Martin Lewis says archive tape backs McCartney’s original Blackbird inspiration

Beatles producer and archivist Martin Lewis says he located a “rare audio tape” from 1968 that, in his account, supports Paul McCartney’s long-stated explanation that “Blackbird” was prompted by US civil rights imagery rather than later figures he has sometimes mentioned in interviews. Lewis says the tape captures McCartney discussing the song after being challenged by Diana Ross about the word “bird”, and referencing television footage of Black women protesting in America.