Quotes

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

I figure I've probably got a better chance of coming up with a good Paul McCartney song than Oasis has.

[on his LSD experience] "It's like taking an aspirin without having a headache."

I'm not religious, but I'm very spiritual.

Somebody said to me, [The Beatles] were anti-materialistic.' That's a huge myth. [John Lennon] and I literally used to sit down and say, 'Now, let's write a swimming pool.'

[regarding his ten-day jail term after his arrest for cannabis possession at Tokyo's Narita Airport, Jan. 6, 1980] "It was pretty rough. Just a thin mattress on the floor. I had to wash using water from the toilet cistern. I had to share a bath with a bloke who was in for murder. I was afraid to take my suit off in case I got raped. But I'd seen all those prisoner-of-war movies and I knew you had to keep your spirits up. So I'd organize sing-alongs with other prisoners."

I don't take me seriously. If we get some giggles, I don't mind.

We didn't all get into music for a job! We got into music to avoid a job, in truth - and get lots of girls.

I've seen those famous Nixon [Richard Nixon] transcripts where Elvis [Elvis Presley] actually starts to try to shop us - The Beatles! He's in the transcript saying - to Richard Nixon, of all people - 'Well, sir, these Beatles, they're very un-American and they take drugs.' I felt a bit betrayed by that, I must say. The great joke is that we were taking drugs, and look what happened to him. He was caught on the toilet full of them! It was sad, but I still love him, particularly in his early period. He was very influential on me.

I don't take any notice of her. She's John's wife so I have to respect her for that, but I don't think she's the brightest of buttons. She's said some particularly daft things in her time. Her life is dedicated to putting me down but I attempt very strongly not to put her down. [About Yoko Ono]

You try to concentrate on the lyrics, the music, the melody, and putting it all together, and there's a sign . . . and half of you is saying, 'Ignore it', but the other half is saying, 'Read it, go ahead.' 'My grandmother saw you at Candlestick.' That says it all. [referring to a sign in the audience]

I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird.

If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.

The two of us were on fire every time we sat down to write.

When we were kids, George [George Harrison] and I used to hang out and we had, we had one little party piece which was to show that we weren't stupid, so we used to do this thing by Bach that was our own little version of it, and we got it wrong,

Maybe our government went in too fast with the Americans. It would have been better if the UN had been together. Now it's become very bloody with Iraq, it's very difficult. If someone came to my house and blew it up, I wouldn't just want to sit there and say thank you. I'd be angry like I think anyone would be, so I could see America and Britain being angry. To look for [Osama bin Laden] seemed reasonable to go against terrorism, but the war has become very difficult.

It's a drag, isn't it? [on John Lennon's murder]

I thought she was a cold woman. I think that's wrong. She's just the opposite. I think she's just more determined than most people to be herself. [on his updated feelings about Yoko Ono, 1995]

Seeing that so many inaccurate stories have been written at the moment about [Heather Mills] and myself, all I can ask people to do is not believe them and understand that most of what is coming out is made up and entirely false. Thanks for your support.

[About dealing with the memory of Linda McCartney today] "She's all around me, you know. And everybody I know knows her and remembers her. And so I talk a lot about her."

I am the proudest dad in the world. I thought that it was brilliant, and Stella has come such a long way since she first started out. [Following daughter Stella McCartney's graduation fashion show, June 1995]

"No one is musically educated until they have heard The Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds'".

[on making movies] "It's not a bad way to get through an afternoon".

(Recalling raising his children in the 1970s)There was one moment where they were riding their little ponies in Scotland, and Stella [Stella McCartney] said to me: 'Dad! You're Paul McCartney, aren't you?' 'Yes darling, but I'm Daddy really'.

Everybody at EMI had become part of the furniture. I'd be a couch; Coldplay are an armchair. Robbie Williams, I dread to think what he was. (On leaving EMI, his record label of 45 years)

(about filing the lawsuit that dissolved the Beatles's legal partnership) I felt like an arse, suing my best mates and being *seen* to sue my best mates.

On his childhood home now part of the National Trust: It gets dangerous when you start believing your own legacy. That's why I've not gone back.

On his vetting every photo taken by his hired photographers: I just don't like to see terrible photos of myself...it's straightforward vanity. You tell me someone who wants to see terrible photos of themselves.

Before John Lennon died I got back a good relationship with him. That was very special. The arguments we had didn't matter. We were able to just take the piss about all those songs; they weren't that harsh. In fact, I have been thanked by Yoko Ono and everyone else for saving The Beatles from Allen Klein. Everything comes round in the end.

On suing the other three Beatles over Allen Klein's management: I was placed in the most awkward position I've ever been placed in. I had to fight three mates to save their legacy, their money, as well as mine, and I did so knowing it would put me in a very dodgy position. Anyone who didn't thoroughly review the whole thing would be forgiven for thinking 'What a tosser'. So yes, that matters to me, it is still a haunting episode... It was pretty scary having to say to Johnny, Georgie, Ringo, I'm suing you!

I love John's songs. In the Beatles, if you said it was one of your songs, it basically meant it was your idea. So Eleanor Rigby was my song, but John helped me finish it. A Day in the Life was his, but I helped him finish it. He came up with 'I read the news today' and I came up with 'he blew his mind out in a car.'

On his 2008 to Israel and the West Bank: I'm not very politically aware of the situation, I suppose like the average British person. We do know there's a conflict, but we didn't know all the ins and outs. You don't have to visit a refugee camp to know there are a lot of Palestinians who have become dispossessed.

This morning [sometime in 2008] I was walking into a cafe. A girl shouts, 'Hi Paul, you are fantastic. I really love you.' I take it with a pinch of salt, but I am honoured. I am pleased she didn't say, 'You're a total arsehole and I hate you.' I am pleased I have got a compliment, and I can still walk around Soho as I've always done.

I've learnt to compartmentalise. There's me and there's famous Him. I don't want to sound schizophrenic, but probably I'm two people. I'm the guy who does shows ... but I'm also the guy who goes home to the kids. There I am just Dad.

On his children: They've not been cloistered - Linda and I were very conscious of that. They're likable people. If you're as well off as I am, inevitably they will benefit. They've never understood hunger, like I did. I'm still hungry because I had that hunger, I've never lost it. It's good to have.

In any situation with a high-ranking official, any boss, it's not always a good idea to tell him he's crap. But I try to encourage people. We all have meetings - the best ideas carry the day. If someone goofs up I tell them off. There have been one or two moments when somebody has been out of order.

Somebody said to me, 'But The Beatles were anti-materialistic.' That's a huge myth. John [Lennon] and I literally used to sit down and say, 'Now, let's write a swimming pool.

I used to feel sorry in a way for Elvis when he was in Vegas 'cos he'd have about 50 people on stage with him and it didn't sound any better than his early records when there were three people on it.

Why would I retire? Sit at home and watch TV? No thanks. I'd rather be out playing.

The thing with The X Factor UK (2004) is, you don't have to turn it on. It is really not a bad thing. You are talking about people being on the dole (welfare) - this gets people off the dole. It gives some people an opportunity, it gives them confidence, it gives them work. There is nothing wrong with that.

Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for the passing pleasure it brings me'. Something inside me clicked. I realised as I watched him fight for breath that his life was as important to him as mine is to me.

If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.

On his knighthood in 1997: It's a fantastic honor and I am very gratefully receiving it on behalf of all the people of Liverpool and the other Beatles, without whom it wouldn't have been possible.

Playing live was great then - and it's great now. The big difference is you can hear what you're doing. It was more like a football match in the old days. We were all part of some big celebration. Now with modern stage equipment, good sound and video screens it's much easier. I remember going to see Genesis at Wembley Stadium and I couldn't see who was on stage. All I saw were these little matchstick people miles away. I couldn't tell which one was Phil Collins. It was like...where is he? So I developed the idea that if somebody was right at the back of the venue they'd still be a part of my show. I enjoy playing live more now. I'm a lot more comfortable with it.

When you start off in the music business you have the idea people are gonna hate you. You think, 'I'm no good and they're gonna boo me off.' I've now got to the stage where I think, 'The tickets are sold out so these people probably want to see me.' Treat the audience like they're your mates. I feel like I'm playing to family.

John and George were real mates. I have a huge fondness for them. They were both part of my life and who I am. There are little reminders of them all the time. Today, somebody brought me a new book by 1960s photographer Duffy and I saw a picture of John in it. Now, if I write a song, I'm always cross-checking in my mind, 'Would John have let me write that line or is it just too soppy?' Sometimes, I just think, 'Too bad, it's my song.' But I'm always cross-checking with him.

The combination of those four guys was pretty interesting. We weren't together that long but think of the work we put in. Every album was different. Album after album, single after single beat the last one. The nice thing now is I don't have to be modest about The Beatles any more. I can call them great because it's over. There was something very special about The Beatles.

[on the break-up of The Beatles] Personally it was a nightmare. It was really difficult, because I knew I didn't hate them, but I knew we had to save The Beatles, and I was the only one who was going to do it - because the three of them were just sending it down the chute.

Peter is an old friend of mine from Liverpool. While I found my way into a notorious music group, he went on to university and greater things! It was not long before he had a very successful career in television and though both of us have led fairly hectic lives, we still keep in touch. His memoirs are a must-read. (On Peter Sissons)

[on owning a Rolls Royce with black windows] I'm going to get a bicycle with black windows.