Still, the media refer to Sir Tumbs-Aloft as 'ex-Beatle ...' and I find it baffling.
Given that there is an entire generation for whom The Beatles are a cultural footnote, but were not alive when the band last played or recorded, and that anyone who remembers the Beatles knows who Paul McCartney is - why do the media still insist on this pointless tag?
You never see 'Rolling Stone Mick Jagger', or 'ex-Jackson Five Michael Jackson', or even 'ex-Squeeze Jools Holland' - just our Paul.
You've really answered your own question. Although people who lived through the Beatle era are well aware of who he is and his background, the "entire generation for whom they are only a cultural footnote" are possibly unable to name the members.
Canary - that maybe so, but as one of the most famous people on this planet, I would still hazard a guess that most people actually know who Paul Mccartney is, in the same way that they know who Michael Jackson is, without the 'former Jackson Five member' tag.