The legendary Beatle has opened up on the encounter from his youth on Dungeon Lane
Sir Paul McCartney has reflected on his youth in his new album The Boys of Dungeon Lane(Image: Getty Images)
Sir Paul McCartney has opened up on the time he was mugged as a youngster. The legendary musician has revisited his childhood in Liverpool for his new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which was released today.
The 83-year-old has spoken about the new album in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. The latest release sees Sir Paul remembering his early days growing up in Speke, with tracks dedicated to his friendship with John Lennon and hitchhiking trips with George Harrison.
Dungeon Lane is road in Speke where Sir Paul whiled away many hours as a youngster and he told the former Radio One DJ that he still takes family back there when he returns to Liverpool. He said: “You get to a stage when you remember your youth.
“Now I go back up to Liverpool and go to Dungeon Lane. I sometimes will do a tour for people. I’m like the tour bus. I’ve got my grandkids in the back and I’m like, ‘This is where we did that’.
“It was where I used to escape the housing estate and go to the shore.” However, Sir Paul laughed not all memories were positive as he said: “[It] was nice until the one day when I got mugged down there by a couple of local boys.
“They took my watch. These boys were not being charmed.” He added in a later part of the interview: “I was walking along one day and these two Liverpool scallies said, ‘what are you doing?’ We had a little encounter.
“They said, ‘Give us that watch’. I half heartedly tried to resist, but they were big and there were two of them.” The guys that knicked my watch, unfortunately for them, I knew them. I knew where one lived and I went to the cops. They knicked them and I got my watch back. He lived in Old Bridge Road and I lived in Ardwick Road.”
Sir Paul also spoke about how he was shaped by Liverpool during the chat as he says growing up in a social household has shaped his personality.
He added: “I was very lucky with my Liverpool family, they are the kind of people who put people at ease. I just learned it by being one of that family.”
Another section of the chat saw Sir Paul reflect on his bond with John Lennon. The road Sir Paul has immortalised has changed since he was a child as it is now broken up by the perimeter of Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Broadcaster Zane quizzed Sir Paul on this cross-section and the iconic musician said having an airport named in his honour was a fitting tribute for John.
On John having an airport named after him, he said: “He would have liked that. We used to go out to the airport. Hang out, look at the airplanes. That was a big thrill in those days. We were often there, so it was just Liverpool Speke airport. In this instance he would have liked it.
“People who are very bold and up front can often be quite sensitive inside. That’s why they’re putting their shield up. John, with his life, his father leaving home when he was a kid, his mum died. That was a bond we had together because [my mum died early too].
“I remember John once saying to me, ‘How am I going to be remembered after I die?’ I said, ‘It’s going to be OK, we’ve done enough stuff by this point to be remembered with a lot of respect and love’, so he would have loved the airport being named after him. That would have answered his question.”
Sir Paul also spoke about his bond with John in an Amazon interview with Paul Mescal, which was also released this week. Although John was tragically killed in 1980, Sir Paul still carries his spirit with him and spoke about how he still tries to consider what his perspective would be in the songwriting process.
He said: “Looking back on your life, I ran into this guy called John Lennon and he was fighting life. He had a lot of trouble. His dad had left home. His mum had got run over. He had a lot of trouble in there, so he was putting up a shield. He was very witty, biting. Then when it came to writing, that kind of stayed there.
“On this record I might have even referred to him in my mind, as if we’re still writing together. I’d write something and I’d go, ‘what’s that?’ as if that’s any good.
“Sometimes I get away with it. Sometimes he says, ‘No, that’s s**t’. His spirit is still in me and I’m very glad of that. George [Harrison’s], too.”
The Boys of Dungeon Lane has been released today as he told followers on Instagram: “This album is now yours. I just hope people can sit back, relax, and stick the vinyl on, or put on their headphones, play it on their phone, stream it, or whatever, and simply enjoy listening to it.
“That’s my aim: to bring something people can enjoy, and the more they enjoy it, the happier I am.” The Boys of Dungeon Lane is available to listen to now