From correspondents in London
December 09, 2005
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17513141%255E1702,00.html
PAUL McCartney has described his Beatle partner John Lennon as "one of the great men" of the past century.
Twenty-five years after Lennon's murder by a deranged fan, McCartney told BBC radio the anniversary brought back memories of the "horrific conditions of his death".
But he was thinking also of "the fantastic times we had and how lucky and privileged I feel to be one of the people who spent so much time with him."
"He was a fantastic man. A really fantastic guy," McCartney said.
"When I first knew him I thought he was a really fantastic guy.
"But with everything he achieved with the Beatles, on his own as a man and as an activist, he was one of the great men of the 20th century.
"I'm very proud to have known him so intimately, from kids right the way to the end."
He added: "To have known John in that period, so intimately – people say 'he was this and he was that' – but when we went on hitchhiking holidays we slept top-to-tail because there was only one bed.
"I knew him and can set the record straight."
McCartney said he would always feel close to Lennon.
"I don't expect it to go even though we are separated by death," he said. "I will always feel some kind of link with John."
Overnight in the US, Paul McCartney was nominated for a Grammy for best album of the year for his latest record, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.
