Dad sleeping in car outside McDonald's had his life changed forever by chance meeting

A homeless man whose stunning musical performance at a McDonald's drive-thru captured the hearts of millions says he "can't think straight" after the people of Liverpool came together to help him. A video of John Metcalfe playing Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits outside the McDonald's on Jennifer Avenue, near Great Homer Street, went viral on TikTok and has led to a huge outpouring of support.

Within days John, 59, has received an offer of a city centre gig, while thousands of pounds have been raised to support him - all thanks to a chance meeting with Stephen Flynn. Stephen drove through the McDonald's drive-thru with a friend to get some breakfast. They spotted John with his guitar and asked him to sing a song.

His rendition of the 1978 classic was an instant hit online, after Stephen posted it to his 11 TikTok followers on his account, steflynn748. Before he knew it, the video had more than 10 million views and just short of 900,000 likes, and Stephen had amassed more than 18,000 followers. A GoFundMe page has raised thousands of pounds to help John.

When the ECHO met John near the McDonald's on Monday he told us the reaction had been "crazy", and explained his situation as he finds himself sleeping in his broken-down Peugeot 207. John, from Allerton, left Merseyside when he was 23, initially heading for the Middle East where he said he lived with rural communities before heading to Scandinavia, but is now back in his home city after visa issues meant he was deported from Norway.

John said he has spent his adult life singing and busking, while also having a variety of jobs while travelling across Europe and Asia, working in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Norway, and many other countries. He showed the ECHO his Dutch and French identification cards as well as explaining how his sons Joshua, 34, and Arion, 29, live in Almeria, Spain, with their mum, from whom John is separated.

Speaking to the ECHO outside McDonald's alongside Stephen, Stephen's sister Melissa who has helped him with the fundraiser, and John's girlfriend of four years, Hege, who moved to the UK when John was deported, he said: "It's been terrible. We've tried to get housing and we've not been able to get it sorted.

"I'm lucky I have a car, even if it has broken down, just so I can put my stuff in it. I haven't slept lying down for months. Hege got ill from sleeping in the cold during winter."

On the TikTok videos and exposure, he added: "My head is all over the place, it has been for the last few days. I can't think straight, it's crazy."

John claims government officers and police arrived at his home in Norway where he lived with Hege, and he was told he had an hour to pack his bags ahead of a return to the UK as he had overstayed on his visa. He was flown to London Stansted Airport before returning to Liverpool, where his parents still live, but after a short stint living with them, he then moved into a bedsit after Hege, 48, joined him.

Following a dispute with the landlord at the accommodation, they then moved onto the streets and John has chosen not to tell his parents of the full circumstances of his living arrangements due to his mum's poor health. In December, the pair began sleeping rough outside Sainsbury's on Great Homer Street, where John busked for several months.

The couple then moved to McDonald's next to the superstore on the retail park where they have been for the last four months, making what money they can to survive. But thanks to Stephen and his sister Melissa, John and Hege are hoping money raised thanks to the viral videos shared on TikTok can help them recoup funds to get a camper van they can use to travel the UK and use his new-found online popularity to get gigs.

John said: "Since the moment the video went online, this guy (Stephen) has been like a saint. He's shown me the best side of what you can find in Liverpool. We get put down so much but this is the best side of humanity. it's straight from the heart. He didn't expect this to happen. It's taken over his life, the poor guy, but he's a real Liverpool hero."

He added: "The reason I continue to play guitar is because my life has been turned upside down, I can't face it I guess. As long as I get to play music and make other people happy, I'm happy. It means I can forget about my problems because I struggle to see a way out of my problems."

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 will absolutely leave the UK. I have too many things going on in too many countries. I have to be in Spain, France, Holland, Austria and Norway, I have a life in these places."

Stephen told the ECHO John is set to play a gig at The Slaughter House pub in the city centre, where he will also be put up for the night on Wednesday. For more information, or to donate, click here.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office did not respond to a request for comment on John's visa situation.