get a glimpse of the music legend.

He said: "I've been a fan of him since I was five and every time you see him back in Liverpool you can see the love he has for the city and the people. It's nice to come down to show him how much we support him and it's like a pilgrimage for all of us fans.

"We meet up all over every year from all over the world and you get people travelling from places like America and Japan so it's nice to hear all of their stories."

Michelle Murtagh, from Dublin, and David Shaw, from Nantwich, first met because of the Beatle's themed podcast 'Nothing Is Real' and it is their third year in a row waiting outside the graduation ceremony to see the Beatle.

David said: "It's the most excited I ever get and I always get such a rush of energy when I see him. He's everything you expect him to be and he has such an incredible gift for song writing and melody. He can do it all."

Michelle added: "He's a musical genius and he's been part of my life since I was a child. I've been listening to him since I was 10 and he is the soundtrack to my life. It's so exciting just to see him and if I ever did get the chance to speak to him I wouldn't even ask him a question, I'd just thank him for everything he's done for me."

Originally from Nashville, Miles Frizzell, 22, moved to Liverpool in November to join The Bootleg Beatles as Sir Paul McCartney. He said: "I've been a huge fan of The Beatles since I was 12, especially Paul. I'm actually right handed but I taught myself to play guitar with my left hand when I was younger because I love him so much.

"Everyone's such a big fan of The Beatles but for me the last 10 years of my life has been consumed by the band and Paul specifically. He looked at me when he got out of the car and waved and it was just so cool."

Brian Lewis, 65, from Manchester, has been travelling to see Sir Paul "on and off" since 2011. He said: "I've seen him 16 times now and there's a buzz that comes over you when you see him. I couldn't sleep properly last night and I kept waking up just thinking about what today was going to be like.

"I love nostalgia and I've loved The Beatles ever since I heard them at 12 years old."

Paul McCartney and Stephen Graham attended LIPA's graduation at the Convention Centre today 

Stephen Graham is one of the five leading figures to be awarded a LIPA Companionship by Sir Paul McCartney. The award recognises outstanding achievement in the creative industries and a significant contribution to student learning, during a ceremony at the Liverpool Experience Campus.

The 52-year-old, born and raised in Kirkby, is one of Britain's leading actors, having built an outstanding career across film and television with celebrated performances in This Is England, Boardwalk Empire, Line of Duty, Boiling Point, and Adolescence. His work as an actor, writer, and producer has earned widespread critical acclaim, along with BAFTA, Primetime Emmy, and Golden Globe awards and nominations.

Also to receive the honour were BAFTA-winning actor and writer Cathy Tyson, Paul Duhaney, Artistic Director of Africa Oyé, McFly founding member, songwriter and author Tom Fletcher, who composed the music and lyrics for Paddington: The Musical, and film producer and president of the Oscars, Lynette Howell Taylor.

The Companionships were bestowed by LIPA’s Founding Patron, Sir Paul McCartney, in a ceremony that celebrates the achievements of more than 400 graduating students from 28 countries, including Colombia, Georgia, India, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

Paul McCartney in Liverpool : 20 July 2026

In LIPA Jul 20 2026

www.bbc.com

Beatles tour fans spot McCartney at traffic lights

Paul Burnell

BBC Merseyside

July 20 , 2026

Neil Morton

A tour guide who takes Beatles fans around Liverpool told how fans were stunned to see Sir Paul McCartney while waiting at traffic lights.

The chance encounter got even more surreal, when the Fab Four fans realised Sir Paul was at that very moment talking to fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, on a video call.

"It was surreal," said Neil Morton, who has driven the Magical Mystery Tour bus around various Beatle sights in Liverpool for the last two years.

"I had pulled up at the traffic lights on Hope Street when who should I see - Sir Paul with Ringo on Facetime", he added.

"He waved to us and everybody took photos," Morton said.

He added: "The passengers could not believe it."

Fans were able to see the pop legend while the traffic lights remained on red.

"Nobody really got chance to speak with him," said Morton.

The tour guide revealed it was not his first encounter with the star, having come across him when he used to work at the Cavern Club.

"We were told not to take photos but I managed to sneak one," he said.

www.bbc.com

Stephen Graham to be honoured by Sir Paul McCartney

Angela Ferguson

BBC Merseyside

July 20 , 2026

Sir Paul McCartney will present the honour to the award-winning Merseyside actor at a ceremony in Liverpool on Tuesday
Reuters

Actor Stephen Graham is to be honoured by Sir Paul McCartney in a ceremony at his performing arts school in Liverpool.

Graham, who grew up in the Merseyside town of Kirkby, will be presented with a companionship of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) by the former Beatle and co-founder of the school.

Emmy award-winning Graham, who has previously described himself as "just a mixed-race kid from Kirkby" will be given the honour at LIPA's graduation ceremony on Tuesday.

LIPA's principal and CEO, Prof Sean McNamara, said it would be "a milestone graduation for us" as they marked their 30th anniversary.

Graham, who is also a writer and producer, cut his teeth at the Everyman Youth Theatre in Liverpool.

He went on to find widespread fame with his performance in Shane Meadows' 2006 film This Is England before starring on the big and small screen on both sides of the Atlantic.

He won an Emmy for his starring role in acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence, when he played Eddie Miller, the father of a teenage boy accused of killing a female schoolmate.

Graham is one of five leading figures from the creative industries who will be awarded a LIPA companionship during the ceremony.

McNamara said it was fitting that they celebrated the achievements of LIPA graduates alongside the "outstanding artists, producers and managers" who are to be made LIPA companions.

LIPA's principal Sean McNamara has previously said that Sir Paul attending graduation every year is "a massive, massive thing for us"

A LIPA spokesperson said the companionship was "awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the creative industries and a significant contribution to student learning".

Liverpool-born and BAFTA-winning actor and writer Cathy Tyson will also receive the honour, alongside the artistic director of Liverpool's Africa Oyé music and culture festival, Paul Duhaney, McFly singer songwriter Tom Fletcher and film producer and president of the Oscars, Lynette Howell Taylor, a LIPA graduate.

Howell Taylor graduated from LIPA's management degree in 2000 before moving to Los Angeles, where she has produced more than 25 feature films, including A Star Is Born.

She was elected as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - the organisation behind the Oscars - in 2025.

Howell Taylor said studying at LIPA was "the first time I felt truly seen for my passion and abilities", praising staff for their support and encouragement.

"I owe so much to LIPA's founders Mark Featherstone-Witty and Sir Paul McCartney for creating a truly creative and cross discipline environment where both artists and those that enable and work with artists can thrive," she added.

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts was officially opened by the Queen in 1996
Google

The ceremony at the school, which was founded in 1996, will also see more than 400 LIPA students graduate.

LIPA is based at the former Liverpool Institute school, attended by Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and is next to the neighbouring Liverpool Art College, where John Lennon studied.

Paul McCartney Recorded the Only Song His Father Ever Wrote

16 July 1974 Paul McCartney Recorded The Only Song His Father Wrote

www.cheatsheet.com

Paul McCartney Recorded the Only Song His Father Ever Wrote

Paul McCartney recorded the only song his father, Jim McCartney, ever wrote. However, McCartney Sr. had an unexpected reaction.

by HANNAH WIGANDT

CheatSheet

Published on February 26, 2023

Paul McCartney recorded the only song his father ever wrote. Jim McCartney had been in a band called Jim Mac’s Jazz Band and played tons of music for Paul and his brother Michael when they were growing up. McCartney Sr. wrote one tune during his lifetime, but he had an unexpected reaction to his son’s recording of it.

Paul McCartney’s father, Jim McCartney | Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Paul McCartney loves music because of his father

In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that his father came from the music hall era. The family was “steeped” in it. The family often sang together around their piano, especially during parties.

Interestingly, Jim got the family’s upright piano from Harry Epstein’s North End Music Store (NEMS). Epstein’s son Brian later became The Beatles’ manager.

Paul’s Auntie Jin and Auntie Milly used to sing an old music hall song called “Bread and Butterflies.” Later, Jim worked as a limelight operator at the Royal Hippodrome, which helped more music creep into the McCartney household.

Paul’s father was the family pianist, but there was always someone around who could play the instrument. “It was a wonderful thing because it meant people broke into song a lot, like in musicals,” Paul wrote.

Paul, his father Jim and brother Mike (1974)

Despite being proficient in the instrument, Jim did not want to teach his son piano. He wanted Paul to learn from a professional. Jim didn’t consider himself one, even though he’d performed many times with his jazz band and had his own song.

Paul recorded the only song his father ever wrote

In The Lyrics, Paul said that his father only ever wrote one song, at least to his knowledge, called “Walking in the Park with Eloise.” Later, with his band Wings, Paul recorded the song so that he could play it to Jim. After recording the tune in Nashville, Paul and Wings released it as a single under the name The Country Hams. Paul even had friends like Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer play on it.

However, Jim had an unexpected reaction to his son’s recording. When Paul talked to his father about the single, he said, “Dad, you know that song you wrote?” Jim said, “I didn’t write a song, son.” Paul had to remind him of the song. However, Jim said, ‘No, I didn’t write it. I made it up.”

Jim had a ‘great effect’ on Paul’s life

In The Lyrics, Paul spoke many times about his father’s influence on him. Jim is the reason why Paul has added so many music hall references and sounds to his music. Paul’s father was there for the birth of many Beatles songs too, and provided a safe haven for his son when the pressures of fame became too much.

Paul wrote that it’s “good to know” that his father got to hear songs like The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers.” Jim died seven years later. “He lived long enough, though, to know what a great effect he had on my life,” Paul said.

Paul didn’t even care about what Jim said about “Walking in the Park with Eloise.” The former Beatle never regretted recording his father’s only song. It was an honor.

Paul : The recording of the song happened when I was in Nashville. I mentioned it to Chet Atkins and he said, ‘We should record that for your dad!’ So, it was Chet’s idea. We got a couple of guys together and recorded it. Then I played it to dad, who was very happy to hear the tune he ‘didn't write’.

Personnel

Paul McCartney – bass, washboard

Denny Laine – acoustic guitar

Geoff Britton – drums

Chet Atkins – electric guitar

Floyd Cramer – piano

Bobby Thompson – banjo

Denis Good – trombone

Don Sheffield – trumpet

Bill Puitt – clarinet

Beatles in Germany : 100 Copies To Commemorate Sixty Anniversary

www.genesis-publications.com

Sixty Years Ago In 1966: The Beatles Return to Germany

by Genesis Publications

Sixty years ago , on 24 June 1966, the Beatles stepped onto the stage at Munich's Circus-Krone-Bau to begin the Bravo-Beatles-Blitztournee – a three-day, six-concert return to the country where they had first honed their craft as a young band.

It was the Beatles' first appearance in Germany since their final engagements at Hamburg's Star-Club in December 1962. In the years between, they had transformed from an ambitious Liverpool group into the most famous band in the world.

The timing of the tour was remarkable. Only days earlier, the Beatles had completed recording their new album, Revolver. Yet as John, Paul, George and Ringo arrived in Munich, they found themselves revisiting familiar territory. Germany had played an essential role in their story, from the long nights of Hamburg's Reeperbahn to the friendships and experiences that shaped their early identity as performers.

The German concerts also marked a turning point. The Bravo-Beatles-Blitztournee became the opening chapter of the Beatles' final world tour, which would take them onwards to Japan, the Philippines and, ultimately, their last live performances in the United States later that summer.

To commemorate this anniversary, Genesis Publications has assembled just 100 Anniversary Copies of BIG: Beatles in Germany.

Originally published in a limited edition of 1,750 copies, BIG: Beatles in Germany presents an extraordinary visual record of the Beatles' relationship with Germany through the lenses of photographers Günter Zint and Ulf Krüger, accompanied by a narrative by Roman Milisic and a concluding chapter by Tony Sheridan.

Each Anniversary Copy includes:

• A copy of BIG: Beatles in Germany in a newly designed slipcase

• An original Pahna heart-shaped gingerbread seal from the 1997 publication

• A facsimile concert ticket and Star-Club menu

• A facsimile promotional card signed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 1966

• A commemorative stamp sheet from the original publication

• An exclusive 8" × 11" darkroom print from the Genesis archive, produced from the original negatives and suitable for framing

• A publisher-signed certificate of authenticity

As we mark sixty years since the Beatles returned to Germany, these specially assembled Anniversary Copies celebrate not only a brief tour of six concerts, but also a country that played an indispensable role in the Beatles' remarkable journey.

BIG: Beatles In Germany

Tony Sheridan, Günter Zint

"I grew up in Hamburg, not Liverpool." – John Lennon

Germany was where The Beatles truly became a band.

From 1960 to 1962, the group honed their craft in Hamburg's clubs, an experience so fundamental that John Lennon later claimed he had "grown up in Hamburg, not Liverpool". It was in Germany that The Beatles made their first commercial recording, where John Lennon returned to film How I Won the War in 1966, and where the group staged their triumphant Bravo-Beatles-Blitztournee during their final tour in June that same year.

First published by Genesis Publications in 1997, BIG: Beatles in Germany documents this extraordinary relationship across 138 pages, nearly 200 photographs, and words from the Beatles’ friends and German collaborators, tracing the band's story from their early nightclub residencies to their final tour.

To mark the 60th anniversary of that tour – and nearly three decades since the book's original publication – Genesis Publications has assembled just 100 Anniversary Copies. Presented in a newly designed commemorative slipcase, each set includes one original archive darkroom print selected from the Genesis archive, together with rare memorabilia and facsimiles inspired by the Beatles' German years.

These specially created sets offer a unique new presentation of one of Genesis's early Beatles publications.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY

BIG: BEATLES IN GERMANY

'A terrific pictorial document' – Beatle Brunch

BIG: Beatles in Germany is illustrated with a wealth of rare and seldom-seen photographs documenting the Beatles' extraordinary six-year relationship with Germany.

Among the photographic treasures are Peter Bruchmann's classic images of the young Beatles at Hamburg's Top Ten Club and previously unpublished photographs by Günter Zint documenting John Lennon's time in Germany during the filming of How I Won the War, and the Beatles' triumphant return for the Bravo-Beatles-Blitztournee of June 1966.

Together, these photographs reveal the Beatles both on stage and behind the scenes, from their formative years in Hamburg to their return to Germany at the height of Beatlemania in 1966.

THE MANUSCRIPT

BIG: BEATLES IN GERMANY

'Was it down to fate? I couldn't say that the whole thing that happened in Hamburg at that time was intent in producing The Beatles, sending them out into the world. That might have been true, but we didn't experience it like that. To us, it was a free-for-all, a wonderful, crazy, electrifying time...' – Tony Sheridan

Introduced by guest editor Ulf Krüger, BIG: Beatles in Germany combines a richly illustrated narrative history with original recollections from many of those who witnessed the Beatles' German years first-hand.

Throughout the book, original text from Astrid Kirchherr, Peter Brüchmann, Günter Zint and archival quotations from John Lennon provide personal insights into the people, places and events that shaped the Beatles' formative relationship with Germany. Together with input from Beatles historians Uwe Blaschke and Thorsten Schmidt, their contributions bring to life one of the most significant periods in the band's development.

The book concludes with a specially written afterword by Tony Sheridan, singer on 'My Bonnie' – the Beatles' first commercial recording. Here, Sheridan reflects candidly and at length on the earliest days of the Beatles' career and his enduring friendship with the band.

For collectors and discographers, BIG: Beatles in Germany also includes a detailed seven-page German Beatles discography, complete with release dates, formats and catalogue numbers, creating an invaluable reference to the Beatles' recorded legacy in Germany.

THE ARCHIVE PRINT

BIG: BEATLES IN GERMANY

Exclusive to these Anniversary Copies is an original darkroom photographic print on fibre-based paper, measuring 8 × 11 inches and suitable for framing, created and used during the making of BIG: Beatles in Germany.

Printed directly from the original negatives and produced by Genesis during the preparation of the book, these traditional darkroom prints occasionally bear original pencil annotations on the reverse relating to image size and page placement, and have remained preserved in the Genesis archive for nearly three decades.

Featuring rare Beatles photographs by Peter Bruchmann and Günter Zint, many of these unique production prints reproduce images by photographer Günter Zint, whose signature also appears within the accompanying book. Together, they offer a fascinating insight into the making of BIG: Beatles in Germany and establish a direct physical connection with one of Genesis Publications' early Beatles editions.

No two Anniversary Copies contain the same archive print. Each of the 100 sets includes a different original production print selected from the Genesis archive, ensuring that every Anniversary Copy is individually unique.

THE ANNIVERSARY COPIES

BIG: BEATLES IN GERMANY

Created exclusively to mark the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' final tour of Germany, only 100 Anniversary Copies of BIG: Beatles in Germany have been assembled by Genesis Publications.

Each individually numbered set includes:

• Signed copy of BIG: Beatles in Germany in a commemorative slipcase

• Original mid-Sixties 'We Love The Beatles' gingerbread seal by Pahna (146 × 142 mm)

• Original 1997 Beatles stamp sheet

• Bravo-Beatles-Blitztournee concert ticket (facsimile)

• Star-Club menu (facsimile)

• Beatles promotional card signed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 1966 (facsimile)

• Individually numbered A5-size 'We Love The Beatles' print (1997)

The centrepiece of each Anniversary Copy is an original archive Beatles print created during the making of BIG: Beatles in Germany:

• One unique darkroom photographic print, printed directly from the original negative (8 × 11 inches / 229 × 270 mm) and suitable for framing

• Publisher-signed Certificate of Authenticity identifying the individual photograph contained within the set

The accompanying book forms part of a signed limited edition of only 1,750 copies worldwide and is personally signed by guest editor Ulf Krüger, photographer Günter Zint and the late Tony Sheridan.

Master printed in Italy on Bodonia art paper, BIG: Beatles in Germany comprises 138 pages measuring 300 × 245 mm (11¾ × 9⅝ inches).

Only 100 Anniversary Copies

The Anniversary Copies

£445	Publication price: £495