Linda and Paul McCartney not as happy as they seemed?

[buttmunch]

World exclusive: A close friend of Linda McCartney, who has recordings of her innermost thoughts, has given a remarkable insight into her supposed idyllic marriage.

She reveals Sir Paul McCartney's first wife Linda was so unhappy at one point during their marriage that she talked about leaving him, The Mail on Sunday reveals today.

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The sensational claim is made by Peter Cox, the man in possession of the 'Linda Tapes' - the recorded confessions she made about her life and relationship with Sir Paul.

In an exclusive interview, Mr Cox, her close friend and confidant, claimed: "There were moments when Linda would feel deeply unhappy and depressed about her marriage.

"Every marriage has its ups and downs, of course. In her low moments, the idea of leaving him did cross her mind, but she immediately rejected it. Her family was the most important thing in her life and there was no way she'd give them up. At the low points, she did feel trapped."

He added: "When I started to learn all this, I was a bit dazed because I thought this was Britain's happiest marriage."

Mr Cox, a successful literary agent who worked with Linda on a vegetarian cookery book, gives a rare insight into the McCartneys' world and paints a portrait of a couple whose harmonious public facade often belied secret turmoil.

Although he found Paul charming and charismatic, Mr Cox claimed the star had 'a darker side and could be very controlling. Linda often had to dance attendance upon him. He bossed her around'.

It is not thought Linda refers to domestic abuse on any of the 19 tapes she made.

But Mr Cox recalled: "Occasionally I'd find Linda in tears, obviously distressed. And there were about five or six occasions when I would get the train down to work with her only to be met by a driver who'd been sent to say that she couldn't see me. That was when I got really worried."

Mr Cox has given an undertaking to Sir Paul's lawyers that he will not divulge the contents of the tapes. Even so, there has been speculation that they may yet play a part in the former Beatle's increasingly rancorous divorce from second wife Heather Mills.

It is understood that a judge could demand they be played in court. Ms Mills alleges that Sir Paul was violent towards her during their four-year marriage. He has vigorously denied her claims.

Last night Mr Cox, 51, told how he grew close to Linda, who died in 1998. Between 1987 and 1989, he was a frequent visitor to the McCartneys' estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, often spending two days a week at their home researching the vegetarian cookery book Linda McCartney's Home Cooking.

"People may find this surprising," he said, 'but Paul used to complain that their life at Peasmarsh was isolated, out of the way. He felt they were out of the swing of things and he wanted very much to be in town, going to parties and restaurants.

"Linda didn't want that. She just wanted to lead a happy, normal life surrounded by her family and the things she loved. This was one of the causes of tension between them."

Mr Cox was introduced to the McCartneys in early 1987 by Chrissie Hynde, the former lead singer of The Pretenders and a close friend of Linda.

At the time Mr Cox, a former chief executive of the Vegetarian Society and advertising agency boss, was riding high on the success of his best-selling book You Don't Need Meat.

"Chrissie took me to Peasmarsh to meet them both," he said. "They rode up on horses to meet us and Paul said, "You're Peter Cox - I want to get your autograph."

"It was a bizarre thing to say but, as a young author, I was chuffed. Paul and I then went for a walk around the garden. It was all very strange. He said to me, 'If I gave you a million pounds, would you eat a hamburger?'

"I said, 'No,' and he accused me of lying. What does this say about him - that he thinks everyone has a price? There was always this question mark with Paul, as if he was constantly thinking, 'What do you want from me? I am Paul McCartney and you want something from me and I'm going to find out what it is'.

"That attitude was always there and I found it most depressing.

"Also on that walk, he kept talking about John Lennon in the present tense. It was John says this and John thinks that. Very weird. And he spoke about that reference to The Beatles being more famous than Jesus. He said, 'Do you realise how much power we could have had if we'd gone to the dark side?'

"I didn't know quite what to say. But after that he seemed at pains to come over as a regular kind of guy. Of course he is not a regular guy. He is a hugely talented man and a multi-millionaire."

Mr Cox admitted: "I didn't warm to Paul. There was an awful coldness about him. His eyes were deader than any I had ever seen. But Linda and I hit if off that day. She had this aloof image but I found her the opposite - warm and caring."

Linda, who cherished her privacy, was initially cautious about collaborating on a recipe book, perhaps fearing it would expose her to too much public scrutiny.

But it also offered her the opportunity to do something for herself, to have her own project. For despite relishing her role as wife and mother, Mr Cox said he detected that she was possibly a little frustrated.

According to Mr Cox, Paul and those around him viewed the book 'patronisingly' as a nice diversion for Linda, a hobby that would not amount to much.

"In the end she said she would do it for the animals," said Mr Cox. "With Linda, vegetarianism was all about animals, not a health thing. In fact, she ate quite unhealthily - too much dairy produce, as I often told her.

"She said she wanted the book to offer vegetarian food for truck drivers. She said Paul liked traditional dishes and that is what they had at home - bangers and mash, that sort of thing.

"It was difficult to work out Linda's recipes because she was such an instinctive cook, throwing stuff in with no regard to weights and measures. It meant that everything took a lot of time."

It was not the only thing that hampered progress. Linda's relationship with Paul had a serious impact on their efforts.

"Linda would try to arrange it so we would work on the book when Paul wasn't there,' said Mr Cox. "If he was, he would always dominate things so much that we couldn't get anything done.

"The work was mainly done at the kitchen table. If Paul was there, he would be the alpha male. He had an opinion about everything. When he was in the room, there was only one thing that counted - Paul's agenda, what he wanted to talk about. So work was suspended until Mr McCartney left the building.

"Linda had to be attentive when Paul was there. I remember we had one of our mobile meetings about the book - in the car as we were driving to see Paul - when a call came in on the car phone. He wanted to see only her and I was dumped unceremoniously near the M25. She was very embarrassed and apologetic. But that was just Paul."

Normally, Mr Cox would travel by train to Rye, three miles from Peasmarsh, where he would be picked up in a Land Rover by one of the McCartneys' staff. On other occasions, he would get a taxi from the station. And sometimes he would be picked up at his London home by limousine.

He said: "Linda had a cleaner, a Cockney, who lived in Stratford, East London. The limo would pick me up first and then pick her up and we would head for Sussex.

"I remember thinking, 'She must be the only cleaner in the world who is taken to work by limo'."

Mr Cox also recalls Linda's varying moods. "Some days she would be terrific, and other days she would be depressed about things and wouldn't want to do anything," he said. "To get her to focus I would remind her that it was for the animals.

"I also had a secret weapon, though I'm not particularly proud of this. Linda had spoken to me about Jane Asher, Paul's former fiancee, and while it wasn't in a jealous way, she was quite negative about her.

"So I got her book, Jane Asher's Party Cakes, and always carried it with me when I went to Peasmarsh. If she was a bit down, I'd slam it on the kitchen table and it acted as a spur, like a red rag to a bull. In fact, Linda would say, 'Right, let's get going'."

There were times, however, when no amount of jokey cajoling would deliver Linda from her profound gloom, and Mr Cox learned to recognise the signs.

"Often she would be outside the house to greet me because she could hear the car coming down the drive," he said. "I could tell within seconds if she was upset. Sometimes, she would put a brave face on but other times she was in tears. On those occasions I could only offer her a sympathetic shoulder and listen to her."

Often, as Linda poured out her woes, they would sit in the kitchen with its panoramic view of the McCartneys' gently sloping acres and Linda's beloved Appaloosa horses. If the weather was fine, they would sit or walk outside.

Mr Cox added: "We were very close. We always had lots of hugs but it was a platonic relationship. I was happily married. I don't know if Paul was jealous but I was conscious that he might have been. There were no hugs when he was around."

Privy to many intimacies in the marriage that even some of the McCartneys' most trusted advisers were unaware of, Mr Cox said he came to the conclusion that Paul kept his wife on a 'tight leash - like a caged animal'.

"It struck me that she didn't have ready access to money," he said. "For instance, I would often lend her a fiver or a tenner for groceries.

"On her birthday, Paul gave her a Cartier watch. It was a huge deal for her. Oddly, she kept telling me how valuable it was, how it had cost £20,000. But you have to ask how she knew how much it cost.

"Paul was also determined, wisely, to make their children aware of certain realities and limited their allowances."

Another persistent source of tension in the marriage, according to Mr Cox, was touring. "There was always a great kerfuffle about going on tour. Paul would want Linda there when really she didn't want to go. Then he said grudgingly that she didn't have to go if she didn't want to. In the end she went, of course. But it was always a great drama."

For all his wealth and celebrity, Mr Cox asserts that Paul was 'frustrated'. Even Linda, he says, referred to him as 'such a frustrated man', though enigmatically she didn't say why.

"I suggested to Linda that he should go into politics," said Mr Cox, "but she said he would do that only if he could be Prime Minister."

Despite reservations about the cook book's prospects of success - one publisher turned it away, saying it didn't stand a chance without meat recipes as well - it proved to be a best-seller when it came out in autumn 1989.

Mr Cox recalled: "Suddenly Paul's company MPL seized upon this money-making venture that had been our little project that no one gave a toss about. Paul asked me to be the managing director of a food company he was starting, what would eventually become Linda McCartney's range of foods."

Mr Cox agreed instead to act as a consultant but soon clashed with Paul 'over the nature of the company'. However, relations between the two were not always frosty. "Paul and Linda lent my family their farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre for three weeks one Christmas," he said.

Yet some time later he went to see Paul at a recording studio in London about some aspect of the business. "He kept me waiting for hours," said Mr Cox.

"When he eventually came out he said brusquely, 'I haven't got time to see you'.

"I said, 'I have been waiting for hours Paul,' and he replied that he was Paul McCartney and not to forget it.

"I said, 'I know you are, Paul. There's only ever one Paul McCartney, isn't there?'

"He seemed surprised that I had stood up to him and gave me a cocky smile. The next day he rang to apologise, which was rare, apparently."

A few weeks later, Mr Cox told Paul that he no longer wanted to work with him, saying that he wanted to stick to publishing.

"He was OK about it - he wasn't going to beg," said Mr Cox. "I knew I was giving up a lot of money but I'd had enough of his world."

After that the 'shutters came down' and Mr Cox's relationship with Linda began to fade, though they kept in touch intermittently by phone. He was devastated to learn that Linda had cancer and upset, too, when he wasn't invited to her funeral.

"Whatever the strange dynamic of their relationship, Linda was the only one Paul could open up to," said Mr Cox. "She was like a mother to him. I have no doubt she loved him enormously, despite their problems."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...#StartComments

Although it's kind of shitty that this man is making this public, it doesn't really surprise me that Paul is not a saint. Writing catchy pop songs, not getting divorced, being a widower...none of that makes you a saint and I think he has a very carefully controlled public image.

[HWBL]

^I agree with the McCartney not being a saint part, but this guy is kind of a low life in saying he won't make the tapes public, but then talking about their contents quite extensively. Asshat.

"Mr Cox has given an undertaking to Sir Paul's lawyers that he will not divulge the contents of the tapes. "

[Elisa]

There's really no great revelation here. Every marriage has its ups and downs. I'm sure the fact that she was married to one of the most desired men in the world took its toll at times. The difference is in those days you stayed 'for better, for worse' unlike today. There's no denying she and Paul had a great love in spite of a lot of obstacles.

Also, I find it disgusting that a so-called 'friend' would be coming out of the woodwork now. There must be a book on the way. Oh the irony that this would coincide with Heather's 'claims'. The couple had what's always been said until recently was a happy 29 years of marriage and Linda's been dead 9 years. Until now, no one has ever claimed that their marriage was anything but a happy one. Are we to simply presume that because Heather is now saying Paul's not what he appears, it's a fact? I don't believe he's perfect, but I do believe he loved Linda unlike any other - even Heather.

[aabbcc]

I think this guy is yapping for attention ... he keeps saying Linda inferred stuff, but wouldn't expand on anything ... meaning he's just reading into it and putting his own slant on things.

He would lend her money for groceries? Don't believe that for a second.

Paul wanted to go out and party? Wasn't Heather's big complaint was that Paul always wanted to sit at home and not do anything?

I wonder how much money this tool is getting for his so-called first hand info about Linda.

[irishpig]

Agree..this guy makes lots of suppositions, but doesn't back a damn thing up. And also agree, all marriages have their rough spots, each partner has their own quirks and flaws. But some of the statements about Linda make me wonder if she suffered from depression.

[LynnieD]

Blah blah blah.....so she was depressed about things sometimes, so he seemed controlling. He has a HUGE EGO, wouldn't ANYONE ELSE in that position?? I mean geez..
I don't buy a lot of what he said either, but I bet there is some truth in there too. No one is happy 100% of the time, and certainly no marriage is perfect....even theirs.

[Chalet]

That's right. No marriage is idyllic and it's got to be difficult living with an artist (as Linda was too). They had longevity in the world of music which is incredible in itself. I always thought they had great love and respect for each other, that they were on a real journey together.

Interesting how we never heard much about Paul and Linda's marriage during those years, even after her death, and yet now things are being so-called revealed during his messy divorce. People need to shut up more often.

[ediebrooks]

The article was very interesting, I do admit, but there was no compelling need for this guy to flap his jaws about Paul and Linda's marriage. I agree with whoever said he must be working on a book. It wouldn't be surprise me if Paul were kind of controlling and demanding;he's been famous all his adult life and he is used to getting his way. Doesn't mean he's a bad person, just means he's human.

[pinklilycat]

Oh how awful. God some people are just fu*king vultures. I can't imagine what the McCartney kids must be going through. I really hope people like this Cox bloke and Heather get what they deserve in the end. What tw*ts.

[ediebrooks]

Maybe they'll team up. They would probably be a great couple.

[Icepik]

How can anyone say what sort of a marriage Paul and Linda had? The only ones that can say anything are those two themselves - anything else is just an assumption.

[mistify]

This is so lousy ..... Linda is not here to refute this or tell her side.. I hate these people that do this,, the friend of JFK jr , Princess Dianas' so called friends, and whoever else I am forgetting make a buck off someones dead memory..... sick, sick.........

[bite me spidey]

Originally Posted by Elisa

There's really no great revelation here. Every marriage has its ups and downs. I'm sure the fact that she was married to one of the most desired men in the world took its toll at times. The difference is in those days you stayed 'for better, for worse' unlike today. There's no denying she and Paul had a great love in spite of a lot of obstacles.

Also, I find it disgusting that a so-called 'friend' would be coming out of the woodwork now. There must be a book on the way. Oh the irony that this would coincide with Heather's 'claims'. The couple had what's always been said until recently was a happy 29 years of marriage and Linda's been dead 9 years. Until now, no one has ever claimed that their marriage was anything but a happy one. Are we to simply presume that because Heather is now saying Paul's not what he appears, it's a fact? I don't believe he's perfect, but I do believe he loved Linda unlike any other - even Heather.

I wholeheartedly agree. I'm not surprised by these tapes because everybody has their ups and downs. I doubt there's any couple that doesn't contemplate "divorce" at some point -- even if it's never talked about or mentioned to the other partner. We're human and nobody is perfect.

She doesn't appear to speak about abuse though, so that's enough for me. He didn't abuse her -- she probably just succumbed to pressures every now and then and felt like venting.

Originally Posted by Icepik

How can anyone say what sort of a marriage Paul and Linda had? The only ones that can say anything are those two themselves - anything else is just an assumption.

If you haven't noticed -- people always like to pretend they know more than they do. You'll hear people all over saying "so and so is this" or "so and so did that" when in reality they don't know. Such is the way of society.

[ediebrooks]

I think it's normal for any person in a relationship to feel discouraged or want to leave;it doesn't mean that the relationship is bad or the other person involved in the relationship is bad. Although as I stated earlier ,the article made for interesting reading, it's nobody's business and this so-called friend who came out of the woodwork really should have kept his trap shut.

[LynnieD]

Anyone see what Stella said about Heather saying her father beat her? Said, and I love this, 'I'll fucking kill her'. Wasn't a huge fan of Stellas prior, but that chick is starting to grow on me...