Complex sentence: McCartney carried on recording after the death of John Lennon in 1980, but did not play any live concerts for some time, saying that he was nervous that he would be the next to be murdered.
Split into simpler sentences: McCartney carried on recording after the death of John Lennon in 1980, but did not play any live concerts for some time. He explained that this was because he was nervous that he would be the next to be murdered.