Man on the Run
Paul McCartney in the 1970s
$42.20
- Paperback
352 pages
- Release Date
14 May 2026
Summary
The most famous living rock musician on the planet, Paul McCartney is now regarded as a slightly cosy figure, an (inter)national treasure. Back in the 1970s, however, McCartney cut a very different figure. He was, literally, a man on the run. Desperately trying to escape the shadow of the Beatles, he became an outlaw hippy millionaire, hiding out on his Scottish farmhouse in Kintyre before travelling the world with makeshift bands and barefoot children. It was a time of numerous drug busts an…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781846977053 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1846977053 |
| Author: | Tom Doyle |
| Publisher: | Birlinn General |
| Imprint: | Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 352 |
| Release Date: | 14 May 2026 |
| Weight: | 245g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 129mm x 20mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘[An] excellent and insightful biography … he manages to get to the heart of McCartney’s dilemma … a fascinating read’
* Scots Whay Hae *‘Man On The Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s is lovingly researched and expertly written by someone who was not afraid to push the boundaries … an accessible and reader friendly must-have book written from an honest and open perspective that makes McCartney’s already extensively documented life seem fresh and new’
* Josh Gill’s Blog *‘Doyle makes sense of a stoned shaggy dog story that has none of the narrative neatness of the Beatles’ rise and fall’
* The Guardian *‘Starting with the painful disintegration of the Beatles, Doyle examines the next decade in McCartney’s unimaginably odd existence, from his post-hippy farm idyll with wife Linda to the turbulent highs and lows of Wings … most compelling is the book’s portrait of a man in a position that doesn’t come with a guidebook, playing it by ear. ****’
* Q Magazine *‘The go-to guy if you want to coax confessions from a superstar, Doyle writes without agenda’
* Mojo *‘Doyle’s writing is as beautiful as any McCartney tune’
* Scotsman *’[Doyle] manages to say something new about a public figure about whom countless thousands of books and articles have been written, and he says it well… McCartney emerges as more admirable than many readers might have imagined - and more human, too’
* Kirkus *‘Tom Doyle’s detailed chronicle, which includes rare interviews with McCartney and former Wings members, portrays a band that was far more contentious than eager-to-please hits like 1976’s ‘Let ‘Em In’ had us believe, fronted by a legend who wanted to be both boss and buddy. The book is larded with tales of Seventies rock-star excess, Paul and Linda’s love of weed, docked paychecks, and grousing musicians’
* Rolling Stone *‘Well-researched but still breezy and engaging, the book offers a comprehensive tour of the shaggy, bleary-eyed decade when the hardest-working ex-Beatle reached the zenith of his creative and commercial success… Man on the Run makes an excellent contribution to the burgeoning literature devoted to McCartney’s post-Beatles career’
* The Boston Globe *‘In the 1970s, a depressed, heavy-drinking Paul McCartney walked away from the Beatles and reinvented himself as the leader of another hitmaking rock ‘n’ roll band. A new book by longtime Q magazine contributing editor Tom Doyle about that turbulent period in the legendary rock star’s life, Man on the Run, catches him in mid-flight’
* Billboard *About The Author
Tom Doyle
Tom Doyle is an acclaimed author who has profiled numerous iconic musicians, including Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Elton John, U2, Madonna, Keith Richards, Yoko Ono, and Kate Bush.
He has authored several highly regarded books:
- The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie (1998)
- Captain Fantastic: Elton John’s Stellar Trip Through The ‘70s (2017)
- Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions Of Kate Bush (2022)
- Ringo: A Fab Life (2025)
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