“sorry girls, he’s married.” When the Beatles played the
Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964, producers helpfully put the
name of each band member on the screen under a close-up
of his face. And along with John Lennon’s name, they in-
cluded that disappointing bit of news: He was off the market.
Five years later Ringo had married, George had wed, John
had divorced and would remarry. Now with Paul, the last
bachelor Beatle (who also happened to be the one who set
the most hearts throbbing), heading to the altar, the band’s
press office knew what it had to do and alerted the mournful
fandom. As a result, reported The Washington Post, “a wild
scene” erupted outside Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman’s
March 12, 1969, wedding at the Marylebone Registry in
London. Following a seven-minute civil ceremony, the bride
and groom “kissed on the registry steps and then walked toTHE BEATLES 1969 PEOPLE 33
S
HIS SOLO ALBUM
McCARTNEY LET FANS KNOW
THE BEATLES REALLY WERE ENDING.
BUT FOR PAUL, A NEW LIFE
WITH LINDA AND THEIR KIDS
WAS JUST BEGINNINGHAPPY LANDING
Five days after their London
wedding, Paul and Linda
arrived at New York’s JFK
airport with Linda’s
daughter Heather, then 6.
McCartney said he found
Linda’s motherhood
compelling. “She had a
child. I was genuinely
impressed by the way she
handled herself in life.”