Paul McCartney has always been protective of the Beatles’ legacy – that’s just one of the many reasons he saw the Fab Four’s final single ‘Now & Then’ through to completion. Along the way he’s had to correct a few wrongs, and push back on a few slights – and sometimes, it’s personal.

Take 1994 film Backbeat. Coming ahead of the Anthology project, the independent film aimed to shine a light on the Beatles time in Hamburg, focusing on the tragically short life of bass player (and noted visual artist) Stuart Sutcliffe.

Played immaculately by Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart stepped in as John Lennon, while Gary Bakewell played Paul McCartney. A whirlwind ride through the group’s pre-history, it highlighted the sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ roll ‘n’ roll induced in by the Fab Four – well, three of them, anyway.

At the time of its release, Paul McCartney revealed his distaste, insisting they had airbrushed out his rock ‘n’ roll leanings.  “One of my annoyances about the film Backbeat is that they’ve actually taken my rock ‘n’ rollness off me,” he told interviewer Andrew Grant Jackson.

“They give John the song ‘Long Tall Sally’ to sing and he never sang it in his life,” Paul continued. “But now it’s set in cement. It’s like The Buddy Holly and Glenn Miller stories. The Buddy Holly Story does not even mention Norman Petty, and The Glenn Miller Story is a sugarcoated version of his life.”

He closed: “Now Backbeat has done the same thing to the story of The Beatles.”

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Released almost exactly 30 years ago, it would be interesting to discern Paul McCartney’s views on the film now – particularly as the soundtrack was pieced together by the hottest alternative musicians of the time. Dave Grohl plays drums, Thurston Moore is on guitar, while the vocals are split between Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs (who handles John Lennon’s vocals) and Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, who fills in for Paul McCartney.