Well, I wrote this at like 3:00 in the morning so it might be complete sh*t, but I'd like to get some feedback, anyway. Be brutal.

Last night I was talking about Beatles wives and girlfriends with my mom and aunts, and I happened to mention that I thought all the people who came out praising Linda (Paul McCartney's wife) saying how she was such a good person (which she was), etc, were hypocrites, because 80% of them were probably the ones who were trashing her all over the place before she got breast cancer. I told them about how much I admire Linda, her great marriage with Paul, and her photography.
Well, one of my aunts said that she "never really liked" Linda, and then went on to say some horrid things that I don't really want to repeat, basically calling her a liar and a slut. I felt like telling her to shut up, but I didn't, because, well, 14-year-olds don't tell their aunts to shut up, for obvious reasons. So therefore I had to sit in angered silence, listening to her bash this wonderful woman with utter disregards to the facts that were lying right in front of her face. When I got home I was seething with rage at her ignorance and that's what compelled me to get up at 2:44 AM to write this article.
In my opinion, anyone who hates a Beatlegirl (except in the case of Yoko) is probably just jealous. Stupid, nieve little fangirls who think that they're going to marry some rock star who is ten years older than them. That really just make me laugh. I mean, does that kind of thing ever happen in real life?
Anyways, despite her lack of musical ability, Linda was truly a great person. Did you ever see her photography? It's excellent! In fact, the last photoshoot The Beatles ever did was with her. Lady Lindy had a way with rock stars, she made them feel at ease, and relaxed. This is what made her such a respected photographer. She was also very socially aware and involved in many charities.
Most importantly, she was exactly what Paul needed, a strong-minded woman who could show him that he wasn't always right. Like his ex-girlfriend Jane Asher, Linda could usually set Paul straight when he was about to do something stupid. Of course, she couldn't prevent him from doing every stupid thing (McCartney/Lennon, anyone?  ) but for the most part she usually stopped him. While it's true that she was the one who put the bee in his bonnet about vegetarianism, I think that was likely to happen anyway, what with the whole "hippie" era and the "rock stars doing good" fad, which apparantly never ended. Besides, two of Paul's bandmates were also vegetarian, so, even if Linda hadn't talked it into him one of them would have, most likely. And it's not like there's anything wrong with being a vegetarian in the first place! Sure, sometimes Sir Paul gets a little carried away, but his intentions are good, and he means well. Linda usually managed to keep him in line, though. It's only recently that his touring demands have become so ridiculous.
Have you noticed how the ratio of stupid things he's done went down after he married her and up after she passed away? Of course, it doesn't help that his young new wife Heather Mills (affectionately refferred to on Beatles forums as "The one-legged Yoko") has been encouraging his stupid behaviour. You don't want to get me started on her, though.
To all the people out there who think Linda "conned" Paul into marrying her, (I sincerly hope there are not that many of you) I say, GROW UP! I mean, for goodness sake. Just look at their incredible marriage! They were married for almost 30 years! That's a record in rock history! And did you know that for all those years they were married, they were not apart a night, save for the 10 days Paul spent in jail for possesion of marijuana?
And another thing to consider is that she was his muse. if it weren't for Linda, we wouldn't have such great songs as "My Love" or "Maybe I'm Amazed" (both of which Paul has said hold great meaning to him). Although Linda may have insipred Paul to write his fair share of "Silly Love Songs" she also inspired him to write the touching and beautiful ballads that made him so successful.
You know, some people tend to think that since I have such a huge crush on Paul, I would be jealous of his wife. And I am- a little. But to tell you the truth, if Paul couldn't marry me (which he most certainly couldn't) I'm glad he married "The Lovely Linda". I hope that today's generation of female Beatles fans as well as tomorrow's generation realize this, and instead of hating her, they look up to her. In fact, this rule could apply for any Beatlegirl, regardless of who they married, like George's first wife Patti Boyd (also despised) and Ringo's first wife Maureen Cox (ditto). We could take a page out of some certain girl's books, because there was actually a fan club formed in England for John's first wife Cynthia Lennon, who married John before The Beatles hit it big. It's obvious that you're never going to marry your celebrity crush, so why not just be happy for those who did?
So in conclusion, I would like to say that Linda McCartney most certainly did not deserve the hatred and loathing that she recieved from so many irrational teenybopper fans. She was a kind-hearted human being who really cared about others. And, I hate to end this article on a cliche, but, there is one thing I would like to say to all the Linda haters out there: "What did she ever do to you?"

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In my opinion, anyone who hates a Beatlegirl (except in the case of Yoko) is probably just jealous.

I happen to agree with everything you've said regarding Linda, but I don't understand why it's still okay to bash Yoko. Why is that? Because she's Japanese? Because she didn't smile all the time? I'm not even sure you're doing this, but generally speaking I  have little tolerance for Yoko bashing, and I believe it's done by people who don't even know why they're doing it - except they believe they're supposed to. John was never happier than he was with Yoko, and that should register with fans who loved Lennon.
She was a harmless person. I've met both Yoko and Linda and they were very nice to me, unlike Paul and Ringo were, I'll tell you that.

Now, Heather is someone I would easily bash. She has made a monkey out of Paul, and I've seen her boss him around in interviews and so forth. I know that McCartney always wanted the married life, the family life, and all of that ... but he really seems to have just "settled" for Heather, as if he wanted to get involved again as quickly as possible... though he obviously knows more than I do there. It just really looks as if Heather has Paul on a leash. And he seems to be getting old and tolerating it.

I'm not a Yoko hater myself, but I know that some people are not only just jealous of her.

I feel Your statements on heather Mccartney are sheer opinionated and absurd.
Although I have little love for Heather Mccartney, I feel the tabloids have given her the Yoko Ono title for the irony and the sake of selling papers.
He is getting old, yes, but his family concern is no ones business, and I feel the tabloid image of Heather Mills is for naive and cynical people.


I feel the same can be said for Yoko Ono, although her often critical remarks on the Beatles Music etc has very little concrete foundations considering I would class her as an artist, and not a muscian.
Although she never smiled, she did create a wedge...although a wedge that was already there. I think Yoko Ono could have a compulsive nature..and she is often seen as been very manipulative...whether this is again a tabloid creation..I will never know..nor care about.
I dont really care for Yoko Ono, not because of her so called 'breaking up the Beatles' but for her attitude towards music as a whole, and the stories of her annyoing and selfish decisons when regarding the other 3 beatles and the Lennon estate.


Oh, and her destroying of Lennon and Berry's Live performance of Memphis Tennessee

My only gripe with Yoko is that she hogged up too much of Johns albums. As for Heather, I think that shes a manipulative b**** that got involved with Paul just for the social status. She stated that she never really knew who the Beatles were,,,,,,,come on!

I know, I feel that textbook line " I havnt heard the Beatles" must be like Honey to a Bee.
I seen her being interviewed on Parkinson, and she done herself no favours.

Yoko also claimed she handnt heard of the Beatles...Only Ringo..because his name translates in Japanese.

hmmmm.

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I feel Your statements on heather Mccartney are sheer opinionated and absurd.

Fine. I feel the same about the tired old cliches against Yoko.

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I know, I feel that textbook line " I havnt heard the Beatles" must be like Honey to a Bee.
I seen her being interviewed on Parkinson, and she done herself no favours.

Yoko also claimed she handnt heard of the Beatles...Only Ringo..because his name translates in Japanese.

hmmmm.

I don't find it hard to believe that Yoko might not originally have known each Beatle (like John Lennon) imediately by their individual names. I'd bet she knew them as The Beatles, though.

As for Heather, give me a break. She knows The Beatles. And she darn well knew of Paul McCartney. She's more manipulative than Yoko ever was. But she gets away with it because she lost a leg, and it's 2000 (the Beatles have long ago broken up) instead of 1968 (Beatles are still together). And because she's easier on the eyes.

I feel the same way about Heather as I do Yoko and Linda, Maureen and Brabara Bach.

I do not know them.  In spite of years of some good but mainly bad publicity they have all suffered somewhat the same fate (except Barbara and to a lesser extent Maureen).

I am not quick to condemn Heather...I saw her on some interview shows and she came off very badly.  That doesn't mean anything about her personally.  It means she is a bad interviewee.

Linda was as hated initially as Yoko, for she took one of the two main Beatles, the cute unmarried one, and broke a lot of hearts.  She was plain and such and people (girls) didn't understand what he saw in her.

I think Wingspan was an exceptional documentary in bringing out what it was he saw, what she gave him and why it mattered.  And once she died, like John, suddenly she acquired a halo.  It's an odd phenomenon but there it is.

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I am not quick to condemn Heather...I saw her on some interview shows and she came off very badly.  That doesn't mean anything about her personally.  It means she is a bad interviewee.

Yes, but from our standpoint, what else can we judge people on? From the interviews I've seen, it doesn't look like she just doesn't handle interviews well. On one of these she said something to the effect: "I'm the boss, and Paul knows it". That's an outright statement about who she is and how she feels, not how she handles an interview. Whenever you see her, she has this way about her - even when there's live candid footage of her backstage with Paul or something, and she's not being talked to by a reporter.

Linda always struck me as timid and nervous and laid back in interviews. Whatever the case, she never sounded as domineering as Heather did.

I don't pretend to know any of these people, but all I can go by is what I see or - in a personal case - how they treated me. Linda and Yoko were terrific and sweet to me; Paul and Ringo were not. Ironic, isn't it...? 

Think of the amount of people (fans) Paul and Ringo have seen etc.
When you have lived their sort of life, you dont know how they are going to react to a fan. It kind of spoils the moment for you..but its life.

We've talked about this in another PAUL thread. I understand all about the tough days that poor Ringo and Paul have (and don't we all, and with far less $$$ ?) , but it's no excuse in my opinion. Rotten behavior isn't accepted when you or I have a bad day; I just don't think celebs get a free pass.

Quoted from Joe_Karlosi, posted August 2, 2004, 10:25pm at here

Yes, but from our standpoint, what else can we judge people on?

Who are we to judge anyone?

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From the interviews I've seen, it doesn't look like she just doesn't handle interviews well. On one of these she said something to the effect: "I'm the boss, and Paul knows it".

Maybe you did but that's kind of vague.  I have neither seen that nor heard it before.

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That's an outright statement about who she is and how she feels, not how she handles an interview. Whenever you see her, she has this way about her - even when there's live candid footage of her backstage with Paul or something, and she's not being talked to by a reporter.

OK, I respectfully submit these are simple impressions you are taking away from this.  Anyone else would be getting any number of different impressions.

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Linda always struck me as timid and nervous and laid back in interviews. Whatever the case, she never sounded as domineering as Heather did.

And Yoko has always been far more upfront than Cynthia. 

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I don't pretend to know any of these people, but all I can go by is what I see or - in a personal case - how they treated me. Linda and Yoko were terrific and sweet to me; Paul and Ringo were not. Ironic, isn't it...? 

Yoko was sweet to me also.  Never met Linda and unless I am wrong here neither of us have met Heather, correct?

And frankly I met Yoko as a reporter while she was doing her PR job.  Tho I felt a slight kinship more than that, I don't believe I really know Yoko either.

I seem to recall Heather saying something along the lines of, "Paul is a man and all men need to be bossed around." I'm sure no one here would agree with that statemant.

Paul doesn't strike me as the type of person that would be so easily bossed around. In fact doesn't he have the reputation for being bossy himself? But maybe he's mellowed in his old age. Just needs someone to bring him is Geritol and tell him what to do for the day.