Paul McCartney Once Said The Beatles Had Very Few Real Friends
Paul McCartney said The Beatles were surrounded by people, but they couldn't necessarily count them as friends. He shared why things were complicated.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr endured unprecedented levels of fame while they were in The Beatles. They became the biggest band in the world, ripping any shred of normalcy from the Fab Four’s lives. McCartney said that while they were constantly surrounded by people, it was difficult to tell who their real friends were. He said Starr struggled to count his genuine friends on one hand. Paul McCartney said Ringo Starr and the rest of the Beatles struggled to find real friends
When The Beatles became famous, they found themselves feeling isolated despite being constantly surrounded by people.
“I remember Ringo saying at the time ‘How many friends have I got?’ and he couldn’t count them on one hand,” McCartney told Rolling Stone. “And that’s what it boils down to, really. You can have millions of friends, but when someone asks you how many friends you’ve got, it depends on how honestly you’re going to answer. Because I don’t think I have that many.”
A black and white picture of The Beatles running down an alley.
He pointed to times of difficulty in his life, like when he faced public backlash for marrying Linda McCartney. He wasn’t sure if the isolation was his own doing, or if he didn’t have many true friends. “No one went against me or anything, I think I isolated myself a bit,” he said. “It’s just one of those things.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
