London
(ANI):
Sir
Paul
McCartney
has
paid
tribute
to
his
lifelong
pal
Neil
Aspinall
dubbed
the
'Fifth
Beatle,'
who
passed
away
on
Mar
24
after
a
two-month
battle
with
lung
cancer.
Macca,
who
jetted
to
New
York
to
be
at
the
hospital
bedside
of
Aspinall,
paid
tribute
to
him
in
a
joint
statement
with
Ringo
Starr,
John
Lennon's
widow
Yoko
Ono
and
George
Harrison's
widow
Olivia.
"All
his
friends
and
loved
ones
will
miss
him
—
but
will
always
retain
the
fondest
memories
of
a
great
man," The
Sun
quoted
them,
as
stating.
Ringo
further
said
that
the
Beatles
were
'blessed'
to
have
him.
Aspinall,
who
worked
with
Beatles
for
four
decades,
not
only
acted
as
the
group's
roadie
and
minder,
but
even
sang
backing
vocals
on
Yellow
Submarine
and
played
percussion
on
hit
album
'Magical
Mystery
Tour.'
In
1968
he
took
over
Apple
Corps,
the
company
set
up
to
manage
the
Beatles'
business
interests
and
his
business
skills
were
credited
with
helping
to
turn
the
band
into
a
worldwide
money-making
phenomenon.