Saturday Night Live have shared post-credits footage of Paul McCartney playing ‘Help!’ and ‘Drive My Car’ with Will Ferrell on cowbell.
The Beatles icon was the musical guest on the final episode of season 51 of the show last week (May 16), playing ‘Days We Left Behind’, from his upcoming album ‘The Boys Of Dungeon Lane’, as well as the 1980 track ‘Coming Up’.
Once the live show had finished, McCartney hang around for a couple of exclusive performances for the cast and crew, and now the videos have been shared online.
Joined by Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith on drums and Ferrell on his trademark cowbell, he ran through versions of two 1965 Beatles classics, ‘Help!’ and ‘Drive My Car’. Watch them both here:
Ferrell famously played the cowbell in a 2000 SNL sketch in which Christopher Walken played the producer of Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’, and angrily demanded that Ferrell’s Gene Frankle play “more cowbell”, much to the chegrin of the rest of the band.
Walken later joked the sketch had “ruined his life”, while Ferrell has since played the cowbell with Coldplay on ‘Viva La Vida’, and at his son Magnus’ first live show.
McCartney was also involved in the last ever episode of The Late Show this week, where he duetted with host Stephen Colbert on another Beatles classic, ‘Hello, Goodbye’. He also poignantly turned off the lights for the final time at the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
On that show, he also described his new Beatles biopic counterpart Paul Mescal as “very cute”. The much-anticipated four-film saga from Sam Mendes is set to be released in April 2028.
Macca’s new album, ‘The Boys Of Dungeon Lane’, is set for release on May 29 (pre-order here) and includes a duet with former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr on ‘Home To Us’ – a nostalgic reflection on their Liverpool roots which marks their first ever vocal collaboration.
Elsewhere, McCartney has spoken about being unable to tell what songs Bob Dylan played when he recently saw him, explained why he hates taking selfies and why he is still baffled by “a lot of this influencer stuff”.
The doors of 3 Savile Row in London’s Mayfair, meanwhile, will be open to the public next year for the first-ever official Beatles fan experience. The site of the iconic 1969 rooftop concert will allow fans access to seven floors of archives and exhibitions, while the ‘Let It Be’ studio will also be recreated.
