Paul McCartney Reveals Brother-in-Law is Dead at 83 After Cancer Battle

Paul McCartney‘s brother-in-law John Eastman has died, the former Beatle revealed on social media Thursday. Eastman was 83. He was the brother of McCartney’s late first wife, Linda McCartney, and served as McCartney‘s attorney for decades. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, reports The Daily Mail.

“My dear brother-in-law, John Eastman, has passed away. Having known each other for over 50 years it is an extremely sad time for me, and our families,” McCartney, 80, wrote. “John was a great man. One of the nicest and smartest people I have had the good luck to have known in my life.” Eastman was “hard to beat” as a friend, McCartney wrote, adding that his sense of humor “always shone through” in everything he did. 

“We had so many fun times together through the years, but when the time came to be serious, he was unbeatable,” McCartney added. “There is so much more that can be said of his incredible qualities, but words can hardly describe his passion for life and our affection for this amazing man. He will be sorely missed but always held dear in the hearts of those of us who knew and loved him.”

Eastman was a graduate of New York University School of Law and began representing McCartney during the Beatles’ break-up and throughout his solo career. Eastman’s firm represented other musicians, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Billy Joel, and David Bowie. McCartney married Eastman’s sister Linda in 1969 and they were together until her death in 1998 at age 65. She died three years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

McCartney recently finished his latest U.S. stadium tour, Got Back, in June. The tour ended on June 16 at MetLife Stadium, where Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi made guest appearances. Springsteen performed “Glory Days” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Bon Jovi joined Springsteen and McCartney’s band to sing “Happy Birthday,” since the concert happened two days after his 80th birthday. The tour was also the first where McCartney performed “I’ve Got a Feeling” as a virtual duet with the late John Lennon, using footage from The Beatles’ Get Back documentary.