Rob Sawyer
Monday 26 August 1968 saw the release of arguably The Beatle’s greatest single (and, yes, there are several strong candidates for that accolade*). Originally inspired by John Lennon’s son, Julian, Hey Jude, Paul McCartney’ seven-minute opus, featuring a four-minute chorus-cum-outro, would sit atop of British pop charts for two weeks. It would be knocked off its perch by another McCartney composition, Those Were The Days, sung by Mary Hopkin.
[* Sorry Rob, that has to be Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane. 😉 ed. ]
Remarkably, a day after Beatles fans first rushed to grab copies of the 7” vinyl from the shelves of record shops up and down the country, the London-domiciled author of this seminal song popped up back in his home city – specifically, in the directors’ box at Goodison Park.
Never a close follower of football, McCartney has, in recent decades, been keen to be seen as supporter of the city of Liverpool, rather than of a particular football team. However, ‘Macca’ has freely admitted to being raised in an Evertonian household. His father, Jim, was a Blue and Paul recalls being taken to Goodison as a child by his uncles and hearing the Goodison Bugler sound the charge when Everton were on the attack. (See ‘The Goodison Bugler’s Last Post – The Life of Francis Hamill’ by Rob Sawyer).
For The Beatles Anthology project he recounted:
‘I went occasionally to watch football. My family team was Everton, and I went to Goodison Park a couple of times with my uncles Harry and Ron…I remember being at one game and a guy had a trumpet and was commentating on the game musically. Someone would have a shot at goal which would go way, way over the top and he’d play: “Over the mountains, over the sea.” Very skilful.’
From his teens, music dominated McCartney’s life and propelled him (and his bandmates) into the stratosphere of fame. Football, therefore, was probably one of the furthest things from his mind in the 1960s. Nonetheless, when the Toffees reached their second FA Cup Final in three years, he was at Wembley on 18 May 1968 to cheer them on. He was photographed approaching the famous North London stadium with his friend Ivan Vaughan, as police officers attempted to control over-exuberant supporters. Sadly, he chose a drab affair to watch, with the Blues succumbing to a Jeff Astle goal. **
You may have thought that defeat would constitute quite enough of watching Everton for one of Britain’s greatest-ever songwriters – but you’d be wrong. The first Merseyside derby of the 1968/69 season was played at Goodison Park on the evening of Tuesday 27 August. Why and how McCartney came to be watching the match from the directors’ box in the grand old 1909 Leitch-designed main stand is unclear, presumably an offer had been extended by someone at the Club. Nonetheless, there he was catching the attention of adoring fans before kick-off. Also present was Matt Busby, the Manchester United manager who had once been a star player for Liverpool.
In an era before blanket coverage with cameras and smart phones, no photographic evidence appears to exist of McCartney’s visit to Goodison (I would be delighted to be proved wrong), but both the Liverpool Daily Post and Liverpool Weekly News made reference to the Beatle being there.
The latter went with a short item that read:
Beatle Paul at derby
There was a surprise supporter at the Liverpool-Everton Derby game last week.
The Beatle songwriter Paul McCartney appeared in the directors’ box at Goodison shortly before the kick-off to the delight of young fans at the match. Paul, who is at present holidaying following the group’s recording of their latest record ‘Hey Jude’, was not sporting any coloured favours of either Team. He would not disclose which club he supported but was visibly delighted at the 0-0 draw which resulted.
The Daily Post’s match report, written by Ian Hargraves, made this reference to one of the city’s favourite sons:
‘For once all the crowd’s enthusiasm was not directed towards the two teams Beatle Paul McCartney made an unexpected appearance in the directors’ box, and many of the younger spectators switched allegiance rapidly.’
Whether McCartney stayed for the full 90 minutes of match action is unclear, but if he did, he’d have enjoyed a highly competitive and entertaining derby, played in the right spirit. It had everything but a goal.
Michael Charters, in a Liverpool Echo piece titled A Match You Won’t Forget, wrote:
‘At last, a truly great derby match. Last night’s goal-less draw at Goodison Park destroyed the illusion that games without goals are dull, disappointing, destructive affairs. This was the finest derby I’ve seen and my overriding impression at the end of a thrill-packed, superb exhibition by both sides was how lucky the football followers of this city are to have two such magnificent teams to support. It was English football at its best.’
Ian Hargraves in the Daily Post noted that the spirit of Scouse bonhomie was exemplified by Liverpool supporters applauding the Blues’ Toffee Lady mascot as she walked round the pitch, and Evertonians cheering Reds goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence as he approached the Gwladys Street End.
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The 63,938 present, just shy of full stadium capacity, saw an Everton side at full-strength, barring the injured Ray Wilson (Sandy Brown deputised). So, the Beatle could enjoy the midfield poetry in motion of Harvey, Kendall and Ball, supplemented by the steel of John Morrissey and the youthful promise of Joe Royle and Jimmy Husband in attack.
The game ebbed and flowed, with both sides enjoying periods of ascendancy, but the defences held firm. Horace Yates, writing for the Daily Post, felt that Everton had the more constructive style of play, but Liverpool’s ‘direct passing’ and ‘far-flung balls’ were highly effective. According to Michael Charters in the Echo, the Everton back four deserved plaudits for coming through periods of pressure from Liverpool. He also commented on Kendall and Harvey giving ‘an outstanding exhibition’ in midfield and Morrissey, up against his old club, having ‘one of the finest games of his life’.
Has Paul McCartney, or any other Beatle, seen the Toffees in action since then? If you know, let us know! Hey Jude has come to be regularly played at a number of football grounds, notably at the homes of Manchester City and Brentford. Maybe it’s time that it came ‘home’ to Everton and is played on a regular basis after the referee’s full-time whistle?
Note: **Some articles have suggested that Paul McCartney also attended the 1966 FA Cup Final, but I have not seen evidence of this – it may be a case of conflating the 1966 and 1968 finals.
Sources:
Daily Post
Liverpool Echo
Sunday Express
The Beatles Anthology
the-paulmccartney-project.com
liverpoolfootprint.co.uk/mccartney-p
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