Broken Social Scene fans got quite a surprise last night (Oct. 16) during the Canadian group’s You Forgot It in People 20th anniversary tour finale at Webster Hall in New York, when actresses Meryl Streep and Tracey Ullman turned up to sing on the track “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl.”
Ullman had been invited to the concert by Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew after the pair bumped into each other in the city, and Streep apparently just tagged along with her (Ullman and Drew previously covered Buzzcocks’ “Why Can’t I Touch It?” with Sloan at a 2019 Toronto concert) . Drew saluted Ullman for “pushing boundaries. Doing so much shit for all those years. Helping out people,” and it was Ullman who coerced Streep to enter from side stage and join in on the fun about three minutes into “Anthems.” Their appearance came during the penultimate song of the show, which featured 11 of the 13 tracks from the classic You Forgot It in People.
Although it wasn’t quite as big of a surprise as last night’s special guests, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr previously joined Broken Social Scene on “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” at a 2017 concert in Manchester, England.
The band’s final show of the year is set for Dec. 17 in its Toronto hometown, and a source tells SPIN more touring is expected in 2023.
