'Paul McCartney's right in front of me': Beatles fans spot the singer in New Jersey
It’s not Abbey Road, but Main Street in Metuchen, New Jersey, will do.
Music legend Paul McCartney was sighted in the Middlesex County borough around 3 p.m. on Sunday. John Manzo, owner of Be My Guest Personal Chef & Catering, was driving down Main Street when he noticed someone taking pictures.
It was McCartney.
“I’m on the phone with my buddy and I say to him, Paul McCartney’s right in front of me,” Manzo told the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. “I drove up next to him and rolled down the window.”
Manzo asked for a picture. McCartney, apparently alone, obliged. He asked the musician what he was doing in the area.
“He said his wife used to live here,” Manzo said.
Indeed, wife Nancy Shevell is a native of the neighboring township, Edison, New Jersey. Her family owned the Elizabeth, New Jersey-based New England Motor Freight trucking company for several decades.
A post shared by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney) on Feb 14, 2020 at 8:37am PST
The Beatle’s visit was the talk of the town on Sunday.
“The whole town is buzzing,” said Jason Capone of Antonio’s Brick Oven Pizza, also on Main Street. “He’s the biggest celebrity we’ve had since (Metuchen, New Jersey, native) David Copperfield was here three years ago.”
It’s not the first time McCartney, 77, has popped up in New Jersey. The rocker sang "I Saw Her Standing There" at the Hudson House in Jersey City in November at a New England Motor Freight party and he, Shevell and his in-laws had dinner at Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant in Asbury Park in 2017. In 2010, the couple went to annual Rutgers Chabad National Founders Dinner, where Shevell’s father was one of the night’s honorees.
Manzo, who was working Sunday, is a Beatles fan whose band, Tango Rose, used to play at the Stone Pony and the Fast Lane in Asbury Park. He’s meeting the mayor for dinner Sunday night after his star sighting.
He didn’t have much time with McCartney, who was in front of the Buttery Bake Shoppe. Cars were behind Manzo, who was still in his car.
“I said to him, ‘You’re awesome!” Manzo said. “Paul looked at me and pointed, ‘You’re awesome!’”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Paul McCartney spotted by Beatles fans in New Jersey
