Paul McCartney surprises 2,000 fans in Covent Garden with secret lunchtime gig By Joanna Crawley Workers on their lunch break, shoppers and tourists got a huge shock on Friday when Sir Paul McCartney performed an impromptu gig in the heart of Covent Garden. The 71-year-old drew a massive crowd of 2000 fans after he hosted a free concert in central London to promote his latest album New. Crowds of people swarmed to get a spot in the packed piazza as rumours of the gig spread across Twitter before the Beatles musician took to the stage at 1pm. Look who it is! Sir Paul McCartney surprises thousands of fans with an impromptu gig in London's Covent Garden on Friday lunchtime Performing five songs from New, McCartney played alongside his band from the back of a truck parked in front of St Paul's church. The singer hinted at his big plans in a brief Twitter message just before taking to the stage, telling his 1.6 million followers: I'm getting ready to pop up in Covent Garden at 1pm today. Oh baby! Drawing a crowd: Covent Garden's famous piazza was packed with 2,000 fans who clamoured to get a glimpse of Sir Paul New tunes: The Beatle's singer treated the crowd to five tracks from his latest album New Fans soon descended on the piazza after rumours of the gig intensified throughout the morning, with hundreds packing out the square's balconies and rooftops. Onlookers started gathering at around 11am after they worked out the musician may be making an appearance after spotting one of his flight cases. The truck - which formed his makeshift stage - pulled up at about 6am, with stacks of speakers set up in front. By the start of the concert at 1pm over 2,000 fans cheered the music legend onto the stage as he greeted his fans with a simple welcome message. Now and then: Sir Paul plays at Covent Garden on Friday (left) and back in 1969 he also played a rooftop session with The Beatles (right) Anticipation: Crowds watched on as Sir Paul played the piano on stage Warm welcome: McCartney excitedly greeted the huge crowds as he prepared to entertain them during their lunch breaks Busy man: Sir Paul McCartney had a busy day because he even went to his new album signing at HMV Oxford Street, London, where he greeted fans and signed copies of his first solo album, New Hello! Macca greeted hoards of fans who were outside HMV on Oxford Street Popular man: Sir Paul McCartney arrived at HMV Oxford Street to promote his first solo album of original songs since 2007, New Good afternoon. Welcome to Covent Garden. We're just going to do some songs from our new album so get your phones out - as if they weren't already," Sir Paul told his fans. 'This is a change from the '60s because we would just have been coming in from the clubs right now," he jokingly added before making reference to the shopping mecca's famed street performers: 'Busking - I've always wanted to busk here,' the musican quipped. Camera phones at the ready: Sir Paul and his band performed on the back of a truck that parked in the piazza The singer opened with the track All My Life, and closed approximately 20 minutes later, telling the audience: Thank you very much. OK now, back to work! Fans were delighted to have been part of the impromptu gig, with one excitedly tweeting his idol: "Thank you, @paulmccartney. I can safely say that's the best lunch break I've ever had. The gig had echoes of January 1969 when Sir Paul memorably performed with The Beatles on the roof of the group's Apple HQ, virtually shutting down London's Savile Row. He can still draw a crowd: McCartney walks to his makeshift stage as cameras document the big moment Proud family: Stella McCartney stands on balcony with the kids whilst they watched Paul McCartney play a free gig in Covent Garden Fighting for space: Office workers and tourists crowded onto balconies and rooftops to catch a glimpse of the singer Supportive: Stella McCartney could not miss out on her dad's free concert for the release of his new record album The London gig follows a similar stunt in New York's Times Square a week ago to promote New, which hit stores this week. Clearly, Sir Paul's popularity has not waned in the city that never sleeps as scenes were reminiscent of the Beatles' now iconic arrival at Kennedy Airport in 1964. Jet-setter: Sir Paul performed a similar stunt to the delight of Times Square in New York a week ago Fans of all ages - and not just Baby Boomers - were quick to react after Macca tweeted: 'Wow! Really excited to be playing New York Times Square at 1pm this afternoon. New, his first album to feature original songs since 2007, was produced by Mark Ronson, known for his work with Amy Winehouse, Ethan Johns, the son of legendary Wings producer Glyn Johns, and Giles Martin, whose father is former Beatles producer Sir George Martin. Freebie: The crowds were treated to a 20 minute set from the former Beatle who performed tracks from his album New Music man: The singer wore a smart double breasted coat and jeans for his lunchtime gig in the heart of London Describing the album, the 16th of his solo career, McCartney has stated that the record was inspired by events including his marriage to Nancy Shevell as well as his early days as a musician before he found fame with the Beatles. The album has been widely praised by critics, one of whom described the title track as a "jaunty, Beatles-esque stomp" and likening it to Beatles hit "Got to Get You Into My Life." Rumours of the gig began to sweep Twitter in the hours before Sir Paul took to the stage Nice keys: Sir Paul played tunes on a psychedelic piano before waving goodbye to his fans