Donovan Leitch on Paul McCartney and "Eleanor Rigby"

"Paul and I had a close relationship in the 1960s for brief periods, and I have nothing but respect for that man's writing talent. I can write a song every five minutes if we get going, and Paul can, as well. And that was the break-up really with the Beatles, I think, because Paul is so creative. Honestly, if he just tinkles the piano, there's another song. Paul needed, at that time, somebody like me, who could sit around and jam with him. The Beatles didn't jam at that time. They made records. Every time they got together the tape was rolling. So that's what I did for Paul in those few months we were together.

"I had a flat in Maida Vale, and Paul came around one day. He pulled up in his 1966 Aston Martin, left the doors wide open, and parked, with a tape blaring, in the middle of the road at an angle so that the traffic was held up. That was the power we had then. He came up and said, 'I've got this new song. It's called 'All in the Tungy.' He started playing his guitar, and it was 'Eleanor Rigby' before he got all the words together. He was chunking away and said, 'Isn't this a great song?' Then we heard dring-dring. I said, 'It's a fantastic song. You've got to cut that.'

"We opened the door and it was a policeman. The policeman said, very politely, 'Mr. McCartney?' Paul said, 'Yes?' The policeman said, 'Could I ask you to move your car because we have a little problem in the street?' Paul said, 'Oh, certainly.' And that was what was happening then. The whole town knew who they were, and they could do anything they wanted."