Paul McCartney Said He ‘Turned to Booze’ to Cope with The Beatles’ Split: ‘It’s Boozing or Sleeping’

Paul McCartney rose to fame alongside The Beatles — the four-piece British rock band that took the world by storm in the 1960s. To date, there has arguably never been a music group that created the chaos (known appropriately as Beatlemania) that The Beatles sparked with their uprising.

However, after a decade of fame, things ended for the bandmates on quite the sour note. McCartney wound up suing the other band members, and he had a major falling out with John Lennon. In the midst of all of it, McCartney revealed in an interview that he “turned to booze” to cope with the rollercoaster breakup.

Paul McCartney sued The Beatles in 1970

By 1970, The Beatles had been famous for 10 years, and things were unraveling quickly. There were plenty of disagreements, especially regarding who should manage the band’s finances, and it ultimately led to a lawsuit between McCartney and his bandmates. McCartney wanted his father-in-law, Lee Eastman, to manage the group’s money, while the others wanted Allen Klein. As a result, McCartney sued to extinct the contract between the four members.

McCartney ultimately won, which allowed him control over his own finances and music. And things between the others and Klein eventually went south; Klein wound up suing Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison a few years later, and they reached a settlement.

Harrison said in 1974 that it wound up being a good thing that McCartney sued the band, and McCartney said in 2020 that it was the only thing he could do to “save The Beatles.” However, the negative press that came with it proved a lot to handle, and McCartney turned to alcohol.

Paul McCartney said he ‘turned to booze’ to cope with the band’s split

By 1970, the band had spent a decade together, but McCartney’s decision to sue his bandmates resulted in a negative public perception of him. He knew this, and despite doing what he felt he needed to do, it wasn’t enough; he turned to alcohol to help him deal with the lawsuit, the split, and losing a best friend in John Lennon.

“In truth, I just took to booze,” McCartney said in a 2020 British GQ interview when asked if the industry affected his mental health. “There wasn’t much time to have mental health issues, it was just, f*** it, it’s boozing or sleeping. But I’m sure it did, as they were very depressing times.”

As far as moving past using alcohol as a coping mechanism, McCartney said he was inspired by then-wife Linda Eastman to find his way out of it. “I was able to … get out of the depression by saying, ‘OK, this is really bad and I’ve got to do something about it,’” he said. “So I did. And I think that’s my way, almost by being my own psychiatrist.”

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remain close friends

John Lennon died in 1980 (he and McCartney had managed to get back on good terms before his death, thankfully), and George Harrison died in 2001. Today, the only living Beatles members are McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr, but the two have remained close friends despite going through so much 50 years ago.

McCartney and Starr reunited earlier this year at a roller skating party hosted by fashion designer Stella McCartney, who is McCartney’s daughter. Starr tweeted about the February 2023 event. “Man, this beautiful day is getting better and better we were at the Stella McCartney rollerskating party. What a time we had go get them, Paul, peace, and love.” The tweet was accompanied by a video of Starr and McCartney dancing together.