A widely shared social media post in early August 2025 claimed that Paul McCartney visited fellow music legend Phil Collins in a London hospital and performed “Hey Jude” for him at his bedside. The story — accompanied by purported images of the moment — quickly went viral, with one Facebook post from the page Rock & Roll Universe receiving more than 88,000 reactions and over 16,000 shares.
According to the post, McCartney arrived quietly at the hospital carrying his guitar, sat beside a “frail and pale” Collins, and sang the Beatles classic, moving nurses to tears. The post’s caption described the encounter as a touching farewell between “two legends.”
Snopes confirms photos of Paul McCartney visiting Phil Collins in the hospital are 100% fake
However, fact-checking by Snopes found no credible evidence to support the claim. Searches of major news outlets and online archives turned up no reports of such an event — something that would have been widely covered if it had taken place.
The story appears to be a fabricated “glurge” tale — an overly sentimental, inspirational anecdote often shared online despite being false. The posts linking to the story led to ad-heavy websites, suggesting the narrative was created to drive clicks and generate advertising revenue.
Further analysis also revealed signs that the accompanying images were artificially generated. In one photo, McCartney appeared to play guitar right-handed despite being a well-known left-handed musician. The guitar in the image had only five strings, and McCartney’s right hand appeared to have just three fingers and a thumb. AI detection tools flagged a 99% probability that similar images on the page — including one of Bob Dylan by Collins’ bedside — were AI-generated.
As for Collins’ health, People magazine reported in late July 2025 that the Genesis frontman was recovering from knee surgery, but did not confirm whether he was still hospitalized.
This false McCartney-Collins story follows a pattern of viral but fictitious tales involving rock icons, including a recent claim that Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant built shelters for Texas flood victims — another story debunked by Snopes.