What did you do in the 60s, Grandad?
WHEN Sir Paul Mccartney’s grandson was tasked with a university project about the Swinging Sixties, he knew exactly who to call.
The Beatles legend, who was at the heart of that decade’s cultural revolution, said he was delighted to step in to help 22-year-old Arthur.
And he revealed the surprising role buses played in the formation of the band.
Macca, 79, made the revelations at a talk
about his new book
The Lyrics on Friday at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Speaking about his assignment with Arthur, the eldest son of Paul’s daughter Mary, he said: “He was doing an essay, his final thesis at university. He wanted to look into the cultural revolution in Britain, so we talked.
“Every story I told him... ‘I met George (Harrison) on the bus and ‘I saw John Lennon on the bus’ and he very cleverly, I thought, looked at why buses were so good after the Secondworldwar.
“There had been the Transport Act that gave us this great transport system and you could go anywhere.
“I could go to John’s house and I didn’t realise we were the first generation to benefit from that.
“Also there was the Education Act that meant kids, like me, from not very well-off homes, could go to very posh schools. This gave everyone this opportunity to be more mobile, better educated.” Arthur graduated from Yale University this year with a major in history.
Sir Paul said: “There are so many aspects of what made The Beatles and that’s one of them because me, John and George went to grammar schools and had a good education.”
He also said he misses using the buses: “I liked observing people. I dream of Liverpool.”
Paul Mccartney was speaking at The Lyrics: Paul Mccartney in Conversation, a world exclusive live stream from the Royal Festival Hall.