(Credits: Far Out / Apple Corps / Jessica Lehrman)
Mon 26 January 2026 18:00, UK
I often wonder who set off the chain reaction of “never meet your heroes” becoming such a trusted phrase. What icon of cultural history scarred someone so bad that they subsequently sewed a seed of emotional mistrust, directed towards anyone of status?
Of course, there are several candidates when it comes to this discussion, but surprisingly, they’re never a Beatle.
Despite being history’s biggest band, rarely do you hear a story of the living Beatles being particularly difficult or high maintenance in their day-to-day life – nor do they exercise the sort of uncompromising stubbornness of beloved creatives like Bob Dylan or Van Morrison.
Instead, most stories of a Beatle encounter usually result in some sort of anecdote that adds to the mythology of the group. Perhaps the most famous of all is the tale of a young American fan who once travelled all the way to John Lennon’s house to question the existential meanings of his music, only to be invited in for a cup of tea.
Then there is Steward Copeland, who sits a little bit higher than your average fan looking for a cup of tea, but nevertheless, boasts the sort of Beatles fandom that makes him just like one of us – a sweaty mess, whose heart flutters with nerves when simply sharing a room with one of the band.
But on one fateful night, Copeland felt as though he was almost in a fever dream, as he ended up getting in between Paul McCartney and a humble joint, with him recalling, “It was at the after party for the Foo Fighters concert at Wembley Stadium,” he explains, most likely referring to their tour in 2008.
While the anecdote starts with the sort of opulence you would expect from an industry figure, it soon descends into something fitting of the everyday Beatle fan. He continued, “Somebody says, ‘Oh, I smell marijuana,’ and so I wander over in that general direction just as somebody’s handing a joint. So I said, OK, sure – just to be polite – I took the joint, and I looked over, and I realised that the intended recipient of the joint was none other than Paul McCartney. And I had just interrupted the passage of this chalice to the great one! I had interloped in this moment.”
He added, “I went to bed that night not quite sure whether I was mortally embarrassed or if that was kind of a cool brag.”
But Macca took the interception lightly, celebrating the laid-back spirit of rock and roll, his music was famed for. Once the dust from Copeland’s blunder settled, the sobering reminder of just how normal a guy McCartney is, despite his fame, began to set in, and the drummer subsequently views him as one of the true gentlemen of the industry.
“He sets the standard,” Copeland says. “He not only remembers your name and talks to you like a regular guy, but he remembers your wife’s name – and, you know, he absolutely is a regular guy in spite of being a Beatle.”
Meeting Paul McCartney isn’t on my immediate calendar, sadly. But were the opportunity ever to crop up, I certainly wouldn’t pass it up on the basis that meeting your heroes leaves you sadly disappointed. It sounds like with McCartney, it is anything but.
Related Topics
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.