Sir Paul McCartney Liverpool tour date 'could happen'

When asked why he thinks the singer, who turns 82 on Tuesday, has not included his home town of Liverpool, Mr Parry said: "It's whether or not there were dates available at the time to fit in with the tour schedule in Liverpool, and the other thing is, it's Manchester, its 30, 40 miles away, it's not too far.

"I think maybe what he has tried to do is meet everyone in the middle."

Mr Parry said: "Doing two days there [Manchester], he is going to be able to perform to 46,000 people so in terms of keeping the fans happy, that's the way to get to as many fans as possible."

Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena has a capacity of 11,000 and the Co-Op Live Arena can hold up to 23,500.

Earlier this month Taylor Swift played three back-to-back gigs at Anfield Stadium to crowds of more than 55,000.