The Reason Paul McCartney Apologised To Eddie Vedder Of Pearl Jam

Eddie Vedder has been a successful musician both with Pearl Jam and on his own in the music industry. With Pearl Jam, by 2018, he has sold 85 million albums worldwide. Vedder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of the band and is still active in the rock scene.

His first solo album was released in 2007 for the soundtrack of ‘Into the Wild.’ The soundtrack became as successful as the movie and was nominated for two Grammy awards and a World Soundtrack Award. Vedder later followed the soundtrack’s success with a tour showing his fans his talents in the folk music genre.

Like many musicians, Vedder’s inspiration was the Beatles, which he often mentioned during interviews. However, not every musician has been lucky enough to sit and chat with their icons. Even if they do, they don’t always get lucky enough to be punched by them.

Why Did Paul McCartney Punch Eddie Vedder?

According to Vedder, he was lucky enough to be sitting with Paul McCartney at a hotel in Seattle, and McCartney was telling a story about the time he punched someone in the face. As he was illustrating the punch, it actually hit Vedder, and after a brief apology, The Beatles’ bassist continued with his fascinating story.

Vedder didn’t seem annoyed by the punch, but he stated that he felt very surprised to be punched by his idol. He even said that he missed the bruising and the pain after it was gone.

Here is how Vedder told the story on SiriusXM in 2017:

“I was fortunate enough to be with Paul McCartney in the corner of a Seattle hotel bar, and he kind of was illustrating how he hit this guy and when he did that he shouts out his left arm as if he were hitting this guy, and I was standing there, and I got hit. He hit me. He didn’t quite pull back the punch you see. So, the story kept on, and it was a great, incredible personal story. I caught the end of it but, as I was listening, I was thinking, ‘Paul McCartney just hit me in the face, and it hurt!’

I think I remember tasting a bit of blood. He got me right on the side of the face. He apologised, quickly, so it wouldn’t get in the way of the story, a fascinating story. A great time in my life to be hit by Paul McCartney, and I remember it hurt for a few days and I remember when it went away, when the pain finally subsided, and the swelling went down, I kinda missed it.

You can listen to the full speech below.