The star of Danny Boyle’s new Beatles-inspired film has taken to the stage in a replica of The Cavern Club to perform some of the Fab Four’s songs.
Himesh Patel, who plays struggling musician Jack in Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis film Yesterday, made a surprise appearance at a press event at The Beatles Story museum on Liverpool’s Albert Dock on Thursday evening.
Patel, who is the only person in the world who can remember The Beatles in the film, performed Yesterday and Back In The USSR in the museum’s replica of the Mathew Street bar where John, Paul, George and Ringo started their careers.
The former EastEnders actor played the guitar for the performance, being handed a plectrum by a member of the audience when he decided to play a second song.
He then signed his name on the remake of the iconic Cavern wall, where past performers’ names are written.
Written by Curtis and directed by Boyle, Yesterday follows Patel’s character as he wakes from a freak accident to find no one else in the world remembers the songs made famous by The Beatles.
Starting from the house he shares with his parents, played by Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar, in Suffolk, Jack travels to Moscow, Los Angeles and then on a magical mystery tour to Liverpool as the world reacts to hearing the famous songs for the first time.
Lily James and Himesh Patel during the shooting of a scene for Danny Boyle’s new film, in Halesworth, Suffolk (Joe Giddens/PA)
It also stars Downton Abbey actress Lily James, Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon and Ed Sheeran, who plays himself.
The movie was shown at a special screening in Liverpool on Wednesday as a thank you to the city’s film office, which is in its 30th year.
