His band was on the run. Beatles fans who keep a sharp eye on Paul McCartney's Twitter account were rewarded Thursday. The musician performed a surprise short concert in New York's Times Square over lunchtime.
The singer announced the concert on Twitter about an hour before the 1 p.m. performance and drew a packed house.
"Wow! Really excited to be playing New York Times Square at 1 p.m. this afternoon!" McCartney tweeted.
Fans were stunned by the announcement and quickly retweeted the news. "Wait, what?" wrote Brooklyn resident Jason Morrow on Twitter.
McCartney followed up the initial tweet by writing, "Come on down to Times Square... It's all going to be happening there!" He also tweeted a link to the Times Square live webcam.
Fan-tweeted photos showed a giant crowd listening and snapping photos with cameras and smartphones while McCartney and band performed songs from "New," his latest album, which hits stores Oct. 15.
McCartney also gave a concert on Wednesday at New York's Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, performing 13 songs and taking student questions. Wednesday would have been the 73rd birthday of Lennon's late bandmate, John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980. McCartney's website notes that he performed the Beatles' song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" in Lennon's honor.