FIRST OFF . . .

Former Beatle Paul McCartney stepped up his attack Thursday on a controversial new biography of ex-bandmate John Lennon. Interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show, McCartney disputed author Albert Goldman’s claims that Lennon had homosexual affairs, saying, “Goldman mixed that idea in with some of what’s passed off as true, and it starts to have the same credence as the truth.” Added McCartney: “If John were a homosexual, I would’ve thought he woulda made a pass at me in 20 years, wouldn’t you?” McCartney called Goldman’s “The Lives of John Lennon” a “cheap shot” at Lennon’s memory. McCartney said he hadn’t read the book through, but--when asked if he would read such a book about himself--McCartney replied: “About me? I don’t know. I’d probably read that one.”