Around 350 lucky fans are currently watching Sir Paul McCartney performing live at Liverpool's Cavern Club for a secret intimate gig that was announced only hours ago. It's all part of a promotional run for the legendary musician's latest album 'Egypt Station'. 

Paul McCartney at Abbey Road StudiosPaul McCartney at Abbey Road Studios

Tickets for the gig, which included 200 free passes, were snapped up in moments today (July 26th 2018) - and no doubt people have signed off sick at work en masse for the chance to see their Beatles hero live at the tiny venue which kicked off at 2pm. 

It's a club that the Beatles performed at almost 300 times at the beginning of their career when they first formed in the city, with Paul himself having played their three years before the Beatles as part of The Quarrymen.

The original club is actually no longer around; but having closed in 1973, it was reopened just minutes away from the initial venue. The last time Paul played there was in 1999, performing material from his covers album 'Run Devil Run' with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on guitar.

Paul's last surprise gig in Liverpool was at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms as part of his episode of 'Carpool Karaoke' with James Corden, where there was only around 50 fans watching. More recently he performed at Abbey Road Studios on Monday (July 23rd 2018) in front of a crowd which included Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kylie Minogue and Stormzy, reportedly.

Earlier this month, he announced that he would be playing to larger crowds just before Christmas with a show at Liverpool's Echo Arena on December 12th, Glasgow's SSE Hydro arena on December 13th and London's O2 Arena on December 16th.

More: Paul McCartney does Carpool Karaoke

'There's nothing like performing in front of your home crowd, especially when it's been a while', he said in a statement. 'I can't wait to finish the year on such a high by partying in Liverpool, Glasgow and London.'