Linda McCartney Went Out With Mick Jagger Before Paul McCartney
TL;DR:
- Paul McCartney’s wife Linda began working as a photographer in the 1960s.
- Linda McCartney was with Mick Jagger before Paul McCartney.
- Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney stayed married for nearly 30 years.
Paul McCartney and his wife Linda remained married for decades and were notoriously close in their marriage. In their entire marriage, they only spent ten days apart. Before Linda met McCartney, however, she was involved in the music industry as a photographer. Before she was married to McCartney, Linda spent a night out with The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger.
Linda McCartney was a photographer before she married Paul McCartney
Linda had always loved photography and began working as an editorial receptionist at Town and Country magazine. She took an unwanted ticket to a promotional party for the Rolling Stones and spent time photographing the event and the band. Town and Country magazine found the photos she took so impressive that they published them.
From there, she became a professional photographer who shot musicians. She took photos of The Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, The Grateful Dead, The Who, and more. In 1967, she was named the best female photographer of the year, and in 1968, she became the first woman to have her work on the cover of Rolling Stone.
She was with Mick Jagger before the Beatle
As she was meeting many musicians in her work, Linda dated a few of them. Her friend and lover, photographer David Dalton, said it was obvious that they were all interested in her.
“They all wanted to f*** her!” Dalton said, per the book Paul McCartney: A Life by Peter Ames Carlin. “I mean, they all lit up. And I thought, ‘This is good! You’re gonna be good at this!'”
The night of the Rolling Stones promotional party, she caught Jagger’s eye.
“She came up to me and said, ‘Um, Mick just asked me for my number, what should I do?'” Dalton recalls. “I said, ‘Give it to him!'”
Linda eventually did give him her number, and Jagger called her. He took her out, and they reportedly spent the night together. In general, Linda enjoyed spending time with musicians.
“She loved their energy, and insolent, wild behavior,” Dalton said.
Linda McCartney and Paul McCartney remained married for decades
Linda and McCartney married in 1969 after meeting in 1967. During their relationship, Linda was the keyboardist in McCartney’s post-Beatles band. In their nearly 30-year marriage, they spent a total of 10 nights away from each other. McCartney was arrested for bringing marijuana into Tokyo and was held in jail for ten days.
“I am privileged to have been her lover for thirty years, and in all that time, except for one enforced absence, we never spent a single night apart,” McCartney said, per the book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles. “When people asked why, we would say, ‘What for?'”
The couple remained married until Linda’s death in 1998.
