So while George was in L.A. working on the Jackie Lomax album, John was laying low after his drug bust, and Ringo was in Sardinia snorkeling or something (I think “Octopus’s Garden” dates from around this time), Paul was in New York with Linda.
According to Bob Spitz’s The Beatles, Paul had a great time in NYC, staying at Linda’s apartment at Lexington & 83rd and walking around town disguised in army surplus and a fake beard. They went to the Apollo Theater, ate Chinese food, and hung around record stores. I’m imagining a romantic movie montage set to “I Will,” “Martha My Dear,” or — even better — “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road.”
At one point they walked past a Buddhist temple offering instant weddings, and Paul asked Linda to marry him; she thought about it and politely demurred. He may or may or not have been kidding, but in any case, things were getting serious. “One unusually cool and crisp October afternoon,” says Spitz, “after a serene stroll shopping on the Upper West Side, Paul suggested to Linda that she and [her daughter] Heather return to London with him — permanently.”
I wonder what she said?