Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter from Lowestoft. His manager and childhood friend Ellie Appleton (Lily James) encourages him not to give up on his dreams. Jack works at a discount grocery & kitchen supplies store named Price Star to augment his income. Jack's heart is not in the job as he is always late, doesn't shave and dresses shabbily. His manager warns Jack to pull his act together. Jack gets very excited when Ellie books him a gig at the Latitude festival, annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. Jack is assigned the Suffolk tent, and he ends up singing to mostly his friends. Jack feels that his is a small story that has no grand and happy ending. Ellie is adamant that miracles happen. Their friends include Nick (Harry Michell) and Carol (Sophia Di Martino). Jack was riding back home from the festival on his bicycle. Jack is hit by a bus during a 12-second global power failure. Jack is pretty roughed up (and has lost his 2 front teeth in the accident) and is admitted to the hospital. After recovering, he sings the Beatles song "Yesterday" for his friends and discovers that they have never heard of the Beatles. Jack realizes the world no longer remembers the band (Google has no record of the Beatles), then he discovers the band's records missing from his collection, and he realizes that he is now living in a world where the group was forgotten. Jack knows if he can remember the words to all the Beatles songs, he would become a famous rock-star. The only one he cannot remember is the "Eleanor Rigby". He reconstructs many of their songs from his memory. Jack lives with his parents Jed (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and Sheila (Meera Syal). Jack begins performing their songs, passing them off as his own. The first few gigs are a disaster as they include a child's birthday party and an afternoon shift at a sleepy pub. Ellie has Jack record a demo with a local music producer Gavin (Alexander Arnold) after having heard Jack sing at the sleepy pub. Following a performance on local television, Jack is invited by pop star Ed Sheeran to play as his opening act in Moscow. Ellie declines to join him, saying she must work at her day job as a schoolteacher, so Jack's roadie friend Rocky (Joel Fry) travels with him instead. Ed Sheeran takes them in his private plane to Moscow. Jack performs on stage for 30 minutes and his segment is an absolute, smashing hit. Jack had written a song about Russia, and later claims to Sheeran that he had come up with the song during the plane ride, when he did not have his guitar with him. Sheeran refuses to believe this. After the gig, Sheeran challenges Jack to a songwriting duel; he loses to Jack's "The Long and Winding Road". In Moscow, Sheeran's ruthless agent Debra Hammer (Kate McKinnon) signs him to her label. Debra asks Jack to relocate to Los Angeles from Suffolk. The movie is interspersed with absence of famous things like Coca Cola, Harry Potter or a cigarette, all ideas that would make Jack a multi-billionaire. At Jack's going-away party, Ellie confesses that she has always been in love with him. Jack goes to Los Angeles and Debra engineers his rise to global fame. She gives him a complete image makeover, stating that Jack is very attractive to begin with. Debra's plan it is to release 5 songs online, and then work on a double album with Jack that redefines popular rock music forever. Jack starts recording the album at EastWest Studios but fails to come up with lyrics for the songs. Hoping to trigger memories through association, Jack goes to the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, visiting landmarks such as Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, and Eleanor Rigby's grave. Ellie joins him in Liverpool, and they spend a drunken evening and kiss, but Ellie tells him she is not interested in a one-night stand. She knows that Jack is returning to LA the very next day and hence, there isn't much hope for a long-term relationship between them. The next morning, Jack and Rocky pursue Ellie to the train station, where she congratulates Jack but tells him she cannot be a part of his celebrity life. Jack returns to Los Angeles heartbroken and desperate to have an everyday life again, while Ellie begins dating Gavin. The record label prepares to launch Jack's debut album. The producers reject his suggested titles, taken from Beatles records, and name the album One Man Only, pushing his talent. Jack persuades them to launch the album with a rooftop concert in Gorleston. Backstage, two fans approach him and tell him they know he plagiarized the songs, but thank him, fearing the music was gone forever. The fans are Liz (Sarah Lancashire) a Liverpudlian woman who remembers the Beatles and Leo (Justin Edward) a Russian man who attended Ed Shreeran's concert in Moscow and saw Jack's opening act. They give him the address of John Lennon, who has survived into old age, out of the public spotlight. Jack asks Lennon if he has led a successful life; Lennon replies that he has lived happily with his wife. He advises Jack to pursue the one he loves and always tell the truth. Jack calls in a favor with Sheeran, who arranges for him to perform at Wembley Stadium. Jack confesses to the crowd that he plagiarized the music and that he loves Ellie, and he has Rocky upload the songs free on the internet, sabotaging the record release and enraging Debra. Jack and Ellie return to her home and finally make love. In the morning, Jack equates his feelings for Ellie with how Harry Potter must have felt when he defeated Lord Voldemort, but Ellie has no idea who he is talking about, much to Jack's chagrin. They decide to start a family, and Jack gives up stardom to become a music teacher.
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