Dreaming the Beatles

George Martin wasn’t invited, because Harrison flatly refused to work with him. It’s ironic that when you watch Anthology, the only music that sounds dated is from 1995. But no matter how blasphemous the idea seemed, both songs were disarmingly beautiful, as was the documentary, to the point where you could drop in on any random hour (or binge all ten) and enjoy

the Number One spot—Rock ’n’ Roll Music spent weeks at Number Two, stuck behind Wings at the Speed of Sound. He was on his Wings Over America tour, slipping Beatles classics into his set for the first time

Paul could boast that he was the only artist big enough to block the Beatles from

’s like he summoned up an intimate memory for the fans just to tell them it doesn’t mean shit to him

DID YOU KNOW PAUL SENT A TELEGRAM TO MARGARET Thatcher in 1982? He did. It wasn’t friendly. He lost his temper over her treatment of health workers and fired off a long outraged message, comparing her to Ted Heath, the prime minister (tweaked in “Taxman”) felled by the 1974 coal strike. McCartney warned, “What the miners did to Ted Heath, the nurses will do to you.”

The musicians’ joke at the Smile sessions: “Perfect, just one more.” Brian had the melodies, but lacked the killer instinct. So people decided Brian was a heavier artist. There’s something uncool about closers. It’s hard to trust them.

Yet when John and Yoko made Two Virgins, the most deliberately offensive consumer item any pop star ever released, who did they ask to write the liner notes? Paul. (He said yes.) When John and Yoko broke up in the mid-70s, who did she send on a mission to L.A. to advise John how to win her back? Paul. (He said yes.)

but the fact is that any other human being with his talent would have twice as much ego

Whatever problem you have with the Beatles, it’s Paul’s fault

The street is not famous yet, but within a few months it’ll be the most famous street in England. EMI Studios will officially rename itself “Abbey Road” because of this picture