Beatles
This section is about social and other general interactions. For creative collaborations, see Collaborations between ex-Beatles.
John Lennon
Though McCartney had a strained relationship with Lennon, they briefly became close again in early 1974, and played music together on one occasion.[341] In later years, the two grew apart.[342] While McCartney would often phone Lennon, he was apprehensive about the reception he would receive. During one call, Lennon told him, "You're all pizza and fairytales!"[343] In an effort to avoid talking only about business, they often spoke of cats, babies or baking bread.[344]
On 24 April 1976, the two were watching an episode of Saturday Night Live together at Lennon's home in The Dakota, during which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 cash offer for the Beatles to reunite. While they seriously considered going to the SNL studio a few blocks away, they decided it was too late. This was their last time together.[345] VH1 fictionalised this event in the 2000 television film, Two of Us.[346] McCartney's last telephone call to Lennon, days before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly; he said this about the call: "[It is] a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up."[347]
Reaction to Lennon's murder
Main article: Death of John Lennon
"John is kinda like a constant ... always there in my being ... in my soul, so I always think of him".[348]
—McCartney, Guitar World, January 2000
On 9 December 1980, McCartney followed the news that Lennon had been murdered the previous night, his death creating a media frenzy around the surviving members of the band.[349] That evening, as he was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio surrounded by reporters who asked him for his reaction, he responded: "It's a drag". The press quickly criticised him for what appeared to be a superficial response.[350] He later explained, "When John was killed somebody stuck a microphone at me and said: 'What do you think about it?' I said, 'It's a dra-a-ag' and meant it with every inch of melancholy I could muster. When you put that in print it says, 'McCartney in London today when asked for a comment on his dead friend said, "It's a drag".' It seemed a very flippant comment to make."[350] He described his first exchange with Ono after the murder, and his last conversation with Lennon:
I talked to Yoko the day after he was killed, and the first thing she said was, "John was really fond of you." The last telephone conversation I had with him we were still the best of mates. He was always a very warm guy, John. His bluff was all on the surface. He used to take his glasses down, those granny glasses, and say, "it's only me." They were like a wall you know? A shield. Those are the moments I treasure.[350]
In 1983, McCartney said, "I would not have been as typically human and standoffish as I was if I knew John was going to die. I would have made more of an effort to try and get behind his "mask" and have a better relationship with him."[350] He said that he went home that night, watched the news on television with his children and cried most of the evening. In 1997, he admitted the ex-Beatles were nervous at the time that they might also be murdered.[351] He told Mojo magazine in 2002 that Lennon was his greatest hero.[352] In 1981, McCartney sang backup on Harrison's tribute to their ex-bandmate, "All Those Years Ago", which featured Starr on drums.[353]McCartney released "Here Today" in 1982, a song Everett described as "a haunting tribute" to McCartney's friendship with Lennon.[354]
George Harrison
Discussing his relationship with McCartney, Harrison said, "Paul would always help along when you'd done his ten songs—then when he got 'round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually ... There were a lot of tracks, though, where I played bass ... because what Paul would do—if he'd written a song, he'd learn all the parts for Paul and then come in the studio and say (sometimes he was very difficult): "Do this". He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something."[355]
After Harrison's death in November 2001, McCartney issued a statement outside his home in St. John's Wood, calling him "a lovely guy and a very brave man who had a wonderful sense of humour". He went on to say, "We grew up together and we just had so many beautiful times together – that's what I am going to remember. I'll always love him, he's my baby brother."[356] On the first anniversary of his death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.[357] He also performed "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass", and played the piano on Eric Clapton's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".[358]
Ringo Starr
Starr once described McCartney as "pleasantly insincere", though the two generally enjoy each other's company, and at least once went on holiday together in Greece.[359] Starr recalled, "We couldn't understand a word of the songs the hotel band were playing, so on the last night Paul and I did a few rockers like "What'd I Say".[359] There was at times discord between them as well, particularly during sessions for the White Album. As Apple's Peter Brown recalled, "it was a poorly kept secret among Beatle intimates that after Ringo left the studio Paul would often dub in the drum tracks himself ... [Starr] would pretend not to notice".[360] In August 1968, the two got into an argument over McCartney's critique of Starr's drum part for "Back in the U.S.S.R.", which contributed to Starr temporarily leaving the band.[361] When Starr returned in September, he found bouquets of flowers on his drum kit.[362] Starr commented on working with McCartney: "Paul is the greatest bass player in the world. But he is also very determined ... [to] get his own way ... [thus] musical disagreements inevitably arose from time to time."[363]
McCartney and Starr collaborated on several post-Beatles projects starting in 1973, when McCartney contributed instrumentation and backing vocals for "Six O'Clock", a song McCartney wrote for Starr's album Ringo. McCartney played a kazoo solo on another track from the album, "You're Sixteen". In 1976, McCartney sang backing vocals on another song he wrote for Starr, "Pure Gold", from Ringo's Rotogravure. In 1981, McCartney produced and performed on three songs from Starr's Stop and Smell the Roses, two of which McCartney composed. Ringo appeared in the video for McCartney's 1983 song So Bad (from the Pipes of Peace album). He would also appear the following year in an acting role in McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street.
Starr played drums and sang backing vocals on "Beautiful Night" from McCartney's 1997 album, Flaming Pie. The pair collaborated again in 1998, on Starr's Vertical Man, which featured McCartney's backing vocals on three songs, and instrumentation on one.[364] In 2009, the pair performed "With a Little Help From My Friends" at a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation.[365] They collaborated on Starr's album, Y Not, in 2010. McCartney played bass on "Peace Dream", and sang a duet with Starr on "Walk with You".[366] On 7 July 2010, Starr was performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York with his All-Starr Band in a concert celebrating his seventieth birthday. After the encores, McCartney made a surprise, last minute appearance, coming out and performing the Beatles' song "Birthday" backed by members of Starr's band.[367]
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