Alert – Sir Paul McCartney says he was ‘so embarrassed’ when he tried to play lead guitar with the Beatles as he ‘totally froze’ on stage

Sir Paul McCartney has revealed he was left ‘so embarrassed’ when he tried to play lead guitar with the Beatles as he ‘totally froze’ on stage. 

The music legend, 81, was part of the iconic rock group alongside John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr but explained when he tried playing lead guitar during an early gig instead of bass, he ‘could not move my fingers’.

Speaking on the Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast, he explained: ‘Mind you, when I first met John. He didn’t play guitar, because I had to show him guitar chords because he’d been taught by his mum [Julia], and she only knew banjo chords.

‘We had this gig and it was like, the first thing I ever played, and I was lead guitar player. John was rhythm. And I had a solo and I totally froze. Could not move my fingers. It was like, just so embarrassing. 

‘My lead guitar playing career melted at that moment and I said, ‘Well, I’m not doing this again. I’m not cut out for this. I’m no good.’

Sir Paul McCartney has revealed he was left ‘so embarrassed’ when he tried to play lead guitar with the Beatles as he ‘totally froze’ on stage

The music legend, 81, explained when he tried playing lead guitar during an early gig instead of bass, he ‘could not move my fingers’ (pictured L-R Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon in 1967)

The Hey Jude singer provided most of the lyrics for the Beatles and was also co-lead singer alongside John and previously revealed he loves to spend time with his instruments and he even worries that some of them might feel ‘lonely’.

Talking about one of his guitars, he shared: ‘I felt quite guilty in a minor way, so I went over and started playing – and then the song that came out was me talking directly to the guitar and talking about all the times it had helped me.’

We always used to say that when you sit down with your guitar to write a song, you’re telling it your secrets, which then become a song for the world.

‘But at that moment, when you’re alone, the guitar is your confidante. You cradle it.

‘When you go up to a piano, though, it’s almost as if you’re pushing the piano away; they’re different actions completely’.

It comes after Sir Paul proved he’s a full-fledged member of the BeyHive by applauding Beyonce’s version of his song Blackbird, earlier this month. 

The musician took to his Instagram to share a heartfelt message praising the cover featured on Beyonce’s new album Cowboy Carter alongside a black-and-white photo of the singers together. 

‘I am so happy with [Beyoncé’s] version of my song Blackbird,’ he wrote. ‘I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.

Speaking on the Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast, he said: ‘When I first met John. He didn’t play guitar, because I had to show him guitar chords because he’d been taught by his mum [Julia], and she only knew banjo chords’ (pictured 1964)

He explained: ‘We had this gig and it was like, the first thing I ever played, and I was lead guitar player. John was rhythm. And I had a solo and I totally froze. Could not move my fingers. It was like, just so embarrassing’ (pictured 2023)

‘My lead guitar playing career melted at that moment and I said, ‘Well, I’m not doing this again. I’m not cut out for this. I’m no good (pictured Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison)

The Beatles pictured in 1964 – pictured L-R Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney

‘I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!’

McCartney added that he recently spoke with Bey about the song over FaceTime, revealing: ‘She thanked me for writing it and letting her do it. I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song.’

Sir Paul has long stated that he wrote the song as a tribute to the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who faced racial discrimination when they integrated an all-white high school in 1957. 

The incident gained national attention as it tested the Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared school segregation unconstitutional. 

‘When I saw the footage on the television in the early 60s of the Black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now,’ McCartney added on Instagram.

‘Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud.’ 

McCartney composed and recorded the song solo in 1968 for the Beatles’ self-titled double-LP, also known as the White Album. 

The remaining members of the group — John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — refrained from participating while McCartney accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and percussive foot-tapping, per Variety. 

On the Cowboy Carter version, Beyoncé utilized the master recording of the original guitar-and-foot-tapping backing track recorded by him as the foundation for her new rendition, according to the outlet. 

The outing comes after Sir Paul proved he’s part of the BeyHive by applauding Beyonce ‘s version of the Beatles ‘ song Blackbird on Thursday; pictured in 2022

The iconic musician took to his Instagram to praise the cover featured on Beyonce’s new album Cowboy Carter alongside a black-and-white photo of the singers together

McCartney previously discussed the origins of the song’s inspiration back in 2018.

‘I’d heard about the civil rights troubles that were happening in the 60s, in Alabama, Mississippi, Little Rock, in particular,’ he told GQ magazine.

‘I just thought it’d be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might give ’em a little bit of hope. So, I wrote Blackbird.’