Eddie Vedder recalls that one time Paul McCartney punched him in the face

If there were two musicians less likely to get into a dust-up then Paul McCartney and Eddie Vedder, then it’d be Paul McCartney, and … oh, I dunno Ringo?

As Vedder explained during a guest DJ set on the new SiriusXM Beatles channel, Macca and Eddie were hanging in a bar in Seattle, while Paul was explaining how he once punched someone in the face. McCartney got way too into the story, as Vedder recounts, and Eddie copped one in the face.

“He kind of was illustrating how he hit this guy and when he did that he kind of shot out his left arm as if he was 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.

“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]. And he apologised quickly so it wouldn’t get in the way of the story.

“I remember it hurt for a few days and I remember when it went away and the pain subsided and the swelling went down, I kinda missed it.”

Aww, how sweet. Listen to the story in Vedder’s famous drawl, below.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine