Interview for Light And Local

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A day before he and Linda flew to Nice and then Corfu for a holiday, Paul McCartney gave an interview to the BBC Radio Merseyside programme Light And Local. The conversation took place at Rembrandt, the house Paul had bought in Heswall, near Liverpool, for his father Jim in 1964.

The interviewer was Roy Corlett, a former schoolmate of Paul’s from their days at the Liverpool Institute. The recording was broadcast the following day, during the “Light And Local” slot from 12:30 to 1:00 pm.

Paul spoke about The Beatles’ recent recording activities, noting that although the group had been absent from the public eye, they were hard at work in the studio. He also mentioned that business matters were taking up a significant amount of their time, and expressed his relief at taking a break — admitting that he “still can’t stand business.”

The conversation turned to Beatlemania and The Beatles’ 1964 homecoming to Liverpool. “Magical Mystery Tour” was also discussed. Paul offered a strong defence of the television film, saying he believed it would be better appreciated in ten years’ time.

Corlett raised the issue of public and press criticism of The Beatles’ private lives, which Paul correctly understood as a reference to John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono. He spoke candidly about feeling torn between loyalty to Cynthia Lennon and accepting that John and Yoko were in love.

The interview concluded with reflections on drugs, songwriting, and family life. Looking ahead, Paul remarked that he couldn’t imagine himself playing rock ’n’ roll at “sixty with grey hair,” but added that he intended to keep singing and making music for the rest of his life.

We’ve got nothing on for the next month and we’ve had a lot on for the past couple of months, as you might have heard from a couple of newspapers, it’s been high finance. But it seems to be going OK now, so I’m just taking a break to get away from it all.

Paul McCartney

One thing in the business is that you get agents and things and sometimes you can get a bit carved up. We’ve been involved in a lot of contracts… that we’ve had to straighten out. We’ve become more business-minded but I still can’t stand business. The four of us are really just a rock band. But when we sign a contract now we have to ask what does it mean?

Paul McCartney

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