Paul McCartney’s favourite photo was taken in 1968 by Linda, then his girlfriend. It shows him and John Lennon writing together, beaming with the shared joy of being in the world’s best band.
That joy, though, is not how most of us think of the Beatles in their final days. We think of acrimony and bitterness, later confirmed by all those spiteful, score-settling solo songs (Too Many People by McCartney, How Do You Sleep? by Lennon). This simple story endured for five decades — the Beatles’ history was giddy and glorious until the late 1960s, then the band blew up and rained poison on each other.
Which is what McCartney thought too — until last year, when the director Peter Jackson sent him footage of the film he had been making for four years; The Beatles: Get Back, a three-part Fab Four extravaganza.
“I’ll tell you what is really fabulous about it,” a thrilled McCartney says. “It shows the four of us having a ball.” The film reminds him, sweetly, of that photo by Linda. “It was so reaffirming for me. That was one of the important things about the Beatles — we could make each other laugh. John and I are in this footage doing Two of Us and, for some reason, we’ve decided to do it like ventriloquists. It’s hilarious. It just proves to me that my main memory of the Beatles was the joy and the skill.”
November 25 cannot come fast enough!
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