Being the founder of The Beatles and considered one of the most influential musicians of all time, one would think that, at age 78, Paul McCartney could just take it easy for a while. Especially considering the current circumstances. But he wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't a unique person, and that comes with being at the peak of his creative abilities during a pandemic.
Last year, Paul surprised the world. He released a new album that he made entirely on his own, played multiple online concerts, did countless thorough interviews, and became best friends with Taylor Swift. Here are some of the highlights of the Beatle's quarantine.
10 He Shared Stories About His Recording Process
One can only imagine how many stories Paul McCartney has to share about the making of his music, and last year he had lots of time alone with his thoughts to reminisce about them. That's why he decided to do Q&A to share his memories and entertain fans. His favorite memory, he said, was the recording of the song A Day In The Life with The Beatles, for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
"From Abbey Road to his own home studio, Paul shares his favourite recording studio stories in this month's website Q&A," he posted on Instagram, accompanied with a picture of himself taken by his daughter Mary.
9 He Said Goodbye To An Old Friend
When The Beatles were just starting, one of the first places they played and were successful at was Hamburg. There, they met lots of people that would become lifelong friends. Two of them were Klaus and Astrid. In May, he received the sad news that Astrid had passed away. He wrote a long and heartfelt post about how much he loved her and would miss her, and shared some pictures and memories about when they met.
"Astrid took beautiful photographs of us. She used black and white film and achieved a stunning mood in her pictures that we all loved. She had a great sense of humour and later went on to marry Stuart our bass player. I have so many fond memories of our time together in the club or her home or a trip to the nearby seaside resort, Lübeck," he wrote. "So sad for all of us who were her friends to lose such a lovely lady from our lives. I will miss her but will always remember her and her cheeky grin with great fondness. God bless you Astrid, see ya love! - Paul
8 He Joined The BLM Movement
In light of the fight for racial justice, Paul felt compelled to share his condemnation of all the violent acts of racism that have occurred in the US. He recalled the time The Beatles were first invited to play in the US and how they were told they would have to play for a segregated audience. They were outraged and threatened to cancel the show. That was in 1964, and it was Jacksonville's first non-segregated concert. After that, they made sure to put it in their contract.
He expressed that he felt "sick and angry that here we are almost 60 years later and the world is in shock at the horrific scenes of the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of police racism, along with the countless others that came before." He also provided a list of organizations to support.
7 He Was Part Of The 'Let The Music Play' Campaign
Paul McCartney is not among the list of people who have suffered the economic consequences of the pandemic, but he hasn't forgotten what it's like to be an aspiring artist and needing to play shows for a living. He also knows that most of the people working in the music industry lost their jobs until further notice without live shows, so he joined a group of musicians to promote the campaign Let The Music Play. The purpose of this was to demand that the people who have lost their means of living receive federal support until they can resume their work.
6 He Celebrated A Special Birthday With A Special Friend
Turning 80 years old is a big milestone in anyone's life, and celebrating with friends is a must. Especially if that friend is the person with whom you formed the greatest rock band in the world. On July 7th, the legendary Ringo Starr turned 80. Normally, he does a big celebration with friends and fans, where they play music outside and have a good time, but for obvious reasons, that was not possible last year. So, instead, Ringo organized a virtual concert featuring artists like Dave Grohl, Sheryl Crow, and of course, his brother, Sir Paul McCartney.
5 He Was Part Of The 'Together At Home' Concert
Right at the beginning of the quarantine, Lady Gaga organized a concert through the non-profit organization Global Citizen to raise funds to help the World Health Organization to fight Covid-19. This brilliant idea caught the attention of many artists like Billie Eilish, Hozier, Chris Martin, Camila Cabello, and many more.
Paul, of course, jumped at the chance to join. He delivered an unusual yet beautiful acoustic performance of The Beatles' hit Lady Madonna that moved many people. It was a great song for a great cause.
4 He Was Featured On The Cover Of GQ Magazine
In August, Paul was asked to do an interview for GQ Magazine and was featured on the cover. What makes this occasion even more special was that the photographer taking the picture was his daughter Mary. She's always documenting important moments with her camera, much like her mother Linda did. He talked about many things, like his time in The Beatles, how his relationship with John Lennon was, how meeting Linda changed his life, and how wonderful his life is now. There's nothing fans love more than to hear that Paul is happy, healthy, and surrounded by his loving wife Nancy, his kids, and his grandkids.
3 He Endlessly Teased His Fans
In 2018, right before announcing that he was releasing his album Egypt Station, Paul deleted everything on his social media and instead started posting doodles with clues. Last year he did a similar thing. It started by posting weird pictures with three dots, or three flowers, or things like that. Then, people started noticing that, when they played his records McCartney and McCartney II on Spotify, dice appeared with the number 3 on them. He even went as far as to send random text messages with three dice. What did it mean? The imminent release of McCartney III.
2 He Wrote, Played, And Produced An Entire Album
After weeks of teasing his fans with the number 3, Paul finally announced the release of his new album, McCartney III. This is the third on his trilogy. First, there was McCartney, his first solo album which came out in 1970. Then McCartney II, which came out in 1980. And finally, this one. What these albums have in common is that he made them all on his own. Well, the first two he did with Linda, but he didn't have any help outside of his own home. He explained that, while in quarantine, he had some demos that needed to be finished, so he started to work on them by himself and they ended up turning into an album. He's high risk so he couldn't hire people to come to his house during the peak of a pandemic, but he didn't need anyone else to make great music. The album came out on December 18, and it immediately went to number 1.
1 He Did An Interview With Taylor Swift
Not many people were expecting this crossover, but it ended up being the cutest thing ever. Taylor Swift had expressed many times that she's a great fan of The Beatles, and of Paul in particular, and the two of them had met before. Both of them were incredibly creative this past year, so it seemed like a good opportunity to meet and talk about music. They did just that in a special Rolling Stone feature called Musicians On Musicians. They discussed McCartney III, Taylor's Folklore, and their mutual love for all kinds of music.
It was Mary McCartney that was in charge of taking the picture for the cover, and it was a beautiful full circle. Linda McCartney was the first woman to have a Rolling Stone cover shot in 1968, and now Mary and Paul get to continue her legacy.