The Beatles' Paul McCartney makes 'only one time' admission as he says 'everyone hated me'

Sir Paul McCartney joked that his crew "hated" him as he lifted the lid on life on tour. The Walton-born Beatles legend, 82, spent much of 2024 on the road, taking his 'Got Back' tour around Central and South America and Europe.

The tour came to an end in London last month as he reunited on stage with his former Beatles colleague Sir Ringo Starr. Since the tour ended, Paul's official website has published a number of looks behind the scenes, revealing what life is like on tour with the star.

The latest edition of Paul's series 'You Gave Me the Answer" was published online yesterday (January 30). The series allows fans to ask him a question, with a number selected for each edition.

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Yesterday's saw the musician asked about his sporting interest. Famously, Paul's dad James was an Evertonian and Paul attended the 1966 FA Cup final, seeing the Toffees beat West Bromwich Albion, but he says he is a fan of both of Merseyside's Premier League football teams.

However, the question was about a different type of football. With the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs set to contest the Super Bowl on February 9, Paul was asked about his interest in American Football.

The 'Let it Be' star's first performance with his current touring band of Rusty, Brian, Wix and Abe was at the Super Bowl in 2002 and Paul has had an interest in the sport for some time. He was asked about how this came about by fan Jane.

Paul said: "Well, being married to Linda meant I was in America quite a bit. We spent a lot of time there with her family and American Football was always on the television. I would watch it with everyone but not really know what was going on!

"Then Linda gave me a big clue. She said, ‘See that guy there? When the two teams line up against each other, there’s a guy who receives the ball. Keep an eye on him, he’s called the quarterback, and he’s going to pass it to someone. All the action comes from him.’ So, once I had that clue, I found it much easier to follow.

"I watched a lot of it and grew to really like it, because it’s quite a complicated and strategic game - and obviously very athletic. In Britain we used to laugh at it, saying, ‘They wear all those pads and protective gear. We don’t, we’ve got rugby, a proper sport!’.

"But I got over all that, and found I really liked it. So yeah, I’m a big fan of football, American-style."

The 82-year-old's crew run a sweepstake if they are on tour during the NFL season, which Paul has won. He said: "Some of the crew bring a form around and you tick off who you think is going to win. I won once and everyone hated me."

"They said, ‘Oh god, oh no!’ Because of course there’s money involved and I’m their boss. But I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll give the winnings to charity’. It was only that one time. But, believe me, it was a thrill."