In the song “When I’m Sixty Four”, a very young Paul McCartney imagined himself quietly retired at the age of 64. But the British pop legend will blow out 80 candles on Saturday, a week before he performs at Glastonbury, and he’s still very active.
The ex-Beatle will become the oldest headliner in the history of this legendary British music festival on June 25, which each year attracts tens of thousands of people to the southwest of England.
“The Glastonbury crowd has always reminded me of a medieval battle scene,” he tweeted in late March.
The concert will take place ten days after the end of his “Got Back Tour”, in which he has been selling out stadiums in the United States for a month and a half.
Reluctant to step away from the stage, McCartney, who has been performing solo for more than 50 years, had to take a break during the covid-19 pandemic.
He then retired to his farm in the southeast of England with his daughter Mary and four of his eight grandchildren. But he did not waste time, but took the opportunity to record the album “McCartney III” at home, which was released in December 2020 and reached number one in the British charts.
The following year, he recorded it again accompanied by a constellation of music stars, published a book that remembers his entire career –“The Lyrics”– and wrote a book of vegan recipes with his daughters Mary and Stella, in addition to a children’s story
Meanwhile, Disney+ premiered “McCartney 3,2,1” — a series of interviews with producer Rick Rubin — and the Peter Jackson documentary “The Beatles: Get Back.”
On Saturday he turns 80, but his schedule is more packed than ever.
Despite the years and the dramas that have punctuated his life, he retains the slender figure and the mischievous look of the “Macca” that became famous with the Beatles.
Will he be Lord soon?
James Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool in 1942, into a modest family. His mother, a midwife, died when he was 14 years old.
The following year he met John Lennon and played with him in the Quarrymen, which later became the Beatles, with the arrival of George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The four, with their iconic haircuts, caused hysteria among their fans. “Beatlemania” swept the world.
Alongside Lennon, McCartney wrote such hits as “Hey Jude,” “Penny Lane” and, of course, “Yesterday,” recorded in 1,600 different versions.
But the childhood friendship was broken. The filming of “Let It Be”, around the self-titled album, led to the death of the “Fab Four” on April 10, 1970, to the great despair of their fans.
McCartney formed the group Wings with his wife, photographer Linda Eastman, on keyboard. Previously addicted to LSD, he became a vegetarian family man with her. The couple raised four children, Mary, Stella — now a fashion designer — James and Heather, from Linda’s previous marriage.
After 29 years of marriage, Linda died in 1998 of breast cancer. Heartbroken, McCartney devoted himself to good causes: the environment, animals, human rights. He tried classical music, painting and sculpture.
He met Heather Mills, a former model whose leg was amputated in an accident, and married her in 2002. They had a daughter, Beatrice, before divorcing in 2008.
In October 2011, McCartney married American Nancy Shevell, heiress to a wealthy American businessman. The Sunday Times estimates the couple’s wealth at £865 million (over $1 billion).
Throughout his successful career, he has received numerous awards, including 18 Grammys, and was named “Sir” by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.
Now it is rumored that he could soon be made “Lord”, in a new acknowledgment of the prolific musician’s cultural imprint. Of the four Beatles, only he and Ringo Starr are still alive, who at 81 is also still on tour.
