George Harrison and Eric Clapton were unable to communicate their feelings, Pattie Boyd tells Taylor Swift
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to inspire a legendary song? Or what it would feel like to be in a relationship with one of the biggest celebrities? Pattie Boyd probably pondered these questions as a young girl. Little did she know that she would grow up to live those dreams as well. Pattie was married to two of the biggest names in the music industry: George Harrison of the Beatles and heartthrob Eric Clapton. She was also the inspiration behind the hit ‘Something’ by the Beatles and ‘Layla’ and ‘Wonderful Tonight’ by Eric Clapton.
After binging on Pattie’s memoir ‘Wonderful Tonight,’ pop sensation Taylor Swift sat down with her to discuss some of her life’s milestones in a Harper’s Bazaar feature.
Taylor Swift opened the conversation asking the one question we probably want to know the answer to: How it feels to be the source of inspiration for songs that the world sang along to. Pattie said, “I find the concept of being a muse understandable when you think of all the great painters, poets, and photographers who usually have had one or two.
The artist absorbs an element from their muse that has nothing to do with words, just the purity of their essence.” She also went on to reveal a something both her husbands seem to have in common. She said, “I think, in my case, both George and Eric had an inability to communicate their feelings through normal conversation. I became a reflection for them.”
Taylor being on the other end of the spectrum and having written several songs about people in her life shared her opinion of the idea of a muse. She said, “I don’t know what it is that makes some people really creatively inspiring.” She added, “It’s just that some people come into your life and they have this effect on you.” Taylor seemed to be completely in awe of the fact that Pattie served as such a powerful muse, for she knows how rare it is to find such people.
Of course, the two also discussed Pattie’s relationship with the two musical geniuses who had extremely protective fans. Pattie recalls a story where she was assaulted by a couple of fans after a ‘Beatles’ concert.
She said, “In my first experience, I found it absolutely terrifying. I got to see the Beatles play at a theater in London, and George told me that I should leave with my friends before the last number. So before the last song, we got up from our seats and walked toward the nearest exit door, and there were these girls behind me. They followed us out, and they were kicking me and pulling my hair and pushing us all the way down this long passageway.” The fans even repeatedly told her they hated her.
Pattie was married to the ‘Beatles’ guitarist for a whole 11 years before they parted ways. But they managed to stay friends, for he was invited to her wedding with Eric with his wife at the time Olivia. Pattie admitted that she believes one should not carry any “hate or dislike” for a person after a breakup.
Another interesting thing about her wedding was that it could have potentially been a ‘Beatles’ reunion, however, John Lennon could not make it. Pattie revealed, “John felt he couldn’t come because he thought if he left America they wouldn’t let him back in, and it was important for him to be in America.” Taylor was heartbroken to learn that John couldn’t attend the wedding from Pattie’s memoir, saying, “had he been there it would have been the last time the Beatles played together.”
Pattie’s marriage with Eric lasted for 9 years, but it seems like she maintained a great relationship with him too, for he gave her permission to publish his love letters in her book. It’s truly an unbelievably heart-warming story if you think about it. Taylor said it best when she said, “I found it staggeringly beautiful in the book how you had been through many ups and downs, and told these stunning truths about your relationships, but everyone seems to be on really good terms.”
But it’s not the easiest thing to rebuild relationships that have given you wounds. Taylor was quick to ask Pattie how she managed to reach such a good place with both of her ex-husbands.
Pattie responded, “I think time must play a big part. Because it all broke up for whatever reason, there is no need to carry on some sort of hate or dislike for this person. And then with time I thought, ‘I’ll just call on Eric and see if he’ll let me use these wonderful letters that he wrote, and if he needs anything from me, he just needs to call me, same thing, and I would say ‘yes’ to him.’ I think this is all based on my memories of how it was when we were first married and what fun we had, the love that we’d enjoyed together as well.”
Pattie ended the conversation by sharing a few words of wisdom with Taylor. She preached, "You have to remember that nothing remains the same. It’s always going to change. The whole world keeps changing, we keep changing, things in our lives keep changing. Nothing remains the same. If you’re happy or you’re sad, it’s not going to last forever. You just have to keep remembering that."