Despite their ups and downs and breaking up in 1974, The Beatles had an unbreakable bond and have remained friends. If one needs evidence, just take a look at this throwback photo of Paul McCartney bringing down the house at Ringo Starr’s wedding.
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The black and white photo taken by photographer Terry O’Neill shows McCartney on the piano mid-performance. There’s a crowd of onlookers around McCartney while he plays. This image was taken at Starr’s wedding to actress Barbara Bach in 1981.
In response to the image, one fan wrote, “These brilliant bastards are still with us. I love it! I hope they live to 104.” Another questioned, “I wonder what he’s singing?”
McCartney attended the wedding with his late wife Linda McCartney, who passed away in 1998 from breast cancer. Although they didn’t appear in the photo, fellow bandmate George Harrison, who passed away in 2001, also attended with his wife Olivia Harrison.
Sadly, the occasion couldn’t be a full Beatles reunion. Legendary singer John Lennon had been murdered about five months prior to the occasion. He passed away in December 1980, and Starr’s wedding took place in 1981.
Previously, Starr had been married to Maureen Cox from 1965 before divorcing in 1975. The couple had three children together. Bach was also previously married and had two children as well.
“We both had the same philosophy, neither one ever wanting to marry again,” Bach told Playboy in 1981, via People. “Richard already has three children, aged 10 to 13. Quite honestly, I never thought I’d be so lucky, to fall so much in love that I’d want to do the whole thing over. My family was shocked.”
The two met while on the set of the movie Caveman in 1980.
“The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end of Caveman,” Bach continued. “Working, we got along fine, but we each had other people, our respective friends. Then, all of a sudden, within a week — the last week of shooting — it just happened. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”
Both Bach and Starr remained together to this day. As for Starr and McCartney, both surviving Beatles members are celebrating the release of the final Beatles song and its recent success.
(Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
