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TL;DR:

  • Madonna’s success upset Paul McCartney.
  • He discussed how television defined the perception of the Queen of Pop.
  • Madonna said The Beatles influenced her but she was more interested in other types of music.
Paul McCartney and Madonna at a podium
Paul McCartney and Madonna | Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect

Paul McCartney said he didn’t like when Madonna became a big star. Subsequently, he said she came across as a “goddess” to normal people. Notably, the Queen of Pop explained why she wasn’t too interested in The Beatles when she was young.

Paul McCartney felt Madonna’s success proved how much ‘people are affected by media’

According to the 2015 book Conversations with McCartney, the “Silly Love Songs” singer was upset by Madonna’s success. “It makes me realize how people are affected by media,” he said. 

“While you’re looking at her, from your little lowly room, on your little telly, you think she’s a goddess,” he added. “You give her all of that. She doesn’t even ask for it.”

Paul discussed the Queen of Pop’s tours. “Once she’s on tour, she’s selling out 30,000, she’s a goddess,” Paul added. “‘Look at the clothes she wears. No wonder. It’s because she’s better than us. We are only mortal, we’ve got tellies, and I bet she never sits and watches telly.’ When you get out on tour, you’re a fellow god.”

Paul McCartney said he was ‘worried about’ Madonna when he went on tour during the 1990s

Paul also discussed touring. He said he looked at other popular artists who went on tour such as Michael Jackson as rivals. “The last tour in the ’90s, it was Madonna I was worried about,” he said. “If you’re in any way competitive it’s what you do. You look at the charts, see what they’ve sold. Well, let’s try and sell some more. It’s just life.”

Paul said The Grateful Dead inspired him to still go on tour when there were younger acts doing so well. Paul felt that, if Jerry Garcia could get out of a coma to tour, he could tour as well.

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The Queen of Pop said she was inspired by The Beatles on a subliminal level but she was more interested in girl groups

The Queen of Pop also revealed her thought on the Fab Four. During a 1994 interview with Paul Du Noyer posted on his website, Du Noyer asked her what music influenced her as a child. She said her father always listened to 1960s artists like Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, and Harry Belafonte.

The “Like a Prayer” singer also drew influence from the music of classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, Antonio Vivaldi, and Johann Sebastian Bach because she heard their pieces at her ballet lessons.

Madonna was asked if The Beatles were one of her inspirations. She said their music was present in her life, so they influenced her on a subliminal level. Despite this, the “Like a Virgin” star was a Motown fan who was more interested in girl groups than The Beatles.

Paul wasn’t the biggest Madonna fan and Madonna wasn’t the biggest Beatles fan.

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