Paul McCartney: "I don't really get a lot of this influencer stuff"

Paul McCartney has revealed that he is still baffled by “a lot of this influencer stuff” he sees online and doesn’t “get” the appeal of it.

- READ MORE: NME Big Read – Paul McCartney: “The Beatles were brothers arguing, that’s what families do”

The 83-year-old music icon and Beatles star is currently getting ready to drop his new solo album ‘ The Boys Of Dungeon Lane ’ later this month – a deeply personal record that sees him retrace his upbringing in Liverpool.

In a new interview with The Rest is Entertainment , he was asked about his thoughts on modern-day trends and the rise of influencer culture that dominates social media, and revealed that it is something he doesn’t get the hype around.

“I think a lot of this influencer stuff… I just don’t really get it because I’m not that generation,” he said. “But you can’t help seeing it. My wife will be looking at Instagram and showing me something, and then one of those will come on.

“I think it’s funny – and I suppose it always happened – but people who don’t seem to be particularly talented are incredibly famous. Billions of hits and views.”

He then quipped that he feels like he has “got to be careful about saying that” because he knows it makes him “sound very old-fashioned…Which I am.”

He also reflected on the massive fame he has got, and what it means to him to continuously see his music resonate with people across different generations around the world.

“Think about it, what were we doing when we started? We’re at school, you go to the careers master and he tells you you’re hopeless – there’s nothing out there for you. And then you get in a group and start to do well,” he said.

“What is it you’re looking for? Approval. Money. To get out of your circumstances and rise in the world. I don’t think there’s any point being shy about that. I think everyone knows. If you’re in a job, you want a promotion,” he added, also sharing how he is grateful for his upbringing for keeping him grounded.

“I was very lucky – I came from a very loving family of very smart working-class people. And I always say to people: don’t underestimate the working class.”

McCartney also spoke about his Liverpool upbringing when talking to NME back in 2018 , and recalled what it was like to go back to his hometown and see how things had changed.

“It’s great for me going back to Liverpool, going back to my childhood places,” he said. “I always drive myself around, and I’ll drive people on a route which was my bus route from school, one from Speke and one from Allerton.

“Whoever’s in the car gets the tourist trip past my old house, which is now a National Trust thing, and I’ll go, ‘There’s my bedroom there, that was the alleyway round the back that we called The Jigger,’ and all these things come flooding back.

“So that’s what it was like at The Cavern. It makes you play better, I think, being back in a little club like that, inches from your audience. It reminds you of how it was.”

His new album, ‘The Boys Of Dungeon Lane’, is set for release on May 29 ( pre-order here ) and includes a duet with Ringo Starr on ‘ Home To Us’ –  a nostalgic reflection on their Liverpool roots that marks their first ever vocal collaboration. It also features Texas’ Sharleen Spiteri and The Pretenders ’ Chrissie Hynde .

The doors of 3 Savile Row in London’s Mayfair, meanwhile, will be open to the public next year for the first-ever official Beatles fan experience . The site of the iconic 1969 rooftop concert will allow fans access to seven floors of archives and exhibitions, while the ‘Let It Be’ studio will also be recreated.

The post Paul McCartney: “A lot of this influencer stuff – I just don’t really get it” appeared first on NME .

_Originally reported by [NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/paul-mccartney-a-lot-of-this-influencer-stuff-i-just-dont-really-get-it-3945369?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=paul-mccartney-a-lot-of-this-influencer-stuff-i-just-dont-really-get-it)._