Paul McCartney has reflected on a famous rumour which emerged in 1969 that he was dead.
In truth, the rumour first started in 1966 across American media, a rumour which stemmed from conspiracy theories pulled from far fetched analysis and extensive scrutiny of album cover images.
Of course, the rumour is not true and has been refuted by McCartney and his other Beatles bandmates, along with their press officer Derek Taylor.
However, the rumour took a firm grip in 1969, which eventually came McCartney's way. He had been aware of this rumour from the moment it started.
Speaking to The Guardian, Paul McCartney addressed the rumour again, with the whole thing seeming surreal.
"At one point, I turned to my new wife and asked, 'Linda, how can I possibly be dead?'" he recalled. "She smiled as she held our new baby, Mary, as aware of the power of gossip and the absurdity of these ridiculous newspaper headlines as I was. But she did point out that we had beaten a hasty retreat from London to our remote farm up in Scotland, precisely to get away from the kind of malevolent talk that was bringing the Beatles down".
At that time, Paul McCartney was also dealing with the break up of the Fab Four, which had nothing to do with rumour.
While it sounded ridiculous at the time, Paul McCartney appears to see the truth in it.
"But now that over a half century has passed since those truly crazy times, I'm beginning to think that the rumors were more accurate than one might have thought at the time," he said. "In so many ways, I was dead. ... A 27-year-old about-to-become-ex-Beatle, drowning in a sea of legal and personal rows that were sapping my energy, in need of a complete life makeover. Would I ever be able to move on from what had been an amazing decade, I thought. Would I be able to surmount the crises that seemed to be exploding daily?".
Following this, Paul McCartney also reflected on the subsequent years, including raising a family, as well as gardening, building furniture, shearing sheep etc.
"I took great satisfaction in learning how to do all these things, in doing a good job, in being self-dependent," he said. "When I think back on it, the isolation was just what we needed. Despite the harsh conditions, the Scottish setting gave me the time to create. It was becoming clear to our inner circle that something exciting was happening. The old Paul was no longer the new Paul. For the first time in years, I felt free, suddenly leading and directing my own life".
Last month, a new documentary focusing on Paul McCartney's career post Beatles was in the works. More on this here.
