Paul McCartney on Lennon, Linda and life after The Beatles
We spend an evening with music icon ahead of the release of his new documentary, Man on the Run.
We spend an evening with music icon ahead of the release of his new documentary, Man on the Run.
'Paul McCartney is hosting a very special screening event for the new film: Man on the Run.'
Now, I’m lucky enough to get a few fancy invites, but this email was different: a private event in the presence of Sir Paul himself. There would be a live Q&A with Paul and documentary director Morgan Neville afterwards, hosted by radio DJ Lauren Laverne.
Man on the Run is a brand-new documentary focusing on McCartney’s post-Beatles life – including the formation of the band Wings in the wake of the break-up. I was excited to see it, as was my husband Ben, a lifelong McCartney devotee who joined me at London’s Ham Yard Hotel for a night we will never forget.
Doors opened at 7pm with red carpet photos, champagne and canapes. We sat on a velvet banquette and felt the excitement as a select group of celebrities and journalists mingled ahead of the film. One arrival felt particularly apt: actor Paul Mescal, who’s set to play Paul McCartney in the four-part Beatles biopic due in cinemas in 2028. Mescal brought his girlfriend Gracie Abrams.
The Ham Yard Hotel cinema has a balcony as well as downstairs seating, and guests were given coloured wristbands to denote which area to sit in. We were delighted to be given yellow bands, which meant downstairs access. As soon as the doors opened, we headed straight for the front row, bagging a couple of seats right in the middle.
The two rows behind us were reserved, and the names on the seats read like pop culture Who’s Who: Noel Gallagher, Twiggy, Paul Weller, Sharon Osbourne… they all filed in to watch the film. Stella McCartney was sitting in row three, directly behind my husband, and the seat next to her me said: “PAUL MCCARTNEY”. So, I was going to watch Man on the Run with Sir Paul sitting behind me. Careful you don’t drop your popcorn, I thought.
First, the great man was due on stage, and was introduced by Lauren Laverne. She spoke briefly to director Morgan Neville and to Paul (looking great at 83). He then took his seat next to his daughter. And Man on the Run began.
The documentary was made with unprecedented access to Paul, whose voice can be heard narrating events over fascinating archive footage and photographs. Neville interviewed him on several occasions to prepare for the film, and this also features words from Stella, Sean Ono Lennon, Mick Jagger and Chrissy Hynde, who was also in the audience.
There are extensive archive interviews, including with the late Linda McCartney. This functions as a fascinating insight into her as a characterful, independent woman who was often misrepresented by the media and misunderstood by fans.
As Paul recalls the painful break-up of The Beatles, there’s a tangible sense of the love and comfort he felt with Linda and their family. We see them moving to the remote farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre and escaping from Beatlemania – well, as much as was possible.
Paul recalls losing his patience with one particularly persistent photographer, and then making a deal with him: he would be allowed to take an official photo, as long as he didn’t release the shot of the singer chucking a bucket at him. There are plenty of humorous anecdotes, and plenty more poignant ones: Paul credits Linda with helping him out of a depression and curbing his drinking.
It’s clear that the Beatles split marked McCartney badly. He speaks frankly about John Lennon, his dear friend and bandmate who he’d grown apart from, and who didn’t announce his departure from the band, leaving Paul to make it public.
One day, in bed, Paul asked Linda if she’d like to join him if he formed a new band. She said OK, and learned to play the keyboard. Wings was formed, along with several band members whose voices are also heard in the doc, including the late Denny Laine, who recorded with Morgan Neville before he died in 2023. Paul recalls Wings travelling the world in a van, with the kids – people thought they were mad. He also remembers a few bumps in the road.
The scariest of these include being mugged at knifepoint; nearly drowning; and a seven-night spell in Japanese jail, after customs officers found pot in their luggage. “I was an idiot,” he admits. The singer speaks about being behind bars and imagining sitting under his oak tree at home as “the height of bliss”. He shares how the incident changed him.
And then there was the mending of his relationship with Lennon, who eventually shared his appreciation of Paul’s solo work. Sean Ono Lennon says, “If you look through my Dad’s LP collection, our copy of McCartney was played, and quite worn actually – you could tell that they were listened to, as a fan.’”
Mary McCartney talks about going to see John and Yoko in New York: “It was like a family reunion.” Says Paul of that meeting with John: “One of the great blessings in my life is that we made up. It’s beautiful and it’s sad at the same time. We’d loved each other all our lives.” As if that wasn’t emotional enough, Stella then speaks about seeing her father receive the phone call with the tragic news of John’s death: “That was truly heartbreaking.”
Skillfully directed by Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), Man on the Run is a revealing and entertaining insight into McCartney’s life in the 1970s, with music and footage that’s never been shared before. The audience loved it, and when Paul took to the stage afterwards, Lauren asked what it felt like watching it in the room.
“It’s like your life flashing in front of you,” he said. “I think all the stuff with the kids and Linda, you know, is lovely to see. I mean, obviously the Linda stuff was very emotional, obviously, because she looks so beautiful. She’s so cool.”
At Morgan’s prompting, he also shared Linda’s typical response to some of the more outlandish ideas he would run past her: “If there’s ideas like that were a little bit crazy or I’d say, ‘Should I do that? Could I do that?’ And she’d say, ‘It’s allowed.’ And it was like, ‘Yeah, that’s brilliant’. It’s a great philosophy of life: ‘It’s allowed’.”
Man on the Run is no puff piece, and we can thank both Neville and McCartney for including some of the more eccentric moments of Paul’s career. “Oh God, there are so many bits in it that are so embarrassing,” said McCartney in the Q&A.
“You know, Mary Had A Little Lamb with the little red nose… So I was thinking, ‘Well, maybe we could just cut those bits… And [Neville] said, ‘No, no, let me keep them in because you’ll see all of that stuff, and then the fact that you overcame it all and found yourself in the end, and won.’”
One of the most revealing moments is hearing him talk about his friendship with John, sharing stories of their childhood. “He was always just that guy to me, even when he was being really mean, you know, and I was having to just take it. At the same time, it was like… It’s just John… I loved him, you know.
“I loved all the guys in the Beatles,” he continued. “We had so much in common and we were like a little magical foursome. I try and think of how else it could have been, you know. But just with me, John, George, and Ringo, it was just a magic grouping. And, uh, we hope we did okay.”
As Lauren Laverne replied: “You definitely did”.
After the conversation, Paul exited the stage, and his famous pals hovered to congratulate him – as we passed, he was hugging Noel Gallagher. We left the hotel with memories of a very special night – not to mention a gift bag including the Man on the Run soundtrack on vinyl. That will certainly be well played.
Man on the Run will be streaming globally on Prime Video from 27 February.
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