Search Captions & Ask AI

Paul McCartney: Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” Film Saved My Life | Fly on the Wall

October 12, 2022 / 05:08

This episode features Paul McCartney discussing the Beatles, the Let It Be film, and his experiences during the band's breakup. Key topics include the remastering of the Let It Be footage by Peter Jackson, McCartney's reflections on his role in the band, and the playful spirit that characterized their songwriting sessions.

Paul McCartney shares his initial reluctance to watch the original Let It Be film, associating it with the band's breakup. He recounts how Peter Jackson's new version changed his perspective, highlighting the fun and camaraderie among the band members.

McCartney describes a specific moment while working on the song "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window," illustrating the lightheartedness of their creative process. He emphasizes that the film captures the joy of collaboration rather than the tension of their final days.

He reflects on feelings of guilt about being perceived as bossy, explaining that he was simply trying to motivate the group. McCartney also mentions how humor played a crucial role in their songwriting, making the process less intimidating.

The episode concludes with McCartney expressing gratitude for the opportunity to revisit those memories through Jackson's film, which he describes as a perfect home movie of their time together.

TL;DR

Paul McCartney discusses the Beatles' Let It Be film and the joy of their creative process, highlighting Peter Jackson's remastering efforts.

Video

00:00:00
well it was yeah it was kind of magical
00:00:02
for me because
00:00:04
um that period had in my memory had
00:00:07
always been a little bit dark because it
00:00:10
was to do with the Beatles breaking up
00:00:12
so the first let it be filmed was cut a
00:00:17
little bit with that in mind so I found
00:00:18
it a bit depressing yes and I never
00:00:21
wanted to watch the first lady b film
00:00:23
and so when Peter Jackson was slated to
00:00:27
do this this version I said to him Peter
00:00:30
you know I'm not sure I'm gonna like
00:00:32
this because you know
00:00:34
um you know I got blamed for breaking up
00:00:36
the Beatles and in actual fact it wasn't
00:00:38
me no and I've been trying to explain
00:00:40
that to people for years and years
00:00:44
but then after a couple of months he'd
00:00:47
been working on it he got in touch with
00:00:49
me he said it's not like that at all he
00:00:52
said it's amazing so there's just these
00:00:54
four guys in a room and you're having
00:00:57
fun and you're working together
00:00:59
so you sent me a little clip which
00:01:03
really saved my life this is a little
00:01:06
bit where John and I were I'm working on
00:01:08
uh she came in through the bathroom
00:01:10
window and I'm just strumming on the
00:01:13
base and then and uh John's on the piano
00:01:15
and uh the end of it I said no no no no
00:01:20
Monday's on his Tuesday's on the phone
00:01:21
to me
00:01:23
and I go hello Tuesday
00:01:27
immediately picks it up yeah he's coming
00:01:30
right I can't remember what he says he's
00:01:32
coming over it's still routine you know
00:01:36
if I'm ringing Tuesday
00:01:38
um and I thought oh God yeah that's how
00:01:41
it was it was it was fantastic
00:01:44
so yeah we um I loved it I really loved
00:01:48
it and you know with with Peter
00:01:51
um what do you call it re remastering to
00:01:54
make it so shiny and bright
00:01:57
star and everything and the sound and
00:02:00
all of that
00:02:01
um it was like having an old home movie
00:02:04
of yourself oh my God yeah but perfect
00:02:07
and you know and I really I forgave
00:02:10
myself when I saw that because I'm
00:02:13
thinking no where everyone's everyone's
00:02:16
messing around and we're all messing
00:02:19
around we're goofing around it's not
00:02:21
like we we haven't got to do anything in
00:02:23
a month's time yeah with these songs we
00:02:26
haven't written yet 14 songs yeah
00:02:30
so but um what were you forgiving
00:02:33
yourself about yeah why did you feel you
00:02:36
had to forgive yourself I thought I was
00:02:38
too bossy I thought that that would been
00:02:41
the problem we said when I saw the film
00:02:44
I'm not being bossy at all I'm just
00:02:46
trying to get people to work yes you
00:02:49
know I totally I'm just trying to get on
00:02:52
C note come on guys you know it's two
00:02:55
weeks off you know uh so people have
00:02:59
said to me you'd ask about FEMA Peter
00:03:01
said to me well someone had to do that
00:03:03
oh yeah someone asked that guy
00:03:07
I let myself off I thought yeah that's
00:03:10
all I was trying to do I wasn't trying
00:03:12
to be pushy or I was just trying to get
00:03:15
the work done uh on the other aspect I
00:03:18
thought was great is that the way we
00:03:20
just goofed around that's what I loved
00:03:22
you know I think you think
00:03:25
but uh John Cleese had a thing where it
00:03:29
was
00:03:30
um work as a tool no no play as a tool
00:03:34
yes so in other words you're goofing
00:03:36
goof and goofing and then you come to do
00:03:38
the thing so
00:03:40
yeah we messed around with the song so
00:03:43
much that it made them not intimidating
00:03:47
we'd like we'd done them as jokes hello
00:03:50
Tuesday you know yeah so when you came
00:03:53
to do the song you weren't as frightened
00:03:56
as you might have been
00:03:58
it was just this stuff you've been
00:04:00
goofing around on I don't want to
00:04:02
interrupt that flow but yet sometimes
00:04:03
you guys would to release pressure I
00:04:05
guess to sing some of your brilliant
00:04:07
songs from the years previous but in a
00:04:09
funny voice that always struck me kind
00:04:12
of that was very funny you all would do
00:04:14
that I mean you just again that's the
00:04:16
thing you know you take the wind out of
00:04:18
it in a way yeah yeah and I'd forgotten
00:04:21
that we did that you know I kind of knew
00:04:24
well I've forgotten the specifics so
00:04:27
Peter's film then he just shows shows us
00:04:30
working on the song Two of Us
00:04:39
just the fact that and we don't just do
00:04:42
it for two lines no we like we took the
00:04:45
whole gloves some minutes and we're
00:04:47
looking at each other and you know
00:04:49
that's that Spirit was
00:04:53
always there from the minute I met John
00:04:55
yeah until the minute The Beatles broke
00:04:58
up and Beyond actually you know there
00:05:00
was always that sort of we just two guys
00:05:03
goofing our way through the world

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Best performance
  • 80
    Biggest cultural impact
  • 75
    Best overall
  • 75
    Most iconic moment

Episode Highlights

  • Forgiveness and Reflection
    A moment of self-reflection leads to forgiveness over perceived past mistakes.
    “I thought I was too bossy.”
    @ 02m 38s
    October 12, 2022
  • The Spirit of Collaboration
    The camaraderie and playful spirit among the Beatles is highlighted as essential to their creativity.
    “We were just two guys goofing our way through the world.”
    @ 05m 03s
    October 12, 2022

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Self-Forgiveness02:38
  • Playful Collaboration03:22

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

Related Episodes

Podcast thumbnail
Paul McCartney | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade
Podcast thumbnail
Kenny Loggins | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade
Podcast thumbnail
Jack Black | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade
Podcast thumbnail
Kings of Leon | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade
Podcast thumbnail
Lorne Michaels (Part 2) | Full Episode | Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade