Sir Paul McCartney intervew part 1: The Beatles would have reunited one day

May 16 2010 Exclusive by Billy Sloan, Sunday Mail

 

PAUL McCARTNEY ushers me into his London office and apologises for running late.

But there's something cool about being kept waiting by rock's most celebrated composer.

 

In the ex-Beatle's hectic schedule, our interview is sandwiched between an appointment with a US film crew and a meeting with legendary producer Sir George Martin.

 

As soon as our chat ends Paul has to dash off to Abbey Road studios to oversee a mixing session for a remastered version of clasic Wings' album Band On The Run.

 

His office is a cosy clutter. There are bronze Ivor Novello songwriting awards on the shelves and pictures of his favourite comic character Rupert The Bear adorn the walls.

 

Lying on the sofa is a store assistant's apron for DIY warehouse B&Q complete with Paul McCartney name badge - a gift from the company after the singer let slip in an interview he got asked for an autograph while buying nails at his local store.

It's reassuring to know if writer's block ever set in Macca is guaranteed a job selling fitted kitchens or cutting plywood to size.

 

McCartney, 67, has agreed to a rare interview to preview his concert at Hampden Park in Glasgow on June 20. When he takes the stage it will be almost 20 years to the day since he last played in Scotland and his anticipation is palpable.

He said: "It's always good to get back to Scotland because I've got a special affection for the wee place.

"I've never done Hampden before and it's legendary.

"The country is a very special part of the isles we live in. It's had a kind of romantic thing for me since I first went there with The Beatles.

"Our tour manager told us: 'You've got to watch out. You'll see wee people there.' We said, 'What do you mean, midgets?'

"But he said: 'No, people - only smaller.' Sure enough, the first two people we spotted were a couple of old folks - a wee Glaswegian man and woman.

"Now, I've got loads of Scottish mates and the crowds are always great."

 

McCartney's Hampden gig will feature a 40-song set comprising of classic Beatles' and Wings' hits with a handful of solo tracks mixed in.

The superstar who once famously said: "Will you still need me when I'm 64?" admits to a renewed hunger for live shows 41 years after the Fab Four last played together.

He told me: "Playing live was great then - and it's great now. The big difference is you can hear what you're doing.

"It was more like a football match in the old days. We were all part of some big celebration.

"Now with modern stage equipment, good sound and video screens it's much easier. I remember going to see Genesis at Wembley Stadium and I couldn't see who was on stage. All I saw were these little matchstick people miles away.

"I couldn't tell which one was Phil Collins. It was like...where is he?

"So I developed the idea that if somebody was right at the back of the venue they'd still be a part of my show.

"I enjoy playing live more now. I'm a lot more comfortable with it.

"When you start off in the music business you have the idea people are gonna hate you. You think, 'I'm no good and they're gonna boo me off.'

"I've now got to the stage where I think, 'The tickets are sold out so these people probably want to see me.'

"Treat the audience like they're your mates. I feel like I'm playing to family."

 

Paul admits to a mix of affection and sorrow when he watches archive footage of The Beatles being mobbed by screaming girls in their 1960s hey day. It's hard to believe John Lennon has been dead for 30 years and George Harrison passed away nine years ago.

 

Paul says he thinks about them every day and revealed he's even "visited" by John when writing new songs.

He said: "John and George were real mates. I have a huge fondness for them.

"They were both part of my life and who I am. There are little reminders of them all the time.

"Today, somebody brought me a new book by 1960s photographer Duffy and I saw a picture of John in it.

"Now, if I write a song, I'm always cross-checking in my mind, 'Would John have let me write that line or is it just too soppy?'

"Sometimes, I just think, 'Too bad, it's my song.' But I'm always cross-checking with him."

 

In recent years, Led Zeppelin, Cream and The Police have been tempted out of retirement to play together again. So does Paul think The Beatles would have reformed?

 

"It could've happened," he said, forcibly. "We were asked to do reunion gigs shortly after we broke up.

"There wasn't any point. It was like... we've just split. I also had Wings so I was a bit busy doing other things.

"It wasn't really a good idea then but I think if this much time had elapsed, I could easily see it happening.

"Somebody would have said: 'Oh, go on. Just for a laugh.'"

What would it have taken to get John, Paul, George and Ringo back on stage or into a recording studio?

"Loadsa money," joked Paul, "I've no idea. The truth is it could have been a charity thing. Or it could have been because we just met up and said: 'Let's do it'. You never know. But it's not to be so sadly it's all just conjecture."

 

But could there be another Beatles - a pop act who would become a musical, social and cultural phenomenon? Paul said: "That's a difficult question. My immediate answer is no. Just because of the time, place and circumstances - and the talent in The Beatles.

 

"The combination of those four guys was pretty interesting. We weren't together that long but think of the work we put in. Every album was different. Album after album, single after single beat the last one.

"The nice thing now is I don't have to be modest about The Beatles any more. I can call them great because it's over. There was something very special about The Beatles."

 

To buy tickets for Macca's Hampden gig call: 0844 481 1222 or log on to: www.ticketsoup.com

Part 2: WE WOULD HAVE JUST CREAMED X FACTOR

 

Macca reached a TV audience of 20 million when he made a guest appearance on X Factor.

 

He appeared on the show last year along with star-struck hopefuls Joe McElderry, Olly Murrs and Jedward.

 

But how would John, Paul, George and Ringo have fared if they'd tried to kick off their aspiring pop career on the TV pop talent show? Paul said: "I think we'd have won it. Seriously. Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh would have been all over us like a wet washcloth.

 

"If you're talking of The Beatles on Love Me Do - there's doubt. But if you're talking of when we'd developed some of our better songs ...we'd cream 'em."

 

Paul admitted that initially he hated X Factor but grew to like it thanks to his kids.

 

He said: "On Saturday night, they'd all dive into the living room shouting: 'X Factor.' I started to watch it through their eyes and thought it was very good television. I'm not gonna put it down."

 

He is now an avid X Factor viewer and thinks the show can uncover genuine music talent.

Paul said: "To give the show it's due it does throw up acts like Leona Lewis, they got a great winner there.

"You also get things like Jedward which is just pure entertainment - even if there's also a lot of rubbish inbetween.

"But if young kids love X-Factor who's to say they're wrong? It's not my cup of tea but it's a great, family show."

Sir Paul McCartney interview part 3: I can't believe I'm now in history books of the 20th century

May 17 2010 By Billy Sloan

 

WHEN Paul McCartney was a pupil at Liverpool Institute, he couldn't wait to leave school to start a rock 'n' roll band with mates John Lennon and George Harrison.

Now, music legend Macca can't believe children are being taught about his phenomenal career in class as part of their studies.

 

"I've got a funny little paperback book at home called Who Were The Beatles? Oh my God ... can you believe that?" said Paul, relaxing in his London HQ.

"Imagine trying to teach five-year-old kids about us. If children are studying the 20th century, I'm in their text books."

 

But the superstar is not consigned to the history books and is limbering up for a gig at Hampden Park in Glasgow on June 20... his first concert in Scotland for 20 years.

He's planning a 40-song set including Beatles classics All My Loving, The Long And Winding Road, Eleanor Rigby, Lady Madonna and Hey Jude.

 

The 67-year-old singer admitted he views archive footage of the Fab Four being mobbed by screaming girls with mixed emotions.

 

"I watch that stuff with a mix of pride and sorrow that those days are gone. I think, look at us there ... we were just lads. It's like seeing an old home movie.

"Then I get a feeling of sadness we've lost John and George.

"The further away you get from the heyday of The Beatles, the more amazing it becomes. It's grown in stature. At the time, we thought we'd be lucky to last for five years."

Macca will hit Hampden two days after celebrating his 68th birthday. The legend who sang "Will you still need me when I'm 64?" has NO plans to slow up.

If anything, he wants to do even more big gigs, stage an exhibition of photographs and pursue his passion for painting.

 

"I think the pop industry is still a young man's game. But for me still to be doing it... how can I say that? The early days of rock 'n' roll were dominated by young people," said Paul.

"In the 1960s, something else started to happen. You got groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones who became so big but only because they were good.

"Now when I go on tour, I've got an incredible audience with me.

"The Stones also still have a huge following. Mick Jagger leaps around like a crazy dude. And Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts are playing great too. So it's NOT a young man's game any more.

"When Led Zeppelin reformed in 2007, it was the most sought after ticket of that year.

"Now you're getting older bands and as long as they can still play - make a good noise - it can be a great show."

 

His massive stage set will be shipped to Glasgow in a fleet of trucks by a 150-strong road crew.

Paul will slip into the city unnoticed... and he might even arrive at Hampden by train or bus.

 

His £475million fortune has him fifth on the Sunday Times list of musical millionaires but he goes to great pains to live as normal a life as his fame allows.

 

"I didn't need grounded in Liverpool when I was growing up. I was trying to do the opposite, I was hoping to get into clubs and they were chucking me out," said Paul, laughing.

"Once fame arrived, it was decision time. What do I do if I don't like this over-attention? I'm gonna have to get out. But I liked what I do too much not to do it.

"I devised a strategy for dealing with life. I thought ... I'm gonna go on the bus and see what happens.

"People would notice you but nobody would jump on you or go crazy. So I've always used the tube in London."

 

On a recent trip to New York, however, Paul had a funny moment on a Manhattan bus.

 

He told me: "New York is a big town for me. It's all 'Hey Beatle' on the street. I got on the bus, paid my fare and knew the passengers had noticed me sitting on my own.

"A black lady sitting up the back shouted. 'Hey, are you Paul McCartney?' I replied, 'Yes I am.' She shouted back, 'What you doin' on the bus?'

"I could see other people's shoulders going up and down as they were laughing. So I said, 'I'm going Uptown just like you are but don't go shouting across the bus ... come and sit here beside me.'

"I wanted her to know I was just an ordinary person like her. We had a good chat."

 

Paul added: "I hate the idea of success robbing you of your private life.

"If I get asked for an autograph in the middle of a meal, I say, 'I don't do that when I'm eating. I hope you understand. I'm out with my girlfriend or my mates'.

"And most people do. They get it. I just have a few ground rules like that. Fans respect you for it."

 

To buy tickets for Paul McCartney's gig at Hampden on June 20 call: 0844 481 1222 or log on to www.ticketsoup.com.

 

Part 4: ON THE WRONG AND WINDING ROAD

 

Paul McCartney is praying he doesn't have a Spinal Tap moment when he walks on stage at Hampden.

 

The superstar hopes he doesn't suffer a momentary mental block and shout: "Hello Edinburgh."

That's what happened when Macca played one of the biggest shows on a US tour.

 

He said: "One of my most pear-shaped moments was when I played a baseball stadium in Pittsburg. When you appear in such massive venues instead of walking on stage and saying, 'Good evening everybody,' in a normal voice, you've got to make everything bigger and shout it.

"I usually call out the name of each city which always gets a big cheer. But my voice had gone during the soundcheck and I was worrying if it would hold up.

"When I did my big stadium announcement and I shouted, 'People of Detroit.' Normally I'd have got a huge cheer.

"But there was nothing. It all went quiet. My heart stopped.

"My mind started racing as I frantically thought of a way to get out of it.

"So I said, 'People of Detroit you are not. But people of Pittsburg you are.' "Next day, a review in the local paper said, 'Oh, the old wacky wit is still there.'

While I was thinking, 'If only you knew'."

 

BEST YET TO COME

 

He's written some of the greatest songs in pop history. But at the age of 67, Paul McCartney hopes his finest composition is still further along the long and winding road of his career.

The ex-Beatle can count Yesterday, Let It Be and Eleanor Rigby among the jewels of his back catalogue and he wants to add to that incredible list.

 

"I have hobbies including painting and photography but my day job is music and that's what I love doing best. So I've still got dreams," revealed Paul.

"I'm always trying to do better music. I don't know if I've written my best song yet. That's the big question. It doesn't stop you trying.

"There's a scenario when I could look at The Beatles' career and think, 'Wait a minute, we are talking Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, Hey Jude and Let It Be. I've probably written my best song so you've got to give up.'

"At that point you say, 'Thank you very much,' and go on a long holiday'.

"But I love music too much. There's always this thought in the back of my mind that... well, you never know.

"I might just come up with something else really good. That keeps you going.

"My recent album, Memory Almost Full was a good record with some nice tracks and I was singing well. So you keep at it as long as you think you're doing well."

 

As interviews go that is a brilliant interview IMHO.

 

Very good read indeed.