Paul McCartney recalls 'irreplaceable' bond with John Lennon

Paul McCartney and John Lennon in the 60s (Image credit: Getty)

Paul McCartney has recalled an unusually tender encounter with late former Beatles bandmate John Lennon a few years after the band split.

The songwriting duo had grown up together listening to the same music and following the same fashion trends over the years – and their relationship was “irreplaceable”, the 74-year-old says.

Remembering their meeting following the break-up, McCartney tells Rolling Stone: “He hugged me. It was great, because we didn’t normally do that. He said, ‘It’s good to touch.’ I always remembered that – it’s good to touch.”

McCartney continues: “John and me, we were kids growing up together, in the same environment with the same influences. He knows the records I know, I know the records he knows.

“You’re writing your first little innocent songs together. Then you’re writing something that gets recorded.

“Each year goes by, and you get the cooler clothes. Then you write the cooler song to go with the cooler clothes. We were on the same escalator – on the same step of the escalator, all the way.

“It’s irreplaceable – that time, friendship and bonding.”

A remastered version of The Beatles’ Live At The Hollywood Bowl featuring their 1964 and 1965 shows at the venue will be released on September 9.

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years, a documentary exploring the early years of the band, will also launch in the UK on September 15 before rolling out across the world. It’ll be available to stream exclusively to Hulu subscribers from September 17.

Paul McCartney has a number of tour dates scheduled over the coming months, including an appearance at Desert Trip in California alongside the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Who and Roger Waters in October.

Paul McCartney tour dates 2016

Aug 13: St Louis Busch Stadium, MO
Aug 15: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
Aug 17: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Aug 18: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Oct 04: Sacramento Golden 1 Center, CA
Oct 05: Sacramento Golden 1 Center, CA
Oct 08: Indo Desert Trip, CA
Oct 15: Indo Desert Trip, CA

Opinion: Paul McCartney, the Stones & Dylan at Desert Trip? The best idea ever

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Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.