Paul McCartney reveals Beatles sex secrets, dishes on friendship with Kanye West
Paul McCartney recently turned 76, and while the ex-Beatle is showing no signs of slowing down, he’s also keener than ever to dish on the decades of stories he’s amassed as a living rock legend.
The singer/songwriter opened up about everything from Quincy Jones deeming him “the worst bass player” he’d ever heard to his unexpected collaboration with Kanye West in a new interview with GQ touting the release of his latest album, “Egypt Station.”
Read on for some of the most fascinating tidbits.
ON GEORGE HARRISON LOSING HIS VIRGINITY
As the youngest Beatle, George Harrison was also the last to lose his virginity — something his bandmates played witness to.
Before they rocketed to international fame, The Beatles were playing shows in Hamburg, Germany, and sharing hotel rooms. It was in one of those rooms that a 17-year-old Harrison got it on for the first time, only to be met with applause from Paul, John and Ringo.
“I know we had one bed and two sets of bunks, and if one of the guys brought a girl back, they could just be in the bed with a blanket over them, and you wouldn’t really notice much except a little bit of movement,” McCartney said.
“I don’t know whether that was George losing his virginity — it might have been. I mean, I think in the end this was one of the strengths of the Beatles, this enforced closeness which I always liken to army buddies. Because you’re all in the same barracks. We were always very close and on top of each other, which meant you could totally read each other.”
ON HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH KANYE WEST
The unexpected pairing of West and McCartney came about in 2014, when they recorded music together in a bungalow behind the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.
The hit song “FourFiveSeconds” eventually emerged from the session, though McCartney was taken by surprise, as he hadn’t heard from West in months.
“I did leave the session liking him and thinking he’s a very interesting guy,” McCartney said. “I speak to him occasionally on the phone. And mainly texting.”
ON QUINCY JONES’ DISS
In a pair of memorable interviews earlier this summer, Quincy Jones spoke about everyone from Michael Jackson to Prince — and one of his most surprising comments was entirely glossed over.
“(The Beatles) were the worst musicians in the world …,” Jones told New York magazine. “Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard.”
McCartney, however, remains entirely unbothered. The Wings frontman told GQ that “… Jones called him after the article was published and denied ever having said such a thing.
“I said (to Jones), ‘If you had said that, you know what I would have said? [Expletive] Quincy Jones! And he laughed,” McCartney recalled. “He was like, ‘Oh Paul, you know I love you so much.’ ‘Yeah, I know you do, Quince.’ “