This is a text from the archive: April 15, 2020.
Like almost everyone else, Paul McCartney is currently in home isolation to protect himself and others from the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
Still, on Tuesday (April 14), the Beatle found time to speak to legendary SiriusXM host Howard Stern on the phone for his show from his home in the English countryside, where he has retreated with one of his daughters.
“Have you gotten laid yet?”
That made even the old presenter nervous, as he confessed to his listeners. Accordingly, he got up at night to write down clever questions to ask Macca.
And then he started one of those typical star attacks anyway. “Have you gotten laid yet?” he asked, alluding to the virus and the singer’s possible illness. McCartney politely said no and indicated that he was still separated from his wife Nancy, who currently had to stay in New York.
However, McCartney didn’t want to talk about it any further. Instead, he talked himself into a rage about the so-called wet markets in Wuhan, China, which he described as medieval and identified as one of the reasons for the development of the new pathogen.
“I really hope that the Chinese government will admit: ‘OK, guys, we need to become more hygienic here,'” said McCartney, who has been a vegetarian and animal rights activist for decades. “Face it, eating bats is a bit medieval.”
Of course, the very open-minded conversation was also about music. And here too, Howard Stern had a nasty question ready. It is, in short, the most important question in rock’n’roll: Who was better, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
“I love the Rolling Stones, but…”
For Stern the matter has been resolved, as he, of course, nonchalantly told his guest. It’s also a trap that the 77-year-old is well aware of. “You know you’re going to convince me to agree to this,” McCartney laughed. He added: “The Stones are a fantastic group, I go see them every time they’re on the road because they’re a great, great band and Mick really has it, the singing and the moves. Keith, Ronnie and Charlie are great. They are really, really great. I love her…”
But after a pause, of course, came the crucial sentence that fans all over the world were expecting: “I love the Stones, but I agree with you: The Beatles are better.”