EXCLUSIVE: Paul McCartney's Late Wife Linda Back From the Dead — How Beatles and Wings Icon, 83, is Haunted by 'Emotional' Home Videos of Tragic Partner
Paul McCartney's new doc is out on February 27.
Feb. 23 2026, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Sir Paul McCartney has been left overwhelmed by intimate home videos of his late wife Linda McCartney from the new documentary Man On The Run, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Beatles and Wings icon, 83, recently addressed a star-studded audience at a U.K. screening of the film in London ahead of its release on Prime Video on February 27.
'She Looks So Beautiful'
Paul McCartney addressed a star-studded audience at a London film screening.
Directed by Morgan Neville, the documentary draws on raw, unseen footage capturing Paul in the turbulent aftermath of The Beatles' painful split in 1970, his public estrangement from John Lennon, and his determination to transform a loose group of musicians rehearsing on a remote Scottish farm into one of the defining rock bands of the 1970s.
At its heart, however, is his relationship with Linda, who died aged 56 in April 1998, three years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. For Paul, the most affecting moments in the movie are not the chart triumphs or his reconciliation with Lennon before he died in 1980, but the domestic scenes.
He said: "Seeing me and Linda interacting is very special because you know she's not here anymore. Me and Linda, the kids, the music – me and John. These memories – it's a life flashing in front of you."
He added, "All the stuff with the kids and Linda is lovely to see. Obviously, it's emotional because she looks so beautiful."
Paul McCartney Reflects on His Late Wife
Paul McCartney retreated to a remote Scottish farm to grapple with depression and uncertainty.
Sources close to Paul said he remains deeply moved by the material. One said, "Paul is still haunted by some of that footage and the memories of his time with Linda. Watching it back brings a rush of love and loss that never really leaves him."
The film opens with the iconic singer newly married to New York-born photographer Linda in March 1969, as The Beatles teetered on the brink of collapse. Less than a year later, the band had formally disbanded.
Paul retreated with Linda to a 183-acre farm on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland, seeking solace in family life as he grappled with depression and uncertainty.
He said, "I had a fear of being a grown-up. I felt very depressed, but I was very lucky because I had Linda." Home movies – much of them shot by Linda herself – show their children growing up among the fields and animals.
Fashion designer Stella McCartney, now 54, and musician James McCartney, 48, appear as small children alongside Mary McCartney and Heather McCartney, Linda's daughter from her first marriage, whom Paul adopted.
Creatively restless, Paul recorded his debut solo album, McCartney, in secrecy on his farm in Scotland, playing every instrument and singing every vocal.
The couple released the album 'Ram' in 1971 amid legal battles with the other Beatles.
For the follow-up, he turned to Linda despite her lack of musical training. In one candid clip, she asks: "What am I doing singing with Paul McCartney?" before admitting she could only play one note on the keyboard.
Paul replies: "It's a start." The couple released Ram in 1971 as Paul initiated legal action to dissolve The Beatles' partnership. The record was poorly received at the time, and critics dismissed the fledgling band Wings – formed with former The Moody Blues member Denny Laine – as lightweight.
Yet Wings would go on to secure 12 UK top 10 singles, including the chart-topping Mull Of Kintyre, and enduring hits such as Jet, Band on the Run, and Live And Let Die.
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Paul McCartney reconciled with John Lennon in New York before the latter's tragic death.
The documentary also revisits Paul's strained relationship with John, including John's biting song How Do You Sleep?. Reflecting on the feud, Paul said, "How do I sleep at night? Well, actually, quite well, but you've got to remember, I'd known John since he was a teenager, and that's kind of what I loved about John.
"He's a lovely, lovely, crazy guy."
He has described reconciling with John before his murder at 40 as one of his "greatest blessings," with his children recalling a final meeting in John's New York apartment as a "big reunion."
