Thursday, March 12, 2015

Why were girls crying on Paul's wedding day ?

We have all seen the photos and the video clips of Paul and Linda's wedding day.    And the one thing that is always included is the girls crying their eyes out.      Who were these girls, how many of them were there and why were they crying?



Ringo and George had gotten married during the Beatlemania years and while girls were a little upset, you didn't hear stories of mass weeping.     What made Paul's marriage so different?

The first thing you have to understand is how little the fans really knew about Paul's relationship in March 1969.      Paul had officially announced his engagement and relationship with Jane Asher was over on July 20, 1968.   Fans knew that Paul had been involved with Francie Schwartz and Linda Eastman,  and when Linda started coming around more and more, they didn't realize how serious the relationship was.   But one thing they knew:  they did NOT like Linda Eastman.   

What was it about Linda that the fans disliked so much?   Here is what I think.  The first thing is that she wasn't Jane Asher.   Jane was beautiful, British and friendly towards the fans.   She fit the image of who you think Paul McCartney would marry.     On the other hand, Linda was "plain," a loud New Yorker and not kind to the fans.    She would call the police if they were gathered outside of Cavendish Avenue or yell at them to go away.    The other thing was that the fans believed that Linda had changed Paul.   The Paul they used to know would occasionally come outside and chat with the fans.   He would joke with them and be a bit flirty.   And while at times, he would yell at them, overall he was super kind and accessible.   After Linda moved in, Paul did not come and talk to the fans and he was curt and even outright rude towards the same girl that he had been so nice to a few months earlier.   And while we know now that there was stress and discord with the Beatles, which most likely attributed to Paul's attitude, Linda was the one that got all of the blame.  Fans everywhere saw Linda as a woman that was controlling and pushy.    And lastly was the story that quickly went around that Linda had told Pete Townsend, way before she ever met Paul that her goal was to marry a Beatle and that she had her sights on marrying Paul McCartney.   Pete says to this day that it was said as a joke and it got taken the wrong way, however fans believed that Linda had done whatever it took to win Paul as a prize and that she had made a $5 bet that she could marry him.    This totally rubbed them the wrong way.

These girls at the time truly did not think that Paul was not going to get married.  Ever.    They believed that he was always going to be the bachelor Beatle and therefore available to date them if the opportunity came about.    So they were completely blindsided on March 11, 1969 when the newspapers said that Paul was going to wed the American.    Both Carol Bedford and Carolyn Mitchell say in their books that they gathered outside of Cavendish on the 11th  and they saw all four of the Beatles go into Paul's house.   Carolyn also says that Linda called the police on them that day.   Carol heard from a second hand source that later that night Paul came out because the girls were crying so much and talked to them.   One of the things he told them was "you knew I had to get married sometime."    Paul says in Many years from now that he and Linda had a big fight that night and the wedding was almost called off.   You have to wonder if the fight had something to do with the girls crying outside the gates.


That leads us up to the day of the wedding.   Most of the fans that were there congregated around Cavendish Avenue.    In Carol Bedford's book she says that Jill was crying and the photographers were snapping photos and asking her to cry for them.    But honestly---the only girls I ever see crying are the same two girls.   Both of these girls look young (early teens maybe).  One has short brown hair and the other had long blonde hair.    I see these same girls in all of the video footage and photographs.    If there were other girls weeping outside Paul's home that day, their photos must not have made it into the press, because all I see are the same 2 girls over and over again.    And it makes me wonder if the whole story of fans bawling because Paul was getting married has been blown out of proportion.    What do you think?






Other fans were there, but they looked more in shock than anything else.  Margo is there with the little boy she was babysitting, Bam Bam along with other regulars at Cavendish.


I am glad that the fans first impressions of the marriage of Paul and Linda were wrong.   The couple remained married for 29 years and the only time they spent apart from one another was when Paul was in jail in Japan in 1980.   I think over time the fans warmed up to Linda and Linda warmed up to the fans.   1969 was a difficult year in Beatles history on so many levels.   And that is nothing to cry about.

14 comments:

  1. I didn't go to Cavendish the night before nor on the day of the wedding. I watched the news at my boyfriend's house and bought piles of newspapers to send to my many pen-pals all over the world. Those days you had to rely on each other to get information and photos. Being a John fan, it made no difference to me who Paul married, as long as he was happy. There were a couple of stories from that night before the wedding, but since I wasn't there, I'd rather leave it to those who were to tell them, if they ever want to. I don't recognize the two crying girls. I don't think they were "regulars" at Cav. It is true, Linda was not nice to the fans and was not liked at all, but as you said that changed over the years. I also heard that she had made a bet with her NY friends that she would marry Paul. Even if those stories are true, it really doesn't matter, because they had such an amazing life together. One small detail: a Brazilian friend of mine spent a few days in London in June of 1967. She wanted to get him gifts for his birthday, so I took her to Carnaby Street, to a store I knew Paul shopped at (can't remember the name); She bought a shirt, yellow socks and a shiny yellow/golden tie which I helped pick out. It's exactly like the one he wore at his wedding, and also at the premiere of "Yellow Submarine", but he might have had a similar one, so we shall never know if he wore my friend's gift - still, we like to think he did!

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  2. First off, what a fantastic post.

    And then, on the heels of that post, thank you Lizzie for your always-priceless insights.

    Fascinating reading, and I am convinced! Blown out of proportion!

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    1. Thank you, but it kind of scared me how long my post was when I just saw it now - I guess I just talk too much!

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    2. Maybe the girls that hung around thought they'd have a chance with him.Fame, money.Of course it was stalking.He is only human. Being in the public eye doesn't make you a God.The fans were ego driven groupies that were annoying. Linda was right to tell them to go away

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  3. Very interesting post as usual -and the crying bit was only a few very young girls at the time but the press blew it up for stupid publicity. Putting it out there on my own experience so folks don't have a fit - I never liked Linda because she WAS very rude and treated fans as if we were an incredible annoyance over the years. Most of us had heard the rumor here in NYC about the bet she made that she would marry Paul but Maggie was still in & out of the picture. We weren't too surprised to hear she was pregnant but it was their lives and they stayed married together a long time.

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    1. " I never liked Linda because she WAS very rude and treated fans as if we were an incredible annoyance over the years." But you WERE an annoyance. I understand the perspective of the girls at the time, who were quite young, but I honestly don't get that grown women - with decades of hindsight - don't look back on their behavior and cringe. It doesn't matter what your intentions were, whether you were polite or not, it was stalking. Thinking it was fun doesn't make it not stalking. Having positive intentions doesn't make it not stalking.
      I've yet to read an account from any of the girls who hung around the gates during that era who weren't an annoying nuisance, even in their own accounts (which paint themselves in the best light). There are so many fanlogic leaps taken to try and make themselves believe that Paul enjoyed their presence and he was only bothered when someone else told him to be. I'm sorry, but it's time to face the truth. Paul was bothered by your behavior. He's said it at the time and since, his behavior showed it. That the presence of the girls was merely tolerated for awhile is not enthusiasm, it's because there was nothing else to do about it.

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    2. While I agree with some of what you say, it was pretty well known that Linda was quite rude to fans even if they were first time visitors. Some of them may have been 'stalkers' but many of them weren't either - just young kids nervously hoping to get a glimpse of their idol. Whether you like it or not fans were part of the package and Paul was more than happy to court them when it was of benefit to him. It all looks rather tame now in retrospect with the appearance of the paparazzi a decade later with their long range lens etc. ready to pounce on some hapless celeb. Now that really is intrusion of privacy. Once Paul and Linda were married the fans lost interest, and so did the media to some extent, hence the emergence of the McCartneys' very public and somewhat showy marriage over the next thirty years. Paul's demeanour did change once he had met Linda and remains so to this day.

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    3. anon 7/10 - very true & thanks ... nyc since 64

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    4. having been around then have to say well said to July 10 comment

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  4. Very nice personal detail about the lovely clothes for Paul - people were giving him bathrobes of all things for a while lol! I gave him a chain with an unusual metal from the Middle East years ago but I never saw him wear it.

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  5. LIZZIE - YOUR POSTS ARE NEVER TOO LONG

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    1. Glad you enjoy this semi-elderly blabbermouth!

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  6. I also believe the number of weeping fans at Paul and Linda's wedding was grossly exaggerated by the media. Ironically the same thing happened after Linda's death when the memorial service for her was held in London. I distinctly remember the BBC advising people of potential road closures and traffic jams because of the 'huge' crowds that would turn out. Nothing of the sort happened, in fact only very few people turned up.

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