Paul McCartney said he and his first wife, Linda, pulled each other “out of time” when they began living together in the early 1970s. The Beatles were splitting, and they fled London for Paul’s Scottish home, High Park Farm.
Paul McCartney and his first wife, Linda, met in 1967
It was inevitable that Paul and his future wife, Linda, would meet. He was one of the most famous rock stars in the world. She was becoming a renowned rock photographer.
After celebrating the completion of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, at a party hosted by The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, Paul, and some friends went to the famous Soho club, Bag O’Nails.
On that May evening, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were playing. Paul sat at his own table. Coincidentally, Bag O’Nails was also Linda’s destination that night. She arrived at the club with her friends, The Animals. She was in London to shoot photos for a book called Rock and Other Four-Letter Words (per Ultimate Classic Rock).
During the night, Paul caught Linda’s eye and loved her smile. When Linda passed Paul’s table, he stood to block her exit. He introduced himself, asked her how she was doing, and invited her to another club.
Kinda agreed, and the soon-to-be-couple proceeded to the Speakeasy, where they both heard “A Whiter Shade of Pale” for the first time. After that night, Linda sent Paul a white rabbit as a gift. Later, Paul invited Linda back to his place. A couple of days later, Epstein invited Linda to a press party for Sgt. Pepper, where she took a couple of famous photos of The Beatles.
After that, the future couple went their separate ways for a while. Paul was still dating Jane Asher, and Linda had to return to New York. However, Paul and Asher broke up, and the Beatle started dating Linda shortly after.
Paul and his wife Linda pulled each other ‘out of time’
In the late 1960s, Paul and Linda started living together. It was like another world for them. In his book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote, “In much the way that Linda wanted to flee from New York society – the constrictions of Park Avenue and Scarsdale – I wanted to flee from what The Beatles had become.
“I was hoping to escape, she was hoping to escape. So we had this feeling that we had each pulled the other ‘out of time.’”
Shortly after the pair married in 1969, Paul wrote “Maybe I’m Amazed” for his new wife on a beautiful Steinway piano they received after their wedding.
The couple fled London for Scotland
Paul and Linda helped pull each other “out of time,” but they also physically helped each other escape. During this time, especially during The Beatles’ painful and stressful split, Paul and Linda fled London for Paul’s Scottish farm.
Initially, Paul didn’t want to go to High Park Farm, but Linda opened his eyes to its beauty. The farm became “a refuge of sorts, and it was nice to get away from London and everything – both the good and bad – that comes with the city,” he wrote.
Paul drove a tractor and tended to the family’s animals, including their Shetland Pony, Jet. Meanwhile, Linda experimented with vegetarian dishes and started writing her cookbooks. Their kids got to grow up in a private bubble. Paul had loved nature since he was a kid, and being at the farm gave him the freedom to just think after a hectic 10 or so years of being with The Beatles.
He wrote many songs there too, including “Junior’s Farm,” his post-Beatles get-out-of-town song. “It was such a relief to get out of those business meetings with people in suits, who were so serious all the time, and to go off to Scotland and be able just to sit around in a T-shirt and corduroys,” Paul added.
So, Paul and Linda helped each other escape the emotional turmoil they were both experiencing and their physical surroundings. They started a new life on High Park Farm. Staying there let them heal from everything that had happened before and allowed them time to figure out how to proceed on their path together.
