Homeless Busker’s ‘Incredible’ Encounter Changed His Life

Dozens of people turned up at a pub to show their support for a busker who has recently gone viral on TikTok, reports the Liverpool Echo.

John Metcalfe, a homeless man who was filmed playing his guitar and singing outside a McDonald’s drive-thru, said the reaction to the video has been “crazy”. “It’s been incredible to see people come together like that, especially around me”. John was sat outside McDonald’s near Great Homer Street, when Stephen Flynn drove through the drive-thru to get some breakfast with a friend.

They spotted John with his guitar and asked him to sing a song. The video was an instant hit online, and within days John, 59, was asked to play at The Slaughter House in the city centre, while thousands of pounds have been raised to support him. On Wednesday evening, John played his guitar to a large crowd, who were clapping and singing along with him, enjoying the music.

Overwhelmed by the support, John told the Echo: “The reaction has been incredible. People have been so beautiful, so nice and so generous. The messages have been one of hope and love and it’s been incredible to see people come together like that, especially around me. I can’t believe it. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, and in my hometown. I’m mind blown.”

When Stephen posted the video on TikTok, he had 11 followers on his account, steflynn748. Before he knew it, the video had almost 11 million views and over 930,000 likes, and Stephen had amassed almost 23,000 followers. A GoFundMe page has raised thousands of pounds to help John.

John was bewildered with how things have blown up online. He said: “Stephen only had 11 followers, and from that, boom! It’s incomprehensible. That those 11 people can be connected to that many people out there. It’s incredible.” John, who picked up a guitar on his travels, said he plays guitar to keep him “sane”.

He said: “In the old days you had to have a way of making money to survive. That’s why I learnt to play guitar. I play as a spiritual thing. I need to. It’s like praying, I guess. It’s a connection to a higher power. It’s what keeps me sane and gets me through the bad times. I like playing with other people, especially. I’m hoping one of my sons will come over to see me soon. The kids grew up around music. We always had a music room and everyone would come around in the night time and play music. We didn’t have electricity, so we just made music.”

The Slaughter House, where John played his gig, also put him up for the night. He said: “This is the first time I’ve had a bed to sleep in since February. It’s the first time I can sleep lying down in six months.” When asked about others facing homelessness in the city, he said: “You’ve always got to have hope. That’s the trouble on the streets here. Most people have given up.”

John claims a travel ban has been placed against his name across the Schengen zone, which covers 29 countries in Europe including Spain and Norway. He says once it is lifted, he will aim to return to Norway with Hege and travel to see his children who live in rural parts of southern Spain. He added: “I haven’t got anything here. I have something going in a lot of countries. I have a place in Spain and a place in Norway, and I travel over land, and in between there’s a lot of places where I have something on the go. France, Holland and Norway, I have a life in these places.”