Liverpool-born Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney is about to become the oldest person to perform at Glastonbury on Saturday.
The singer-songwriter who turned age 80 last week, is about to make history books as he prepares to headline the most iconic festival in the UK.
Paul, who was one of the main leading forces in The Beatles during their peak in the 1960s, is lingering up once more for a show-stopping performance like no other – as he takes to the legendary Pyramid stage this weekend.
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The psychedelic band member who has stormed that charts for decades has proved to be unstoppable of recent – having celebrated a landmark birthday last week and hitting the record books at Glasto this week.
With Paul very much still a legend in the eyes of many musicians and festival goers alike, we wanted to mark his momentous performance this week with a glance at his wild life.
Where it all began
(Image: Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
On June 18, 1942 a star was literally born in Walton, Liverpool.
However, avid Beetles fans will know that his first name is not actually Paul.
The talented musician had been named after his father James but as life at home became complicated with duplication, his parents opted to call him by his middle name, Paul – and I guess they say the rest is history!
His mother Mary, who was a straight-laced catholic, tragically passed at just 47 after battling cancer – which led Paul to throw himself into music.
It has been reported that Mary was the inspiration behind one of Paul’s very first melody’s I’ve Lost My Little Girl -with the lyrics bing very telling about their relationship.
Becoming the Beatles
(Image: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
By sheer chance, in 1957 Paul happened to meet John Lennon during a visit to village Fete in Woolton – with Paul showcasing his cord skills on the guitar and later being invited to join the band, The Quarrymen.
The twosome struck up a bond like no other – with the pair sharing mutual heartache together after John’s mum was tragically killed in 1957 after being knocked down and killed by an off-duty policeman.
After being traumatised by loss, John and Paul were able to channel all of their raw emotions into songwriting – with many becoming hits still known to this day.
Paul was also responsible for recruiting George Harrison.
George had been a close friend of Paul’s with the pair having first met on the school bus and attending Liverpool Institute on Mount Street, a boy’s grammar school, in the 1950s.
While they were chums, Paul admitted in a previous interview: “I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger.”
Deportation
(Image: Mirrorpix)
With the foursome now well and truly formed, their fame rocketed from success and the Beetles pretty much became a global sensation overnight.
The lads were constantly touring the world which often saw trouble coming knocking for young Paul.
In the early 1960s, Paul was deported from Hamburg, in Germany, after he had set alight a condom with Pete Best – who was the bands original drummer before Ringo Starr had joined.
He was returned to the UK after they were accused of trying to burn down the van they were staying in.
Instead, the drummer and guitarist explained that were attempting to use the rubbers as emergency lighting.
Pete said at the time: “We pinned them on the wall and they spluttered.
“Let’s get it clear, they weren’t used. We were charged with trying to burn our van down.”
Dodging Jail
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Paul very nearly faced seven years in jail in 1980 after he was found with 21 grams of cannabis in his luggage during a trip to Tokyo, Japan.
Nearly half a pound of weed was discovered in his suitcase during the routine search – with the Tokyo authorities taking a no tolerance approach – even though Paul was super famous at the time.
He was sent to a narcotic detention centre where he spent 10 days before authorities decided to release him, instead of slapping him with a seven year prison sentence.
According to reports at the time, it was only down to Paul’s adoring fans who hounded the prison, calling for his release and in-mates constantly singing his songs that he was finally un-cuffed and free to go.
Losing his wife Linda to cancer
(Image: Mirrorpix)
In 1997, many years after the Beatles had split and Paul had gone solo – he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II his continued “services to music.”
After what must have felt like such a pinnacle moment in his career, just a year later tragedy struck when Paul’s wife Linda sadly died of cancer.
Paul and Linda were known as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll love stories, having fallen madly in love when they met in 1967 and endured 30-years of marriage together before the American photographer’s sudden passing.
In 1995, the married couple announced that Linda was being treated for breast cancer and that she had responded well to the treatment.
However, in March the following year, the cancer had developed and now spread to her liver.
They had three children, Mary, Stella and James and Linda has another daughter, Heather, from her first marriage to geophysicist John Melvyn See.
Paul now lives a quiet life which is worlds away from his celebrity past at Blossom Wood Farm in East Sussex – which he has owned since 1973.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
