This whole quote is hilarious. I know Paul is a smart man so it’s frustrating to see him will fully misunderstood John’s quotes. When he talked about the Beatles being bastards, he’s referring to the fact that they had to be tough and have think skins to withstand the hard core Hamburg days and the insane beatlemania days to make it and survive. And he wasn’t always dark about the Beatles. Yes he was dark in the early days when he was hurting but he mellowed so much through the 70s. It makes me understand why John didn’t trust Paul given his willingness to undermine John in subtle ways so he could get ahead. Also if he’s referencing cynicism and darkness, why does George get a pass. That man was far more bitter about his Beatle days but of course Paul doesn’t view George as his competitor in the same way he does John
Q: Do you have days now when you never once think of the Beatles?
PAUL MCCARTNEY: Oh, yeah. Most days. When the Beatles broke up it was painful to talk about. It was just hard. So you found yourself thinking about it. Now, having come all this way, I can remember only the good stuff. I know one or two spicy stories and I have my bitch now and again, but generally I always did dig it; I always did think that what we were doing was great. Even when we broke up, I never thought like John did. Who knows why he thought that! John’s pretty complex. He possibly didn’t even mean it. All the stuff about how we were “bastards”… He brought out the worst side, as if to exorcise it. But I really didn’t agree. It was pretty good, you know. But there are days when I don’t think about it because I’m doing all sorts of other stuff.
— Paul McCartney, Rolling Stone, March 30th 1979
So glad I’m not the only one thinking this. Let’s show equal respect to John and Paul for a change. It’s what they both deserve.
@bitchybillionaire yes that’s the one. I’ve had the same trajectory, honestly. I’m interested in some of what they’re saying, because some of it is also what I’ve been thinking for years. And I get the need to give Paul the credit and attention he is due, after so many books and articles overlook him or malign him. But a lot of this podcast does feel like okay, John was elevated beyond belief before, so we have to do the same for Paul now to balance it. And like, what if we just met in the middle with a true balance of the scales instead of it being like a seesaw where Paul is elevated now?
Also they really need to cite more sources. It bothers me when they say “NOBODY has ever talked about xyz” but like, you got that info from somewhere. Someone had to have talked about it! Or else you wouldn’t know about it!
Paul McCartney on hearing ‘Free As A Bird’ for the first time and working on it for The Anthology. Interview for Access Hollywood, 24 May 1997.
Paul: I heard it and I was very emotional. Sort of: “Wow! Yeah! The boy, Johnny!” You know, I loved- ‘Cus I loved him, you know. And I spoke to Ringo on the phone and I said: “Better keep your hankie handy for this one, ‘cus it’s pretty emotional when you hear it!”
It was fantastic for me! Having John in the headphones? It was like he was here! ‘Cus when you’re working, he’d be in a booth over there and you’re not necessarily looking at him. He’s here in the headphones…
Disclaimer: I’ve seen this quote float around but never the corresponding clip. If someone has made it available before, I apologise. If not, please enjoy, like I did, another addition to the tag #then you were here today, where Paul talks about feeling John’s presence.
Behold my purchases from the Eyes of the Storm exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on Saturday. I had a discussion with the women on the till in the gift shop about how hot John looked in his sunglasses 😎
Yup which is why George found him so annoying lol
Paul mccartney has the unique ability to mansplain to other men
Paul being a narcissist again. I’m just as funny as John but only when I’m in a bad mood. So remember I’m just as funny as John but also John is a bad man/asshole. I’m over this man
“With me, how I wrote depended on my mood. The only way I would be sort of biting and witty like that was if I was in a bad mood! I was very good at sarcasm myself. I could really keep up with John then. If I was in a bad enough mood, I was right up there with him. We were terrific then. He could be as wicked as he wanted, and I could be as wicked, too.”
—
Paul McCartney to Playboy, 1984
If you could show Paul four of his solo songs in 1964, which one of the following songs do you think would most surprise him and why?
Kreen Akore
Monkberry Moon Delight
Dear Friend
Temporary Secretary
Are there any songs not listed above that you think would be more shocking to Paul? If so, which ones?
This is such a weird take. Why would Julian not love having these memories of his dad? Why, even if John was an imperfect father, is he not worthy of his son’s love? I’m relieved Julian has chosen to let any bitterness go. I’m also even more excited for Get Back as some truly beautiful aspects of John’s personality are clearly on display given Julian’s reactions.
sidenote: julian is such a good person i admire him a lot because if it was me i think i'd be bitter as fuck
I always love this because due to Paul’s narcissistic tendencies? Arrogance? Insecurity? All of the above? he can’t even be honest about his own feelings of sadness about not telling John he loved him before he died. See it is really GEORGE who made this error and he was so moved abut GEORGE’S mistake that he had to write an entire song about it
Did paul really say THIS ONE was about john? First time I know!
being paul, he didn't say that directly, but he said this: "When you get those moments, and you always think, 'well, I'm saving it up, I'll tell them one day', and what happens with a lot of people, something like John for instance, he died, and I was lucky that for the last few months that he was alive we'd managed to get our relationship back on track [...] but George actually didn't, I don't think, get his relationship back, I think they were arguing right up until the end, which I'm sure is a source of great sadness to [George]. And I'm sure, in the feeling of the song, that George was always planning to tell John he loved him, but time ran out. So that's the song is about, it's like, 'there could never be a better moment than this one', now. Take this moment to say... I love you." (source)