setting around thinking smoking super silver haze on the set as set and setting goes and in the center of the ripple I see the concentric circle are echoing me singing out I love Paul McCartney. That. Is. All.

You know what I mean.

Exclusive: Steve Holley reveals Linda would drunk-shame Paul from horseback

I don't know how interested any of you are in the Fest for Beatles Fans, which I've attended twice now, but I thought everyone needed to hear this story.

I attended a panel with Adrian Sinclair, Steve Holley, Laurence Juber, and Allan Kozinn. The two on the ends wrote The McCartney Legacy. The other two were in Wings during Back to the Egg.

Recording "Arrow Through Me," which I've confirmed with the McCartney Project was done in Campbeltown, Scotland, they finished up a long day and went out to the pub. According to Steve Holley, they both drank everyone else under the table and around dawn, they emerged, staggering, to the street. Paul stopped and said, "d'you hear that?"

"What?"

"Do you hear a horse?"

Steve did, in fact, hear a horse.

"It's my wife," Paul said. "I'm in trouble."

Indeed, Linda rode up on a horse, stopped in front of them, and looked down. "Look at the state of you two," she said. "You disgust me." Steve said something about asking her if she'd let that man marry her daughter, which I didn't quite get, though she said, "Yes, but that's not the issue right now."

And Paul got up behind her and they rode away.

The existence of this story heavily implies this was not the only time Linda had to pick up Paul on a horse. We imagine that, upon discovering Paul wasn't yet home, she merely had to step outside, whistle, and her steed appeared, ready to shame Paul McCartney.

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 1.4

Oh, John. It's hard because I'm like “fame was not good for that man” but I'm also like “he would've gone crazy with self-loathing if he didn't have the fame.”

John and Paul start to answer a question at the same time. John: no, go on, you can say it. They're seriously so married. 

John's schoolboy flirting is cute, but what's more noteworthy to me is a) how happy Paul is to be shoved and b) how he instantly leans back into John. It's like they're bungeed together or something. 

John gets me. Look how much he loves Paul bringing out the forced confidence shield to protect him. He's so in love. So turned on. 

Here's my question about the death threats. Did the other Beatles actually receive them and tell Brian about them and keep them from John? Because that would be incredibly sweet and noble of them, but also, in that case, surely John received death threats too. Meaning he just didn't care about his own life and assumed the others were being left out of it because they hadn't actually said they were bigger than Jesus. Or did they have people filtering all their mail by that point? And Brian had been keeping the death threats from all of them? Because that could be interpreted as both protective and selfish of him. Does anyone know?

Again. I just love how Paul goes to bat for John over and over during this tour. Batting his eyes and playing with his hair and shouting down any and all criticism of John speaking his mind.

This moment is so telling to me. An interviewer who was up front at several concerts points out the looks and smiles between John and Paul which you can only see from the front and asks, “is it really that much fun every time?” The easy answer is, “Yeah. We like what we do. It's fun!” But Paul gets cagey. “Oh well the thing is you know with things like that it's probably…” and he makes up a bullshit story about messing up on a song they haven't performed in a year. Why do that if you don't have something to hide? (Even if you're subconsciously hiding) That right there is a tip-off for me that they're not normal about each other. 

Interviewer: are you guys breaking up? John, immediately and emphatically: No. Paul: "Depends what you mean by breaking up, you know . . . Because we can't go on forever like this, so we've got to think now and prepare for, you know, if it did happen. The time has come for us to break up, but we've realized the possibility . . . Of breaking up as a natural progression." Literally shut the fuck up right now, you're going to give John an aneurysm.

I understand. I know. I don't relate to Paul much but I do relate to his hyperactivity and his avoidant attachment. I make sure constantly that I'll be okay when all my relationships end. But you don't talk about that in front of the other person. Especially someone like John whose worst fear is being left. Come on. Think. 

See, now look what you did, Paul. Here's John's answer the next time they're asked about breaking up. 

And yeah, the klan being the ones to “stand up against the Beatles blasphemy” really proves my point from the last post I think. It's just masked racism. 

It actually seems like Paul's more vocally political at this point in time than John is. I wonder what happened to change that? Was it just the influence of their respective wives? Was it just easier for them to play up the roles they'd been assigned for the most part?

Okay on this round of “are you breaking up” they look at each other first before they answer and then Paul goes “all together probably.” I wonder if they talked about their previous answers together and admitted – however cautiously or however veiled – that hearing the other say they might leave hadn't been fun. Who knows, honestly.  

Paul and John often talk about making a radio show together apparently. Gosh if only they could've done that now. I'd make them my token white boy podcast. It'd be great. They'd be so lame and so adorable and they'd talk about recipes and politics and they'd gossip and rank other people's music. But anyway, what really gets me is the often bit. So they really did plan their post-beatle future together. Enough that it was a frequent topic of discussion between them. They planned to be together forever. 

Ugh it always guts me that Paul brought a girlfriend to Paris with him to meet up with John.

Okay my tin hat is glued to my head for this but. But. Hear me out alright? So John starts filming on 09/19/66. He's there for 6 &½ weeks. Putting the end at the beginning of November, right when Paul goes in disguise and alone to Paris. Do we have tabs on John for those dates? John just talked about going around Paris in disguise. What if  they met up by themselves and in secret? What then?

 No fucking wonder John was exhausted with him. Damn. He takes a month and a half to write strawberry fields, shows it to Paul, then...

Interviewer: the songwriting team will keep going whatever happens will it? John: yeah, we'll probably carry on writing music Forever. It's just so ‘Obviously. Might as well ask me if the sun's going to come up tomorrow.’

His friend – try dangerous drugs with and take home to daddy type “friend” – just died brutally and suddenly two days ago, and this is what he looks like and talks like and he's going in to work like it's nothing. I just. Compare that to John talking about Brian's death? Obviously two very different relationships but still… Paul's upbringing really fucked him up so hard. He thinks he's not allowed to be human. What can I say? It's a drag.

AKA the happiest 6 months of John and Paul's lives. 

I find it fascinating that Paul alone is asked to compose and record what would eventually become the carnival of light and that he just went ahead and included everyone in that. Really makes me wonder if he got a vibe off John that him doing the family way alone was hurtful or if they maybe even talked about it? Or maybe he just didn't like doing the family way without John.

Actually quite a lovely, forward-thinking, humble speech. Imagine being John, though. Watching that from home like “why the fuck is he philosophizing to the world without me?” Because you know John shares all those sentiments and might even have got there first. It would be infuriating.

“A lucky man who made the grade” is an interesting way to describe Tara and I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with Tara being cool enough for Paul to associate with him. And Paul is many things but stupid is not one of them. He's going to at the very least wonder if this verse is about John laughing at his friend's death. Right? Like I know Paul's the repression CEO but seriously I don't think even he is that good. 

Maybe that Leopold and Leob quote isn't just about tearing people down verbally. Maybe Wooler genuinely got a vibe of a sense of superiority and therefore lack of empathy with Lennon/McCartney.

I mean he really does sound like he's describing sex though, doesn't he? Emotional, loving, romantic sex. Followed immediately by Paul's “I'd love to turn you on” lyrics and the “down with pants” and “sword swallower” pins. Alrighty then. 

What I would call my Beatles bio after watching this. "They Touched Dicks: The Only Logical Conclusion."

how would you rank the different beatles couples wedding looks?

Now this looks like a job for me

9. John and Cyn (1962)

I feel a little bad ranking them this low because the four of them had about two shillings to rub together between themselves, but this was just not a great effort. John appears to be wearing A Suit. Perhaps with a tie of some sort. Paul and George's fits look kind of similar, which makes me think he got married in his Beatles suit. I guess that was an appropriate start to their marriage.

Cynthia's having a classic Cher Horowitz faux Chanel suit moment. It's not a bad look, but it's literally something you would see in Zara. There's a pneumatic drill in the background. Cyn nearly got married to George instead. What a world that would be.

8. Paul and Heather (2002)

Did you know this was one of the most expensive weddings in history? It cost 3.6 million. They rented a castle in Co. Monaghan. There were fireworks. Did you know that Heather Mills wore the most 1980s wedding dress known to man in 1989? These are the things I was forced to find out while researching this look.

I originally had this a bit higher. I didn't want to rank it low just Because Heather. But the more I look at this dress, the more I hate it. She's doing the Kate Midleton lace sleeves -- which, in fairness, was pretty forward-thinking in 2002 -- but then the lace just goes over the whole outfit, which has the effect of making everything look very same-y. Barbie in A Christmas Carol executed this idea way better.

I don't have many objections to Paul's outfit. He wore a vest. That's effort. And he matched his tie to the flowers. Like job done, basically. My only real issue here is the lack of vision. If I was Paul McCartney in 2002 and a knight of the British Empire or whatever, and I'm getting married in a castle -- I'd have a sassy little sword with me. Perhaps even just to cut the cake. Come on.

7. Paul and Linda (1969)

Don't let the cuteness of the pictures distract you from the fact that they're both dressed like they have a meeting with Harry from accounting in an hour. Paul appears to have shown the barber a picture of the guy from The Peep Show. She married him when his hair looked like that. That's love.

It's possible that Linda is wearing a non-business casual outfit under the trench. We'll never know. The problem is that these people refused to get married any time outside of the cold months. It's weird how this is the one Indian thing they all adopted.

The kid is a fun accessory. I enjoy how she and Linda appear to be matching trenches.

6. Maureen and Ringo (1965)

I enjoy how Cyn, John, and George seem to be haunting the proceedings in the second picture.

Originally, I had this lower, but you know what? I like Maureen's little Jackie O suit with the Peter Pan collar, and I love that hair accessory she has over her bun with the bow. Ringo is fine, even if he does look like he's wearing his Dad's jacket. I really don't think it's supposed to fit like that. You're Ringo Starr and this is your wedding, you couldn't get it tailored? Or just buy one that fits better?

And once again: she married him when his hair looked like that.

5. [ERROR] (1978)

I saw a lot of sources saying the first pic is George and Olivia. It is not. The man looks a bit like George, but the woman looks nothing like Olivia. The second picture, I think, is from George and Olivia's wedding, and yes, that is the best quality I could find. I think George has the same '70s open-collar suit thing as the man in the fake picture, but that's about all I can tell. Olivia could literally be wearing a rug for all I can see about her outfit. Since this is Schroedinger's Beatle wedding look -- neither good nor bad since I Literally Can't See It -- it goes right in the middle.

I can't believe they wanted to have a small personal wedding. It's like they weren't even thinking about all the Tumblrinas.

4. Paul and Nancy (2011)

Nancy Shevall's royal wedding dress ft. Paul doing a classic Paul pose.

Nancy's wearing a Stella McCartney dress -- cute -- inspired by Wallis Simpson of all people, which is kind of wild as royal wedding inspiration goes, but I like it. It's tasteful while still being unconventional.

Paul also looks great. The longer hair suits him much better. Nancy Shevall is a businesswoman, and it shows. She did not marry a man with bad hair.

3. George and Pattie (1966)

Mary Quant herself personally designed George's coat. That's how serious this is.

It's a strange occurrence because this is one of the few times that `I feel more let down by the woman than the man. Don't get me wrong, Pattie looks great. Her hair's great. Makeup: great. The tights? The coat? Fantastic. But the dress itself does look like something I wore to my friend's birthday party when I was eight. Do better.

Not featured: Paul McCartney being out of his gourd during the proceedings. Sorry, Paul. This ain't about him.

2. Ringo and Barbara (1981)

Unghhh they look so good. Sorry there's no joke.

Barbara's dress is so lovely and romantic -- I think it might be a top and a skirt, actually? Anyway, love the neckline, love the sleeves, love the bell skirt. The flowers tucked in at the waist? The lace? That's how you do lace, Heather! And Ringo. He got his hair cut by someone who actually likes him this time, and he's wearing a jacket that fits! That's how you know he was serious about it, and it shows -- forty-two years later. Very fond of the star pin on his lapel.

What really puts this look over a lot of the others is I do feel like they coordinated, her in all white and him in all black. And they one-upped both John and Paul by having not just one, but two kids. Beat that, McLennon.

John and Yoko (1969)

You might've had a cute wedding look, a great wedding look, even, but did your wedding create enduring pop-cultural tropes? Don't think so.

Paul, Porter and "I love you"

The accepted explanation of the writing of the Wings hit 'Silly Love Songs', including that offered several times over the years by Paul McCartney himself, is that it was a riposte to criticism of his more sentimental love songs as light and insignificant.

I was getting slagged off for writing luv songs. You see, I’m looking at love not from the perspective of ‘boring old love’, I’m looking at it like when you get married and have a baby. That’s pretty strong: it’s something deeper.

Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich N°47/48, Spring 1988 (cited here)

Although I've never seen this discussed anywhere, it's long seemed to me that there's another possible influence on the song. To my knowledge no one has ever asked Paul directly about this, so what follows remains just my headcanon. (If anyone knows something to the contrary, please let me know!)

Cole Porter, another preternaturally talented Gemini lefty.

While writing the songs destined for the musical Mexican Hayride (1944), Cole Porter was presented with a challenge by his close friend Monty Woolley. (Woolley was an American actor who you may remember in the delicious role of the Professor in the Christmassy classic film The Bishop's Wife.) Woolley reasoned that because Porter's songwriting mastery came in part from his unhackneyed, fresh lyrical ideas, he wouldn't be able to write a hit song with the simple, rather too obvious, repeated refrain of "I love you".

Monty Woolley with Cole Porter

It became a $25 wager, and Woolley also stipulated that his friend include reheated stale lines about spring and "birds on the wing". Porter duly wrote 'I Love You', which was the only standout in the show and in time topped the U.S. Hit Parade for several weeks, so he won his bet.

I would quite like to have been sort of a nineteen-twenties writer, 'cause I like that thing, you know. You know, up in top hat and tails and sort of coming on ... so, this kind of number, I like that thing. But, so this is just me doing it, and pretending I'm living in 1925.

Paul McCartney, talking about 'Honey Pie', interview with Radio Luxembourg, 1968

Melvyn Bragg: What's the longest you've ever worked over a song? 'Cause a lot of the lyrics, the more you read them, the more - and then they always read very straightforwardly and seamlessly, but when you read them again and again they're very complicated, and a lot of internal rhyming going on and a lot of extremely clever play. Does that - do you work on them quite hard? Do you go over them again and again? Paul: Well, you know I'm a fan of all that, the old-fashioned writing. You know, sort of Sammy Cahn's era, you know, Cole Porter, and I do like all that, when it comes off! I mean, I hate just silly rhymes, just, you know - but when it really comes off those are great little things in songwriting. So I was always aware of that from people like Cole Porter. So I'd always try and put something like that kinda thing in, sorta little internal rhymes, you were always going for that kinda thing. ... I can't explain it, you know, I've never been able to explain it, but it's like it comes in out of the blue. It sort of comes at you, you know, and - I'm sure the funnel that it's coming through's a lot to do with it, 'cause your little computer in here - my computer's sort of heard Billy Cotton Band Show going back there, you know and Cole Porter there, and this there and it's heard millions of influences through to Chuck Berry ...

from 'Paul McCartney: Songsmith' (The South Bank Show) January 1978

George Eells' book The Life That Late He Led: A Biography of Cole Porter was published in 1967 and remained the definitive life for about a decade. It mentions the 'I Love You' wager (p212), which became one of the better-known song origin anecdotes.

I have no idea if Paul McCartney knew this story. But I can imagine the professional challenge appealing to him, and perhaps especially tempting is the playful pairing of commercial reward with artistic defiance. 'Silly Love Songs', like 'I Love You' before it, was a big hit: Number 2 in the UK chart, and top of the Billboard chart in the States.

Did he dare himself to write a pop chorus that repeated the refrain "I love you", because Porter had done so? I dunno.* For what it's worth, I think the three melodic lines in the chorus of 'Silly Love Songs' exceed Porter's tune in both beauty and memorability.** (Although I do enjoy this sultry version recorded by Julie London.)

(*Just like I don't know if 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road' found any precedent in Porter's celebrated and racy-for-its-day song, 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love'.)

(**But I mean, you'd expect me to say that, you know I've made paper dolls of him in his little Wings outfits tbf.)

I know people are either following me because I used to post about Star Trek constantly or because I post about Bowie a lot, so here’s some random David Bowie and Star Trek connections I’ve been collecting for the past year or so. This is purely self-indulgent, but if you find this sort of thing interesting, here you go.

This is from an unpublished interview for Zygote magazine from 1971 where he was discussing the meaning of various songs. The particular song he's talking about here is "The Supermen." In case you don't want to read the full article for context, he mentioned Star Trek to act as a comparison, he was not saying that that was the initial inspiration/meaning.

This ad has song notes that Bowie wrote for the album Hunky Dory. The one of relevance is “Bewlay Brothers,” which is at the bottom of the list. It says, “Another in the series of David Bowie confessions — Star Trek in a Leather Jacket.”

You might be wondering what this means, well Bowie never really gave a consistent answer as to what this song was about. And according to Ken Scott, the producer of the album, Bowie purposefully wrote it to give a song to Americans who were reading too much into things (this was in the era of the Paul McCartney actually died and was replaced conspiracy lol). Bowie did say at different points that it was more or less about his own half-brother, but who knows if he changed his mind about that.

Although as a side note I will say that some of the lyrics sound like they could be describing Star Trek episodes lol

My Life With Bowie: Spider From Mars by Woody Woodmansey (drummer for the Spiders From Mars, Bowie’s band during the Ziggy Stardust era). He’s describing the bar in The Rainbow Room, as they were rehearsing for the most elaborate of the Ziggy Stardust concerts in August of 1972.

Mick Ronson talking about the Ziggy Stardust boots, the clip is from the documentary Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story. Angie, in case people don’t know, was Bowie’s first wife.

Side note about this one though, Bowie compared his own boots to wrestler boots (see image below). But Mick’s shoes weren’t far off from the Star Trek boots.

Book page from Moonage Daydream: The Life and Times of Ziggy Stardust, which was written by David Bowie and photographer Mick Rock.

Bowie in Brussels in 1978 doing (his best attempt at) the Vulcan LLAP salute, photo by Gie Knaeps.

Because I’m me, I’ve been trying to figure out what song he did this during—with certainty I can say it was during the second half of the set after the intermission. That would make it so that they were either songs from Ziggy Stardust or from Station to Station.

My guess (and it really is only a guess) is that it could have been during “TVC15.” When he performed it live he’d often sing “she’s my main creature feature” and sometimes do devil horns with his fingers and whatnot. Seems like a plausible spot, anyhow. The other one is potentially the song “Ziggy Stardust,” but just based on how he usually performed that one, such as where he’d add gestures and how he tended to convey the emotions of the song, I find it more unlikely.

But I wasn’t there and these are literally just guesses. On the off chance someone was there and that they inexplicably remember this, I would love to know.

Gates McFadden, before being Beverley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was the choreographer for the film Labyrinth, where of course Bowie played Jareth the Goblin King.

And to avoid possible confusion, she was not the choreographer for "Magic Dance" at least when it came to Bowie's moves, as that was Charles Augin. She was, however, the choreographer for "As The World Falls Down" with the ballroom scene.

Lyrics from one of the Tin Machine albums (Bowie’s band in the late 80s-early 90s, which Bowie wrote most of the lyrics for, minus a few songs).

Additionally Iman, who Bowie met in 1990 and married in 1992, was in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country as Martia. She was on set filming at least in April of 1991 in LA, as you can see in this filming schedule I found on an auction website. I don’t know how long she was filming for, though.

(Side note, Bowie was in LA at least towards the end of April/beginning May as he talked about how he and Iman saw the riots that happened then. No I’m not saying he visited the set, since for one Shatner says he never met Bowie, but I still think it’s neat he was generally around when she was filming).

And a little snippet from one article (the screenshot is from one of those interview compilation books).

It’s not actually that much in the grand scheme of things and more than anything just shows that Bowie was a fan of the show. It should also be remembered that Star Trek wasn’t ever really cited as a huge influence for him in terms of aesthetic, which is a rather common assumption people make, but I thought that these were fun nonetheless. I’m sure I also missed/forgot stuff, so if I come across more I'll probably add to this later on.

When people find I’m Paul’s brother, they sometimes ask what his views on love and marriage are and what the real truth is about his romances. Well, let’s put it this way. I can’t envisage him getting married for quite a while yet although Paul’s the kind who just might decide to get married suddenly. He likes to talk about marriage – and particularly its problems, to John and Cythnia Lennon, as we call her. By now, at least, he knows all the snags – and all the advantages. What about his much-publicized romance with Jane Asher, then, viewers? Last year it was hinted in the press that their holiday in the West Indies was really a honeymoon. Those reports, I can tell you, were pure nonsense. But it’s a fact he’s very fond of Jane who first got to know him when he was a comparative nobody – a hopeful bloke in a maybe-up-and-coming group called the Beatles. At that time she was a fairly big name in theatrical and pop circles through her appearances in Juke Box Jury and other TV programmes. She and Paul have known each other for about two years now and have knocked about on-and-off during part of that time. They genuinely like each other and our families are very good friends. But that’s as far as it goes. What kind of a girl is he looking for? That’s a tough one. She would have to be good-looking. And intelligent. That goes without saying. He certainly likes girls who have artistic interests. For a while he went around with an art student called Celia. But she couldn’t stand the pace of being his girl friend and gave him up. Before that he met another artistic type, Carol. She made a nice change from the type of girl he was mostly meeting then. They usually only wanted to talk about discs and the Top Ten. What do you think a Beatle does when he takes a girl out? Lives it up? Wines and dines? Dances? Tours the night spots? I don’t say Paul doesn’t enjoy going out on the town now and then. But when he took Carol out, they both jumped on a bus and went to see an art exhibition! I know he was very impressed by her: she knew a great deal about paintings and artists in general and could talk very intelligently and sensibly about the subject. I think you can be sure that when Paul gets married, it won’t be to just a pretty face.

Mike McCartney about Paul in the long portrait he wrote about him for Woman's magazine, August 21st, 1965. Paul was 23, Mike was 21.

My favourite Lennon and McCartney's quotes where they express love to each other

I don't know if they were soulmates, lovers, something else or all of the above; there's no doubt they loved each other. I know there's a lot of quotes but these touch my heart the most <3

PAUL

- ‌Me and John, we’d known each other for a long time. Along with George and Ringo, we were best mates. And we looked into each other’s eyes, the eye contact thing we used to do, which is fairly mind-boggling. You dissolve into each other. But that’s what we did, round about that time, that’s what we did a lot. And it was amazing. You’re looking into each other’s eyes and you would want to look away, but you wouldn’t, and you could see yourself in the other person.

- ‌I was thinking the other day, ‘I wish I had sat and just hugged John all the time when we were together. (…) I’d just sit around and hug him forever. That’s the depth of my feeling for him.

- ‌But the great thing about me and John was it was me and John, end of story.

- ‌When I painted him recently, I found myself saying "How do his lips go? I can't remember". Then I would think, "Of course you know. You wrote all those songs facing each other".

- ‌John and I were perfect, really, for each other.

- ‌We grew up literally in the same bed because when we were on holiday, hitchhiking or whatever, we would share a bed.

- ‌I dream about him.

- ‌I mean, we had a wonderful... I had a wonderful time with one of the most world's talented people. - John and I were two of the luckiest people in the twentieth century to have found each other. The partnership, the mix, was incredible. We both had submerged qualities that we each saw and knew. I had to be the bastard as well as the nice melodic one and John had to have a warm and loving side for me to stand him all those years. John and I would never have stood each other for that length of time had we been just one-dimensional. - We wrote our first songs together, we grew up together and we lived our lives together. And when we’d do it together, something special would happen. There’d be that little magic spark. I still remember his beery old breath when I first met him here [Woolton church fete] that day. But I soon came to love that beery old breath. And I loved John.

JOHN

- ‌I've compared to a marriage a million times and I hope it's... understable. For people that aren't married. Or any relationship. It was a LONG relationship. It started many, many years before the American public, or the English public for that matter, knew us. Paul and I were together since he was 15, I was 16.

- ‌How can you be suprised by your brother since you were 15?

- ‌We were recording the other night, and I just wasn't there. Neither was Paul. We were like two robots going through the motions. We do need each other alot. When we used to get together after a month off, we used to be embarrassed about touching each other. We'd do an elaborate handshake just to hide the embarrassement... or we did mad dances. Then we got to hugging each other.

- ‌I think it's [writing songs] partly something natural - and partly something that Paul and I spark off in each other. [...] Some people say it's a speculative stock because no one knows how long Paul and I will stay together. But we intend to stick together and if you can write songs, you can write them all your life.

- ‌Throughout my career, I’ve selected to work with – for more than a one-night stand, say, with David Bowie or Elton John – only two people: Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono. I brought Paul into the original group, the Quarrymen, he brought George in, and George brought Ringo in. And the second person who interested me as an artist and somebody I could work with was Yoko Ono. That ain’t bad picking.

- ‌Nobody ever said anything about Paul's having a spell on me or my having one on Paul! They never thought that was abnormal in those days, two guys together, or four guys together! Why didn't they ever say, 'How come those guys don't split up? I mean, what's going on backstage? What is this Paul and John business? How can they be together so long?

- ‌But the only - the person I actually picked up as my partner, who I'd recognised had talent, and I could get on with, was Paul. Now, 12 or however many years later, I met Yoko, I had the same feeling. It was a different feel, but I had the same feeling. So I think as a talent scout, I've done pretty damn well! - I’d like to thank Elton [John] and the boys for having me on tonight. We tried to think of a number to finish off with so I can get out of here and be sick, and we thought we’d do a number of an old, estranged fiancé of mine, called Paul. This is one I never sang. It’s an old Beatle number and we just about know it.

Paul McCartney on Sgt. Pepper. Photos by Michael Cooper

(transcribed below)

I came up with the title and went to Robert with some drawings for the idea of the cover. I had come to the conclusion that The Beatles were getting a little bit safe, and we were a little intimidated by the idea of making 'the new Beatles album.' It was quite a big thing: "Wow, follow that!" So to relieve the pressure I got the idea, maybe from some from friends or something I'd read, that we shouldn't record it as The Beatles.

Mentally we should approach it as another group of people and totally give ourselves alter egos. So I came up with the idea of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the song 'It was Twenty Years Ago Today', and I started mentioning this to Robert in our late-night talks.

The original concept was actually a little bit different from how it turned out. I'd always liked those floral clocks that they have at seaside towns; they have a little green bank and put flowers in the shape of a clock. The original idea was that it was going to be a presentation from the Mayor of Middlesbrough or somewhere. There'd be this floral bank and there'd be us there and then at other parts of the cover we were going to have all the band's heroes--they were going to be on a photo, maybe behind the wall or something.

So there were these two ideas that eventually got pushed into one and then I said to everyone, 'OK, who are your favourites?" Marlon Brando was one of the first choices, and James Dean, Monroe--all those obvious ones and then other suggestions started to come in. George came up with all the Hindus, Babaji was his, and then there were things like footballers from our youth, you know, we had little joke things--Albert Stubbins--he's a footballer and so he was in and then it kind of snowballed.

I took all these ideas, the floral clock, the kind of presentation by a mayor, these heroes of ours, and Robert and I went with them to Peter Blake. Peter had all these sculptures of little people around, because he was married to Jann Haworth at the time and Jann was doing all those surfers and things like John Betjeman as a teddy bear and all that, so they crept in there.

The famous flowers that started off as the floral clock then became a guitar and the word 'Beatles'--they weren't marijuana leaves, they just looked like them--and so the Americans thought "Wow, well, this is it, it's all happening." We started shooting the cover and people would say, "Oh, can I come, can I come?" and we let more or less everyone come along, but eventually it got to the point where we had to say, "That's enough!"

So Robert would get all this and he'd show all the Indian stuff to George; and there'd be H.G. Wells and Johnny Weissmuller, Issy Bonn and all those people, and Burroughs would have been a suggestion probably from Robert, and there were a few kind of LA guys that Robert had slipped in. He'd slip in people that we didn't even know but we didn't mind, it was the spirit of the thing.

I don't know how many nights Michael spent on it but we were only there for that one night, the last night. They did all this without us. It was very nice when we turned up and it was all done, but not as impressive as when I saw the cover; just actually looking at the set wasn't as impressive as seeing the finished cover.

Jesus and Hitler were on John's favourites list but they had to be taken off. John was that kind of guy but you couldn't very well have Hitler and so he had to go. Gandhi also had to go because the head of EMI, Sir Joe Lockwood, said that in India they wouldn't allow the record to be printed. We said "You're kidding, they'll love it," but he said no, so that was something the lawyers made us take off. There were a few people who just went by the wayside.

We went to Burman's, the theatrical costumiers, to have all our outfits made up and the Stones did the same for the Satanic Majesties album.

It was great. The main centrefold was originally going to be a drawing by The Fool--Simon Posthuma and Marijke Koger, Dutch artists who'd produced some surrealistic work. They depicted us all up in the clouds and it was all very very acid, everything everywhere, lots of colours--but Robert didn't like it as art and so he vetoed it. We said "No man, it's really good. We love it, we love it."

The shoes were made by Anello and David, which was the first place we came into contact with, and we got our lovely handmade Beatle boots there.

Robert and I went down to Peter's house and Peter developed it all from there. The lists were his idea, and all the cut-outs instead of using real people, and then the floral clock got changed around; but basically it was the original theme.

The 'Welcome The Rolling Stones' was something they put in. They sort of asked us if we minded and we said, "No, no, not at all." Peter organized a fairground painter to paint the drum as that was someone that he used to hang out with.

From Blinds & Shutters

❝ I think that it’s like he was married to Paul, now he was married to me. So it was like, a situation that he didn’t feel like he wanted to go back really. John had a lot of respect for Paul, and of course love. But I would think that, if the truth may be told, the love was lost on both ways.

There were times that Paul did say a lot of strange things about John. So that, I know that it wasn’t like “Paul loved John but John didn’t love Paul” or “John actually loved Paul but Paul you know, didn’t.” I mean it was like a very healthy situation where they outgrew each other’s company. And only until John became what he is now—which is after John’s death—that people started to revere John. It became an issue for Paul.

Because you have to understand that table was turned many times. One, when John made the Jesus Christ remark. And Paul became virtually a leader. And John turned the table on Paul by becoming a partner with me probably. But then the thing is, the tables turned again by Paul becoming extremely successful with the Wings. So he was doing alright. While John made Some Time in New York City with me, and then followed that with Mind Games or something (chuckle), you know. So when John died, around that time, before the big reverence was noticed, I think there was some uh—things that Paul said that I know that Paul was not that sort of enamoured with John.

And now it might be important for Paul that the world knows that John loved him. Well, you know, I mean that’s because of what happened to John after John’s death. That there was a reverence all over the world. And therefore it is important for it to be known that that person who is revered did actually love me. But if John died and nobody cared, and John died as a person whose last album was number 20 in the charts or something like that, Paul wouldn’t have said that. It’s a lost issue then. And I think that you’re romanticizing it too much. I mean this is just human situation, you know. ❞  

This excerpt fascinates me to no end. A few parts that jump out to me:

“It’s like he was married to Paul, now he was married to me”: We cannot  overstate the amount of times this analogy has used by John, Paul and Yoko.  Reminds me of another quote from Yoko during her 2003 MOJO Magazine interview (“He [John] did put it that way; he was ‘riding on the boat called Paul, and now I’m going to ride on a boat called Yoko’”).

Tables being turned: Sometimes I think we tend to lose sight (myself included) on how competitive John and Paul were with each other. I do not doubt for one second that these two loved each other, but I think it should also be acknowledged that these two were both at times very competitive and jealous of each other. I am not negating the fact that they were a dynamic team/duo, but there’s always going to be some tensions in a partnership, especially one as famous as “Lennon/McCartney”, where the expectation and anticipation of “what will they do next?” or “how can they top their previous work?” was always on people’s minds. Quoting Paul on this one because they were both jealous guys: “I was wondering whether the relationship had kind of snapped. I believe it was always there. He was very jealous and so was I and it was all stupidity on the surface.” (Record Mirror, April 1982).

“John turned the table on Paul by becoming a partner with me probably”: I’m not denying that John fell in love with Yoko, but very interesting that she essentially indicates the possibility of ulterior motives from John re: John & Yoko getting closer and becoming partners.

THE Wings: I actually love it LOL!

Actually, let’s go back to the turned tables: I say this because reading it again, the way it’s being described re: power dynamics and shifts in strength between the two reminds me of a few quotes from John. [“Because if Paul and I are sort of disagreeing, and I feel weak, I think he must feel strong, you know” (Rolling Stone Magazine, December 1970)] & [“What am I going to do about it? It lasted nearly two years and I was still in it during Pepper. I know Paul wasn’t at the time; he was feeling full of confidence, and I was going through murder during those periods.” (Interview with Barry Miles, September 23, 1969)]

“...things that Paul said that I know that Paul was not that sort of enamoured with John”: Yoko what were the things? What does this mean? I needed her to elaborate because now my mind is turning and going through every quote I can think of.

The overall characterization of Paul is pretty negative here. Now before anyone starts jumping on Yoko’s back, I think it’s important to at least consider why it is she believed this to be true at the time (because it also sounds like she’s just trying to make sense of it all). Honestly, the overall feeling I get from this interview is along the lines of another statement of hers: “Paul had hurt John more than any other person.” And I’m more interest in understanding why she thought this, because I believe it provides some insight into John’s thoughts as well. One can choose to believe that Yoko was the mastermind behind putting all these negative thoughts about Paul in John’s mind, but again, I point to the portion of the passage where she discussed the “bigger than Jesus remark” that resulted in “Paul virtually becoming a leader.” How would she have deduced this if not for someone explaining certain details to her of what occurred during that period from their vantage point (which welcomes bias).

I think John’s feelings for Paul were so complex and layered that it simply cannot be defined as either black or white. There was resentment there, no doubt about it, but honestly the same is true of Paul and his feelings for John (which can be seen from his call with Hunter Davies in 1981, all the way to passages included in his recent Lyrics book). But that certainly does not invalidate the immense love they also had for one another. 

The problem wasn’t that neither cared, it was that they both cared too much.

Mimi’s views on the NEMS staff, the Beatles, and their relatives:

Mimi liked Brian very much. His impeccable manners and charm won her over the first time they met. He came to the house often, she said, and assured her more than once that she should never worry about John, that he would always look after him and not let anything bad happen. That helped to ease her mind somewhat as John prepared for a career in music and not an artist as she had hoped

As Brian began to fit into the inner circle, Mimi began to wonder why such a kind and generous man wasn’t married. Or why he didn’t have a girlfriend on his arm when he attended the parties. She finally asked Cynthia if there wasn’t a woman hiding somewhere; that surely Brian wouldn’t be going through life as a bachelor. It was Cyn that told her Brian was homosexual. She claims to have been completely surprised and had no idea. But that’s all it had been, just a surprise. He still remained one of only a few people who attached themselves to the Beatles that she genuinely liked.

Also on that list was Derek Taylor. She enjoyed him immensely and especially loved his quick Liverpudlian sense of humor. She marveled at his large family and invited him to bring them all down to Poole for their summer holidays. They stayed at her house while she went up to Liverpool.

She seemed less impressed with Mal Evans, but in later years relied a great deal on Neil Aspinall, once he took over Apple. To her Mal was little more than a gopher, but she had met Neil when he was a young lad driving the boys around from gig to gig. Later she would telephone him when she needed to know where in the world John was or the telephone number of another member of the inner circle.

---

[for her views on George and Paul see here]

There was no real opinion on Ringo. Mimi said she really didn’t know him that well because he had joined the group so late. But she adored his mother and said she always made a point of looking her up whenever she was back in Liverpool.

Unfortunately, with George, she was equally critical of his family. At that time there were rumors going around that George’s father was “dating” some of the fans. There’s no need to mention how disapproving she was of that. Mrs. Harrison, she’d felt sorry for her when she died because she felt the poor woman couldn’t help enjoying all the fame she experienced by being George’s mother but she criticized her all the same. As far as Louise, the sister, went she dismissed her completely with a wave of her hand. Mimi had no time for people who made money off the Beatles unless they were Beatles. Apparently John had told her what was going on in America with her radio shows, and fan clubs, and special appearances, and even an album. He had nothing to do with her, so neither would Mimi.

As far as Jim McCartney, she said all the parents called him Lord McCartney or Gentleman Jim because he seemed to have a royal air about him the bigger The Beatles got, but “he’s all right” she laughed. When she told me this, I could picture a small yet exclusive group of ‘parents’ gossiping about each other in a playful way. Or, in some cases, maybe not that playful.

Pattie Harrison was one of her favorites, along with Jane. Mimi said Pattie was always very nice and very pretty. So pretty, in fact, that Cynthia was jealous of her and had always tried to keep up with her fashion-wise. Mimi didn’t care for Maureen at all because she was always quite rude to Ringo’s mother who, as I said, was also one of Mimi’s favorites.

The Guitar’s All Right as a Hobby, John, Kathy Burns (2014)

"But with the Beatles there was a choice, so you had to pick a favourite, and the one you picked said a lot about who you were. For their American fan Carolyn See, there was 'Paul, for those who preferred androgynous beauty; John, for those who prized intellect and wit; George because he possessed that ineffable something we would later recognize as spiritual life; and Ringo, patron saint of fuckups the world over.' In Liverpool, the twelve-year-old Linda Grant favoured Ringo 'for reasons that are beyond me.' There was, she recalls, 'a real goody-two-shoes at school who liked Paul. George seemed a bit nothing. John seemed off-limits, too intimidating.' Ringo was the Beatle for girls who lacked ambition. Picking him as your favourite suggested a touch of realism. It went without saying that the others were already taken, but you might just stand an outside chance with the drummer. 'If someone asked who my favorite was I always said, 'Oh, I like Ringo,' remembered Fran Lebowitz, who grew up in New Jersey. 'I liked the personality of Ringo Starr. I still do. He was not, of course, the favorite in my school among the girls. Paul McCartney was far and away the favorite. He was the cute Beatle. So it was probably just a contrarian position to choose Ringo Starr.' Helen Shapiro was only sixteen but already a major star when the Beatles toured as one of her supporting acts at the start of 1963. Like any other girl, she had her favourite. 'John was married but nobody knew about it at the time so along with a few thousand other girls I had a crush on him… George was the most serious. He would occasionally talk about what he was going to do when he was rich, and try to pick my brains about the financial side of things. I couldn't have been a lot of help. I still wasn't interested in the money. Paul remained the spokesman. Ringo was the quiet one.' Pattie Boyd met the four Beatles after being chosen to play one of the schoolgirls in Hard Day's Night. 'On first impressions, John seemed more cynical and brash than the others, Ringo the most endearing. Paul was cute, and George, with velvet brown eyes and dark chestnut hair, was the best-looking man I'd ever seen.' Unlike millions of other fans, Pattie was able to take her choice a stage further. Reader, she married him. There was a Beatle to suit every taste. As a fan, you expressed yourself by picking one over the others. Each personified a different element: John fire, Paul water, George air, Ringo earth. Even their friends liked to paint them in primary colours, with sharply contrasting characters, like one of those jokes about the Englishman, the Welshman, the Irishman and the Scotsman. Carolyn See noted how, in A Hard Day's Night, they enacted their given personas: 'winsome Paul, witty John, thoughtful George, goofy Ringo.'"

ㅡ From the book "One, Two, Three, Four: The Beatles in Time" by Craig Brown.

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day 18

Staring John Lennon, as that kid I should’ve been nicer to in first grade who always smelled like PB&J and was never to be seen without his pokemon cards

The dancing is really too cute. They’re just absolutely giddy. Making each other laugh AND an excuse to touch? John and Paul’s heaven. 

John saying he was too excited after yesterday to go to bed. Like a fucking kid on christmas.

Everybody is serving today. While the candy-land suit is fun, I actually just love that vivid purple so much that I think it’s better without the coat over it. Billy looks extremely suave and classy.  And those red polka-dots on Ringo. Red suits him, and I think with his very frank, masculine aspect, he looks so beautiful and bold in feminine fits. Paul and John are both just wearing what they wore yesterday. Yeah. But John is still a cutie, and Paul, well, you all know.

The advice chain about finishing a song while you’re working on. Paul → John → George

Paul honestly does a great job being supportive of George and his work. Coming over and grooving with him, then hopping on drums then guitar (right-handed, may I add). Just to give George musical atmosphere to flesh out his song and start thinking of arrangement ideas, I assume. Then letting him bounce ideas around. And the whole time being overly-enthusiastic to build George up. Look how happy George is with the love and attention. 

John helping move some equipment in. We love a man who sometimes doesn’t think he’s too good for manual labor. 

Yes, clean that homeless man’s palm sweat off your instrument. Probably smart. 

TFW you made Paul McCartney jealous of your musical abilities. 

John really knew so well when to be his little impish self and when to be hard and intimidating. Exhibit A, going from, “Can we have our microphones, oh, mister, can we please?” to “And get one for Billy too.” In a matter of seconds.

George Martin stepping in when they’re all getting panicky about the sound and they need an authority figure to reassure them in ways that someone like Glyn Johns never could. Just, perfectly cool and collected, puts everything right as they’re all shouting at him like school children who’ve just had a terrible time in PE. 

“Believe me, when I tell you.” “Oh, I do.” Oh, good. He did put it in. That’s nice. Right, and this is the moment Yoko decides to tell John her divorce has come through and pull him in for a big smooch. Honestly, it just shows how threatened she feels by Paul. Nevermind her whole, “good thing Paul isn’t a girl or he would have been a great threat,” quote. Clearly, he just is a threat regardless of sex.

And then John, “I’m freeeee.” At Paul. Honestly, the amount of things they direct specifically and aggressively at each other that should’ve just been general statements if there wasn’t some weird thing between them. It’s really something. Normally, you’d announce something like that to the whole room. But it seems John specifically wants to impress upon Paul that he and Yoko could get married right now if they wanted to. I mean, it’s a little difficult to make the point, because John and Paul almost aways seem to be talking only to each other. But through the whole discussion of Yoko’s divorce, John does not take his eyes off of Paul. 

Oh my gosh, Ivan Vaughn is here? How many emotional support boyfriends does Paul need to make up for John having Yoko? Glyn, Linda, George Martin, Dennis, Robert Fraser, and now Ivan? Fuck’s sake, Yoko, you’re a powerful woman.   

Paul’s Strawberry Fields piano. Let me be as vulnerable and broken as possible in my singing, since I can’t show you any other way that you’re killing me. Do you remember this song? That you wrote when we were at the height of our partnership only two years ago? How happy we were then? How beautiful the world seemed for that one brief moment? And John can’t look at him, because, yes he fucking remembers and yes he knows he’s hurting Paul. But for whatever reason, (my theory is he wanted something more Paul couldn’t give him. What that was and whether it was ever specifically vocalized I don't have a guess) going back to that time would be more painful to John than this has been.  

So they’ve been goofing off and Paul gives this little speech to get them back on task. “Alright Chawn Love. I’ve gotta call order, John, now, valuable time, here, son. Cool down, son.” But John’s response, “Don’t let me down, babe” completely switches Paul’s gears. He now thinks it’s important enough to get in this little snatch of a *meaningful* cover, “Take these Chains from my Heart,” reversing the course of productivity he’d got them on and ignoring the fact that they were about to do a take on two-shilling-a-foot tape. My interpretation of this moment is a bit tin-hatish and long, but suffice it to say, John is not happy with the message.

Everyone convincing Paul to do another take of his song is surprising, considering everything we always hear about how Paul was a tyrant task-master who just forced everyone to keep doing his lame muzak over and over when they all clearly hated it. Mal, “You can always go back to it.” Paul, “Do you want your head kicked in?” John, “We’ll never get a chance to do it again.” Paul, “Okay, honey bunch. Let’s hit it one time, tutti-frutti.” 

Yoko watching Paul check out her boyfriend’s ass. Classic. Also the fact that she literally copied his outfit? I get so much second-hand embarrassment for her, and it’s not when she’s being a weirdo and a statement-maker. It’s the having to physically stick the gum you were offering your boyfriend into this hand because he won’t take his eyes off his boyfriend for two seconds to look at you. 

Everyone laughing at Perfect Paul being out of tune is so funny to me. Like when the nerd finally gets a question wrong and the whole class is all “ooooohhhh!”

Ringo having a grand old time on the drums. I love that he just knew that’s what he wanted to do from such a young age and he never wanted to do anything else. And why would he? He’s a genius at it.

Paul. “John’s got something at 1:30 and so have I.” Smirk emoji. Side-eye emoji. George is with me. “Yeah we've got something too. I’ll do Ringo at 1:30.” I'm dead.

This moment right here hurts me. Paul’s enjoying a nice cuddle with Ringo until he remembers the camera. You’re not going to get in trouble for having your friend’s arm around your shoulders, Paul. Why are you like this? 

hiya! how would you describe someone based on their favourite bugs album?

Hello my darling, sorry this took ages. But, here we go:

Please Please Me: Hipster who thinks they are the only one to truly understand The Beatles. Or you just think Ringo singing so joyously about Boys is worthy of the top spot. Maybe you're right

With The Beatles: You think the whole Lennon/McCartney thing is overrated and they were just a neat little rock group. So, in other words, an independent thinker. But not necessarily in a good way

A Hard Day's Night: Perhaps you were irrevocably fucked up from watching the film on repeat with your childhood best friend where you'd pretend to be married to Paul and John (don't look at the author). Or, you're a happy-go-lucky good time boy/girl and I think we should be friends

Beatles for Sale: Depressed and here for a pity party

Help!: Depressed but better at hiding it

Rubber Soul: Deep, but in a fun, approachable way

Revolver: Deep, but in a sort of off-putting yet compelling way

Sgt Pepper: Just straight up fun but not that deep

Magical Mystery Tour: Another flavour of hipster, but one that wants to explain the dream they just had to me in great detail.

White Album: A freak that cannot be satisfied by staying in one lane. I like you

Yellow Submarine: A George Martin stan that thinks he should have been able to have his own album, as a treat

Abbey Road: You like pain, but in a suffering is beautiful sort of way. Like a renaissance painting come to life

Let It Be: You like pain, but in a horny way. We should be best friends

Okay, how did I do?

Is Paul a controlling/ domineering husband?

Hiya anon! This is a……complicated question, but I’ll do my best at answering it. 

In my opinion—which I know a lot of people would disagree with—I don’t think Paul is a controlling or domineering husband. Or at least, not to the degree that others seem to think he is. 

I think a lot of this opinion comes from misgivings about his marriage to Linda: that she was ‘a great mother!’ and ‘a great cook!’ and joined Wings so that her husband could continue his career (meanwhile she had to give up her own). 

And on paper, I see why this rubs of as misogynistic to people (I mean, its literally ticking the Good At Popping Out Babies, Belongs In The Kitchen and What?? Women Don’t Want Careers! stereotype boxes)—but in actual practice, I think we undervalue the amount of autonomy Linda had in this relationship. 

When Ive seen people discuss Paul and Lindas marriage, I think they generally overstate their roles as Husband and Wife. While I’m sure a lot of their marriage did pertain to whats considered Normal Gender Roles (i.e. the husbands works, the wife raises the kids), to me it seems that they both still maintained their share of independence in this marriage.

Like a lot of their behaviours don’t rub off as that odd to me—for example, that Linda became less sociable following her marriage to Paul and the birth of Mary, I don’t find to be particularly alarming. I mean, most parents will just became less sociable, because you have more responsibilities now. I also think that its entirely possible that perhaps the two of them just wanted to settle down a bit; they were both hitting their thirties, and while I’m not saying that’s ancient or anything (lol), I think it would be pretty normal for them to want to take a step back from the nightlife and the parties. To me, things like them moving to a pretty rural area in Scotland, just suggests that they wanted to relax a little (I mean, it had been a pretty weird decade for the both of them). Paul even sort of touches on this in his first interview following Lindas death:

…we both played the field quite widely. The good thing is when we got married, we told each other. That was a big decision. I thought, “Should I just kind of not say anything, and she not say anything?” But, we thought, “No. We are going to really have a relationship here. We’ve got to clear this up.” I said, “I’ve got to tell you all this stuff. I hope you really can handle this.” It was good, because she told me all of her stuff. We really did tell all of the stuff. We were painfully open about it. But it got it out the way. And it’s like, “Now we can maybe have a marriage. Maybe we now don’t need to be unfaithful.” And that was the case, which is beautiful. But I think that it was that we got it out the way. So many people marry young, and wonder what it’s like the rest of their life. So they’ve almost got to have affairs just to see what it’s like. Luckily we got all of that out of the way before we got married, which I think was another great blessing. (x)

At the same time though, Paul didn’t only recognise her as “a good mother” either. If you look at the way he speaks about Linda in interviews, I think its clear he placed a lot of value on other aspects to her, including her work as a photographer and her personality: 

“She became known as ‘Paul’s wife’, instead of the focus being on her photography. But, as time went on, people started to realise that she was the real thing. So, yeah, she eventually did get the correct reputation, but at first it was just blown out of the water by the headline-grabbing marriage.”

—Paul McCartney in interview w/ Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, 2019 (x)

He also doesn’t seem to take any issue with any of his partners Doing Their Own Thing, because he doesn’t appear to just see them as a commodity. Linda still continued her own career as a photographer, as well as in later years her animal rights activism and vegetarian cooking. Heather Mills had her own charity campaigns; and Nancy Shevell continued (perhaps continues, though Im not sure, she might have retired by now?) a career business. 

On that note, one could argue that if Paul was as obsessed with having a partner who will Abide By His Every Rule, it would be incredibly odd for him to continuously pursue relationships with women who are extremely independent. [Courtesy of @royaltyisshe64 for pointing that out to me btw, and apologies Hannah if I’m stealing any of your ideas here—its for a cause I think you’ll appreciate though lol!]. 

I also think with Linda joining Wings, while it was Pauls idea, I doubt it was something she was effectively forced to do. Maybe joining a band wasn’t her number one priority at the time, but it seems to be something she genuinely enjoyed given that she’d long had an interest in music. And I think as well, people seem to just neglect the argument that a relationship requires effort from both sides. It was never going to be the case that Everyone got Everything they wanted when it came to their careers—but I think they found a way to work well alongside each other, that allowed them both to continue pursuing their own passions and work as a team.

Even with Jane, although I’m well-aware Paul took issue with her working and don’t want to dismiss that as a problem, I still think there’s a bit more nuance to this. I don’t think the issue he took with Jane pursuing her own career was really that She’s A Woman, She Can’t Be Independent!, I think it was more that he wanted to settle down and have a family, and for him to do that, having The Wife take the backseat in terms of work would have been the social norm for the time. Which obviously, I don’t agree with the prospect of, and she gets a massive Good For Her from me for saying “fuck that!” and doing what she wanted anyway. But my point here is that, I don’t feel that Jane having her own career was the real issue for Paul. Also, while I think he wanted The Family Life, he never broke up with her because she wasn’t ready to take that next step. If he was that bothered about her not being willing to settle down immediately, Id imagine one of them would have broken the relationship off sooner. 

Now, none of this to say Paul McCartney has always been a fantastic husband, his Only Crime Was Being A Feminist, and there were absolutely no hardships involved in any of his marriages because everything was beyond perfect. There were obstacles Paul and Linda had to overcome during their marriage, and Paul has his own set of problems, that Im sure had (and maybe still have) some sort of presence in his relationships. 

But at the same time, I just don’t think its productive to argue that he was overly-controlling to his wives, or that anyone whose ever been in a relationship with him has been miserable the whole time. It just doesn’t ring true to me, and I think it completely underestimates the autonomy of all these women. 

To me it seems that when it comes to Pauls issues as a partner, its more to do with his own emotional-needs, especially if you consider that around the start of his relationships with both Linda Eastman and Heather Mills he was kind of…spiralling, to put it lightly. And while this doesn’t make for him being the perfect partner, I don’t see much evidence that suggests this translates to him being particularly controlling or domineering either.  

So essentially: yes I do think there were/are elements to Pauls relationships with women which are sexist, but I don’t think this is something that goes beyond what is pretty normalised socialisation of the sexes. Most people, especially from older generations, are going to have grown up in a home where the mother did the majority of cooking and cleaning, and the father did very little of it. And to clarify, just because this is normal doesn’t make it right either—I mean it would be great if housework was split evenly between partners. But it’s just not something that Im going to find particularly weird either. 

But on the other hand, I don’t think Paul is as bothered about having his partners following All The Normal Conventions Of Marriage. To me, its always just seemed that Paul likes the idea of having a family—but given his choice in partners (all people who had their own careers and interests), I doubt its essential for him (or even something he wants) that he has a wife whose dependant and prepared to conform to ‘the role’ of being a housewife. If he was, you’d think he’d be drawn to a very different type of personality.

Who’s your favourite rockstar wife?

Hi anon!! This is such a good yet hard question to answer for me! During my years of loving classic rock I have come across many beautiful women who I was either a little jealous of, or absolutely fascinated by. My first real classic rock obsession, as many other fans of the genre, was with The Beatles, so my mind takes me straight to the lovely Cynthia Lennon, a beautiful, resilient, strong woman with a heart made of honey and the most tender smile.

Thinking about The Beatles, Linda McCartney also immediately comes to mind. I love her photography work and her... interesting lifestyle at the end of the 60s which included sleeping with nearly every rockstar he captured on camera (this included Jimmy Page in his Yardbirds era, who, as you may know, I'm quite fond of). She was such an intelligent, beautiful and talented woman, I remember crying a little when I found out that she sadly passed away.

Next, I would like to mention Angie Bowie! I know some cr fans think she's problematic, and she did have a very rocky relationship with David, with her even admitting that they didn't actually love each other; nonetheless, I appreciate her gorgeous androgynous look and the way she helped him in his early career, including in the development of the Ziggy Stardust persona.

Another two rockstar wives I'm really fond of are Maureen Wilson and Mo Jones.

Maureen has such a beautiful, radiant soul and her relationship with Robert is probably my favourite rockstar x wife relationship of all time. We all know how it ended in the end (oh Robert...) but they shared such pure and precious love that remains ever-lasting, no matter the odds.

And Mo has been married to John Paul Jones ever since they were literally kids, in 1967. I admit I don't know much about their relationship, as there isn't much info about it online, but she's the only wife I have listed that is still married to his husband as we speak (perhaps because Jonesy is a good, faithful lover... I mean it's pretty rare between rockstars to only have one significant relationship in their life, isn't it?)

Thanks so much for the question anon 🤍 And you? Do you have any favourites?