Paul McCartney has recalled how he descended into a drink-fuelled depression when the Beatles split.
The band fell apart in 1970 amid legal wrangling as McCartney sued his bandmates to break free from manager Allen Klein.
He tells the BBC: “It was difficult to know what to do after the Beatles. How do you follow that? I was depressed. You would be. You were breaking from your lifelong friends. So I took to the bevvies.”
McCartney considered quitting music for good and moved to Scotland, eventually forming the band Wings when his wife Linda McCartney helped him to turn his back on the booze.
“I took to a wee dram,” he says. “It was great at first, then suddenly I wasn’t having a good time. I was far gone.
“It was Linda who said, ‘You’ve got to get it together,’ and that led to Wings. I liked the idea of a band. I wanted to go back to square one.”
The bassist and singer admits Wings were a “terrible” band, adding: “We were terrible. We weren’t a good group. People said, ‘Linda can’t play keyboards,’ and it was true.
“But John couldn’t play guitar when we started the Beatles.”
McCartney is currently on the road for his One On One Tour.
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Paul McCartney remaining One On One Tour dates 2016
May 28: Dusseldorf Esprit Arena, Germany
May 30: Paris Accor Arena, France
Jun 02: Madrid Vicente Calderon Stadium, Spain
Jun 10: Munich Olympic Stadium, Germany
Jun 12: Pinkpop, Netherlands
Jun 14: Berlin Waldbuhne, Germany
Jun 16: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
Jun 24: Bergen Bergenhus Fortress, Norway
Jun 27: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark
Jun 30: Rock Werchter, Belgium
Jul 08: Milwaukee SummerFest, WI
Jul 10: Cincinnati US Bank Arena, OH
Jul 12: Philadelphia Citizens Bank Park, PA
Jul 19: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA
Jul 21: Hamilton FirstOntario Centre, ON
Aug 07: East Rutherford MetLife Stadium, NJ
Aug 13: St Louis Busch stadium, MO
