83 Surprising Facts About Paul McCartney For His 83rd Birthday

Happy 83rd birthday, Sir Paul McCartney! As the world celebrates his amazing career, let’s dive deep into some lesser-known gems about the legendary musician that you may not have heard before. From quirky moments to behind-the-scenes stories, these 83 facts will add even more admiration to the man who brought us “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude,” and so much more.

1. Paul McCartney’s real name is James Paul McCartney.
2. His first musical instrument wasn’t the guitar; it was the trumpet, which his dad gave him for his 14th birthday.
3. He taught himself how to play the guitar after struggling with right-handed playing and flipping the strings to play left-handed.
4. McCartney first met John Lennon in 1957 at a church fete in Woolton, Liverpool.
5. His earliest musical influences were Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.
6. McCartney was inspired to write “Yesterday” after having a dream about the melody.
7. He originally played rhythm guitar in The Quarrymen, not bass.
8. Paul was an avid fan of the band The Everly Brothers before The Beatles formed.
9. McCartney once shared that his dream was to become a postman, a career he almost pursued before music took over.
10. He was born in a house without indoor plumbing.
11. Paul’s first band was a skiffle group called The Quarrymen before they evolved into The Beatles.
12. McCartney wrote “Eleanor Rigby” on a piano at his father’s house.
13. He had a brief stint playing the organ at a local church as a teenager.
14. McCartney once wrote a song called “I Lost My Little Girl” when he was just 14.
15. He’s left-handed, but he plays guitar right-handed.
16. McCartney was responsible for the “synthesized” sounds heard on the Beatles’ track “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
17. He has a passion for painting and didn’t reveal it to the public for over 15 years.
18. McCartney once wrote an entire song, “Scrambled Eggs,” which eventually became “Yesterday.”
19. When he was young, McCartney considered a career in art, but music won him over.
20. He’s one of 3 artists to sell 100 million albums in a band and solo – Phil Collins and Michael Jackson are the others.
21. His children’s book Hey Grandude! was inspired by his love for storytelling with his grandchildren.
22. Paul McCartney holds a Guinness World Record for the “Most Number One Hits” on the Billboard Hot 100 as a member of the Beatles.
23. He’s fluent in the art of crosswords, often solving them with his father when he was a child.
24. McCartney wrote the song “Pipes of Peace” to symbolize his desire for global unity.
25. He’s a huge animal lover and has been a vegetarian since 1975.
26. Paul once co-wrote a hit song for Peter and Gordon, “A World Without Love.”
27. McCartney’s first solo album McCartney was recorded entirely by himself, without any outside musicians.
28. The Beatles had to replace their original drummer, Pete Best, just before their breakthrough, and Ringo Starr became their permanent drummer.
29. He’s known for playing multiple instruments across his music, including bass, guitar, drums, piano, and even the recorder.
30. McCartney came up with the idea of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” as a way to step away from the image of being “the Beatles.”
31. He’s been married three times, with his most recent wife being Nancy Shevell.
32. Paul holds the record for most songs written with the word “love” in the title.
33. The Beatles’ famous track “Love Me Do” was one of McCartney’s first charting hits.
34. Paul wrote and recorded “Live and Let Die” as the theme for the James Bond movie.
35. McCartney formed Wings in 1971, after the Beatles disbanded, with his wife Linda.
36. He co-wrote “Ebony and Ivory” with Stevie Wonder, a song about racial harmony.
37. The 1973 song “Band on the Run” was created under difficult conditions, with the band getting stranded in Lagos, Nigeria.
38. McCartney is responsible for the iconic bassline in “Taxman,” one of The Beatles’ most famous songs.
39. McCartney once spent an entire afternoon in the studio recording animal sounds for his experimental album Wild Life, including the sounds of a donkey and a goat.
40. McCartney co-wrote “I Am the Walrus” with John Lennon, inspired by their love of experimental music.
41. Paul once played a live set at the Glastonbury Festival in 2015, making history as the oldest headliner at the festival.
42. He once admitted that he loved making music for films, having done so for several movies including The Family Way.
43. McCartney is a massive fan of board games and is known to enjoy a good round of Monopoly or Scrabble.
44. He and Ringo Starr were reunited for the first time in over 30 years for the “Two of Us” special on VH1 in 2000.
45. He helped create the famous Apple Records logo.
46. He once played an unannounced secret gig at The Cavern Club in 2020.
47. McCartney is one of the richest musicians in the world, with an estimated net worth of over £1 billion.
48. He’s performed on stage with some of the biggest stars, including David Gilmour and Eric Clapton.
49. Paul has written songs for movies, including the soundtrack for The Family Way.
50. His collaboration with Elvis Costello on Flowers in the Dirt produced the chart-topping hit “My Brave Face.”
51. McCartney loves to travel and has performed concerts on almost every continent.
52. He spent some time playing with a jazz band while studying at school.
53. Paul collaborated with Michael Jackson on the song “Say Say Say,” which became a hit across the globe.
54. McCartney famously said, “You can’t be a Beatle forever, you’ve got to evolve.”
55. He has appeared on The Simpsons multiple times, contributing his voice to the iconic animated show.
56. McCartney’s basslines in “Rain” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” are considered among the best in rock history.
57. He loves playing small, intimate shows and frequently performs surprise sets.
58. McCartney is known for his environmental activism, particularly advocating for the protection of rainforests.
59. He once performed a surprise set at the historic Cavern Club, where the Beatles got their start.
60. He was instrumental in raising awareness for the campaign to ban land mines in the 1990s.
61. McCartney has performed at the Super Bowl halftime show twice, in 2002 and 2005.
62. He and Ringo Starr are the last surviving members of The Beatles.
63. Paul’s bass playing was heavily influenced by soul legends like James Jamerson from Motown.
64. He once created a fictional band persona for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to help expand the band’s creative horizons.
65. McCartney’s song “Hey Jude” was originally written for John Lennon’s son, Julian.
66. He was deeply involved in the Beatles’ decision to stop touring, focusing on their studio albums instead.
67. McCartney is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a member of The Beatles and again as a solo artist.
68. McCartney has appeared in several films, including a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
69. He’s performed live at many legendary venues, including Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, and the O2 Arena.
70. Paul wrote “Yesterday” in under an hour, but it was rejected by the rest of the band at first because it didn’t “sound like a Beatles song.”
71. He is known for his charity work, supporting organizations like PETA and the Humane Society.
72. McCartney once teamed up with Nirvana’s surviving members for the song “Cut Me Some Slack.”
73. He’s also a patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the school he helped establish.
74. He was the first Beatle to visit the White House after being knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
75. McCartney plays a variety of musical genres, including classical, rock, and electronic music.
76. He recorded an entire album in just one week, Run Devil Run, in tribute to his early influences.
77. McCartney’s childhood hero was Buddy Holly, and he later purchased the rights to Holly’s catalog.
78. He was one of the first to experiment with electronic sounds, paving the way for future artists.
79. McCartney has stated that he doesn’t write his songs with any particular message or meaning in mind; it’s all about the melody.
80. He once had a huge crush on Brigitte Bardot as a teenager.
81. McCartney’s solo career has spanned over 50 years, and he continues to release new music and perform live.
82. He was part of the famous “Paul is dead” conspiracy theory in the late 1960s.
83. McCartney once said, “The music will always be there. The important thing is to stay grounded, humble, and love what you do.”