<p id=”par-1_54″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/paul-mccartney/?swcfpc=1″>Paul McCartney</a> said that when he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-said-childhood-warmer-john-lennons-made-seem-uncool.html/”>was a child</a>, he often lied to get out of trouble. This often worked for him without terrible consequences. One lie he told his mother began to eat away at him, though. He shared how long he lived with the shame before he admitted the truth to her.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-paul-mccartney-said-a-lie-he-told-his-mother-made-him-feel-ashamed”>Paul McCartney said a lie he told his mother made him feel ashamed</h2>
<p id=”par-2_31″>When McCartney <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-wrote-classic-beatles-song-while-skipping-school-liverpool.html/”>was in school</a>, he admitted he often made “dirty” drawings for the other boys in his class. He put one in his pocket, where his mother later discovered it.</p>
<p id=”par-3_107″>“I once did a dirty drawing for the class. I was the lad who did them,” he told Hunter Davies in <em>The Beatles: The Authorized Biography</em>. “It was folded so you just saw the head and the feet of a woman, but when you opened it out, she was all naked. The full schoolboy bit, with pubic hair thrown in, not that I had any idea what that looked like. By mistake I left it in the top pocket of my shirt. This was the pocket I used to keep my dinner tickets in and my mother always searched it before washing as I often left some.”</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 McCartney and his brother, Mike | Keystone/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_16″>When she confronted him with it, McCartney lied, pinning it on another student in his class.</p>
<p id=”par-5_48″>“I came home one day and she held it out to me,” he said. “‘Did you do this?’ I said no, no, honest, no. I said it was Kenny Alpin, a boy in our class. He must have put it there. I’d tell you if I’d done it.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_17″>It didn’t take long before he admitted the truth. The lie was weighing on him too heavily.</p>
<p id=”par-7_17″>“I kept it up for two days,” he said. “Then I admitted it. The shame was terrible.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-shared-how-he-reacted-when-he-got-in-trouble”>He shared how he reacted when he got in trouble</h2>
<p id=”par-8_26″>According to his father, McCartney was able to get out of trouble by denying his involvement in it. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartneys-brother-michael-says-brothers-success-gave-hope-mother-died.html/”>His brother, Mike</a>, didn’t always get so lucky.</p>
<p id=”par-9_49″>“I was once hitting Michael for doing something,” his father said. “Paul stood by shouting at Mike, ‘Tell him you didn’t do it and he’ll stop.’ But Mike didn’t and admitted he had done it, whatever it was. But Paul was always able to get out of most things.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_16″>McCartney said that when his parents did punish him, he sought to get back at him.</p>
<p id=”par-11_43″>“I was pretty sneaky,” says Paul. “If I ever got bashed for being bad, I used to go into their bedroom when they were out and rip the lace curtains at the bottom, just a little bit, then I’d think ‘That’s got them.’”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-a-former-beatle-claimed-paul-mccartney-told-a-more-recent-lie”>A former Beatle claimed Paul McCartney told a more recent lie</h2>
<p id=”par-12_48″>According to former Beatles’ drummer Pete Best, McCartney <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/pete-best-claimed-paul-mccartney-lied-getting-contact.html/”>told a more recent lie</a> about him. The Beatles fired Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr shortly before they hit it big. The Beatles <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-admitted-beatles-cowards-fired-drummer-pete-best.html/”>later felt ashamed</a> of the way they avoided Best and had their manager fire him. </p>
<p id=”par-13_27″>When Best learned he would be receiving royalties for the 1995 album <em>Anthology</em>, some sources said McCartney called him with the news. Best denied that this happened.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Beatles-4.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”A black and white picture of Paul McCartney, Pete Best, George Harrison, and John Lennon of The Beatles wearing suits.” class=”wp-image-3785871″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Paul McCartney, Pete Best, George Harrison, and John Lennon | Hulton Archive/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-14_14″>“Paul McCartney claims he called me but he didn’t,” he told the <a href=”https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/there-s-nothing-to-forgive-pete-best-on-being-sacked-from-the-beatles-1.4199732″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Irish Times</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-15_18″>Still, Best said he no longer holds a grudge against McCartney or any other member of the band.</p>