In today's Sunday Mail
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/lifestyle/l ... -20862290/The Beatles in Scotland: Paul McCartney's story Nov 2 2008
PAUL McCartney stared out over the stunning landscape of the Mull of Kintyre and took a decision that would change the course of pop history - he was going to break up The Beatles.
The musician walked across the rugged heather with his lawyer brother-in-law John Eastman and decided to take John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to court to break up their partnership.
There was no easy way to do it but McCartney was adamant - the Fab Four were no more.
"John Eastman saw the position we were in and sympathised. We'd have these meetings on top of the hills in Scotland and I remember when we actually decided we had to go and file the suit," recalled Paul.
"We were standing overlooking a loch - it was a nice day, quite chilly - and we'd been searching our souls. Was there any other way?
"Eventually we said 'Oh, we've got to do it'. The only alternative was seven years with the partnership...going through all those same channels."
Decision made, McCartney then set in motion the litigation that broke up The Beatles, forever branding him as the guy who was the first Beatle to quit.
He remained in Argyll, insulated from the media frenzy the news produced, putting the finishing touches to his first solo album, McCartney.
Years later, as an ex-Beatle Paul would immortalise his beautiful Scottish bolthole with Mull Of Kintyre, which became one of Britain's biggest selling singles.
Truth was he'd discovered the natural geographic beauty of the spot on the Argyll coast almost by accident.
In 1966, McCartney was at the heart of the Swinging Sixties and his plush house in London's Cavendish Square was a stone's throw from The Beatles' regular workplace - the world famous Abbey Road Studios.
As the only bachelor Beatle - with actress girlfriend Jane Asher in tow - he was a regular at showbiz haunts such as the Ad Lib and Scotch of St. James club.
This was also the year he officially became a millionaire and Harold Wilson's Labour government was squeezing the nouveau riche with a top tax rate of 90p in the pound.
To protect some of his hard-earned cash McCartney's advisers suggested he invest in property.
Among the estate agent's schedules sent to him was one that pricked his interest - but at first glance the images of High Park Farm on the Mull of Kintyre were less than impressive.
Years of neglect had taken their toll on the three bedroom farmhouse with an asking price of £35,000. The seller - a local farmer named Mr Brown - was incredulous when the new owner was revealed.
IT was girlfriend Jane who finally convinced McCartney - not known for his lavish spending habits - to become a Scottish landowner.
The deal was signed on June 17, 1966, the day McCartney was finishing Here There And Everywhere for the album Revolver.
In December 1967, Paul and Jane visited the farmhouse accompanied by Alistair Taylor, The Beatles' Scottish "Mr Fix-it". He couldn't believe what he was seeing when he first clapped eyes on it. It was little more than broken down shack.
Taylor was dispatched to nearby Campbeltown to track down some essentials with two provisos from his employer ringing in his ears - keep it simple and cheap.
"Paul's orders were to make sure everything was second hand except the beds. I got him a horrible little formica table and four formica chairs," said Alistair.
"We built our own sofa out of potato boxes and a dirty old mattress we found in a barn.
"It was so far removed from his normal way of living but that's what Paul wanted. He wanted to live a simple life and at High Park he took that idea to the ultimate level."
On December 20, after returning to London, the Beatle announced his engagement to the flame-haired actress.
But Jane only visited Kintyre another couple of times before their tempestuous relationship fizzled out.
Paul's first wife Linda Eastman realised the true potential of High Park.
After their marriage in 1969, Paul took Linda and her daughter Heather on a voyage of discovery to his Scottish sanctuary. She was instantly smitten.
"Linda just said we could do this place up. I'd never thought of that," recalled Paul.
"I thought it just stayed the way it was when you bought it. I wasn't enterprising enough to actually think we could clean this place up.
"Linda really turned me on to it. I quite liked it before - its isolation and privacy and the end-of-the-world remoteness compared to a city.
"We turned it into a great place and suddenly I began to love being there.
"The children loved it too. We could walk seemingly forever and they could run free."
Although it might not have been as private as the couple hoped because in 1973 Paul was nabbed for growing cannabis at High Park.
He was later fined £100 after an appearance at Campbeltown Sheriff Court. On another occasion, with Linda now having given birth to their first child Mary, the couple decided on a whim to visit the Shetland Isles.
At Scrabster they chartered a boat called The Enterprise for £30 from local fisherman John Dunnet to take them to Orkney.
Paul said at the time: "We try never to organise our lives very much. We do things on the spur of the moment.
"So we piled into the LandRover with the two kids, our English sheepdog Martha and a whole pile of stuff in the back with Mary's potty on top.
"We tried to get the big car ferry but were two cars too late and missed it.
"So we decided ... let's try to get a ride in one of the little fishing boats.
But how much should we offer?
THE romantic idea was they'd rather have a salmon or Scotch than money. I went to one of the boats and at first the skipper said no. Then I said there was thirty quid in it for him so he said he'd take us.
"The skipper gave us some beer and Linda, trying to be one of the boys, took a swig and passed it to me.
"Well, you shouldn't drink before a rough crossing to the Orkneys. Mary threw up all over the wife, as usual. I was hanging on to the mast. We were all sick." The McCartneys headed to their Scottish bolthole whenever they needed to get away from it all.
Then in 1993, Linda discovered a lump in her breast. A provisional all-clear turned into a false dawn and she died on April 17, 1998.
The people of Campbeltown felt the passing not of a pop star's wife but of a community anchor, someone who had been a global champion of their little corner of the planet.
Paul delighted the community by commissioning his cousin Kate Robbins to create a bronze statue of Linda as the centrepiece of a local memorial garden unveiled in November 2002.
Paul was in America so daughters Mary and Stella conveyed thanks, saying: "Scotland was one of mum's favourite places and it's wonderful to have a permanent reminder of the great times we spent with her there. We'd like to say thanks to the people of Campbeltown for honouring her this way."
PAUL'S STORY
The Beatles in Scotland by Ken McNab is on sale in all good bookshops but Sunday Mail readers can get it for a fab £2.50 OFF the £20 cover price, including free postage and packing in the UK. Call BookSource on 0845 370 0067 quoting reference Beat1
