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‘SNL’ Just Surprise Released Post-Credits Paul McCartney Performances of These Beatles Classics
On May 16, the beloved NBC comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live pulled out all the stops for the final musical guest of its 51st season. Paul McCartney, who celebrates his 84th birthday next month, took the stage three times during the Will Ferrell-hosted episode, beginning with “Days We Left Behind” from his forthcoming album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. For his second song, the former Beatle sang the 1973 Wings hit “Band on the Run” before surprising the audience with a performance of his 1980 song “Coming Up”. However, there was even more where that came from, as the 19-time Grammy winner hung around Studio 8H to treat cast and audience members to an additional two songs. And now, those bonus performances are available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Videos by American Songwriter
Paul McCartney Throws It Back For Bonus ‘Saturday Night Live’ Performance
With the backing of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith on drums and Ingrid Michaelson on vocals, Paul McCartney sang the Beatles classics “Help!” and “Drive My Car” (both released in 1965).
“What a time to be alive. To have a Beatle singing to us in 2026,” remarked one fan on YouTube. “We’re so lucky.”
As the cast members danced to “Help!”, host Will Ferrell joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer onstage with—what else?—more cowbell.
The May 16 episode marked McCartney’s first SNL appearance in nearly 14 years, according to Page Six. He last appeared as a musical guest on a regular season episode in December 2012, when actor Martin Short hosted.
New Album Out Next Week Features Historic Duet With Ringo Starr
On May 29, Paul McCartney will release his 20th studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. It is the rock legend’s first solo project since 2020’s McCartney III.
In addition to the already-released single “Days We Left Behind”, the LP also features McCartney’s first-ever duet with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, “Home to Us”.
“In writing the song, I’m talking about where we came from,” McCartney told members of the press at Abbey Road earlier this month. “In common with a lot of people, you come from nothing, and you build yourself up. Ringo was from the Dingle, and that was well hard. He said he used to get mugged coming home because he worked. Even though it was crazy, it was home to us.”
He continued, ““I made the song around that idea and sent it to Ringo. He sent me back a version where he just added some lines to the chorus, so I thought, maybe he doesn’t like it. I rang him, and he said he thought I only wanted him to sing one or two lines, and I said I’d love to hear him sing the whole thing. So we took my first line, Ringo’s second line, and then we had a duet. We’d never done that before.”
Featured image by Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)
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