Sir Paul McCartney "doesn't want to let go" of his late Beatles bandmates.
Sir Paul McCartney gets emotional thinking about his late bandmates
The 81-year-old music legend is one of the surviving members of the legendary 1960s rock group along with Ringo Starr but following the death of John Lennon - who was fatally shot in 1980 - and George Harrison's 2001 passing at the age of 51 after a battle with cancer, admitted that they will forever remain in his heart.
He told The Sunday Times: "When we started we thought that, maybe, we’d have ten years — that was the maximum span for a rock’n’roll group. 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."
The 'Love Me Do' hitmaker added that he still finds it emotional to look at photographs of his late bandmates but also feels "lucky" to have had them in his life to begin with.
He said: "Obviously, just to even look at photos of John or George is 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."
Tagged in John Lennon Sir Paul McCartney Ringo Starr