Sir Paul McCartney drew crowds of fans to surprise them with his opening act at Glastonbury.

Sir Paul McCartney drew crowds to a cozy music club in Somerset with a surprise performance the night before the Glastonbury show.

A concert at the Cheese and Grain Leisure Center in Frome, Somerset, was announced Thursday night, causing havoc on the city’s roads as fans tried to snatch the coveted ticket.

The lucky few who managed to secure a seat queued up behind the barriers, while a entourage of locals who missed out waited in hopes of catching a glimpse of the former Beatle.

Self-proclaimed superfan Jane Lamb stood in front of the audience with a Beatles scrapbook she made at the age of eight, hoping that Sir Paul would come out and sign it after his performance.

The 68-year-old from Frome said: “This is one of four scrapbooks I made between the ages of eight and ten. I hope that if I don’t see it, at least I have a version of it. I couldn’t get tickets, I was close.”

She said she hopes he comes out after the concert to talk to fans as she feels he is “that kind of guy” despite his success.

Lamb recalled that the last time she saw Sir Paul was at an intimate concert in York in 1972, but admitted that she did not ask for an autograph at the time, as at 18 she felt “too cool to ask for such a thing.” “.

The former Beatle will become Glastonbury Festival’s oldest solo headliner when he takes the stage on Saturday, exactly one week after his 80th birthday.

Lamb added: “I think it’s amazing that at his age he’s running Glastonbury. I’ve heard people say he lost his voice, but I don’t think so.”

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Sir Paul is following in the footsteps of the Foo Fighters and Wolf Alice playing Cheese and Grain before their Glastonbury show.

Sarah McDonald was among the lucky few who were going to attend the surprise show with her family after she was first in line for tickets.

She said: “We are very happy to see him, we have been listening to Paul McCartney all day.”

Jackie and Martin Moss and their grandchildren were among the crowd trying to catch a glimpse of the singer after they missed tickets.

The couple explained that they were trying to get tickets after the announcement of Thursday’s shocking concert, but described scenes of traffic jams in the city.

She said: “The roads were rammed, the place was full, the police had to come, because you had to come in person and get tickets.”

Jackie also described the Cheese and Grain venue as “very intimate” and “quite ordinary”, but noted that the presence of festival co-organizer Emily Eavis as a patron seemed to draw big stars to the venue.

Musician Robbie Desport also admitted to being “disappointed” at not getting tickets to the concert, as he said he had always been “hugely inspired” by the Beatles.

The 38-year-old father, who plays in the band Sad Dad Club, said: “We play a few of their songs in our set, we are all big fans, but my dad is a mega mega fan. I grew up listening to their music all my early years, and I passed the responsibility on to my youngest daughter, so I hope it stays that way.”

He added: “When you look at him, I don’t see someone who is 80 years old, he really takes care of himself, he takes care of himself very well, all the power to this guy.

“I think it’s so beautiful, he puts on such a show and I think it’s great for Frome.

“I hope Macca comes out here and does acoustics for just one number, knowing that there are people here, that’s the kind of guy he is.”

At the event, security officials asked ticket holders to seal their phones in opaque bags so no recordings or photos could be taken during his surprise speech.

Sir Paul’s Saturday set will be his second performance on the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage since 2004.

This year’s music offering also features headliners Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar, with Diana Ross filling the Sunday Teatime Legends slot.