McCartney Responds to Fan Mail— 50 Years Later

In 1963, Barbara Bezant and Lyn Phillips sent a message to Paul McCartney—and now they've finally gotten a reply from the Beatle, half a century later. The women, ages 17 and 19 at the time and both from London, saw a Beatles concert at the Lewisham Odeon and then recorded their message on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. They sent the tape to the Finsbury Park Astoria, where the Beatles were set to play another show. Decades later, a local historian bought the tape at a flea market (or, as the Brits call it, a "car boot sale"), the BBC reports.

David McDermott listened to it (sample line from the recording: "This dream is just to come round the back and see you, but I don't suppose that'll ever happen. But we can always live in hope, can't we?") and wondered about the women who made it. A BBC show decided to reunite them—they hadn't seen each other in 40 years—and presented them with Sir Paul's reply. "Hi Linda and Barbara, thanks very much for (your) lovely tape. It finally got through, better late than never," he wrote. "Great to hear that you found each other after all these years. Keep enjoying the music, love Paul." (More Paul McCartney stories.)