Last night ex-Beatle Paul McCartney headlined the London Olympics opening ceremony with a rousing – and occasionally shaky – rendition of Hey Jude. Another equally classic song in his considerable repertoire is Live and Let Die – an appropriate title when you consider his resentful outburst at Stuart Pearce at the end of last week.
On the sour subject of David Beckham’s omission from the Olympic team, the singer-songwriter targeted Pearce for particular criticism. McCartney grumbled:
“I would’ve thought Beckham would be first choice because of his huge contribution to getting the Olympics. But some idiot decided otherwise.”
Rules dictated that Great Britain football team manager Stuart Pearce could only name three players over the age of 23 and opted for Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards.
McCartney added:
“I feel a bit sorry for the three over-23s because we’re going to be looking at them and saying: ‘That should’ve been Beckham.’ But some person somewhere said: ‘So-and-so’s playing better.’ Like it matters.”
After picking up a disappointing draw against Senegal on Friday, Great Britain move down to Wembley on Sunday to play United Arab Emirates, where three points are a must. OTP will be in attendance. May the awkward scrabbling for a decent chant begin.
