The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne on sharing a joint with Paul McCartney: “He thought I was part of his entourage”

nme.com:

The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne has revealed he once shared a joint with Paul McCartney, despite the former Beatle not knowing who he was.The frontman discussed his memory of the surreal interaction in a new interview with The Guardian, after being questioned about whether he had had any cringeworthy encounters with a celebrity.“The first time we met Paul McCartney – he wasn’t there to meet us, he was at one of these festivals, and he came in through the backstage,” Coyne recalled. “He came in with his wife, Linda, and I just followed him up on stage.

He thought I was part of his entourage – apparently he didn’t mind that I was there.”“But I stood right behind him as he watched Neil Young play,” he continued.

Placing the chance encounter at around 1993, Coyne added: “I remember, his ear was very crusty. I mean, you’re just looking at Paul McCartney as a human, you know?

You don’t get to do that very often. And I remember looking at his ear and – look, sometimes when you’re travelling around a lot, your ears are kind of crusty.”“I don’t smoke pot, and he had a big joint, and he handed it to me as if I was part of his entourage, and I took a big puff of it, which I shouldn’t have done, but I thought, ‘Well, how often do you get to smoke a joint with Paul McCartney?’ It was amazing.”The Flaming Lips are preparing to play their 2002 album ‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots’ in full on a UK and Ireland tour next April and May.