Paul McCartney confirms truth behind Beatles split and how he ‘took to booze’ in aftermath
Sir Paul McCartney has spoken candidly about the real reason why The Beatles split and also about his relationship with late bandmate John Lennon
Music legend Sir Paul McCartney has confirmed the truth behind why The Beatles split.
The iconic singer-songwriter, 78, has discussed what common misconceptions people have about him in a lengthy new interview with GQ magazine.
The Liverpudlian revealed that often people misjudge his role in the demise of the biggest band in history, something that he himself is also guilty of.
He told the magazine: “I suppose that when The Beatles broke up, perhaps there was a misconception that we all sort of hated each other.
“What I realise now is that, because it was a family, because it was a gang, families argue. And families have disputes. And some people want to do this and some people want to do that.”
Paul went on to explain that the reason why he chose to sue The Beatles – a decision he faced a lot of criticism for – was to prevent all their work being owned by American businessman Allen Klein.
He elaborated: “The only way I was given to get us out of that was to do what I did. I said, ‘Well, I’ll sue Allen Klein,’ and I was told I couldn’t because he wasn’t party to it. ‘You’ve got to sue The Beatles.'”
The Live and Let Die singer revealed that the split from the band prompted him to turn to alcohol.
Paul revealed: “There wasn’t much time to have mental health issues, it was just, f**k it, it’s boozing or sleeping. But I’m sure it did [affect his mental health], as they were very depressing times.”
The issue was made worse by the fact many blamed Paul for the band splitting up and even he felt the same way for a time, but realised he had to ensure the band’s legacy.
“That’s the weirdest thing. It was so prevalent that for years I almost blamed myself,” revealed Paul.
“I knew that that was stupid and when we eventually got back together I knew it was silly, but I think it spawned a lot of people who thought that of me. ‘The stupid b*****d.'”
As part of the legendary song-writing pairing of Lennon and McCartney alongside bandmate John Lennon, Paul is well remembered for his contributions to The Beatles.
However, he still remembers a slight from John and Lennon’s wife and artist, Yoko Ono.
He recalls: “I remember reading an article, an interview with Yoko, who, OK, she was a big John supporter, I get that, but in this article she goes, ‘Paul did nothing. All he ever did was book studio.” And I’m going, “Err? No…’ And then John does this famous song, ‘How Do You Sleep?’, and he’s going, ‘All you ever did was ‘Yesterday’…’ And I’m going, ‘No, man.'”
Despite their disagreements, Paul confirmed that they had reconciled and saw each other a great deal before he was shot dead in New York in 1980.
“I was very lucky in that respect,” noted Paul, saying he and John “were friends till the end.”
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