Paul McCartney had his sense of humor on full displayed Thursday (May 23) night in London at the Ivor Novello Awards where he presented Bruce Springsteen with the night's highest honor - the songwriting academy's fellowship.
McCartney noted that Springsteen is the first international star to receive the honor and he "couldn't think of a more fitting" honoree... "except maybe Bob Dylan. Or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift," he joked, according to the BBC. "The list goes on."
The former Beatle wasn't done taking playful digs at the Boss. "He's known as the American working man," McCartney added, "but he admits he's never worked a day in his life."
Then he imagined where Springsteen would rank among the Beatles, joking, "When it comes to talent, he'd definitely be in the top five."
Springsteen didn't seem to be offended by McCartney's quips and hugged him when he appeared on stage, the outlet reported.
He was reportedly hoarse, following Wednesday (May 22) night's three-hour concert in Sunderland that was marred by rain, though the Boss said he never considered cancelling the concert.
"We came out last night, and I was like, 'What is this weather? Driving rain, wind roaring," Springsteen said. "But standing in front of me, in the rain, I realized: These are my people."
Though Springsteen has embraced the U.K. over the years, he admitted he wasn't so sure during his first visit to London back in 1975.
"The airplane food was not so great, and my first thought when we landed at Heathrow was, 'Where's all the cheeseburgers? The cheeseburgers had either been hidden or replaced by something called fish and chips. It was a little disconcerting," he said, according to the BBC.
"Then our next stop was the Hammersmith Odeon, where I was greeted by a huge sign announcing: 'London is finally ready for Bruce Springsteen'.
"And all I thought was, 'If London isn't ready for a cheeseburger, they may not be ready for me!'" he added.
Springsteen then performed a version of his classic song "Thunder Road."
Springsteen joins Sir Elton John, Joan Armatrading, John Barry, Kate Bush and McCartney and others, as the 27th recipient of the Ivors Academy fellowship.
Aside from all the digs, McCartney did eventually give Springsteen some praise. He noted that he made good on his promise to join him onstage at Glastonbury, although his appearance was delayed a few years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
McCartney said, "He's a lovely boy."
