The Compliment Paul McCartney Never Forgot
Paul McCartney has long been known as one of the most versatile musicians in rock history. While many artists master a single instrument, McCartney developed a reputation for being able to play almost anything placed in front of him. Bass may have been his main role in The Beatles, but his musical instincts reached far beyond that single instrument.
During the band’s most productive years, McCartney contributed far more than bass lines. He played piano on several classic recordings, handled guitars when the arrangement called for it, and even stepped behind the drums on occasion. His wide-ranging musical abilities helped shape the sound of the group, even if each member generally stuck to their primary role.
Still, being part of a band meant sharing responsibilities. The Beatles worked best when each member focused on their strengths, which sometimes limited how much McCartney could explore his other musical interests during the group’s peak years.
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Life After The Beatles Opened New Doors
When The Beatles split in 1970, McCartney suddenly found himself with the freedom to experiment in ways he never could before. His self-titled solo debut, McCartney, became a personal project where he handled nearly every musical task himself, building songs piece by piece in the studio.
Speaking to Rolling Stone at the time, McCartney explained that playing multiple instruments had always been something he wanted to pursue. Early in his career he had been pushed toward the bass after the band lost their original bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe. While he embraced the role, guitar and other instruments remained part of his musical ambitions.
On the album he finally indulged that curiosity. McCartney recorded bass, drums, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, organ, percussion, and several other parts on his own. It demonstrated not only his songwriting ability but also his technical skill as a musician who could handle an entire recording session almost single-handedly.
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A Hidden Talent Behind The Drum Kit
Although McCartney returned to a more collaborative setup when he formed Wings, he still occasionally stepped outside his usual role. One of the clearest examples came during the recording of Band on the Run in 1973, when circumstances forced him to take over drumming duties.
The sessions were complicated by lineup changes, leaving McCartney to fill in behind the kit for much of the album. Rather than simply providing basic rhythm, he delivered confident performances that helped shape the record’s distinctive sound.
His drumming wasn’t entirely new to listeners. During The Beatles years, McCartney had already handled drums on tracks like “Back in the USSR,” “Dear Prudence,” and “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” Those performances showed that he could hold his own even when stepping into Ringo Starr’s position.
The Compliment He Always Remembered
Years later, McCartney received an unexpected endorsement from one of rock’s most explosive drummers. During an interview with Record Collector in 1997, he recalled an encounter with The Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, during the chaotic mid-1970s period often referred to as John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend.”
McCartney had gone out to see Lennon, Moon, and others during that time. At one point Moon asked who had played drums on Band on the Run. When McCartney replied that he had handled the parts himself, Moon delivered a blunt but enthusiastic response: “fucking great!” Coming from someone known for his wild playing style and high standards, the remark stuck with McCartney.
For McCartney, those two words carried real weight. Moon was widely regarded as one of rock’s most distinctive drummers, and he wasn’t the type to hand out praise lightly. The compliment became one of those small but meaningful moments that confirmed McCartney’s instincts — that even outside his famous role as The Beatles’ bassist, he could hold his own behind the drum kit.
