Paul McCartney Recounts Hilarious Hiking Story About This Bandmate

Paul McCartney has recounted a hilarious memory of his Beatles bandmate, George Harrison.

During a recent episode of The Rest Is History podcast, the music legend reminisced about a time when he and his late bandmate traveled as teenagers. McCartney said that at the time they were "hitchhiking down South" to Wales and that the experience inspired one of the songs on his upcoming solo album,The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

"We got a lift from a milk float, which was electric. Those were the only vehicles we knew that were electric, [and it] went about four miles an hour, but it was a lift, so we were quite happy," the 83-year-old explained on the podcast.

McCartney added that Harrison chose to sit on the vehicle's battery, which was located between the driver and passenger seats. "The driver was sitting on the right-hand side, then there was a battery in the middle, and then there was the passenger seat on the left-hand side, and George sat on the battery."

George's jeans had a zip on the back pocket which connected with the battery, Paul explained. "[The zip] connected up and the battery had given him a bolt," said McCartney. "And later, when we got to our B&B, he showed me. Yeah, he had a great big zip tattooed into his bum."

The Grammy-winning artist was reminded of the story by George's widow, Olivia, although she believed the incident had happened to him and not her late husband. "I said, 'It wasn't it me, it was George!' But I think it's amazing the way memory does that. It can just morph," he said, per People.

George died on November 29, 2001, at the age of 58. The former Beatles guitarist passed away at a friend's LA property following a long battle with cancer.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 11:51 AM.