Paul McCartney Thinks The Beatles Members Suffered From Mental Health Issues

Paul McCartney is open to the idea that The Beatles might have suffered from mental health issues. These weren’t brought up during their active years, however, as they were afraid to talk about it during the peak of their popularity.

In a recent conversation with The Sunday Times, McCartney said that he and his bandmates – the late John Lennon and George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – all joked around and poked fun of their afflictions to hide them.

Asked if he thought the group suffered from mental health issues, McCartney said: “Yes, I think so. But you talked about it through your songs. You know, John would. ‘Help! I need somebody,’ he wrote. And I thought, ‘Well, it’s just a song,’ but it turned out to be a cry for help.”

“Same kind of thing happened with me, mainly after the break-up of the band. All of us went through periods when we weren’t as happy as we ought to be,” he added. “Ringo had a major drinking problem. Now he’s Mr Sober of the Year! But you know there were a lot of things we had to work through, but you’re right — you didn’t talk about mental health.”

McCartney thought that the Beatles were “reasonably well adjusted” to their status, saying: “It was something really that, as four guys, you were more likely to make fun of than be serious about. And the making fun of it was to hide from it.

“But having said all that, we were reasonably well adjusted, I think.”

Also in the same interview, McCartney discusses the upcoming Beatles documentary Get Back by Peter Jackson, which he regarded as important as it affirmed his own thoughts that he wasn’t responsible for the band breaking up.

McCartney has recently released the eponymous third installment of his solo career series, McCartney III. This follows 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II and marks his 18th solo release to date. The new album also boosted vinyl sales as of late, with the format peaking in numbers for the first time in 12 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5rnlPK0vjk&t=5s&ab_channel=Starr%27sMusic