Will the Paul McCartney show at MetLife Stadium be a hometown birthday party?

You say it’s your birthday?

Well, happy birthday to you, Paul McCartney. The Beatles legend turns 80 on June 18, two days after his big Got Back tour show on Thursday, June 16, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

We can’t help but wonder: Is the show going to be a hometown birthday party? McCartney is a Liverpool native, of course, but he has homes around the world — including a triplex on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

What makes the New Jersey and New York area apparently special for McCartney? He has family here. McCartney married Edison native Nancy Shevell in 2011. She’s a graduate of J.P. Stevens High School, and was a board member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Her family operated the Elizabeth-based New England Motor Freight company (for decades, their trucks were often seen on New Jersey highways).

Shevell’s cousin, talk show host and journalist Barbara Walters, helped bring the pair together, according to reports.

“Barbara was her emotional confidante and played matchmaker,” a friend of the couple told The Observer of New York. “She gave numerous dinner parties for them and always made sure to invite people she knew that Paul would want to meet.”

Both Shevell and Walters have a deep Asbury Park connection: the former Harry and Mina Walters of Asbury Park are Barbara’s aunt and uncle, and Shevell’s grandparents.

Harry, a native of England, started a dry goods store on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, which grew into the Walters Department Store. He also owned stores in Long Branch and Freehold.

Also: Fans invited on MetLife Stadium field to take pics of Paul McCartney Got Back end zones

And: How Little Steven and Disciples of Soul were able to get Paul McCartney to play with them

A daughter, Arlene Walters, married Myron “Mike” Shevell. Nancy is their daughter.

“My uncle Harry Walters was a leading citizen in Asbury Park,” wrote Walters in her autobiography, “Audition.” “They seemed to have a very good marriage. Everyone in the Walters family came to them for advice, comfort, and, oh yes, money.”

Paul and Nancy have been spotted around New Jersey during the last decade or so, usually for family-related events. In 2010, the couple went to the annual Rutgers Chabad National Founders Dinner at the Hyatt in New Brunswick. Shevell’s father, vice chairman of the board of directors for NJ Transit, was one of the night’s honorees, along with Gov. Chris Christie.

“It just shows you no matter who you are, if your girlfriend tells you you’re going to be someplace, right? You’re going,” said Christie at the time. “Paul McCartney at the Chabad House fundraiser – only in New Jersey.”

Nancy’s dad passed away in January in Palm Beach, Fla.

Paul, Nancy and his in-laws had dinner at Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant in Asbury Park in 2017. In 2019, McCartney sang “I Saw Her Standing There” at the Hudson House in Jersey City at a New England Motor Freight party there. He was a regular at the company’s annual holiday parties at the former headquarters in Elizabeth.

Just before the COVID-19 lockdown, McCartney took a stroll on Main Street in Metuchen in February of 2020. John Manzo, owner of Be My Guest Personal Chef & Catering, was driving down Main Street when he noticed someone taking pictures.

It was Paul.

“I’m on the phone with my buddy and I say to him, ‘Paul McCartney’s right in front of me,’ ” Manzo previously told the USA Today Network NJ.  “I drove up next to him and rolled down the window.”

Manzo asked for a picture. Paul, apparently alone, obliged. He asked Paul what he was doing in Metuchen.

“He said his wife used to live here,” Manzo said. “I said to him, ‘You’re awesome!' Paul looked at me and pointed, ‘You’re awesome!’ ”

So, who’s bringing the cake to MetLife on Thursday? Paul’s rep isn't saying, but noted if there is one, it’s likely to be a surprise. 

The MetLife show will be the closing night of McCartney’s 13-city “Got Back” tour of the United States, which launched April 28 in Washington at Spokane Arena.

He last toured in 2019.

“I said at the end of the last tour that I’d see you next time,” said McCartney in a statement. “I said I was going to get back to you. Well, I got back!”

Paul McCartney, 8 p.m. Thursday, June 16, MetLife Stadium, Route 3, East Rutherford. Starting at $149.50. Face masks and vaccination are not required. www.metlifestadium.com.

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on the New Jersey music scene. 

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Paul McCartney Got Back tour: MetLife to be hometown birthday party?