Linda a groupie?
At the start, no one could have predicted that the relationship between Paul McCartney and the New York photographer Linda Eastman would be the spectacular success it became. For one thing — as his fans cattily pointed out — Linda was hardly glamorous. Her long blonde hair always looked unkempt and her clothes were frankly dowdy. For another, she’d recently divorced her first husband, by whom she had a daughter, and clearly had no immediate intention of settling down. Hence she was gaining a reputation not only for taking pictures of rock stars but also for sharing their beds.
By 1967, her detractors regarded Linda as a rarefied form of groupie. Indeed, before meeting McCartney, she’d already had brief affairs or one-night stands with several icons, including Mick Jagger, Doors’ singer Jim Morrison and the Hollywood star Warren Beatty. At press conferences thronging with photographers, it was Linda who always managed to stand out. A female photographer called Blair Sabol described what happened when they all turned up to take photos of Beatty.
But did that make Linda a groupie? With hindsight, she seems more like a genuine free spirit, whose emancipated attitude to sex was hardly uncommon in the early years of the feminist movement. In one respect, at least, she was ultra-conventional, remaining a scrupulous and caring mother to her young daughter, Heather. McCartney first met Linda when she turned up to photograph The Beatles in London. As usual, she was impossible to ignore — kneeling in front of him to take pictures and looking deep into his eyes. After seeing her again at another press conference in New York, he left a message with her answering-service, inviting her to meet him in Los Angeles.
By: Phillip Norman
Source: Daily Mail
