McCartney has stopped signing autographs

In a new interview with Reader’s Digest, Sir Paul McCartney lets it be known that he no longer signs autographs or poses for fan photos.

Sir Paul McCartney has stopped signing autographs.
He told Reader’s Digest in a new interview: “It always struck me as a bit strange – ‘here, can I write your name down on the back of this till receipt please?’ Why? We both know who I am.”

Paul also doesn’t understand why anyone would want a poor-quality selfie with the 79-year-old icon and insisted he would rather have a nice chat with his fans: “What you’ve usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable. Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories.”

It was Ringo Starr who, in 2008, first announced that he would not be signing any more autographs or accepting fan mail, as he kept seeing his signed memorabilia appear for sale through ebay and other outlets shortly after.

In other news, Paul McCartney is featured in a series of segments on BBC, reading extracts from his new book, all about the songs he has written.

12 Responses

  1. Blakey says:

    Ah, but will Paul gladly pose for a selfie with another celebrity, if another celebrity asks him to? Or is it just us ‘ordinary’ Beatles fans that will get refused?🤔

  2. Shelley Woods says:

    I’d rather have a chat with Paul than an autograph. But it would be hard not having a pic to show everyone. Respect the choice though.

  3. Patsounds says:

    The Beatles where always very approachable, even when you stood in front of their houses. We all know what extreme Beatles fandom could lead too. I am glad he has stopped giving autographes. Respect his privacy.
    Pitty everybody sells those autographs. It is a good thing Ringo stopped in 2008.

  4. vern gibbons says:

    when they were nobodies, they got autographs from the headliners they played with.

  5. Judy A Carrier says:

    Paul has always been more interested in the stories people have, anecdotes, or having small snippets of convos with people. He is VERY approachable . He loves life, and all the people in the world who are living it. Good for him. Always will have a place in my heart. Love ya Sir Paul!!! THANK YOU for being the soundtrack of mine, and millions of other people’s lives for all these years. YOU sir are a class act. ❤❤❤❤

  6. Tony Mc says:

    It used to be that autographs were for true hard core fans that fans actually held on to as a memory of meeting an admired celebrity….and then came the $ they could be sold for and the efficient cyberspace market. Now when someone wants an autograph, it could be just about the money it could make the recipient….I don’t blame Paul. He has given a great deal of himself to his fans over the years.

  7. Mick Mac says:

    So where does signing astronomically-priced-extremely-limited-edition copies of one’s new book fit into the new “no autographs” regime?

  8. Naes retrac says:

    So have John and George

  9. kozmo says:

    It’s sad when celebrities feel the autograph bit has gone crazy and they ought to shut it down; I can understand why, but it’s just sad, because once they were autograph collectors, too. We have corrupted the things that once were innocent and freely given.

  10. Shad Radna says:

    I haven’t seen the piece but someone posted a video on YouTube pointing out that he doesn’t actually say in it that he has stopped signing autographs. The piece doesn’t seem to make much sense (as a lot of these things don’t these days) but it seems as though the conversation ran along the lines that people used to ask for autographs but these days they’re more likely to ask for selfies. Paul’s glad that we’ve moved on from autographs because he always found that a bit weird. But he’s not much keener on selfies and would rather just have a chat with people.

  11. Rick says:

    Wonder how many he has signed the past 60 years?

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