Since Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band announced their first-ever concerts in Liverpool there was a building sense of anticipation in the city. Would Bruce’s friend, collaborator, and occasional roaster Sir Paul McCartney appear?
In the style of a true hypeman, The Boss did nothing to dampen down the speculation. It was clear that Paul was back in his hometown, and the two appeared together at the performing arts school McCartney founded close to the Mersey on the day before the concert to do a Q&A for awestruck students. It is impossible to form a R&B band in the early ’70s without acknowledging your Beatles influences, but The E Street Band have always been vocal about theirs, including sneaking into the current facsimile of The Cavern Club for lunchtime gigs. The Boss’ opening words for the evening noted that he was overjoyed to be working in the city for the first time, as he said that if there were no Beatles there would be no E Street Band.
After 60,000 had come to their feet and exercised their vocal cords with a rousing rendition of “Can’t Buy Me Love,” the legends turned to their shared heritage in blues and rock n roll. Leiber and Stoller’s “Kansas City,” first popularized by Little Willie Littlefield but covered many times since, is a mutual part of the history of Springsteen and McCartney, with the Beatles covering it and The E Street Band playing it occasionally, most often in the eponymous city. As is often the case McCartney and The Beatles came to it via the Little Richard records which they obtained from the transatlantic trade between the US and Liverpool. There was less of a sing-along to that song, but the emotional heft and history were clear. With an encore including “Twist and Shout,” Bruce finished by noting that it was a career highlight to perform with a Beatle in his hometown. No-one could ask for more than that.
