<p id=”par-1_49″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/paul-mccartney/?swcfpc=1″>Paul McCartney</a> has many fond memories of his childhood in Liverpool, but one of his earliest is surprisingly violent. When reminiscing on his youth, the former <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/the-beatles/?swcfpc=1″>Beatle</a> spoke about the way his mother interacted with the community. In an offhand comment, he recalled another one of his earliest memories.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-paul-mccartney-shared-one-of-his-earliest-memories”>Paul McCartney shared one of his earliest memories</h2>
<p id=”par-2_41″>When McCartney was a child, his mother, Mary, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartneys-mom-received-vip-treatment-hospital-gave-birth-future-beatle.html/”>worked as a midwife</a>. She was tirelessly hardworking and earned the respect of the families in the area. McCartney recalled a time when someone gave her a plaster dog as a thank you.</p>
<p id=”par-3_30″>“It was out of gratitude for some delivery she had done,” he said in <em>The Beatles: The Authorized Biography</em> by Hunter Davies. “People were always giving her presents like that.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-McCartney-brother-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”A black and white picture of Paul McCartney and his brother, Mike, sitting in a field as children.” class=”wp-image-3785870″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Paul and Mike McCartney | Keystone/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_26″>McCartney said watching his mother receive this dog was his earliest memory. Another more violent one also stood out in the furthest reaches of his mind.</p>
<p id=”par-5_29″>“I have another memory, of hiding from someone then hitting them over the head with an iron bar,” he admitted. “But I think the plaster dog was the earliest.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-paul-mccartney-shared-his-fond-memories-of-his-mother”>Paul McCartney shared his fond memories of his mother</h2>
<p id=”par-6_20″>McCartney’s mother died when he was a teenager. Upon reflection, he found it strange that they scarcely discussed her death.</p>
<p id=”par-7_48″>“It was so strange that the loss of our mother to cancer was simply not discussed,” he told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://people.com/music/paul-mccartney-reflects-on-how-his-late-mother-became-his-greatest-muse/#:~:text=My%20mum%20was%20very%20reassuring,Let%20it%20be.%22″ rel=”noreferrer noopener”>People</a>. “We barely knew what cancer was, but I’m now not surprised that the whole experience surfaced in this song where sweetness competes with a pain you can’t quite describe.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_24″>While he said that some of his memories of her have faded, but he can still remember that she <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-smell-reminds-him-mother-mary.html/”>smelled like Nivea cold cream</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-9_55″>“My mum’s favorite cold cream was Nivea, and I love it to this day,” McCartney wrote for <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/25/paul-mccartney-writing-eleanor-rigby-beatles” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The New Yorker</a>. “That’s the cold cream I was thinking of in the description of the face Eleanor keeps ‘in a jar by the door.’ I was always a little scared by how often women used cold cream.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_12″>He went on to include this as a detail <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/eleanor-rigby-real-person-14-other-facts-you-probably-dont-know-about-the-beatles.html/”>in “Eleanor Rigby.”</a></p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-said-he-had-a-pleasant-childhood”>He said he had a pleasant childhood</h2>
<p id=”par-11_37″>While McCartney has one violent memory, he said he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-said-childhood-warmer-john-lennons-made-seem-uncool.html/”>had a good childhood</a>. He felt this especially strongly when speaking to John Lennon. Lennon’s mother also died in his youth, and he was raised by his aunt.</p>
<p id=”par-12_39″>“When I used to talk to John about his childhood, I realized that mine was so much warmer,” McCartney said, per <em>The Beatles Anthology</em>. “I think that’s why I grew up to be so open about sentimentality in particular.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-McCarntey-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”A black and white picture of Paul McCartney standing in front of a brick wall.” class=”wp-image-3786286″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Paul McCartney | Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-13_15″>McCartney believed his childhood gave him a sentimentality that has benefited him over the years.</p>
<p id=”par-14_28″>“I really don’t mind being sentimental,” he said, adding, “I know a lot of people look on it as uncool. I see it as a pretty valuable asset.”</p>