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Mid-December 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney on holiday in Antigua

Last updated on April 5, 2025


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In mid-December 1969, Paul McCartney and his family — Linda, Heather, and Mary — left Scotland, where they had been staying since October 22, to spend a holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua. They returned to London just before Christmas, where Paul began work on his first solo album.

One of the photographs taken by Linda during their time in Antigua was used as the cover of Paul’s debut solo album, “McCartney“, released in April 1970. Additional photos from the trip appeared on the album’s inner sleeve, alongside photos from earlier holidays in Portugal and Corfu, as well as moments captured in Scotland.


How’s Paul?

I haven’t seen him for months. He’s been on holidays. He’s in the Bahamas at the moment.

John Lennon – From a press conference in Toronto, December 16, 1969

The front cover [of “McCartney”] is a picture of a bowl of cherries we got from the barman at the hotel we stayed at in Antigua and we laid them out on the wall in front of our cottage so that the lovely birds of the area could land amongst them, drink the juice, and eat the cherries.

Paul McCartney – From the “McCartney” press release, 1970

Front cover of the “McCartney” album – Photo taken during holidays in Antigua, December 1969

From Linda McCartney on Instagram – Cherries. Antigua, 1969
From Linda McCartney on Instagram, Keskidee bird and cherries. Antigua, 1970 [sic – 1969]
From Linda McCartney on Instagram – Cherries, Antigua, 1970 [sic – 1969] – From the album cover ‘McCartney’, 1970

This photo was used on the inner sleeve of the “McCartney” album – From PaulMcCartney.com – Paul by Linda, on holiday, Antigua, 1969
This photo was used on the inner sleeve of the “McCartney” album – From Paul McCartney on Twitter: Paul in Antigua, taken by Linda McCartney
This photo was used on the inner sleeve of the “McCartney” album – From PaulMcCartney.com – Linda, Heather and baby Mary on holiday, Antigua, 1969

From PaulMcCartney.com – The inside of the original gatefold LP sleeve, photos by Linda and Paul taken in Scotland, Portugal, Antigua, France and Greece, 1969

Going further

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