Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Paul McCartney didn’t play on one Beatles song because he’d had a fight with John, George and Ringo

‘I think we’d had a barney or something,’ he said

Paul McCartney appears on Carpool Karaoke- trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Paul McCartney didn’t only write many of The Beatles’ greatest songs, but he played bass on them too.

However, there was one song he passed up the opportunity to play on – not because he didn’t like it, but due to a fight he’d had with some of his bandmates.

Reminiscing on the time the band recorded Revolver track “She Said, She Said”, McCartney, who turns 81 today (18 June), told Many Years from Now: “I’m not sure, but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on.”

He continued: “I think we’d had a barney or something and I said, ‘Oh, f*** you!’ and they said, ‘Well, we’ll do it’.”

McCartney said he believed George Harrison played bass instead.

While it’s unclear what the argument was about, John Lennon once said that he teased McCartney for refusing to take the LSD with Peter Fonda, an experience that inspired the song.

Far Out highlights him as saying: “We just decided to take it again, in California. We were in one of those houses like Doris Day’s house, and the three of us took it, Ringo, George and I – and maybe Neil. Paul felt very out of it because we are all slightly cruel: ‘We’re all taking it, and you’re not.’ It was a long time before Paul took it.”

Despite not playing on the song, McCartney is still credited. The musician also played drums on several songs, including White Album tracks “Back in the USSR” and “Dear Prudence”.

Paul McCartney photographed in 1980
Paul McCartney photographed in 1980 (Getty Images)

In an old interview, McCartney also named the “hilarious” Beatles song he would class as his favourite.

McCartney’s 80th birthday in 2022 arrived just one week before he headined Glastonbury for the second time ever.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in