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Marijuana deluxe: Paul McCartney goes to prison in 1980
Full of anticipation, Paul McCartney landed at Narita International Airport in Tokyo on January 16, 1980. An 11-city tour of Japan was planned with his band Wings. It was his first visit to the island since performing with the Beatles in 1966.
Maybe he should have hidden his dope better. Half a pound of marijuana was discovered in McCartney’s luggage during airport security.
“He looked more amazed than I did”
“When the inspector pulled the stuff out of my bag, he looked more amazed than I did,” McCartney recalled. “I think he would have liked to have put it back straight away and forgotten the whole thing. But there it was in front of us.”
Although the singer was later able to assure the authorities that he was only bringing in the weed for personal purposes, the quantity was large enough for him to be arrested for the time being. McCartney briefly faced up to seven years in prison on suspicion of drug smuggling. And that had to be taken seriously: The Japanese authorities are known for their rigorous anti-drug policy, as well as for the fact that celebrities do not enjoy any special rights before the judiciary. So it is only surprising that the 38-year-old was released relatively quickly and not brought before a court.
But first McCartney was taken away in handcuffs. “That’s a mistake!” he said in protest. He was interrogated, the Wings tour was canceled within eleven hours – and the ex-Beatle ended up in a prison cell where eight other inmates were already waiting for him.
He himself could have known that McCartney would be meticulously examined when he entered the country in 1980. Only five years earlier, the ex-Beatle was denied a visa by Japan because of his previous arrests for drug possession that he had gotten in Europe.
Fitness exercises in prison
“My first night in prison was the worst,” McCartney said. “I couldn’t sleep. I was afraid I wouldn’t see my family again for years.”
During those nine days, the singer became “Inmate #22.” He was not allowed to play the guitar or work with writing materials behind bars. But he did fitness exercises, chatted with the other prisoners, and he quickly became known as a friendly cellmate.
The only thing that was said to be unpleasant was the interrogations that took place every morning. “I had already apologized for breaking Japanese law. But they still wanted to know everything about me. My whole life story. The school, my parents, even what the medal the Queen had awarded me was about.”
On the sixth day, Linda was finally allowed to visit Paul. Her care package included a vegetarian sandwich, new clothes and sci-fi books.
When McCartney was released on the ninth day, countless Japanese fans were already waiting at the airport to pay respect to the singer, who had to involuntarily “shorten” his “tour”. In the departure hall, Macca took courage, picked up the acoustic guitar and improvised a melody, even in front of the camera. Then finally he began his well-deserved journey home.
There was even speculation as to whether McCartney had perhaps forced his arrest – to have a reason to break up the Wings. Which happened shortly after his return to England.
“How could you be so stupid?”
In 1990, McCartney returned to Japan for a tour. It is not known whether he was able to suppress a wink during baggage inspection at the airport. In 2004, he gave a reason for his careless actions at the time: “I just didn’t know if I would be able to get anything to smoke in Japan. And the stuff was too good to flush down the toilet.”
John Lennon is said to have commented on McCartney’s arrest in 1980. According to a housekeeper at the Dakota Building, Lennon said: “If he needs cloth, there are plenty of people who could have transported it for him. You’re a Beatle, boy, a Beatle. Your face is known everywhere. How could you be so stupid?”
