Paul McCartney Reveals That “Working-Class Hero” John Lennon Actually Had Some Very “Posh” Relatives, Recalls Hitchhiking With George Harrison

Sir Paul McCartney needs no introduction. Getting his start as a member of the world’s most famous foursome, the former Beatle has since joined Phil Collins and Michael Jackson as one of only three musicians to sell over 100 million records both as solo artists and separately as principal members of a band. Ahead of his 84th birthday on June 18, McCartney is gearing up to drop The Boys of Dungeon Lane, his first solo work in five years, next month.

Out May 29, his 27th studio album takes a trip into McCartney’s past—both his childhood and the Fab Four days. On Thursday (April 16), the former Wings frontman welcomed a handful of fans into producer Andrew Watt’s Diamond Dust studio in Los Angeles for a peek behind the curtain of The Boys of Dungeon Lane. And McCartney couldn’t resist waxing a little nostalgic about his fellow Beatles.

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Paul McCartney Met George Harrison on a School Bus

The first single and title track, released last month, nods at Paul McCartney’s shared origins with the late George Harrison.

“Dungeon Lane was near where I lived, me and George,” McCartney said. “I would get the bus and the next stop, he’d get on. We’d talk about guitars and rock ‘n’ roll. It was all coming in. It was all arriving.”

He delves further into their friendship on the track “Down South”, which describes their 1954 meeting on the bus headed to the Liverpool Institute. They met John Lennon three years later, and the trio would often hitchhike to Wales or southern England.

During one such excursion to Paris, a member of Lennon’s family gave the pair 100 pounds to spend. McCartney used this anecdote to illustrate that the singer’s famous proletariat sensibilities weren’t entirely derived from lived experience.

“John always used to say — bless him — that he was a working-class hero,” he told the crowd.

[RELATED: 4 Paul McCartney Songs That Smashed in the UK but Didn’t Quite Hit in the US]

Adding that Lennon in fact had some very “posh” relatives, McCartney continued, “Ringo [Starr] really was working class. George and I were kind of working class.”

Ringo Starr Makes an Appearance

Speaking of the legendary Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr joins Paul McCartney on vocals for the track “Home to Us”, another nostalgic number about growing up in Liverpool.

 “Even though where we lived was a little rough, it was home to us,” McCartney said.

“Home to US” also features vocals from the Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri, lead singer of the Scottish rock band Texas.

Featured image by Sal Traina/Penske Media via Getty Images