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Sir James Paul McCartney MBE (born June 18, 1942) is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of the Beatles. McCartney and John Lennon formed 'one of the most influential' and successful songwriting partnerships and 'wrote some of the most popular music in rock music history'.[1] Following his departure from the Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his wife, Linda McCartney. McCartney has also worked on film scores, classical music, and ambient/electronic music. He has released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist, and has taken part in projects to assist international charities. McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles.[2] McCartney's song "Yesterday" is listed as the most covered song in history and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American TV and radio.[3] Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre" became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK, and remained the UK's top seller until surpassed, in 1984, by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which included McCartney among its many participants.
Early years: 1942–1957James Paul McCartney was born in Walton General Hospital in Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary, had previously worked as a nursing sister in the maternity ward.[4] He has one brother, Michael, born 7 January 1944.[5] McCartney was baptised Roman Catholic but was raised non-denominationally, as his mother was Roman Catholic and his father, James 'Jim' McCartney, was a Protestant turned agnostic.[5] Like many in Liverpool, McCartney is of Irish heritage.[6] His maternal grandfather, Owen Mohin/Mohan, was born in 1880 in Tullynamalrow, County Monaghan, Ireland and married Mary Theresa Danher (from Toxteth, Liverpool) in 1905.[5] In 1947, when McCartney was five he attended Stockton Wood Road Primary school, the Joseph Williams Junior School, and passed the 11-plus exam in 1953. Of the 90 children that took the exam, only three others passed, gaining all four places at the Liverpool Institute.[7] He met George Harrison on the bus to the Institute, as he lived nearby.[8] Passing the 11-plus exam meant that McCartney and Harrison did not have to go to a Secondary modern school, where most pupils attended until they were eligible to work. It also meant that Grammar school pupils had to find new friends — such was the division between the school systems.[9]. Unlike Harrison, he did quite well academically at the Institute and later stayed on into the Sixth Form to study for GCE A-levels.At age thirteen Paul also auditioned for the local church choir, but (due to his age) he cracked his voice, which denied him the spot. In 1955, the McCartney family moved to 20 Forthlin Road (in Allerton), which is now owned by The National Trust.[10] Mary McCartney rode a bicycle to houses where she was needed as a midwife, and McCartney's earliest memory is of her leaving when it was snowing heavily.[11] On 31 October 1956, when McCartney was 14 while he was away at boy scout camp Mary McCartney (who was a heavy smoker) died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer.[12] The early loss of his mother later connected McCartney with John Lennon, whose mother, Julia, died when Lennon was 17.[13]
McCartney, being left-handed, found the Zenith impossible to play. He then saw a poster advertising Slim Whitman and realised that Whitman played left-handed, with his guitar strung the opposite way to a right-handed player.[18][19] McCartney wrote his first song ("I Lost My Little Girl") on the Zenith, and also played his father's Framus Spanish guitar when writing early songs with John Lennon.[20] He later started playing piano and wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four".[21] His father advised him to take some music lessons, which he did. But McCartney realised that he preferred to learn 'by ear' and never paid attention in music classes.[21][22] 1957–1960: The Quarrymen and the Silver BeetlesImage:Elvismccartney.jpg 'Elvis McCartney' drawing by Klaus Voormann. The fifteen-year-old McCartney met Lennon and the Quarrymen at the Woolton (St. Peter's church hall) fête on 6 July 1957.[23] At the start of their friendship Lennon's Aunt Mimi disapproved of McCartney because he was, she said, "working class", and called McCartney, "John's little friend".[24] McCartney's father told his son that Lennon would get him "into trouble", although he later allowed The Quarrymen to rehearse in the front room at 20 Forthlin Road.[25][26] McCartney formed a close working relationship with Lennon and they collaborated on many songs. He convinced Lennon to allow Harrison to join the Quarrymen after Lennon's initial reluctance (because of Harrison's young age) when Lennon heard Harrison play at a rehearsal in March 1958.[27] Harrison joined the group as lead guitarist, followed by Lennon's art school friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, on bass, with whom McCartney later bickered regarding Sutcliffe's musical ability.[28][29] By May 1960, they had tried several new names, including the Silver Beetles (and played a tour with Johnny Gentle, in Scotland). The name of the group was changed to the Beatles for their performances in Hamburg, in August 1960.[30][31] 1960–1970: The BeatlesImage:Beatles James Paul McCartney 1964.jpg McCartney in February 1964. Allan Williams started managing the Beatles in May 1960, booking them into Bruno Koschmider's Indra club in Hamburg. McCartney's father was reluctant to let the teenage Paul go to Hamburg until Paul pointed out that he would earn two pounds and ten shillings per day. As this was more than he earned himself, Jim finally agreed.[32] The Beatles first played at the Indra club, sleeping in small, dirty rooms in the Bambi Kino, and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller.[33] In October 1960, they left Koschmider's club and worked at the "Top Ten Club", which was run by Peter Eckhorn.[34][35] When McCartney and Pete Best went back to the Bambi Kino to get their belongings they found it in almost total darkness. As a snub to Koschmider, they found a condom, attached it to a nail on the concrete wall of their room, and set fire to it. There was no real damage, but Koschmider reported them for attempted arson. McCartney and Best spent three hours in a local jail and were deported, as was George Harrison, for working under the legal age limit.[36] Lennon's work permit was revoked a few days later and he went home by train, but Sutcliffe had tonsilitis and stayed in Hamburg, and then flew home.[37] The group reunited in December 1960, and on 21 March 1961, played their first of many concerts at Liverpool's Cavern club.[38][39] McCartney realised that other Liverpool bands were playing the same cover songs as the Beatles, which prompted him and Lennon to write more original material.[40] The Beatles returned to Hamburg in April 1961, and recorded "My Bonnie" with Tony Sheridan.[41] Sutcliffe left the band after the end of their contract, so Paul reluctantly took over bass.[42] He first played a 'Rosetti Solid 7' bass upside-down, but later bought a left-handed Höfner.[43][44] On 1 October 1961, McCartney went with Lennon (who paid for the trip) to Paris for two weeks.[45] Brian Epstein first saw the Beatles play at the Cavern club on 9 November 1961, and later signed them to a management contract.[46] Their road manager, Neil Aspinall, drove the Beatles to London on 31 December 1961, where they auditioned the next day, but were rejected by Decca Records.[47] In April 1962, they went back to Hamburg to play at the Star-Club, and learned of Stuart Sutcliffe's death a few hours before they arrived.[48] Epstein sacked Pete Best before the Beatles signed a record contract on 9 May 1962, with Parlophone Records, after having been rejected by many record companies.[49] "Love Me Do" was released on 5 October 1962, featuring McCartney singing solo on the chorus line.[50] All Lennon-McCartney songs on the first pressing of Please Please Me album (recorded in one day on 11 February 1963)[51] as well as the "Please Please Me" single, "From Me to You", and its B-side, "Thank You Girl", are credited to "McCartney-Lennon", but this was later changed to "Lennon-McCartney".[52] They usually needed an hour or two to finish a song, which were written in hotel rooms after a concert, at Wimpole Street, at Cavendish Avenue, or at Kenwood (John Lennon's house).[53] McCartney also wrote songs for other artists, such as Billy J. Kramer, Cilla Black, Badfinger, and Mary Hopkin.[54] Lennon, Harrison, and Starr lived in large houses in the 'stockbroker belt' of southern England,[55] but McCartney continued to live in central London: in Jane Asher's parents' house, and then at 7 Cavendish Avenue, St John's Wood, near the Abbey Road Studios.[55] It was at Cavendish Avenue that McCartney bought his first Old English Sheepdog, Martha, which inspired the song "Martha My Dear".[56] McCartney often went to nightclubs alone, which offered 'dining and dancing until 4.00 a.m.' and featured cabaret acts.[57] McCartney would get preferential treatment everywhere he went, which he readily accepted.[58] He even once accepted an offer from a policeman to be allowed to park McCartney's car.[57] He later visited gambling clubs after 4.00am, such as 'The Curzon House', and often saw Brian Epstein there.[59] The Ad Lib club (above the Prince Charles Theatre at 7 Leicester Place) was later opened for the emerging 'Rock and Roll' crowd of musicians, and tolerated their unusual lifestyle.[60] After the Ad Lib fell out of favour, McCartney moved on to the Scotch of St James, at 13 Masons Yard.[61] He also frequented The Bag O'Nails club at 8 Kingly Street in Soho, London, where he met Linda McCartney.[62] The Beatles stopped touring after their last concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on 29 August 1966. The other three Beatles had often talked about stopping touring, but after the Candlestick Park concert, and after having played so many concerts where they could not be heard, McCartney finally agreed that they should stop playing live concerts.[63] Image:LetItBe.jpg "Let It Be" album cover. McCartney was the first to be involved in a musical project outside of the Beatles, when he composed the score for the film The Family Way in 1966. The soundtrack was later released as an album (also called The Family Way), and won the Ivor Novello Award for 'Best Instrumental Theme', ahead of acclaimed jazz musician Mike Turner. McCartney wrote songs for and produced other artists, including Mary Hopkin, Badfinger, and the Bonzo Dog Band, and in 1966, he was asked by Kenneth Tynan to write the songs for the National Theatre's production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare (starring Laurence Olivier) but declined.[64] McCartney later attempted to convince the Beatles to return to the stage, and when they had a meeting to sign a new contract with Capitol Records, McCartney suggested "Going back to our roots", to which John Lennon replied, "I think you're mad!"[65] Although Lennon had quit the group in September 1969, and Harrison and Starkey had temporary left the Beatles at various times, McCartney was the one who publicly announced the break-up on 10 April 1970, one week before releasing his first solo album, McCartney.[66] The album included a press release inside with a self-written interview stating the end of the Beatles and his hopes about the future. The Beatles' partnership was legally dissolved after McCartney filed a lawsuit on 31 December 1970.[67] 1970s: Paul McCartney (solo) and WingsMcCartney released his debut solo album, McCartney, in April 1970, with the announcement that he was leaving the Beatles. He insisted that his wife should be involved in his musical career so that they would not be apart when he was on tour.[68] McCartney's second solo album, Ram (1971) was credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney. In August of that year McCartney formed Wings, with guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell, and released their debut album, Wild Life. In 1972, Wings started an unplanned tour of British universities and small European venues.[69] In February of that year, they released a single called "Give Ireland Back to the Irish",[70] which was banned by the BBC.[71] Wings then embarked on the 26-date Wings Over Europe tour. Wings' 1973 album Red Rose Speedway spawned the band's first #1 in America, "My Love".[72] On 16 April, McCartney starred in a TV variety show called James Paul McCartney.[73] The band released Band on the Run,[74] which won two Grammy Awards[75] and is Wings' most lauded work. In October 1972, McCartney recorded the theme song for the James Bond film Live and Let Die.[69] In 1973, Wings released the single "Jet",[76] and in 1974, "Band on the Run" (the song) and "Junior's Farm".[77] A jam session — with Lennon and McCartney — was recorded in California, in 1974, and released on the bootleg A Toot and a Snore in '74. Through 1975 and 1976, Wings embarked on the ambitious Wings Over the World tour, which was released as Wings Over America. In 1977, Wings released "Mull of Kintyre". It stayed at #1 in the UK for nine weeks, and was the highest-selling single in the UK until 1984, when Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas beat its record.[71] Wings toured again in 1979, and McCartney organised the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. McCartney's "Rockestra" theme won a Grammy award.[69] At Christmas 1979, McCartney released his (solo) "Wonderful Christmastime".[78] Although McCartney's relationship with John Lennon was troubled, they reconciled during the 1970s.[79] McCartney would often call Lennon, but was never sure of what sort of reception he would get,[80] such as when McCartney once called Lennon and was told, "You're all pizza and fairytales!"[80] McCartney understood that he could not just phone Lennon and only talk about business, so they often talked about cats, baking bread, or babies.[81] Solo career1980sImage:Dakota2.jpg The Dakota building entrance where John Lennon was shot. In a 1980 interview, Lennon said that the last time he had seen McCartney was when they had watched the episode of Saturday Night Live (May 1976) where Lorne Michaels had made his $3,200 cash offer to get the Beatles to reunite on the show.[82] McCartney and Lennon had seriously considered going to the studio, but were too tired.[83] On the morning of 9 December, 1980, McCartney awoke to the news that Lennon had been murdered outside his Dakota building home.[84] Lennon's death created a media frenzy around the surviving members of the Beatles.[85] On the evening of 9 December, as McCartney was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio, he was surrounded by reporters and asked for his reaction to Lennon's death. He replied, "I'm very shocked - this is terrible news," and said that he had spent the day in the studio listening to some material because he "just didn't want to sit at home."[86] When asked why, he replied, "I didn't feel like it," and added, "It's a drag, isn't it?" When published, his "drag" remark was criticized, and McCartney later regretted it. He furthermore stated that he had intended no disrespect but had just been at a loss for words, after the shock and sadness he felt over Lennon's murder.[87] In a Playboy interview in 1984, McCartney said that he went home that night and watched the news on television—whilst sitting with all his children—and cried all evening. His last telephone call to John, which was just before Lennon and Yoko released Double Fantasy, was friendly. During the call, Lennon said (laughing) to McCartney, "This housewife wants a career!"[88] which referred to Lennon's "house-husband" years, while he was looking after Sean Lennon.[86] McCartney carried on recording after the death of Lennon but did not play any live concerts for some time. He explained that this was because he was nervous that he would be "the next" to be murdered.[87][89] This led to a disagreement with Denny Laine, who wanted to continue touring and subsequently left Wings, which McCartney disbanded in 1981.[89][90] Also in 1981, six months after Lennon's death, McCartney sang backup on George Harrison's tribute to Lennon, "All Those Years Ago", along with Ringo Starr. Like McCartney before it, McCartney played every instrument on the 1980 release McCartney II, with an emphasis on synthesisers instead of guitars.[91][92] The single "Coming Up" reached #2 in Britain and #1 in the US.[93], and "Waterfalls was another UK Top 10 hit. McCartney's next album, 1982's Tug of War, reunited him with Beatles producer George Martin[94] and Ringo Starr and featured McCartney's duet with Stevie Wonder on "Ebony and Ivory"[95] as well as his tribute to Lennon, "Here Today". Two further hit duets followed, both with Michael Jackson: "The Girl Is Mine",[95] from Jackson's "Thriller" album, and "Say Say Say", a single from McCartney's 1983 album "Pipes of Peace".[95] Image:PaulMcCartneyalbum - TugOfWar.jpg Tug of War was a hit comeback album for McCartney. McCartney wrote and starred in the 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street. The film and soundtrack featured the US and UK Top 10 hit[96] "No More Lonely Nights" (and the album reached #1 in the UK), but the film did not do well commercially[97] and received a negative critical response. Roger Ebert awarded the film a single star and wrote, "You can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the sound track".[98] Later that year, McCartney released "We All Stand Together", the title song from the animated film Rupert and the Frog Song. In the second half of the decade McCartney would find new collaborators. Eric Stewart had appeared on McCartney's Pipes of Peace album,[99] and he co-wrote most of McCartney's 1986 album, Press to Play. The album, and its lead single, Press became minor hits.[100] McCartney returned the favour by co-writing two songs for Stewart's band, 10cc: "Don't Break the Promises" (...Meanwhile, 1992), and "Yvonne's the One" (Mirror Mirror, 1995). In 1987, EMI released All the Best!, the first compilation of McCartney's own songs, and in some form recovered some of the lost success. The album reached #2 in the UK and became a big seller all over the world. Early in 1988, McCartney (while dressing up as a walrus) and Starr both appeared with ex-Beatle George Harrison for a second time on Harrison's song, "When We Was Fab", which reflected the life of Beatlemania. Later, he released Снова в СССР, which was a collection of old Rock and roll hits—written by others—that McCartney had admired over the years. It was originally released only in the USSR, eventually receiving a general release in 1991. McCartney also began a musical partnership with the singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (Declan MacManus).[101] The resulting songs would appear on several singles and albums by both artists, notably "Veronica" from Costello's album Spike, and "My Brave Face" from McCartney's Flowers in the Dirt, both released in 1989.[102] The album reached #1 in the UK. Further McCartney/MacManus compositions for "Flowers in the Dirt" surfaced on the 1991 album Mighty Like a Rose (Costello) and 1993's Off the Ground (McCartney). In late 1989, McCartney embarked on his first concert tour since John Lennon's murder—his first tour of the U.S. in thirteen years—resulting in record-breaking attendance. 1990sImage:Flaming Pie.jpg The cover of "Flaming Pie"—released in 1997. The 1990s saw McCartney venture into classical music. In 1991 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned a musical piece by McCartney to celebrate its sesquicentennial.[103] McCartney collaborated with Carl Davis to release Liverpool Oratorio.[104] EMI Classics recorded the premiere of the oratorio and released it on a 2-CD album which topped the classical charts.[105] His next classical project to be released (in 1995) was A Leaf, a solo-piano piece played by Royal College of Music gold-medal winner Anya Alexeyev.[106] The Prince of Wales later honoured McCartney as a Fellow of The Royal College of Music.[105] Other forays into classical music included Standing Stone (1997), Working Classical (1999), and "Ecce Cor Meum" (2006). In the early 1990s (after another world tour), McCartney reunited with Harrison and Starr to work on Apple's The Beatles Anthology documentary series. It included three double albums of alternative takes, live recordings, and previously unreleased Beatles songs, as well as a ten-hour video boxed set. Anthology 1 was released in 1995, and featured "Free as a Bird", the first of the Beatles "reunion" tracks, while Anthology 2, released in 1996, included "Real Love" (1996), the second and final in the reunion series. Both reunion tracks were completed by adding new music and vocal tracks to Lennon's demos from the late 1970s. 1997 was another successful year for McCartney. That year he released his most "beatlesque" album since the Beatles, "Flaming Pie". The album garnered the best reviews for a McCartney album since "Tug of War". It debuted at #2 in the UK and the US, and was nominated in the category Album of the Year at the 1998 Grammy Awards. Later that year, McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. McCartney returned to his roots once again in 1999, recording another album of rock 'n' roll favorites from his youth titled "Run Devil Run". This album, more polished than his "Russian album", featured a band that included David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Tied in to the promotion of the project was a live webcast of a concert from the Beatles' old stomping grounds from over three decades earlier, the revamped Cavern Club in Liverpool. 2000sThe year 2001 proved to be a busy and hectic one for McCartney. In May, he released Wingspan: An Intimate Portrait, a retrospective documentary that features behind-the-scenes films and photographs that Paul and Linda McCartney took of their family and bands.[107] Interspersed throughout the 88 minute film is an interview by Mary McCartney with her father. Mary was the baby photographed inside McCartney's jacket on the back cover of his first solo album, McCartney, and was one of the producers of the documentary.[108] Earlier in the year, McCartney worked on what would become his new album, Driving Rain, released on November 12. Driving Rain featured many uplifiting songs inspired by and written for his soon-to-be wife Heather. Clearly determined to follow the example of Run Devil Run's brisk recording pace, most of the album was recorded in two weeks, starting in February 2001. McCartney also composed and recorded the title track for the film Vanilla Sky, released later that year. On September 11, 2001, McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York City when the World Trade Center terrorist attacks occurred and was able to witness the events from his seat. Incensed at the tragedy and determined to respond, he composed "Freedom" and impulsively halted the pressing of Driving Rain so that "Freedom" could appear as a 'hidden track' (since the artwork and track listing had already been printed). McCartney took a lead role in organising The Concert for New York City in response to the events of September 11.[109] The concert took place on 20 October 2001. A few days before the concert, McCartney was involved in a car crash at a crossroads in Long Island, New York's East Hampton resort town. He complained of back pains but did not need hospital treatment.[110] In late 2001, McCartney was informed that his former classmate, friend, neighbour and ex-Beatles' lead guitarist, George Harrison, was losing his battle with cancer. McCartney visited the ailing Harrison and the two mended lingering tensions from the Beatles' final days as a group. Upon Harrison's death on November 29, McCartney told Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, Good Morning America, The Early Show and Today that George was like his "baby brother" in the Beatles. Harrison spent his last days in a Hollywood Hills mansion that was once leased by McCartney, and formerly owned by Courtney Love.[111] On 29 November 2002—on the first anniversary of George Harrison's death—McCartney played Harrison’s "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.[112] In 2002, McCartney went on another world tour, which continued through the following two years. During the tour he contributed to an album titled Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy Of Sun Records—which included a version of the Elvis Presley hit "That's All Right (Mama)"—recorded with Presley band members, Scotty Moore on lead guitar and drummer D.J. Fontana.[113] McCartney performed during the pre-game ceremonies at the NFL's Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and the Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. In 2003, McCartney went to Russia to play a concert in Red Square. Vladimir Putin gave McCartney a tour of the Square, and McCartney performed a private version of "Let It Be".[114] In what would be his first British music festival appearance, McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Festival in June 2004. [115] McCartney and festival organiser Michael Eavis picked up the NME Award on behalf of the festival, which won 'Best Live Event' in the 2005 awards.[116] McCartney performed at the main Live 8 concert on 2 July 2005, playing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 to open the Hyde Park event, although Ringo Starr criticised McCartney for not asking him to play.[117] On 18 June 2006, McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, as in "When I'm Sixty-Four". Paul Vallely noted in The Independent:
McCartney joined Jay-Z and Linkin Park onstage at the 2006 Grammy Awards in a performance of "Yesterday" to commemorate the recent passing of Coretta Scott King. McCartney later noted that it was the first time he had performed at the Grammys and quipped, "I finally passed the audition", which was a reference to the John Lennon comment at the end of the Beatles' rooftop concert, which was shown in the Let It Be film: "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and myself and I hope we passed the audition."[119] McCartney was nominated for another Grammy Award in 2007 for "Jenny Wren"—a song from his critically-acclaimed 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, which itself had been nominated as Album of the Year in 2006.[120] On March 21, 2007, McCartney left his longtime label EMI to become the first artist signed to Starbucks's new record label, Los Angeles-based Hear Music, to be distributed by Concord Music Group. He even made an appearance via a video feed from London at the company's annual meeting.[121] "For me, the great thing is the commitment and the passion and the love of music, which as an artist is good to see. It's a new world now and people are thinking of new ways to reach the people, and for me that's always been my aim," he said in a statement. [122] Press reports indicate Driving Rain producer David Kahne returning to play a part in producing the album. [123] There are also rumours about McCartney doing a UK stadium tour Summer 2007. The website Scarlet Mist features dates listed for Hampden Park in Glasgow, City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, Wembley Stadium in London, and Kings Dock in Liverpool. On April 2, 2007, it was reported that a man believed to be a crazed fan drove through the security fence on Paul McCartney's Peasmarsh county estate shouting that he had to "get at" the ex-Beatle. The incident echoed the 1980 murder of John Lennon and the 1999 attempted murder of George Harrison. The would-be assailant was stopped by security and arrested after leading authorities on a chase through Sussex country lanes [2][3][4]. Family lifeMcCartney was the last Beatle to marry. He had a five-year relationship with actress Jane Asher, and they were engaged to be married, until they broke up in 1968.[124] He married American photographer Linda Eastman in 1969. They had three children together, and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer in 1998. In 2002, McCartney married former model Heather Mills and they had a child in 2003. They announced their separation in 2006.[125] Widespread animosity towards Paul McCartney's wives was reported in 2004. "They [The British public] didn't like me giving up on Jane Asher," McCartney said. "I married a New York divorcee with a child, and at the time they didn't like that."[126] In 2006, tapes recorded by Peter Cox—with whom Linda McCartney had written a vegetarian cookery book before her death—came to light. The tapes were said to be conversations with Linda discussing her marriage. McCartney reportedly paid £200,000 to Cox for possession of the tapes.[127][128] Relationship with Jane AsherMcCartney first met British actress Jane Asher on 18 April 1963, when the Beatles were performing at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, and a photographer asked them to pose with Asher.[129] She conducted an interview with the Beatles for the BBC, and was then photographed screaming at them like a fan. McCartney later persuaded her to become his girlfriend.[130] McCartney soon met Jane's family: Margaret, Jane's mother, who combined her life as the mother of three children with a full-time career as a music teacher, and Jane's father, Richard, who was a physician. Jane's brother, Peter, was a member of Peter and Gordon, and Jane's younger sister, Clare, was also an actress.[131] McCartney later gave "A World Without Love" to Peter and Gordon.[132] McCartney took up residence at the Ashers' house at 57 Wimpole Street, London, and lived there for nearly three years.[133] During his time there McCartney met writers such as Bertrand Russell, Harold Pinter and Len Deighton.[134] He wrote several songs at the Ashers', including "Yesterday", and worked on songs with John Lennon in the basement music room. Jane inspired many songs, such as "And I Love Her", "You Won't See Me", and "I'm Looking Through You".[135] On 13 April 1965, McCartney bought a £40,000 three-storey Regency house, at 7 Cavendish Avenue, London, and spent a further £20,000 renovating it. McCartney cre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
