Paul McCartney says deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison still a “bitter pill to swallow”

Paul McCartney has said the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison is still a “bitter pill to swallow” in a new interview.

Speaking to The Times, McCartney reflected on the passing of Lennon and Harrison and the grief he still feels after the loss of both.

McCartney explained: “I like the idea of not letting go of each other…You know, when you have somebody you love so much. In many cases it’s a relative, and even though they go, you don’t want to let go — that’s what people say when somebody dies. They’re in your memory, always in your heart. And, yes, that’s certainly true of me and the boys.”

He said looking at photos of Lennon or Harrison was still “bittersweet”.

“The sweet is ‘How lucky was I to have those men in my life’. But the fact that they’re not here is bitter. I see photos of George and remember how we went hitchhiking, sitting by the road, buying ourselves creamed rice. John and I went hitchhiking too. We ended up in Paris.

“All the memories flood back…But, oh God, it’s sad these guys are not here. It’s a bitter pill you just have to swallow and then get on with the sweetness, you know? That’s the way I do it.”

The new music video for The Beatles’ “final” song, ‘Now And Then’ was shared yesterday (November 3). Directed by Peter Jackson, it featured newly unearthed footage of the members. 

The new track – dubbed the last single by the band to feature all four original members – arrived earlier this week (November 2), following months of hype.

Titled ‘Now And Then’, the highly-anticipated project was first teased by McCartney back in June when he confirmed that he was working on a new track with the drummer.

It stems from a demo tape recorded by late bandmate Lennon and was completed with the help of AI – which lifted the songwriter’s vocals off the initial recording and allowed the surviving members to work with them.

Next, The Beatles are set to release new expanded editions of ‘1962-1966 (The Red Album)’ and ‘1967-1970 (The Blue Album)’, mixed in stereo and Dolby, next Friday (November 10).