Will you still need me?... Paul McCartney at 64

By Anna Tomforde Jun 17, 2006, 3:20 GMT

British singer and songwriter Paul McCartney is pictured in Dresden, Germany, 15 December 2001. The former member of pop group \'The Beatles\' becomes 64 coming Sunday, 18 June 2006. Presently McCartney may face one of Britain\'s most expensive divorce cases after being married for four years with his second wife Heather Mills McCartney. EPA/MARTIN SCHUTT

London - The world-famous tune Paul McCartney is said to have dreamt up as a schoolboy is coming to haunt him Sunday, when the most prominent surviving Beatle celebrates his 64th birthday.

'Will you still need me, will you still feed me,' go the lyrics of the 1967 Beatles' song, which asks whether youthful love will stand the test of time.

It's a poignant line for Paul, coming only weeks after his separation from his second wife, Heather Mills McCartney, who he married on June 11, 2002.

Sales of the album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, containing Will You Still Need Me, have risen sharply ahead of the birthday, Virgin Megastores in London reported.

As he did when his first wife, Linda Eastman, died after 29 happy years together, in 1998, Paul has asked for outsiders to respect his privacy.

'Let her be!' the ex-Beatle appealed to Britain's intrusive popular press who have recently been digging up 'dirt' from Heather's past.

'I'm really worried about her, she's in pieces,' Paul told friends about Heather, who he said was the victim of a witch hunt.

The 38-year-old former model has said she will sue papers for the 'vicious slurs' over her alleged activities as a high-class prostitute once divorce proceedings with Paul are over.

'I can't believe the cruelty towards her. Heather will continue to be an important part of my life,' Paul told The Mirror.

He is also said to be 'fraught with worry' over the effect the newspaper gossip and smears will have on Beatrice, the couple's daughter who will be three in October.

'Beatrice is not a baby any more. Paul's naturally very concerned,' a friend of Heather's was quoted as saying.

For Paul, turning 64 will be bittersweet, his friends say. He will spend the day, not in a cottage on the Isle of Wight, as the song would have it, but in his luxury farm house in Sussex, southern Britain.

His grown-up children from his first marriage, and grandchildren (not called Vera, Chuck and Dave) are expected to join him on the farm, where they may go for a walk or a ride.

When announcing his split from Heather just four weeks ago, Paul said: 'We can't go on like this, enough is enough.'

But friends believe that, despite the relief Paul and his children may feel over the separation, the birthday will be a subdued affair.

'All of the Beatle People are feeling very sad that Paul will celebrate his 64th birthday with this cloud of heartbreak over him,' said one.

It's a poignant date for another reason: Only two of the Beatles, Paul and Ringo Starr, have made it to the age of 64.

John Lennon was assassinated in 1980, when he was 40, and George Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001, aged 58.

Ringo, 66, is certain to give his fellow-Beatle a birthday call.

Offering a little help from a friend, Ringo said a few days ago: 'I have let Paul know that if he needs a chat I'm here for him.'