THE NEW PAUL MCCARTNEY BIOGRAPHY

Paul, who was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, is renowned as a former Beatles star and one of the world's greatest songwriters. Here's some surprising things we learned from Philip Norman’s new 800-plus life story of the singer, Paul McCartney: The Biography.

1) Paul believed he was on 'the scrap heap' following the break-up of The Beatles

Despite a post-Beatles career that has produced 17 solo albums and a further seven with his band Wings, Paul felt that his time as a musician was over when The Beatles split in 1970.

“I don’t know how anyone could have lived with me,” McCartney explains in the book, paying tribute to his first wife, Linda, who died in 1998. “I was on the scrap heap in my own eyes... It was a barrelling, empty feeling that just rolled across my soul.”

2) He missed his very first gig with John Lennon

Most Beatles fans know that McCartney and Lennon were in a band together during the late Fifties called The Quarrymen. Less well known is that McCartney failed to turn up for his first gig with the band. The reason? An evening with the Boy Scouts. 

McCartney eventually made his debut with The Quarrymen on October 18 1957.

3) He also missed the very first meeting with Brian Epstein

He didn't make it easy for himself, did he? While the rest of The Beatles turned up on time for a meeting with future manager Brian Epstein at the entrepreneur's record store, McCartney was less punctual.
When it transpired that McCartney was in the bath, Epstein lamented: "He's going to be very late." Quick as a flash, George Harrison responded: "But very clean."

4) He once told Linda: 'There's only one effing star in this family.'

News that Linda was being interviewed for a ghost-written autobiography angered McCartney, who was unwilling to surrender much of the limelight to his wife. 

 

5) He was ´terrified of being raped´in a Japanese prison
When Paul was arrested for smuggling marijuana into Japan in 1980, he ended up with a nine-day jail sentence at Kosuge Prison, Tokyo. 
It was a tough regime, which included a 6am start, cleaning duties and nothing but a mat to sleep on. Above all, though, McCartney was 'terrified of being raped'. Fortunately, McCartney won over the other prisoners with A cappella renditions of Yesterday.  

 

6) His girlfriend´s mother used to comb his leg hair
Yes, you did read that sentence correctly. Apparently, during the two years that Paul was in a relationship with Iris Caldwell, he became so close to her family that Caldwell's mother had no qualms about coiffuring his leg hair.

But, as Philip Norman's book reveals, McCartney always enjoyed a close relationship with the mothers of his girlfriend. Jane Asher's mother offered up her basement as a recording studio, while also doing McCartney's laundry. Most importantly of all, though, Margaret Asher introduced McCartney to a piano teacher. Behind every great man etc.

 

7) Paul could memorise all his music
This ability was put to the test when he and Linda were held-up at knife-point on holiday in Nigeria.

No matter that the thieves had stolen a bag full of demos for Band on the Run, the 1973 album by Paul McCartney and the Wings... McCartney had it all in his head.

Paul McCartney: The Biography  is out now: The definitive #PaulMcCartney biography, "PAUL MCCARTNEY: THE LIFE", written with his approval by bestselling biographer Philip Norman. Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with Paul's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before, 760 pages in hardcover, digital and audio versions ...   HERE