Sir Paul McCartney has opened up about the death of John Lennon. In an interview on ‘The Jonathan Ross Show’ which is due air on Saturday night on ITV in the UK, the former Beatle branded Lennon’s murderer Mark David Chapman “the jerk of jerks”. Rather mild, all things considered. The 34th anniversary of Lennon's death is just around the corner, on December 8th.

Paul McCartney
Sir Paul McCartney spoke to Jonathan Ross about John Lennon's death

In a story reported by The Mirror, while McCartney acknowledged that there was a great deal of inter-band rivalry and personality clashes during the Beatles’ final few years. "There was acrimony in The Beatles. But when he got killed we were friends. We used to call each other up and swap bread recipes.”

When asked about his reaction to the news of his former bandmate’s death: "I was at home when he died. I got a phone call. It was so horrific. I could not take it in that he was gone. It was a very big shock. I was so sad that I was not going to see him again."

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McCartney is currently giving a series of interviews ahead of the release of the video game ‘Destiny’, for which he has recorded a new track called ‘Hope for the Future’. It seems like an unlikely project for the 72 year old to get involved with, but he told The Guardian in a separate interview that he liked the idea of putting his music across to a demographic that wouldn’t otherwise hear it.

He also bemoaned the tendency for young people to listen to music through low quality smartphone speakers rather than hi-fidelity technology. “It’s all changed so drastically. A lot of kids listen to music on their smartphones through these tiny little speakers. I’m pulling my hair out thinking, “Argh, I spent hours making that high-fidelity sound! Get a decent set of headphones! Please!””

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