 |
| Paul outside MPL in 2022. Photo taken by Louise Guthrie |
I have a special treat for you all tonight! A rare treat at that! I rarely have guest writers on this site simply because no one ever asks. But I received a lovely email from Louise Guthrie offering to share her story of seeing Paul outside MPL on this site, and how could I turn down a great Paul sighting story? That is what this site is all about! So please enjoy Louise's story and take some time to read the longer version on his site: Just click here. -- Sara S.
You have to be incredibly lucky to see Paul McCartney step out of his MPL Communications offices on Soho Square right on cue.
I witnessed the almost cruel irony of this unwritten rule firsthand last summer. A friend and I had arranged to meet at the Radha Krishna Temple, which happens to be just around the corner from MPL. Thanks to a quiet insider tip from a local Beatles tour guide, we knew that Sir Paul himself was in residence that afternoon. So we waited outside for a while, quietly chanting on our Hare Krishna beads and chatting. While we stood there, a vibrant, Spanish-speaking tour group arrived with their dedicated Beatles guide. Jubilant and filled with infectious energy, they waved, postured, and posed delightedly for each other's cameras. These Latinos were determined to stay. It was a once-in-a-lifetime scenario for them.
We knew what they didn’t know—that Paul was not only in there, but about to leave—because my friend and I had recognised his chauffeur-driven car (the Macca-mobile!) as it pulled up to the kerb. But "The Big Man" (as they reportedly call him inside) wasn’t going to come out while a large crowd was actively gathered at the doorstep; he was probably in a rush to get to Liverpool, where he would join Bruce Springsteen on stage the very next day. Eventually, the Spanish-speaking group walked away (although the last one practically had to be dragged!). Seconds later, the doors opened, and out stepped Mr McCartney himself, larger than life. The irony was heartbreaking. Those tourists had likely travelled halfway round the world, perhaps from South America, and gone on a Beatles tour, only to miss him by a matter of seconds. We were the lucky ones that day.
Another crossroads moment: Back in 2022, I noticed lying on the pavement directly in front of Sir Paul's office a brand-new copy of the Bhagavad-gita that must have come from the Hare Krishna Temple—an odd place for someone to have left it! As I picked it up, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman in a Beatles T-shirt standing nearby. He had actually moved to England from Austria purely because of his love for the Beatles, and he had been regularly waiting outside MPL for five long years without catching so much as a glimpse of Sir Paul. I remarked that he looked quite a bit like Sean Lennon. The man smiled and confirmed that his mother was Japanese. I told him he was likely going to be in luck today, as the strategically-placed Gita had to be a good sign.
Meanwhile, with great cosmic timing, Jayadev John Richardson, a senior Hare Krishna devotee, had arrived at the Soho Street Temple ready to command a very rousing street kirtan. The air filled with the rhythmic pulse of drums and the soaring, hypnotic cadence of the Hare Krishna mantra as the devotees all sang and danced with Jayadev. As if on cue, the heavy doors of MPL swung open. Stepping out into the London daylight was Paul McCartney. He gave us the famous "Macca thumbs-up" before going on his way.
Fast-forwarding to May 2026, we romped into Soho Square with Jayadev on Harinam, our procession filling the air with the sound of the drums and the cymbals. Right on cue, the doors of MPL swung open, and Paul stepped out. He quickly entered his waiting car. But he didn't rush his departure. Intrigued by the sound, Paul wound down his car window to listen to the music. Seizing the incredible moment, one of the devotees stepped forward toward the open window, offered him a mantra flyer, and shook his hand. Paul accepted it with that easy-going warmth, giving a gracious nod before the car slowly coasted away.
One of the devotees, completely overwhelmed by the sheer proximity of the moment, turned to me with wide eyes and remarked, "I have seen Paul McCartney, I can die now."
Call it absolute coincidence (or madness), but for me, these on-point encounters have arguably shown that it is the power of the Maha Mantra itself that brings Sir Paul out. It witnesses the beautiful, enduring overlap between the history of Western pop royalty and the timeless lineage of Eastern spirituality. Decades after the Beatles first sat in meditation in Rishikesh, that same spiritual current is still flowing. In fact, these synchronous events run parallel to the extraordinary journey of Jayadev John Richardson himself. As the founder and former drummer of the 70s glam-rock band The Rubettes, Jayadev walked away from selling 30 million records to embrace Eastern mysticism and pioneer his global 'Mantra Choir' movement—bringing the very spiritual music Paul smiled upon in Soho into mainstream Western spaces today.
