Paul McCartney and Jane Asher dated for five years. For about three of those years, the Beatle lived with his girlfriend and her family. He adored their family dynamic. Shacking up with his then-girlfriend was a distinct pleasure that broadened the musician’s horizons.
How Paul McCartney started living at Jane Asher’s family home
At the beginning of their relationship, McCartney would always check himself into a hotel after visiting with Asher and her family or rush off to catch a flight out of Heathrow for Liverpool. But he hardly stayed over.
“One night, when he missed his flight, Mrs. Asher graciously offered the guest room to Paul, just a flight of stairs away from where Jane slept,” reads The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. “It was, after all, foolish of him to rent hotel rooms in London all the time.”
McCartney moved in with his clothes and guitar and stayed for over two years. He wrote several songs during his time at the Asher’s house, including “Yesterday.” The Beatle’s girlfriend inspired such songs as “And I Love Her,” “You Won’t See Me,” and “I’m Looking Through You.”
Jane Asher’s family
Jane came from a wealthy, distinguished family.
“Her father was Dr. Richard Asher, a respected psychiatrist and consultant in blood and mental diseases at the Central Middlesex Hospital,” reads TLYM. “Her mother, Margaret, was a professional musician and a one-time professor of music at the London School of Music, where coincidentally, she taught oboe to George Martin.”
Jane’s younger brother, Peter, attended Cambridge and was a musician and songwriter himself. Later on, he’d become part of a duo that released the song “World Without Love,” which was composed with McCartney and would reach the top of the charts alongside the Beatles.
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Jane also had a younger sister, Clare, who the book says was “as pretty as” Jane.
McCartney got along well with his girlfriend’s family. He liked them and wanted to fit in.
Paul aimed to impress the Ashers
The Ashers were unlike the families McCartney knew in Liverpool. They often partook in lively family discussions around the dinner table that would last all evening.
“A bit intimidated by this group at first Paul started to read for knowledge for the first time in his life,” reads TLYM. “Jane supplied direction with books and tickets to the ballet and theater. He soaked it up like a sponge, gratefully, happily, settling into this new life with Jane.”
He started quoting poetry, though often incorrectly, but the Ashers were nice enough to not correct him.
The Beatle told the Evening Standard around that time:
“I’m trying to crowd everything in. I vaguely mind anyone knowing anything I don’t know. I’m trying to cram everything in, all the things that I’ve missed. People are saying things and painting things and writing things and composing things that are great, and I want to know.”
