If you’ve ever gotten to the airport and realized you left your passport at home, rest assured—famous faces like rock icon Paul McCartney have been in the same spot.The Beatles bassist and singer once flew to France and only realized when he got to the border that he was traveling with no identification. Facing the risk of being turned away, McCartney relied on his famous face to help him out of the jam.
In 1967, the Beatles singer traveled to France to film a video for “The Fool on the Hill” from the band’s album Magical Mystery Tour, released the same year. With no passport in hand, McCartney, who had already become a global sensation, hoped gate agents would recognize him.
“You know who I am, so why do you need a photo,” he boldly told agents—who acquiesced—and the British singer entered the country. The video for “The Fool on the Hill” was filmed the next day.
Trouble Filming “The Fool on the Hill” Video in France
Peter Brown, a longtime confidant and manager of The Beatles, shared more behind-the-scenes insights into the band’s famed video shoot in his book The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles(2002).
After receiving a call from McCartney on the Beatles’ private phone line, Brown recalled,
“I’m in Nice, France,” Paul told me, “with a camera crew. We found the perfect hill, but we haven’t brought the right lenses. Do you think you could have them shipped out to us, along with some money?”
Baffled, Brown replied, “How can you be in France? I have your passport.”
Brown recounts the hilarious exchange in his book, adding, “Paul explained that he wanted to include a scene in Magical Mystery Tour of him sitting on a picturesque hill singing a song he had written called ‘The Fool on the Hill.’ He took off for France without telling anybody and bluffed his way past the English authorities at Heathrow, saying his passport was waiting for him in France. In Nice, he told the French officials the passport was arriving later by messenger, and they agreed to allow the celebrated visitor into the country by special dispensation until his passport caught up with him. By the time Paul and the crew returned to London, it had cost £4,000 just for the one shot of him sitting on the hill in Nice.”
“The Fool on the Hill” Became a U.S. Hit—Just Not by The Beatles
Though “The Fool on the Hill” was not released as a single in the U.S. by The Beatles, a Sérgio Mendes and Brasil ’66 cover peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1968.
Related: Paul McCartney Announces Special Upcoming ‘One Night Only’ Concert
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