Those who are close to me, in fact anyone who follows me, knows there are 2 things on which I can bore people. As a Liverpool season ticket holder since the mid 1990s, and a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, in June for a week these loves collided.

It is a mystery as to why the E Street Band have never played Liverpool, despite having been regular visitors to the UK since 1975. And, though rumoured for years, in 2025 it finally happened. Bruce Springsteen at Anfield. The perfect match.

And what made the week great was that the band were as excited as the fans. This was, as Little Steven said a few years earlier, their Mecca. It’s where the Beatles are from. Where it all started.

All week long social media has been full of the band doing what tourists do, Liverpool museums, the Beatles story, the Cavern. Bruce had even visited Sefton Park when he’d played Manchester in May. They left the city as adopted scousers, of the red type.

Four gigs in 5 days. I am too old for this. But if they, a dozen or more septuagenarians can do it, then so could I!

On stage it was clear they were having a ball, the show continued the theme of the Land Of Hope And Dreams tour by focussing on what is happening in the USA, with Bruce thanking the crowd for our indulgence. There was no need.

The first night was fantastic, followed the next day by Max Weinberg’s own band bringing his Jukebox show to the world famous Cavern Club. Then on the Friday something happened that we had dared to hope for. Paul McCartney was in town, and met Bruce at LIPA. It was inconceivable that Paul would come from New York where he lives these days all the way just for an afternoon.

And so it proved. Clearing racing the curfew, with huge smiles the band tore through their show. Just before the encore, Paul McCartney came and joined the E Street Band for Can’t Buy Me Love and Kansas City. Everyone was blown away.

There are some who say the Beatles are overrated. They are usually attention seekers. The Beatles are underrated. Paul McCartney is the greatest living composer of music. I’ve seen him a few times before, and this was the shorted appearance but it capped the night off.

Then it was back into town, for another show at the Cavern with Max. Another 2 hours of taking requests. He played drums for nearly 5 hours that night. By the time I got to bed at 3am I was shattered. I am sure he was too.