1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,880 Speaker 1: Previously on Disgraceland. 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 2: The Beatles were always a great little band, nothing more, 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 2: nothing less. We're just observing, observing what the effects The 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 2: dentist replied, effects of what the lsd Somehow, the doors 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 2: to their own perception of what was possible musically had 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 2: been flung wide open. The Beatles were booked to perform 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 2: at Budakan, a sacred venue. 8 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: To the Japanese. 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,319 Speaker 2: The band was met upon arrival at the airport by 10 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 2: Tokyo's police commissioner and several thousand armed Japanese troops, and 11 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 2: the right wing kill Squad was determined to assassinate them 12 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: for their plans to desecrate Brutkan with their music. The 13 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 2: Beatles could no longer stand being in the same room together. 14 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney was set to do something about it. The 15 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 2: relationship between Paul and John had suffered irreparably, Rumors persistent 16 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 2: that a breakup was imminent. But then the phone. 17 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: Rang at the office of Apple Kor and there was 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: bad news. Paul is dead. 19 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 2: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney are insane. He is one, if not the 21 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 2: most successful and revered living musicians. Yet he died in 22 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty six, so the story goes anyway. He was 23 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 2: arrested numerous times for marijuana, accused of arson by German authorities, 24 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 2: supported and literally helped build with his own hands London's 25 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 2: avant garde art scene. He hung with notorious junkie William 26 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: S Burrows, inadvertently inspired Charles Manson, and spent nine days 27 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 2: in a notorious Japanese prison. Yet despite all of that, 28 00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney was considered the safe beadle. Paul McCarty me, 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 2: of course, made great music, some of the greatest music 30 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 2: ever made. Unlike that music I played for you at 31 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 2: the top of the show. That wasn't great music. That 32 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,359 Speaker 2: was a preset loop from my mellotron called Ganja Dakary 33 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 2: slush Rush MK one. I played you that loop because 34 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: I can't afford the rights to Please Don't Go by 35 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 2: KC in the Sunshine Band. And why would I play 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,519 Speaker 2: you that specific slice of My My, My Bag and 37 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 2: shoes Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the 38 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 2: number one song in America on January sixteenth, nineteen eighty 39 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 2: and that was the day Paul McCartney's plane set down 40 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 2: in Japan, setting off a minor international incident that would 41 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 2: land him in one of the world's most notorious prisons. 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: On this episode, Paul is dead, Paul is safe, Paul 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 2: is in prison, Paul McCartney is not who we were, 44 00:02:55,480 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 2: totally is, and I'm Jake Brennan. In This is Discreened. 45 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney was dead car accident. His death came at 46 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 2: an opportune time. Nineteen sixty six. The Beatles' popularity was raging. 47 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 2: Lovable mop topism proved irresistible to the youth market and 48 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 2: was now starting to turn adults on as well. Beatlemania 49 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 2: was very much a still growing enterprise. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, 50 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 2: George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were generating unheard of amounts 51 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 2: of money for their record, label, management and publishing companies. 52 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 2: News of Paul's death came to them quietly, and they 53 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 2: kept it that way. The night he died, Paul was 54 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 2: uncharacteristically angry. He was unable to convince John of the 55 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 2: merits of the new tune. He wanted to record a 56 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 2: song about a fictional student named Maxwell, a deranged psychotic 57 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 2: who took a hammer to his lover's head, a notion 58 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 2: that in nineteen sixty six was too dark even for 59 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 2: John Lennon to wrap his head around. So Paul split 60 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 2: from the studio in a huff. 61 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: Fuck John. 62 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 2: He could follow Lucy around in her newspaper taxi straight 63 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 2: to the bottom of the charts with his childlike drivel 64 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 2: for all he cared. Paul drove fast out of London, 65 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 2: and the Aston Martin moved. The M one motorway spread 66 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: out before him. Paul headed north past Northampton, south of Coventry. 67 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 2: It was near the market town of Rugby and Warwickshire 68 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 2: where the Aston Martin lost its grip of the slick rogue. 69 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 2: Paul's back end slipped an unexpected the curve on the 70 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: M one and spun the sports car to its right. 71 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 2: Paul compensated with a quick jolt of the steering wheel 72 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 2: to his left, and the result was a wrenching jerk 73 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 2: of the tiny machine in the opposite direction, and Paul 74 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 2: slammed on the brakes and the Aston Martin stopped its spin, 75 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 2: but slid instead with tremendous speed, straight off the motorway, 76 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 2: through the guard rail, over a small embankment, into a 77 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,600 Speaker 2: tree and crushed itself with alarming precision. One of the 78 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 2: tree's branches shred through the car's windshield at a violent 79 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 2: angle and decapitated its driver. Paul McCartney died instantly. He 80 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 2: was dead but not unrecognizable, and the small town constable 81 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 2: played it smart and rang up a school chum from 82 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 2: MI five, the United Kingdom's equivalent to the US's FBI, 83 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 2: and the MI five man made quick work at the situation. 84 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 2: He secured the crime scene, which to that point had 85 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 2: consisted only of himself, constable in a dim witted ambulance driver, 86 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 2: and he got hold of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. 87 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 2: The news shook Brian to his core, but panicking wasn't 88 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 2: an option, the MI five man assured him. Brian knew 89 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 2: he was right. He also knew that Paul's death could 90 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 2: not be revealed to the public. His first instinct towards 91 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 2: secrecy was to ensure the news was distributed to Paul's 92 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 2: loved ones and bandmates privately before they heard it in 93 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 2: the press. But the MI five men had other plans. 94 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 2: No no one can know, he informed Brian. Maybe Paul's 95 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 2: family and bandmates, but not the press. Not now. Public 96 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 2: morale in the UK was at a shocking low at 97 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: the moment. By the mid sixties, the sun had set 98 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 2: on the British Empire. The Royal Navy was shrinking, canceling 99 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,679 Speaker 2: fighter planes and aircraft carrier programs. The Minister of Defense 100 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 2: resigned over it in great public dismay, and the tabloids 101 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 2: had Princess Margaret cheating on her husband in celebrity d mobsters, 102 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 2: the Cray Brothers in the news rubbing elbows with Sinatra 103 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 2: one minute and under investigation for a nightclub shooting the next. 104 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: Cynicism reigned in the news of Paul's death. The grief 105 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 2: would be unbearable for the British people, and the Beatles 106 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 2: were all they had, and Brian thought about the upside. 107 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 2: Paul may be dead, but he could keep the Beatles 108 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 2: alive and keep the cash pouring in. Brian Epstein delivered 109 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 2: the news first to John, George and Ringo, and they 110 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 2: took it in stride, similar to how they would take 111 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 2: the news of Brian's own death. A year later, and 112 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 2: the plan was laid out. There would be no more 113 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 2: live performances by the Beatles. They'd retire to the recording 114 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 2: studio and the public would view them intermittently through album 115 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 2: covers and impromptu public appearances, but those recordings would still 116 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 2: require Paul's voice, and those impromptu public appearances would require 117 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 2: someone vaguely resembling Paul. Paul himself was a great impersonator 118 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 2: during the height of Beatlemane. While ensconced away with the 119 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 2: rest of the band in hotel suites to keep clear 120 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 2: of their ravaging fans, Paul would often donn a disguise 121 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 2: and hit the streets to take in the sights, most 122 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 2: always going unnoticed. I'llow the opening scene in a Hard 123 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: Day's Night. So the Beatles made like Paul and dressed 124 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 2: up as impersonator. The winner of a recent Paul McCartney 125 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 2: lookalike contest, an adult orphan from Edinburgh named William Shears Campbell, 126 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 2: who would later introduce himself on the Beatles' next album 127 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 2: as the One and Only Billy Shears in a fu 128 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: Manshoe mustache and dark sunglasses and Daglo Eduardian military garb 129 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 2: to distract the unsuspecting public. Paul's impersonator appeared on the 130 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 2: cover of their next album, Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts club 131 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 2: band alongside the rest of the band, but obscured amidst 132 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: a backdrop of a sea of famous faces. To further 133 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 2: throw off the fans, John Lennon, in designing the cover, 134 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 2: couldn't put his cheeky wit in a box. As such, 135 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 2: the cover of the album is riddled with hints of 136 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 2: the real Paul's death. An open palm appears above the 137 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 2: Paul impersonator's head, blessing him before burial. John, George and 138 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 2: Ringo are all holding brass instruments. The Paul is holding 139 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 2: a black woodwind instrument Black Death. A prone doll lays 140 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 2: in the corner on its left hand, a bloody driving 141 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 2: glove to signify Paul's deadly accident. At the bottom of 142 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 2: the album cover is a bass guitar made of white flowers. 143 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 2: You've seen one of these before in news footage of 144 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 2: famous musician's funerals and wakes, except this one only has 145 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: three strings instead of four. Bass guitar Paul's instrument three strings, 146 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 2: three remaining beetles. Inside the album, the Paul sits amidst 147 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 2: his bandmates. On his shoulder sleeve, a patch with the 148 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 2: initials O P D. The British authorities abbreviated designation for 149 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 2: officially pronounced dead, and on the vinyl sleeve a final 150 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 2: image of the band George, John and Ringo stand in 151 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,599 Speaker 2: a line facing the camera, and the pall does not. 152 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 2: His back is to the camera, setting him apart from 153 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: the band completely. The listed title of the leadoff track 154 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 2: of Side Too is superimposed over the back of the 155 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 2: Paul's head. 156 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: Within You Without You. 157 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 2: On the lead up single to Sergeant Pepper's Strawberry Fields 158 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 2: Forever you can hear John mouth the lyrics I Buried 159 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 2: Paul obscured in the mix, and later on the beatles 160 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 2: so called White album, John snuck in another clue on 161 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 2: his and Yoko song Revolution number nine. When played backward, 162 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 2: the words turn me on dead Man are clear as dang, 163 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 2: and the Koude graph of hints rests. On the cover 164 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 2: of the Beatles' final recorded long player, abbey Road. It's 165 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 2: so obvious, it's brazen, but the band whereby then breaking 166 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,839 Speaker 2: up and John Lennon was fresh out of. 167 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: Focks to give about the Beatles. 168 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 2: On the cover of the abbey Road album, John cast 169 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 2: himself as the band's leader, their angel, dressed in all white, 170 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 2: walking across the actual abbey Road leading the dead Man's 171 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 2: procession behind him, wearing all black, The Undertaker Ringo Starr 172 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 2: behind him, the dead Man the Paul, barefoot as most 173 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 2: corpses were buried at the time, and walking out of 174 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 2: step with the rest of the band behind him, clad 175 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 2: head to toe and working class denim, is George Harrison, 176 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 2: the gravedigger, bringing up the rear. A license played in 177 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 2: the background reads LMW twenty eight if, as in, if 178 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 2: Paul were still alive. 179 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: He would be twenty eight years old. The rumors, the clues. 180 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:34,839 Speaker 2: They were there from the start, at the time of 181 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 2: the car accident in sixty six, but by the time 182 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 2: Abbey Road was released in nineteen sixty nine, news that 183 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 2: Paul is dead had taken on international proportions. The album 184 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 2: cover was too much. Apple Core phones were inundated with 185 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: calls from the press demanding to know of Paul McCartney's death. 186 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 2: A radio station in Detroit, Michigan, over in the States, 187 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 2: gave callers a full hour to work through their grief. 188 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 2: Clues were explored. The Michigan Daily, an actual American newspaper, 189 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,960 Speaker 2: laid the clues out in its pages. Soon, radio stations 190 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 2: on both sides of the pond were flooded with calls 191 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 2: from listeners pressing insider DJs on news of Paul's death. 192 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 2: Wkn R and Detroit gave the subject of Paul's death 193 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 2: its own two hour special. New York's mainstream WABC and 194 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 2: WMCA discussed the issue at length until their DJs were 195 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 2: fired for breaking their respective stations formats. With talk, WABC 196 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 2: was syndicated and reached more than thirty eight American states. 197 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 2: America convinced itself Paul is Dead. Reporters descended onto Apple 198 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 2: headquarters in London. Neither Paul McCartney nor his impersonator could 199 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 2: be found. Ringo Starr was forced to give a statement, if. 200 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: People are going to believe it, they're going to believe it. 201 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 3: I can only say that it's not true. 202 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 2: New singles sprung up overnight by groups eager to capitalize 203 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 2: on the Paul's Dead sensation. Zacharias and his Tree People 204 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 2: found minors success with their song Were All Paulbearer's Parts 205 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 2: one and two, and Jose Feliciano released the song So 206 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 2: Long Paul under the pseudonym Worbley Finster. The calls to 207 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 2: AppleCore never let up that Fall in nineteen sixty nine, 208 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 2: where it spread that Paul, the real Paul, not the 209 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 2: Paul impersonator, was at his farm in Scotland. To confirm, 210 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 2: the BBC sent a pack of reporters, CBS sent a 211 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 2: news crew, and Life magazine sent a reporter and photographer 212 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,960 Speaker 2: to put Paul McCartney dead or alive on its November 213 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty nine cover, and there Paul McCartney was found 214 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: the real Paul McCartney, who was very much alive. Paul 215 00:13:43,679 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 2: McCartney wasn't dead, he was imprisoned. At the end of 216 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty nine, Paul McCartney was in a virtual prison 217 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 2: of his own. Making practical minded, easy on the eyes, 218 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 2: prone to nowhere man speak to the press. Paul played 219 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 2: into the public's perception of him as the safe beetle, 220 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 2: particularly in contrast to his bandmate John Lennon, whose sharp 221 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 2: witted tongue was legend and whose growing heroine habit, recent 222 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: drug busts and stupendously unlistenable avant garde singles with his 223 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 2: new wife, Yoko Ono, including one in which he and 224 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 2: his new bride posed fully nude on its cover, had 225 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 2: John rightfully cast opposite Paul as the Dangerous Beetle. Paul 226 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 2: himself was no stranger to hard drugs. He snorted cocaine 227 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 2: regularly during the Sergeant Pepper sessions. He just didn't feel 228 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 2: the need to tell the press about it. He learned 229 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 2: that lesson with his comments about l s a few 230 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 2: years earlier. But because Paul was so quote unquote safe, 231 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 2: nobody even dreamed to think that he was singing a 232 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 2: song like got to Get You into My Life about 233 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 2: having to get drugs into his life. Being known as 234 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 2: the safe Beetle had its perks because nobody would suspect 235 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 2: you of anything, but it also frustrated him and led 236 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 2: him to test the limits of that perception and take 237 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 2: more risks, and by the decades end, at the beginning 238 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 2: of nineteen eighty, those risks would land Paul McCartney an 239 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 2: actual prison the Yakuza gangster, and the cell four doors 240 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 2: down from him knew who he was. In fact, all 241 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 2: of his fellow prisoners in Japan's notorious Kosuge prison knew 242 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 2: who he was. The conditions could only be described as barbaric. 243 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 2: A ten x fourteen foot cell, a thin mattress on 244 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 2: the floor, and little else but the taunting broken English 245 00:15:55,600 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 2: from the Yakuza down the hall. Yesterday, you sing Yesterday. 246 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 2: Paul had seen the Yakuza in the showers. His expansive 247 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 2: back tattoo, his broad shoulders that seemingly grew straight out 248 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 2: of his ears, and the rumors of his loose attitudes 249 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 2: on sexuality were enough to make the long haired musician 250 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 2: once known as the Cute One, sleep upright with his 251 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 2: back against the wall on that first night for fear 252 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 2: of being raped at length. It all added up to 253 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 2: Paul obliging his intimidating prisonmate's request. Paul worked out an 254 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 2: a cappella version of his most famous song and let 255 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 2: the prison's natural acoustics carry his melody. He, like the 256 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 2: Yakuza and the rest of the world, loved the sound 257 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: of his voice. But this song, it started it all 258 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 2: for him, gave him the sand to really believe he 259 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 2: had it in him, the gift of song, of composition. 260 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 2: He couldn't read or write music, but still it wasn't 261 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 2: all vis earl. There was something innate in him. He 262 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 2: could feel it. Yesterday proved it yet a true gift 263 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 2: for melody. This was more than she loves you, more 264 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,640 Speaker 2: than can't buy Me Love and Paul, though he'd never 265 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 2: say it aloud at the time to anyone, he knew 266 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 2: that it was more than anything John was capable of. 267 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 2: But where it came from, he didn't know. It just 268 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 2: appeared at first, just the melody, no words. In fact, 269 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 2: while composing the music, the only lyrics Paul had were 270 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 2: scrambled eggs. 271 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: Didn't matter. 272 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 2: The melody was that good. When finally composed, the song 273 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,679 Speaker 2: was an undeniable sensation and instant hit, so much so 274 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,359 Speaker 2: that it is to this day widely recognized as the 275 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,920 Speaker 2: world's most covered song. But again, Paul had no idea 276 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 2: how he did it, so naturally he set out to 277 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 2: do it again, except this time he was looking for 278 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 2: more than a hit. He was looking to prove to 279 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 2: himself and not only to the recordbying public, but more 280 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 2: important to the stodgy old guard of London academia and 281 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 2: society and culture. And he was trying to prove he 282 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 2: could write a pop hit. He already did that. He 283 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 2: was trying to prove he could compose a song, a 284 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 2: truly great song, and thus that he could teach others 285 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 2: how to compose a goal worthy of his time. For 286 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 2: he knew it then that his time with the Beatles 287 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 2: would soon come to an end, and when it did, 288 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 2: he'd need a job. Teaching the art of songwriting in 289 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 2: one of Britain's prestigious academic institutions seemed like a good 290 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 2: way to pass through middle age into retirement. At least 291 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 2: the ashers would think so. He would need an audition tape, 292 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 2: so eleanor Rigby was born. When Paul felt the melody 293 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 2: summon him, he pounced on the lyrics, writing what he 294 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 2: knew well and loved Liverputtian characters, half imagined, half based 295 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 2: on real life people from his childhood. Glimpses of the 296 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 2: broken heart had picked up and passing as a boy 297 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 2: previously inarticulate in his mind until his melody gave wings 298 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 2: to his memories. When he was done, he dispatched Beatles 299 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 2: producer George Martin to draft a score for the recorded 300 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 2: accompaniment of a double string quartet, and the effect was 301 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 2: nothing short of epic. Paul was pleased with the composition 302 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 2: and recording of eleanor Rigby. He knew he was on 303 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 2: to something, but was it better than yesterday? 304 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: He didn't know. 305 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 2: Armed with an acetate recording, of the track under his arm. 306 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 2: He sought validation and headed to Ringo's old flat in 307 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 2: monta Hue Square that Paul sometimes used as a demo studio. 308 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 2: He also let Barry Miles and John Dunbar our friends 309 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 2: he'd met at Better Books London's Hippos bookstore, and hangout 310 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 2: for the American Beats whenever they came through town used 311 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 2: the studio to record their experimental music. Paul expected Barry 312 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 2: and John to be there when he turned up with 313 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 2: his acetate, but he didn't expect to find none other 314 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 2: than the Dean of the American Beats, William S Burrows, 315 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 2: hanging out as well. Borrows was, of course shooting heroin Hi, 316 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 2: but eventually lucid Paul played him eleanor Rigby. Borrows loved it, 317 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 2: but despite his fondness for Paul's new song, felt obliged 318 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 2: to offer what he saws the tracks quote unquote fourteen 319 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 2: flaws as constructive criticism. Paul took it in stride. This 320 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 2: type of critical thinking was expected from the Better Books crowd. 321 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 2: It's why Paul loved the place. It's why he couldn't 322 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:16,639 Speaker 2: shut up about it every time he saw John. It 323 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 2: was the same with the art that Barry and John 324 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 2: ended up featuring in their gallery adjacent Better Books the 325 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 2: Indica Gallery. Paul was so taken by the creative potential 326 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 2: of this new avant garde endeavor that he literally helped 327 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 2: build the space, demonstrating heretofore unknown DIY carpentry skills and 328 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 2: offering up his Aston Martin to transfer supplies to help 329 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 2: with the build out. When the Indica buildout was complete, 330 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 2: the gallery quickly became the vanguard for London's counterculture, as 331 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 2: would be expected of a nineteen sixties art gallery named 332 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 2: after a strain of the illegal Canvas plan. Quickly the 333 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 2: walls of the Indica were filled with fire out exhibitions 334 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 2: by UK underground star Mark Boyle and kinetic artist Lillian Lynn, 335 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 2: drawing buyers like hotshot young film director Roman Polanski, a 336 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,919 Speaker 2: regular customer of Indica vendors. The gallery's new find, Alex 337 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 2: Martis aka Magic Alex, produced a psychedelic light box that 338 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 2: the Rolling Stones bought and incorporated into their stage show, 339 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 2: and in nineteen sixty six, The Indica featured an experimental 340 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:24,360 Speaker 2: Japanese artists exhibition called Unfinished Paintings and Objects that included 341 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 2: an apple on a table with a price tag of 342 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 2: two hundred pounds, and a live exhibit were a circle 343 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 2: of long hair set around and sewed up holes in 344 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 2: a giant canvas bag. The artist's name was Yoko Ono, 345 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 2: and it was at the Indica where she would meet 346 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 2: John Lennon. And John, of course, had been made aware 347 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 2: of the Indica by Paul McCartney, without whom John would 348 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 2: never have met his future wife, an occasion that would 349 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 2: eventually speed John toward quitting the Beatles. And that was 350 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 2: another thing that the press got wrong. Paul breaking up 351 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 2: the band not true as on untrue as the other 352 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 2: press misconception that Paul was the safe one and John 353 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,120 Speaker 2: was the renegade. The press had it all wrong. Paul's 354 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 2: tastes were far the fuck out. Paul's the one who 355 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,360 Speaker 2: ushered John into London's counterculture. Paul's the one who hung 356 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 2: out with Borrows long before John allowed that other beat 357 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 2: icon Timothy Leary to cozy up to the foot of 358 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,120 Speaker 2: his bed. And sure, Paul wrote Yesterday and eleanor Rigby, 359 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:24,119 Speaker 2: but he also wrote why don't we do it in 360 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 2: the road and Helter Skelter. Yet the safe beetle Moniker 361 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 2: wasn't going anywhere, and neither was the wrap that Paul 362 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 2: broke up the band. John quit the band first privately 363 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 2: and had set about recording and releasing solo singles with 364 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 2: Yoko long before Paul ever set foot in the studio 365 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 2: to make anything without the Beatles, and by the time 366 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 2: Paul did so to record his first solo album McCartney, 367 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 2: his quitting of the band was a mere formality for 368 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 2: all intents and purposes. By the time the Beatles completed 369 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 2: Abbey Road in nineteen sixty nine, they were over. When 370 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,679 Speaker 2: Paul informed John he was leaving the group officially to 371 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,360 Speaker 2: do what he and Yoko were doing, to make records 372 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 2: on his own with his new wife, Linda McCartney, John responded, good, 373 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 2: that makes two of us who have accepted it mentally. 374 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 2: Yet the press would make Paul pay. It was as 375 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 2: if it was just all too much for the press 376 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,160 Speaker 2: to handle the safe beetle by leaving the Beatles being 377 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 2: so decidedly unsafe. His first three records without the Beatles 378 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,120 Speaker 2: his solo effort McCartney. His next album, credited to himself 379 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 2: and Linda McCartney, is simply entitled Ram and Wildlife by 380 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:34,160 Speaker 2: his new group Wings. Despite their diy, charm pointed brilliance 381 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 2: and ragged moments of glory, respectively, they were each unfairly 382 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 2: savaged by critics. Sure, there isn't an eleanor Rigby or 383 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 2: a Penny Lane among any of these releases, but that 384 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 2: doesn't take away from the genius of Ram. But with 385 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 2: all the bad reviews, Paul McCartney couldn't be sure. Paul 386 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 2: McCartney was thirty years old, one of the biggest pop 387 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 2: stars on the planet, one quarter of the world's most 388 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 2: commercially and critically successful groups of all time, the Beatles, 389 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 2: and here he was in nineteen seventy two, ravaged with insecurity. 390 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: How had this happened? Was he really any good? Was 391 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 1: it all? 392 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,640 Speaker 2: John's brilliance, after all, was positive critical consensus completely out 393 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 2: of reach form without the Beatles, It certainly wasn't out 394 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 2: of reach for John. The critics loved John Lennon's first 395 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 2: two solo albums, John Lennon The Plasticgono Band and Imagine, 396 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 2: and for good reason. They were both truly great, and 397 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 2: John was a vicious assessor of Paul's recorded efforts in 398 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 2: the press and in song, with his scathing take on 399 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 2: Paul in his track how Do You Sleep? He told 400 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 2: Paul and the lyrics that the only thing he'd done 401 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 2: was yesterday and claimed that the conspiracy theorist had it 402 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 2: right when they said Paul is dead. 403 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:42,399 Speaker 1: Ouch. 404 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 2: Paul responded on Rams Too Many People, but his counter 405 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 2: didn't pack the requisite punch. Neither did the image on 406 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 2: Rams artwork of two actual Beatles fucking get it a 407 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 2: bit too on the nose for the critics. They responded 408 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 2: for their loved beadle, John, the authentic one, the artist, 409 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 2: making matters worse for Paul George Harrison, the beadle whose 410 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 2: songs historically barely made it onto the band's album. Such 411 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 2: was their perceived inferiority to Lenda. McCartney compositions was enjoying 412 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 2: more success than both he and John with the release 413 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 2: of his triple album All Things Must Pass in nineteen 414 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 2: seventy two. Paul McCartney, as far as the critics were concerned, 415 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 2: couldn't get arrested. An actual experience, however, that was proving 416 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 2: to be all too familiar for the so called safe beetle. 417 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 2: There was the bust in Scotland in seventy three for 418 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 2: Growing Dope on his farm, another bust in Sweden for 419 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 2: possession a year earlier, and then his dope bust in 420 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 2: la in seventy five. Linda took the rap for that 421 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 2: one so her husband could skate. And of course there 422 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 2: was the recent arrest in Japan that put Paul McCartney 423 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 2: in prison, singing for his security, lulling the yakuza toward 424 00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 2: golden slumbers. 425 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 3: With yesterday, We'll be right back after this word word word. 426 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 2: There are lots of places around the world to do time, 427 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 2: Japan isn't one of them. Their prison system to this 428 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 2: day is repeatedly described by human rights organizations with words 429 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,679 Speaker 2: like horrific and brutal. It is alleged that the Japanese 430 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 2: prison system is designed to break prisoners down to illicit 431 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 2: confessions for their crimes, either whether being held on trial 432 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 2: or even after they've been convicted. Japanese prisons are barbarically strict. 433 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 2: Living conditions are spartan and bleak even by prison standards. 434 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 2: It was in this environment that Paul McCartney thrived, blessed 435 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,160 Speaker 2: with a day trader's optimism. Paul McCartney took his cues 436 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 2: from Steve McQueen in the Great escape. Just as McQueen's 437 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 2: character Captain Virgil Hilts aka the Cooler King, knew he'd 438 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 2: taste free him again one day, so too did Paul. 439 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 2: Though escaping Kosu gave prison wasn't on the docket. To 440 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:10,640 Speaker 2: free himself, Paul wouldn't rely on his wily will like McQueen. 441 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 2: He'd rely on his irrepressible enthusiasm and charm. Roll call 442 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 2: was at six am every morning. Paul McCartney made damn 443 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,679 Speaker 2: sure he was the first prisoner off his mattress and 444 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 2: sitting at attention, cross legged in the middle of his 445 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 2: cell as what's expected of him. He'd hear his prison 446 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 2: numbers shout it out Japanese. For twenty two years of 447 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 2: slinging it on stage in Hamburg and Liverpool taught Paul 448 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 2: McCartney how to engage in an old fashioned call and 449 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 2: response with a proper shout Hi Japanese for yes. Paul 450 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,959 Speaker 2: then set about cleaning his cell with his miniature broom 451 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 2: and dust pan. And there were no blankets and no 452 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 2: sheets on his mattress, so he'd just fold his mattress 453 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 2: and neatly placed it in the corner of the cell. 454 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 2: Breakfast was served in his cell, not in a mess hall. 455 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 2: It was virtual solitary confinement. Yet Paul made the best 456 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 2: of it, devouring his nearly inedible food to show his 457 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 2: gratitude privately, thankful that his meals were at least vegetarian 458 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 2: seaweed and onion soup for breakfast, bread and soybean soup 459 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 2: for lunch, rice, and a bowl for dinner with a 460 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 2: piece of fruit for dessert if the guards were feeling charitable. 461 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 2: There were no books, no writing tablets, no pens, no pencils, 462 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,239 Speaker 2: and no guitars he sang. None of the guards nor 463 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 2: the other prisoners, least of all the caged yaku sat 464 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 2: down the hall minded. They came to expect it, just 465 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 2: as they came to expect Paul's humor. Nobody spoke English, 466 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 2: and Paul spoke no Japanese. When he felt he was 467 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 2: being shouted at by prisoners from adjoining cells, rather than 468 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 2: ignoring them, Paul shouted back the only Japanese words he knew, Kawasaki, Toyota, 469 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 2: dotson his prison mats ate it up. They thought it 470 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 2: was hysterical. Paul endeared himself to the gangsters and thieves 471 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 2: on the inside, just as he endeared himself to the 472 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 2: world over on the outside, and the guards soon became 473 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 2: enamored of him as well. Moved by his efforts as 474 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 2: a model prisoner, they offered the international celebrity alone concession. 475 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 2: He could shower in private, thus avoiding the possibility of 476 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 2: prison violence, sexual or otherwise, while physically exposed to other 477 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 2: inmates and thus vulnerable. Paul declined with gratitude there would 478 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 2: be no special treatment. He showered with the rest of 479 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 2: the inmates to show that he was no different, a 480 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 2: multi millionaire man of the people. The showers became many events, 481 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 2: with Paul leading his fellow prisoners in song, shouting at 482 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 2: the top of his lungs the simple old standards that 483 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 2: his father taught him as a child, melodies that those 484 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 2: who spoke another language could easily latch onto. When the 485 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 2: red red Robin comes, bop boppin along till there was 486 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 2: you and a bird in a gilded cage. Paul was 487 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 2: making a go of it in prison. He'd have to 488 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 2: write Steve McQueen a thank you letter when he got out. 489 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 2: Steve wasn't doing well cancer. 490 00:29:58,480 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 1: They said. 491 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:01,920 Speaker 2: It had been almost a decade since he last saw Steve. 492 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 2: It was in Jamaica, Paul. 493 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 1: And Linda were on holiday. 494 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 2: Paul was worried, Worried he was washed up, Worried he'd 495 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 2: never make another great album, Worried the critics were writing 496 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 2: him out of the business, Worried he'd lost it. Not 497 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 2: worry that all writers have, even songwriters, the worry that 498 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 2: you're going to wake up one morning and sit down 499 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 2: to write and nothing and no explanation as to where 500 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 2: it went what. You don't know where it comes from. 501 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 2: You don't know if it'll ever stop coming. You pray, 502 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 2: won't you develop your own habits to stave off any 503 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 2: creative disruption? And for Paul, he wrote constantly, played constantly, 504 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 2: always kept a guitar or piano nearby, summoned melodies out 505 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 2: of thin air and plopped them down overcords. 506 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 1: Most he lets slip away. 507 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 2: The good ones he committed to tape. The very best 508 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 2: made it onto wax, where they were decimated by the 509 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 2: critics as of way, But what was the point of 510 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 2: worrying about hanging on to something if that's something wasn't 511 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 2: valued but needed it. Songwriting wasn't only his trade, but 512 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 2: his life's blood. Losing it wasn't an option Steve McQueen 513 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 2: was oblivious to Paul McCartney's occupational insecurities. He had his 514 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 2: own professional worries, like how the hell he was gonna 515 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 2: perform his own stunts in Papillon. Cliff jumping seemed a 516 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 2: little more daunting than deciding whether or not to augment 517 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 2: the sea Chord by sharpening the fifth. Steve gave Paul 518 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 2: and Linda an audience in Jamaica on the set of Papillon, 519 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 2: but uncharacteristically retired early after dinner, leaving the McCartneys to 520 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 2: his co star Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman was infatuated with McCartney 521 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 2: the Beatle, there in the flesh and all of his powers, 522 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 2: unknown to himself at the time. To be racked by 523 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:47,600 Speaker 2: professional and creative insecurity. Over late night drinks, Hoffman challenged 524 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 2: his hero to show him how he did it right there, 525 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 2: right then, write a song out of thin air. Come on, 526 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,880 Speaker 2: you're Paul McCartney, the greatest living composer on the planet, 527 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 2: Show me how you do it. Go ahead, I'll jump 528 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 2: into character for you right now. And Paul couldn't help 529 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 2: but laugh and take Hoffman up on the challenge. Pablo 530 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,560 Speaker 2: Picasso had just died. It was all over the news. 531 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 2: Paul picked up his guitar and out of nowhere, wrote 532 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 2: and sang and played on the spot, a tribute to the. 533 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: Famed artist. 534 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 2: Picasso's last words, Drink to Me was born out of 535 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 2: a drunken challenge. It seemed like nothing at the time, 536 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 2: but it was a confidence builder for Paul. He was 537 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 2: off writing again in no time after that, and putting 538 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,880 Speaker 2: together his next album, Band on the Run, with his 539 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 2: group Wings, released in nineteen seventy three, The album reignited 540 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney's career. Not only was it well received commercially, 541 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 2: as all his albums were, it was also well received critically. 542 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 2: Paula delivered on the promise of well Paul. Band on 543 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 2: the Run was no modest DIY effort like McCartney, nor 544 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 2: was it a pisson vinegar flex like ram It wasn't 545 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 2: a bandeskue ramble like Wildlife, and it wasn't an uncharacteristic 546 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 2: swing and a miss. 547 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: Like Red Rose Speedway. 548 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 2: Band of the Run was bold, big, and befitting of 549 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 2: the seventies, perfectly suited for rock and roll's expansion into 550 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 2: stadiums with its inthemic singles Jet as well as its 551 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,760 Speaker 2: title track, and the album led from its front foot. 552 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 2: There was hope in McCartney's. 553 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:17,920 Speaker 1: Signature melodic grandeur. 554 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 2: Paul left the piss and vinegar for his old songwriting 555 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 2: partner John Lennon. Get better suited John anyway, But the 556 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 2: soulful incantation of let Me Roll It was all Paul. 557 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 2: Little Richard was always a better model for Paul than 558 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: Robbie Robertson. There are no swings and no misses on 559 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,040 Speaker 2: Band on the Run, nor are there on Wings at 560 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 2: the Speed of Sound Wings nineteen seventy six release, which 561 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,760 Speaker 2: is in fact an even better album. What you know 562 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 2: like silly love songs, fuck off? Then it's great like 563 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 2: the rest of the record, and those two albums, along 564 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 2: with the triple live album Wings Over America, are just 565 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 2: that truly great. The critics agreed, so too, of course, 566 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 2: did the record buying public. Band on the Run went 567 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 2: platinum and peaked at number one in the UK. The 568 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 2: US and Australia. Wings at the Speed of Sound and 569 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 2: Wings Over America both repeated the feed. In the US 570 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,720 Speaker 2: it was a redemption enemy. The British Music newspaper declared 571 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,359 Speaker 2: of Band on the Run, the ex beatle least likely 572 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,879 Speaker 2: to re establish his credibility and lead the field, as 573 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 2: pulled it off with a positive master stroke of an album. 574 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 2: Paul McCartney, despite whatever natural insecurities he felt, remained undaunted in. 575 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,480 Speaker 1: The face of his critics. 576 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,400 Speaker 2: That enthusiasm pulled him through the rough years in the 577 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 2: early seventies until it finally paid off with the release 578 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 2: of Band on the Run, and it would pull him 579 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,919 Speaker 2: through this stint in this Japanese jail cell, however long 580 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:45,399 Speaker 2: it was. Despite the conditions, Paul was beginning to not care. 581 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 2: Prison offered a new kind of structure that he easily 582 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,800 Speaker 2: caught into. Paradoxically, it offered him freedom as well, freedom 583 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 2: from being Paul. He was caged, sure, but he wasn't 584 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 2: expected to be anything but prisoner number twenty two in 585 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 2: that for the moment, anyway, was enough. Getting released from prison. 586 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 1: He thought, would be a real drag. 587 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,279 Speaker 2: Arrangements for Paul McCartney, his wife Linda, their children, and 588 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 2: their band to arrive in Japan for eleven shows were 589 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 2: painstakingly negotiated over the previous months. Due to Paul's criminal 590 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 2: record for his prior marijuana arrests. Paul McCartney's entourage landed 591 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,840 Speaker 2: at Narita International Airport on January sixteenth, nineteen eighty to 592 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 2: great fanfare. Japan was ecstatic to witness their first performance 593 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 2: from a real life Beatle since the band's concert under 594 00:35:57,719 --> 00:36:02,040 Speaker 2: Guard in Kamikazi Threat at Bhudhakan almost fifteen years before. 595 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,040 Speaker 2: Paul made it through the VIP welcome awaiting his rock 596 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 2: star arrival at the gate, posing for photographers and television cameras. 597 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:12,600 Speaker 2: He was happy, you could see it on his face. 598 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,840 Speaker 2: Japanese authorities were not happy. They weren't going to be 599 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,720 Speaker 2: made out to be fools. Their drug laws were strict 600 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,319 Speaker 2: for a reason, and despite whatever diplomatic negotiating had gone 601 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:25,399 Speaker 2: on behind the scenes to clear the wave for Paul 602 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,399 Speaker 2: McCartney to enter and perform in their country, there would 603 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,719 Speaker 2: most definitely still be a search. Paul was escorted with 604 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:34,920 Speaker 2: his luggage to a room for what he expected to 605 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 2: be a cursory peak into his belongings. They opened one 606 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:41,319 Speaker 2: of his suitcases, pulled up a jacket under it a 607 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:48,400 Speaker 2: plastic bag, and closed around a large chunk of marijuana. Immediately, 608 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 2: alarms and the airport started going off. The surgical gloved 609 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 2: customis agent began speaking in frantic Japanese cops started flooding 610 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 2: into the search room. Officious looking gentlemen in sharp suits 611 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:02,360 Speaker 2: running everywhere. People men jetting for phone pools, TV journalists 612 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:06,120 Speaker 2: jockeying their cameras, were positioning traveling musicians mentally inventory in 613 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:10,160 Speaker 2: their own possessions, fear covering their faces. Paul McCartney was 614 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 2: jettisoned off to another room, whoferred the searching and more 615 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:16,480 Speaker 2: pot was found. He was then taking downtown to Tokyo's 616 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,319 Speaker 2: Metropolitan Police headquarters and grilled for five plus hours by 617 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 2: an angry pair of drug squad detectives eager to learn 618 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:26,319 Speaker 2: about whatever other dangerous drugs Paul McCartney was attempting to 619 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 2: smuggle into their country, and they clearly didn't get the 620 00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:34,440 Speaker 2: memo that Paul was the safe beetle. Seven ounces of 621 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,840 Speaker 2: dope almost a quarter pound, enough to keep Paul high 622 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,960 Speaker 2: for a long time. He swore it was for him 623 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,560 Speaker 2: and him alone. He wasn't a drug smuggler, there was 624 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 2: no intent to distribute, didn't matter. Off to prison he went, 625 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:52,400 Speaker 2: not jail, prison kosu gay prison, no bail. Japan's criminal 626 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 2: system didn't account for bail Japanese authorities were interested in 627 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,319 Speaker 2: confessions and extended stay in Kosu gay with Garner said 628 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 2: confessions break the weak willed. Paul McCartney was a lot 629 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 2: of things, but weak. 630 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,000 Speaker 1: Willed was not one of them. 631 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:13,120 Speaker 2: He was strong, as his stint in Kosuga proved. And 632 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,000 Speaker 2: now the safe One was doing a brief stint in 633 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,360 Speaker 2: one of the world's most dangerous prisons, shacking up with 634 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,680 Speaker 2: yakuza and sharing stories about getting Mick Jaggers stoned on 635 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 2: grass for the first time at the request of his 636 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,240 Speaker 2: fellow prisoners, who were demanding to know about his famous friends. 637 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,520 Speaker 2: He was staring down a ten year sentence, smiling away, 638 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 2: recounting the details to his inmates of his previous dope bust, 639 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 2: of the time he and Pete Best were busted in 640 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 2: Hamburg for arson of inadvertently inspiring Charles Manson out drinking 641 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:48,320 Speaker 2: Steve McQueen shutting up Dustin Hoffman. He was behind bars, 642 00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:51,080 Speaker 2: while John Lennon, the so called dangerous One, was in 643 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:53,920 Speaker 2: a domestic prison of his own making, inside his luxury 644 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,759 Speaker 2: apartment on New York Cupper West Side, baking bread for 645 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 2: his toddler. The irony of it all could at least 646 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 2: pass entertainment while in prison. Paul didn't care. He'd prove 647 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 2: and he could make it without the Beatles. The world 648 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 2: now knew that he'd resurrected himself from the critical slang 649 00:39:09,719 --> 00:39:12,239 Speaker 2: of the early seventies with a series of successes that 650 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 2: led him here to Japan, and he'd be released soon, free, 651 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:19,600 Speaker 2: but of course still imprisoned by the world's impression of 652 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,920 Speaker 2: him as the safe one and the expectations that went 653 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,799 Speaker 2: along with that. But again, what did it matter. Paul 654 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,200 Speaker 2: McCartney knew who he was, and he was optimistic, and 655 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 2: who could tell what lay ahead. Nineteen eighty was shaping 656 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,880 Speaker 2: up to be a hell of a year, a second 657 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 2: solo album McCartney too, and then maybe a creative reconciliation 658 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,600 Speaker 2: with John, and possibly even with George and Ringo at 659 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:46,200 Speaker 2: the same time. Minus George. The three of them jammed 660 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:49,319 Speaker 2: in La a few years earlier with Stevie Wonder The 661 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:52,480 Speaker 2: cocaine prevented anything from coming of it, but John was 662 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:56,359 Speaker 2: healthier now. Domesticity will do that to you. Paul, of course, 663 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,520 Speaker 2: knew that family man that he was, and though John 664 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 2: had refused us, Paul the last time he showed up 665 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,200 Speaker 2: at his door in New York. Paul suspected that the 666 00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:07,080 Speaker 2: creative frost between the two was about to melt, and 667 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:09,880 Speaker 2: if there was ever a time for the Beatles to reunite, 668 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:13,480 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty could be the year John was working on 669 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 2: new material, and word was that he was inspired, even optimistic, 670 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:20,759 Speaker 2: about the decade to lay ahead. With a headwind of 671 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,920 Speaker 2: his own solo success, John Lennon might be warm to 672 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,920 Speaker 2: the idea of a reunion with Paul McCartney. If not 673 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,239 Speaker 2: a performance, then maybe a stint in the studio and 674 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:35,719 Speaker 2: the Beatles would play again. Yeah, it seemed inevitable, And 675 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:44,840 Speaker 2: then the unthinkable happened. Such a disgrace. 676 00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:59,919 Speaker 4: I'm Jake Brennan and this this Disgraceman. 677 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:08,560 Speaker 2: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 678 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,960 Speaker 2: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 679 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,640 Speaker 2: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 680 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:18,839 Speaker 2: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank 681 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,480 Speaker 2: you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. And 682 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:23,920 Speaker 2: if not, you can become a member right now by 683 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:28,480 Speaker 2: going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership members. 684 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:31,960 Speaker 3: Can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus 685 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,920 Speaker 3: you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly 686 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,840 Speaker 3: unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to 687 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 3: merchandise and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com slash membership for details, 688 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:48,760 Speaker 3: rate and review the show, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 689 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,759 Speaker 3: and Facebook at disgracelampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot 690 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:54,960 Speaker 3: com slash at disgracelampod. 691 00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: Rock a Roller, He Bed a Man