Paul McCartney once said he was tired of being known as ‘the Cute Beatle’
Originally published in December of 1989 upon Paul's return to touring after a long haitus.
For a subatomic fraction of an instant, in a narrow gray cinderblock room so spartan that he must place his tea and biscuits on the middle cushion of the couch, Paul McCartney frowns.
So yes, those famous rising eyebrows move inward as well. The smiling mouth also turns down. How about that? A moment to remember, this, because for 25 years, in tiny gray rooms and on great floodlit soundstages, Paul McCartney has looked as unfailingly cheerful as one would expect from a man who once addressed a whimsical love song to his Old English Sheepdog.
But at this moment he’s preparing to shoo away something rather less pleasant: Paul, The Cute Beatle. “I’m comfortable with people still seeing me as ‘The Beatle,’” he says. “It’s like, once Greta Garbo, always Greta Garbo. You want to be alone, you’re still Greta Garbo. Once Brigitte Bardot, always Brigitte Bardot, even when you’re saving baby seals. “But I’m not comfortable with being ‘The Cute Beatle.’ I’ve never really thought I was ‘cute,’ though I guess some people think so. “Maybe there were a few moments of cute, mostly in the early days. As you get older, the harder edges come out. I don’t think ‘Fool on the Hill’ is a cute song. ‘The Long and Winding Road’ isn’t cute. ‘Yesterday’ isn’t cute. ‘I’m not half the man I used to be’ — that’s pretty strong, and remember, I wrote it when I was 24.”
By: David Hinckley
Source: NY Daily News
