Watch a rare home video of Linda and Paul McCartney
If you’re looking for something to brighten your day, look no further. In this rare 8mm home footage of Linda and Paul McCartney, we see the couple having a fake row in an unknown, sun-drenched destination. The 8mm reel was damaged, lost and subsequently restored. It might be a little overexposed in patches and frequently out-of-focus, but it’s a beautifully made film nonetheless and really captures the friendship at the very core of Paul and Linda’s relationship.
Paul was formerly introduced to Linda Eastman in New York. The pair had met briefly once before at a Georgie Fame Concert at The Bag O’Nails club in Soho, London, where he had felt an “instant attraction” to the photographer. They decided to go for a drink and ended up talking for hours on end.
During their sprawling conversation, Paul mentioned his affection for white rabbits, so Eastman bought him one and sent it to his address. As Eastman’s friend Miki Antony recalled, Paul “rang her up and said, ‘Thank you so much for the white rabbit. Would you like to come out for dinner again?’ That’s how I knew they’d started dating. The rest is history.” Antony and Linda became friends while she was studying at the University of Arizona. They remained firm friends for around a year and a half before Linda got caught up in the world of The Beatles.
In a letter unearthed by Antony following Linda’s death, she writes of quitting her job at Town & Country to become a freelance photographer: “I’m doing very well,” she begins “[I] sell mainly to teen magazines ’cause most of my subjects are rock’n’roll groups – it’s so groovy – have photographed many English groups … The Stones were my favourite, went out with Mick Jagger, he’s really a terrific person, much to my surprise.”
Paul and Linda married on March 12th, 1969, and went on to have three children together: Mary, Stella and James. For more than 25 years, the couple lived happily, travelling and making music together. Then, in 1995, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. After fighting the illness for three long years, she died on April 17th, 1998, at the age of 56.
In the footage below, the McCartneys seem more like childhood friends than a married couple. Over the course of two minutes, they wag their fingers and shake their heads in faux fury. As an apology, Paul hands Linda a small bunch of flowers, which she places in a delicate yellow vase. They’re mocking themselves – making light of those silly, nonsensical arguments so common in long-term relationships.
With the summer sun dappling her skin, Linda looks utterly serene. In the final hours of her life, Paul is said to have held his wife’s hand and reminded her of those balmier days: “You’re up on your beautiful Appaloosa stallion,” he told her. “It’s a fine spring day. We’re riding through the woods. The bluebells are all out, and the sky is a clear blue.”
