Paul McCartney: Paul Is Dead, Smuggling Drugs, and Composing the World’s Most Beloved Songs (Rewind)
DISGRACELAND
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 13.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 June 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Despite his reputation as “the safe Beatle,” Paul McCartney was a badass. He took wild artistic risks, rubbed elbows with truly dangerous characters and because of his crimes, did hard time in one of the world’s most notorious prisons. His public spats with Beatles bandmate John Lennon are the stuff of legend, as is the “Paul is dead” conspiracy at the end of their time together as a band, but the truth may be even stranger.
This episode was originally published on June 15, 2021.
To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.
To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.
Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER
Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND:
X (formerly Twitter)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is exactly right. |
| 0:03.0 | Double Elvis. |
| 0:13.0 | So, guys, this Paul McCartney episode from our archive, this special rewind episode that you're about to hear, it contains one of the wildest and most overlooked stories from music history, |
| 0:24.9 | one that is hiding in plain sight, one that barely ever gets mentioned, |
| 0:29.1 | and that's the fact that Paul McCartney in 1980, 1980, |
| 0:33.9 | he did time in one of the world's most dangerous prisons. |
| 0:37.4 | And I'm talking about real time here, |
| 0:39.1 | real prison time, not cushy, white collar lockup. I'm by no means saying this to besmirch Paul |
| 0:44.7 | or his reputation. I'm just shocked that this actually happened, that it's a thing that took place. |
| 0:51.0 | If anything, it makes Paul more badass in my eyes than he was before anyways, before I |
| 0:55.4 | learned this fact. The story, this story of Paul's time in prison and what he did to earn that time in |
| 1:01.3 | prison, it's at the center of this Paul McCartney episode, but so are the wild details behind |
| 1:05.9 | the Paul is Dead conspiracy during Paul's time of the Beatles. And the episode also gets into the way in which |
| 1:11.5 | Paul was treated in the 1970s by his critics. It's hard to imagine now because Paul is so |
| 1:17.4 | wildly beloved and successful. But there was a moment there in the 70s, if you can imagine this, |
| 1:23.8 | where Paul McCartney was actually worried about whether or not he was going to have a career in music anymore. It's a fascinating story, and I hope he dig it. Here you go. Disgrace, |
| 1:32.6 | is a production of Double Elvis. |
| 1:49.0 | The stories about Paul McCartney are insane. He is one, if not the most successful and revered living musicians. |
| 1:54.1 | Yet he died in 1966. |
| 1:56.9 | So the story goes anyway. |
| 1:58.8 | He was arrested numerous times for marijuana, accused of arson by German authorities, |
| 2:04.5 | supported and literally helped build with his own hands London's avant-garde art scene. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 16 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.