night!"inda said this about their meeting: "I was quite shameless really. I
was with somebody else [that night] ... and I saw Paul at the other side
of the room. He looked so beautiful that I made up my mind I would have
to pick him up."[375]
The pair married in 1969. About their relationship, Paul said, "We had a
lot of fun together ... just the nature of how we are, our favourite
thing really is to just hang, to have fun. And Linda's very big on just
following the moment."[377]
He added, "We were crazy. We had a big argument the night before we got
married, and it was nearly called off ... [it's] miraculous that we
made it. But we did."[378]
The two collaborated musically after the Beatles' break-up, forming Wings in 1971.[379] They faced derision from some fans and critics, who questioned her inclusion. She was nervous about performing with Paul, who explained, "she conquered those nerves, got on with it and was really gutsy."[380] Paul defended her musical ability: "I taught Linda the basics of the keyboard ... She took a couple of lessons and learned some bluesy things ... she did very well and made it look easier than it was ... The critics would say, 'She's not really playing' or 'Look at her—she's playing with one finger.' But what they didn't know is that sometimes she was playing a thing called a Minimoog, which could only be played with one finger. It was monophonic."[380] He went on to say, "We thought we were in it for the fun ... it was just something we wanted to do, so if we got it wrong—big deal. We didn't have to justify ourselves."[380] Former Wings guitarist McCullough said of collaborating with Linda, "trying to get things together with a learner in the group didn't work as far as I was concerned."[381]
They had four children—Linda's daughter Heather (legally adopted by Paul), Mary, Stella and James—and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer at age 56 in 1998.[382] After her death, Paul stated in the Daily Mail, "I got a counsellor because I knew that I would need some help. He was great, particularly in helping me get rid of my guilt [about wishing I'd been] perfect all the time ... a real bugger. But then I thought, hang on a minute. We're just human. That was the beautiful thing about our marriage. We were just a boyfriend and girlfriend having babies."[383]
On 24 April 1976, the two were watching an episode of Saturday Night Live together at Lennon's home in the Dakota, during which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 cash offer for the Beatles to reunite. While they seriously considered going to the SNL studio a few blocks away, they decided it was too late. This was their last time together.[394] VH1 fictionalised this event in the 2000 television film Two of Us.[395] McCartney's last telephone call to Lennon, days before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly; he said this about the call: "[It is] a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up."[396]
—McCartney, Guitar World, January 2000
On 9 December 1980, McCartney followed the news that Lennon had been murdered the previous night, his death creating a media frenzy around the surviving members of the band.[398] That evening, as he was leaving an Oxford Street
recording studio surrounded by reporters who asked him for his
reaction, he responded: "It's a drag". The press quickly criticised him
for what appeared to be a superficial response.[399]
He later explained, "When John was killed somebody stuck a microphone
at me and said: 'What do you think about it?' I said, 'It's a dra-a-ag'
and meant it with every inch of melancholy I could muster. When you put
that in print it says, 'McCartney in London today when asked for a
comment on his dead friend said, "It's a drag".' It seemed a very
flippant comment to make."[399] He described his first exchange with Ono after the murder, and his last conversation with Lennon:
After Harrison's death in November 2001, McCartney issued a statement outside his home in St. John's Wood, calling him "a lovely guy and a very brave man who had a wonderful sense of humour". He went on to say, "We grew up together and we just had so many beautiful times together – that's what I am going to remember. I'll always love him, he's my baby brother."[405] On the first anniversary of his death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.[406] He also performed "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass", and played the piano on Eric Clapton's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".[407]
The two collaborated musically after the Beatles' break-up, forming Wings in 1971.[379] They faced derision from some fans and critics, who questioned her inclusion. She was nervous about performing with Paul, who explained, "she conquered those nerves, got on with it and was really gutsy."[380] Paul defended her musical ability: "I taught Linda the basics of the keyboard ... She took a couple of lessons and learned some bluesy things ... she did very well and made it look easier than it was ... The critics would say, 'She's not really playing' or 'Look at her—she's playing with one finger.' But what they didn't know is that sometimes she was playing a thing called a Minimoog, which could only be played with one finger. It was monophonic."[380] He went on to say, "We thought we were in it for the fun ... it was just something we wanted to do, so if we got it wrong—big deal. We didn't have to justify ourselves."[380] Former Wings guitarist McCullough said of collaborating with Linda, "trying to get things together with a learner in the group didn't work as far as I was concerned."[381]
They had four children—Linda's daughter Heather (legally adopted by Paul), Mary, Stella and James—and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer at age 56 in 1998.[382] After her death, Paul stated in the Daily Mail, "I got a counsellor because I knew that I would need some help. He was great, particularly in helping me get rid of my guilt [about wishing I'd been] perfect all the time ... a real bugger. But then I thought, hang on a minute. We're just human. That was the beautiful thing about our marriage. We were just a boyfriend and girlfriend having babies."[383]
Heather Mills
In 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner.[384] In 2003, the couple had a child, Beatrice Milly, named in honour of Mills' late mother, and one of McCartney's aunts.[177] They separated in April 2006 and divorced acrimoniously in March 2008.[385] In 2004, he commented on media animosity toward his partners: "[the British public] didn't like me giving up on Jane Asher ... I married [Linda], a New York divorcee with a child, and at the time they didn't like that".[386]Nancy Shevell
McCartney married New Yorker Nancy Shevell in a civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, London, on 9 October 2011. The wedding was a modest event attended by a group of about 30 relatives and friends.[196] The couple had been dating since November 2007.[387] Shevell is vice-president of a family-owned transportation conglomerate which owns New England Motor Freight.[388] She is a former member of the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[389]Beatles
This section is about social and other general interactions. For creative collaborations, see Collaborations between ex-Beatles.
John Lennon
Though McCartney had a strained relationship with Lennon, they briefly became close again in early 1974, and played music together on one occasion.[390] In later years, the two grew apart.[391] While McCartney would often phone Lennon, he was apprehensive about the reception he would receive. During one call, Lennon told him, "You're all pizza and fairytales!"[392] In an effort to avoid talking only about business, they often spoke of cats, babies or baking bread.[393]On 24 April 1976, the two were watching an episode of Saturday Night Live together at Lennon's home in the Dakota, during which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 cash offer for the Beatles to reunite. While they seriously considered going to the SNL studio a few blocks away, they decided it was too late. This was their last time together.[394] VH1 fictionalised this event in the 2000 television film Two of Us.[395] McCartney's last telephone call to Lennon, days before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly; he said this about the call: "[It is] a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up."[396]
Reaction to Lennon's murder
Main article: Death of John Lennon
"John is kinda like a constant ... always there in my being ... in my soul, so I always think of him".[397]
I talked to Yoko the day after he was killed, and the first thing she said was, "John was really fond of you." The last telephone conversation I had with him we were still the best of mates. He was always a very warm guy, John. His bluff was all on the surface. He used to take his glasses down, those granny glasses, and say, "it's only me." They were like a wall you know? A shield. Those are the moments I treasure.[399]In 1983, McCartney said, "I would not have been as typically human and standoffish as I was if I knew John was going to die. I would have made more of an effort to try and get behind his "mask" and have a better relationship with him."[399] He said that he went home that night, watched the news on television with his children and cried most of the evening. In 1997, he admitted the ex-Beatles were nervous at the time that they might also be murdered.[400] He told Mojo magazine in 2002 that Lennon was his greatest hero.[401] In 1981, McCartney sang backup on Harrison's tribute to their ex-bandmate, "All Those Years Ago", which featured Starr on drums.[402] McCartney released "Here Today" in 1982, a song Everett described as "a haunting tribute" to McCartney's friendship with Lennon.[403]
George Harrison
Discussing his relationship with McCartney, Harrison said, "Paul would always help along when you'd done his ten songs—then when he got 'round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually ... There were a lot of tracks, though, where I played bass ... because what Paul would do—if he'd written a song, he'd learn all the parts for Paul and then come in the studio and say (sometimes he was very difficult): "Do this". He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something."[404]After Harrison's death in November 2001, McCartney issued a statement outside his home in St. John's Wood, calling him "a lovely guy and a very brave man who had a wonderful sense of humour". He went on to say, "We grew up together and we just had so many beautiful times together – that's what I am going to remember. I'll always love him, he's my baby brother."[405] On the first anniversary of his death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.[406] He also performed "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass", and played the piano on Eric Clapton's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".[407]
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