On July 26, 2018, five years ago today, Paul McCartney played a "secret gig" at the club where the Beatles cut their teeth and were later discovered.

It wasn't the first time the singer / songwriter had returned to his old rocking grounds, but it was notable nonetheless.

About half of the 26 hits he played were Beatles numbers, one was pre-Mop Tops, a half dozen were with his time in Wings, and four were off his most recent LP Egypt Station.

The show started with the Eddie Cochran cover "Twenty Flight Rock," which was a fascinating way to kick the gig off.

People love to pit the Beatles and the Stones against each other, even though they were friends from the beginning, remained amigos through it all, and are still friendly.

One thing they shared in common was their love of the 1956 rave up from the Minnesotan.

The only artist who has covered the song more than The Stones, is Sir Paul, and for good reason. It was the tune he played for a young John Lennon the day they first met.

"John was a little afternoon-pissed, leaning over my shoulder, breathing boozily," McCartney wrote in the liner notes of the Beatles' Anthology.

"We were all a little sloshed. I thought, ‘Bloody hell, who’s this?’ But he was enjoying what I was playing, ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ in C; and I knew ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’. Then I played guitar – upside down."

"I did ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, and knew all the words. The Quarry Men were so knocked out that I actually knew and could sing ‘Twenty Flight Rock’. That’s what got me into The Beatles," he explained, adding that one reason they were impressed was because it was a tough single to find at the time.

The Beatles played the cozy club whose capacity is about 250 approximately 300 times between 1961-63.

McCartney told the audience that during those lean years they never knew if they'd ever become anything.

"Imagine this for me - all these years ago when we played the Cavern we didn't know if we'd have any future," he said. "But we did OK."

After playing the Cochran cover for the first time in 13 years, Macca and his band broke into 1967 psychedelia with "Magical Mystery Tour."

It was a curious tune to play second in the set because that album came out a just a few months after the death of their manager Brian Epstein. He, famously, was the one who discovered them at the Cavern Club, cleaned them up, got them signed to EMI and managed their historic rise until his untimely death.

Perhaps it was a tribute to his old chum at the spot they first met?

The show wasn't entirely secret. In June and July of that year he had already performed three other "secret" shows: two in other Liverpool venues, and one at Abbey Road.

While doing an interview on Facebook Live, he let it slip out the day before the Cavern gig that he was going to do another secret show. An educated guess would lead most to assume the next one would probably be where it all started. Especially since he hadn't played there in 15 years.

Despite his typically-long setlist (bro has bangers for days), the news that night was not so much about the songs he played, but what he said to the audience during "Twenty Flight Rock."

The Cute One scolded the fans for using their phones to document the gig that was being filmed by the BBC.

"I think you've all been told not to take photos," McCartney reminded them. "And you're taking them, and you're taking them, and I don't want to get put off, and you're putting me off."

Before the gig, the legendary singer took a tour of some of his favorite places in Liverpool with talk show host James Corden and then sang with the talk show host in his car.

That Carpool Karaoke was viewed 72 million times.

The 82-year-old superstar is heading back out on the road this fall with a return to the Got Back Tour.

Paul will bring those epic concerts to Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, then head to Europe. The 2024 kicks off the first of October in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Get your tickets on his website.