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Sir Paul has contributed some new classical compositions to the "Music of Hope", an album recorded to benefit the American Cancer Society. Featured on the CD will be a new classical composition called "Nova", dedicated to the memory of Linda, performed by Sir Paul and the London Symphony Orchestra, and recorded in the famed Abbey Road Studios. The album will be available February 13 on Tim Janis Ensemble Records. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Once again, Sir Paul will be featured in a new ad campaign in support of PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The clip will feature Sir Paul feeding a bottle of milk to a lamb saying: "The best idea - going vegetarian - is staring us right in the face. Go veggie". As part of the campaign, Sir Paul has released one of his favorite veggie recipes, authored by Linda, of course. Sir Paul has often related the story of how he made the decision to convert to vegetarianism while watching his lambs playing on his farm and deciding they would never again appear on his dining table: "If the slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian. I feel better about myself and better about the animals knowing I'm not contributing to their pain." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
"It's just like the Sixties again. Beatlemania is Back!" proclaimed Sir Paul as paparazzi snapped, fans screamed, and young girls collapsed in tears at his first-ever book signing at Waterstone's in Picadilly, London yesterday. Sir Paul's reaction:
" I can't quite believe it. It's madness. They're all here for me and it brings back some memories. This is my first-ever book signing and it's a bit crazy, but everyone else does them so I thought, 'Why not?' "
Faithful McCartney fans braved the frosty gales and stormy rain waiting in an endless line for an opportunity to meet Sir Paul. Even though he started off the signing at top speed - about one every 25 seconds - not everyone was able to enter the store in time. However, the thoughtful knight had made a contingency plan: "I've actually signed some other copies for the people who didn't get in," he said afterwards.
The signing provided some interesting remarks:
"I have always loved drawing and painting and stuff. I just like it - I don't know why. When I turned 40 someone said life begins at 40, so I started painting. It's not the first string to my bow - I'm still a musician. I love that, but I love the painting as well and finally I was persuaded to do a show."
He laughed off the "snotty critics" saying: "I don't care about them anyway."
Does Sir Paul have marriage plans?
"We aren't planning on getting married at the moment but that's not to say we won't some time down the line. I'm looking forward to a lovely Christmas and New Year with Heather."
And what does he think about his chart-topping Beatles greatest hits album 1 ?
"The success of 1 is fantastic and I'm extremely chuffed after all these years that the record is the top of the hit parade. We've been #1 in 28 countries and it shows everyone still loves us. It's a lovely touch that we're #1 on the anniversary of John's death. He would have loved that - I know he would. It could be the biggest-selling album of all time and that would be very special . It feels like Beatlemania is back. It's a really good little album and they are well structured songs. We were a great group, but we can't re-form. There's only three of us left." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
An eye-witness account of proceedings at the book signing
of "Paintings" by Paul at Waterstones book shop in Piccadilly - by Graham Calkin
(gcalkin@chelseafc.net), http://www.jpgr.co.uk
(interspersed with some snapshots made by the webmaster)
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I arrived at 9:30, for the signing due at 13:00. This was the earliest I could get there on the day, with travelling. Some people had camped out at the front of the queue overnight, and the guy at the very front had in fact been there since Monday ! The queue went from the front entrance along Piccadilly in front of three adjacent shops, then down an alleyway between the shops, and the church of St. James (designed by Christoper Wren, the same architect as for St. Paul's Cathedral). When I joined I assumed I was about 150th. Workers from the bookstore came around at about 10:30 and took our names, and gave us a number ... I was in fact 208th. 207th was a pleasant older lady (Cathy) who had travelled up from Rochester in Kent, and 209/210 was a young couple who were not born during Paul's biggest successes. The bookstore staff also laid down "rules", Paul will NOT be signing memorabilia, NO photographs, you MUST buy the book, only ONE per person, and that is what Sir Paul will sign. Some people clutching carrier bags of their cherished belongings left the queue.
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In talking to the staff of Waterstones (who I must say were very friendly at all times), they were optimistic that up to 250 people could get to meet Paul. By now the queue was over 400 strong and still growing.
Paul arrived about 12:30, I could not see him from my position, but word filtered through the queue.
At a little after one o'clock the queue started to move ... at first quite quickly. I turned the corner out of the alleyway, which was about half-way, at about half the time Paul was booked for. I was still hopeful. The Waterston'e people were still optimistic. Still we moved closer and closer to the front entrance.
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Sadly at 2 o'clock, exactly on the allotted time, Paul left. Luckily he left by the front of the store to his car parked right beside me, (Car no. 900 MPL) so at least I caught a glimpse amongst the throng, and took some pictures (not yet developed).
Clearly people around and about had seen the endtime and collected together for his leaving, and it was very busy, but press reports of 5,000, I believe are exaggerated.
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The Watersones people said there were "some" signed copies of the book left, but I left at this time, as the signature would not be the same without meeting Paul.
I was a bit sad (and annoyed) that Paul didn't stay a bit longer than the scheduled time, but perhaps this is because I was so close to being next. I was told that he had signed about 140 copies, so there were 140 VERY lucky people, unfortunately I was not amongst them this time.
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the death of this
friend, John Lennon
Sir Paul has issued the following statement:
"It is shocking to think that John was killed 20 years ago. If he was alive, I'd be chuffed to let him know that his album has gone to number one in 28 countries; I know he'd be tickled by that. On Friday I'll be doing what we always enjoyed best together-making music. What else would you want to do? I'll be thinking of all the great times that we had together, and I'll be remembering him with all the love in my heart."
Matt Hurwitz of Good Day Sunshine magazine tells us:
"Paul, indeed, has kept his word with regards to how would spend December 8. He is, as I type this message, at Abbey Road working with a full orchestra making new recordings for his next studio album. He is said to have recorded at least three new tracks today, all ballads. Paul McCartney doing what Paul McCartney does best! "
On Wednesday, December 13, Sir Paul will attend an hour-long book-signing (his first ever) at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London, to promote his book, Paul McCartney Paintings. Sir Paul announced:
"I'm very proud of this book and happy to sign copies at Waterstone's. This is a good way for me to meet people. I've never done a signing before but it's a nice way of saying hello." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
SIR Paul has pledged to dedicate the next 12 months celebrating the life and work of his beloved Linda. His plans include publishing two new books of Linda's photographs, many of which are previously unseen. The forewords to these books will be written by Sir Paul himself. He will also establish a travelling exhibition of her 1960s photography to be shown around the world. He also intends to continue to develop Linda's highly successful vegetarian food business. Sir Paul is determined that all Linda achieved in her live shall never be underestimated or forgotten . A friend Sir Paul's relates: "No-one can ever replace Linda, and Paul wants to highlight her many talents. In the past her photographs and films have been released but this is his most concerted effort to keep her name and memory alive."
Also in the works is "Wingspan", a multi-million-pound three-hour special about Wings, which will launch a double album of Wings' greatest hits. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
America's Public Television networks will air
last year's PAUL MCCARTNEY: LIVE
AT THE CAVERN as part of this season's pledge drive. On the play
list:
| "Party" | "What It Is" | "Shake a Hand" |
| "Honey Hush" | "Lonesome Town" | "All Shook Up" |
| "Blue Jean Bop" | "Twenty-Flight Rock" | "I Saw Her Standing There" |
| "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" | "No Other Baby" | "Party" |
| "Fabulous" | "Try Not to Cry" | "Run Devil Run" |
Sir Paul commented:
"Rock 'n' roll has shaped my life, and it changed the sound and the thinking of the century. Before The Beatles ever got big, we started out playing rock 'n' roll at the Cavern. I'm going back, for just one night, as a nod to the music that has always, and will ever, thrill me."
British songwriters have launched a campaign against free down-loadable music on the internet, warning that it threatens the British music industry. Sir Paul will participate in this week long media campaign by British Music Rights to "Respect the Value of Music" reminding fans that theft of music hurts the artists who created it. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
In an article appearing in today's New York Times magazine, Linda's long-time friend Brian Clarke (you may recall his magnificent glass fleur-de-lis tribute to Linda) reveals that daughter Mary has inherited many of her mother's traits: her desire to keep out of the limelight, her extraordinary sensitivity toward people and animals, and her talent as a photographer.
In the article, Mary talks about how photography created a special bond between she and her mother:
"My mom's work inspired me because we have a similar eye. She'd carry a camera everywhere, taking pictures as a diary. I respected her photography and liked spending
time with her."Many of us remember Mary's famous first portrait of Prime Minister Tony's Blair's baby, Leo. The photos printed in this NYT magazine article show another view of Mary's work as she gives us a light, intimate, and honest peek into the lives of some of this generation's actors, artists, and musicians (including a charming shot of a giggling Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of Ravi). Look for Mary's next project, a portrait series, in a future issue of the British edition of Marie Claire.
(submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul will receive the Angel of Hope award from the G&P Foundation for Cancer Research during a ceremony at the Angel Ball to be held on Thursday, November 30 at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York city. Also to be honored that evening will be Queen Noor of Jordan and Mikhail Gorbachev each of whom has lost a spouse to cancer. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
is # 1!For the first time in four years, the Beatles are going to the top of the Billboard album chart. The Beatle compilation album 1 will debut at # 1 in the charts published in the Dec. 2 issue of Billboard. The collection of hit singles is set to become the fastest selling album of all time, having already notched up 3.5 million sales around the world. The album hit #1 in a total of 19 countries in its first week of release. A Guinness World Records spokesman has stated that: "It certainly looks like 1 could be a strong contender for the best selling album of all time."
Sir Paul McCartney's spokesman Geoff Baker said: "Everyone is really pleased by how well the album has done. Although 1 features 27 songs first released between 1962 and 1970, it still beat competition from new bands -- beating the new Oasis album in the U.K. and topping the new album from Ricky Martin in the U.S.A. They're ecstatic." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Cherie Blair (the Prime Minister's wife and Liverpool native) officially opened a £4 million cancer centre named after Linda McCartney. The unit admitted its first patients last month - some seven years after the Forget-Me-Not Appeal was launched raising the £4 million needed to open the state-of-the-art facility.
Sir Paul McCartney was unable to attend the official opening ceremony but sent a message which was read out by Lord Alton, chair of the Forget-Me-Not Appeal:
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there today but I knew my fellow scouser Cherie Blair would do a good job. Please send my best wishes to everyone concerned for a very successful day. Thank them for the honour they have done my family by naming the centre after our lovely Linda."
Mrs. Blair added that she knew how proud Sir Paul McCartney was of the centre named after his late wife: "I know it is wonderful for them to know Linda's name lives on in a place so associated with McCartneys."
The memorials to Linda have not stopped there. The world has learned that Sir Paul has established the Animals Angel Project now that 20 animal shelters throughout Great Britain have received large cash donations to encourage them in their work. One such donation was recently received by the Woodside Animal Welfare Trust along with a letter signed by Sir Paul in which he wrote:
"In memory of my late wife Linda, I am inaugurating The Animals Angel Project whereby we, her family, send a donation to selected animal shelters to help them continue their great work. Please find enclosed a cheque for GBP 5,000 which we are sending with thanks for the invaluable work you do on behalf of our animal friends."
In return for the donation, the charity was asked to post a simple wooden or brass plaque on its grounds inscribed with the words "In memory of Linda McCartney: The Animal's Angel".
Geoff Baker, spokesman for Sir Paul, further explained: "This is something Paul wanted to do. He wanted to help the smaller charities and sanctuaries which might otherwise have been overlooked. Paul feels the same way about animals as Linda did. This is one way of helping to continue the work Linda did." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
On December 1, Miramax is planning a rare theatrical rerelease of a remastered edition of the 1964 Beatle classic A Hard Day's Night. Not only will audiences be able to enjoy a pristine print of the film mastered from a restored negative, but also they will have the opportunity to hear for the first time a remastered soundtrack in "good old-fashioned mono" according to the restoration's sound engineer, Ron Furmanek. According to Mr. Furmanek, the original tracks (recorded in primitaive four-track stereo) were thrown away, "The raw stuff was gone, lost, never saved." He claims this version of the film will sound better than, and quite different from, the version most of us have seen. According to Mr. Furmanek, every version produced since 1964 was "butchered". "All I did was I put it back the way it sounded in 1964," says Furmanek, "Nobody can believe this, but there were pieces of dialogue that were missing, and sound effects were overdubbed that weren't supposed to be there."
In conjunction with the rerelease of the film, Miramax has designed a delightful webpage they call "A Hard Day's Site" containing materials from "yesterday and today" including the original shooting script, rare color photos from their archives, and even a peek at the trailer. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul granted a few interviews during his brief exhibit at the Matthew Marks Gallery last week in New York City. After signing 600 of his prints in a single day, he was feeling a bit overhelmed:
"I always agree and suddenly find myself in the middle of it. 'Silly boy, you should have spread it out more.' I'll be off this evening. I'll be OK. It's just a hard day's day."
Did Sir Paul ease into his life as a painter?
"I think it was an explosion. Once I got free of my own stupidity, it was just like a volcano erupting. It was the remark Bill de Kooning made that seemed to indicate he had such a free take on painting. I had gotten the mistaken idea that unless I got the exact subject and the exact thought behind it, I shouldn't start. Bill's idea was quite the opposite. He would often start by writing the name of one of his friends on a canvas and painting over it and starting from there. That became more interesting to me than becoming broody. Everything I'd ever wanted to try came out.
"I think people worry about content. Somebody will wait until they have the exactly right idea. I have friends who are like that. It was getting in the way for me, the idea that if I haven't got a deep and meaningful idea, I can't start. Bill said, 'Why don't you just start?' He didn't become so much a mentor to me as it was his attitude and one little chance remark that inspired me."
What prompts him to start painting then?
" I need to just have an urge to paint. I say, 'I'd love to paint a picture and I've got time.' Often it's just having a bit of time to do it. It's such a nice relief from the pressure of touring. On the world tours I did in the '90s, I painted quite a lot. I surprised people by not taking my days off. In my mind, I was taking the day off. I was painting.
"If I'm lucky, I go through a door into the painting. I lose myself in the painting. I like that. My thing is about following the accidental, more than trying to paint an accurate bowl of apples. I enjoy most following the paint. It leads me somewhere else. I think I enjoy just letting the magic unfold and letting the spirit of the paint tell me where we're going. It's similar to music. You get a couple or words or notes or chords that excite you and you just follow them and add a bit more and see where it takes you. That's the thrill for me. It still is a thrill, which is amazing after all this time.
" People who paint, including myself, get to a point where a bit of angst comes in. If you're doing it for a living, it's worth it to suffer those slings and arrows. If I was going to paint for my own fun, that was one thing I had to avoid. I invented these characters. One of them is Luigi. If I get to a point in a painting where I'm getting stuck, I imagine Luigi has a restaurant with a little alcove. He's a good friend of mine. He's always saying, 'Paint a picture for the alcove.' When things get tough, I say, 'This is for Luigi. He'll like this.' I don't fret it. Lo and behold, five minutes later, I'm at a new point in the painting and I got through the bad patch. Or, if I'm getting a bit stuck, I become Mr. Blendini. He enjoys blending colors. He can spend hours doing that. I've got Luigi and Blendini. Everyone needs friends like that. Luigi accepts everything I do. He loves it." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
On the eve of the release of the Beatle's greatest hits album
"Son, there are enough Americanisms around!
Couldn't you sing 'yes, yes, yes' just for once?"To which son Paul replied: "You don't understand, Dad, it wouldn't work."
Sir Paul also talked about the dream he had about his mother, Mary, which later inspired his song Let It Be:
"She died when I was quite young and I had sort of gone to bed one night well crazy and sort of had a dream. Because she was my mother and her name was Mary, I said Mother Mary come to me. I know some people who are very religious and they love that song and I am sure that they are taking it as the Virgin Mary. "
(submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul has signed a contract with Faber & Faber to publish a collection of his song lyrics and poems. The book, Blackbird Singing: The Poems and Lyrics of Paul McCartney, will be edited by Sir Paul's old friend and celebrated poet Adrian Mitchell who says that "Blackbird Singing reflects the poetic vision and the transcendent emotions that have made Paul McCartney one of the most beloved poets in the world."
Seventy-five percent of the collection of over 100 poems written between 1965 and 2000 will be new and "highly personal" and will include a set of moving elegies to Linda written in the months prior and following her death. The volume is said to be Sir Paul's most personal epitaph to Linda who first encouraged him to publish his poetry. The book is scheduled to be released this March in the UK and in April in the USA during National Poetry Month. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
You Say You Want A Revolution?
On Friday, November 17 (8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. C) the American television network, ABC, will broadcast The Beatles Revolution. The producers of The Beatles Anthology have come together to illustrate the influence of the Beatles on our Y2K world. This special will include interviews with such diverse notables as the ice cream kings, Ben and Jerry, Phil Collins, Cameron Crowe, Marianne Faithful, Kate Hudson, Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, Mike Myers, 'N Sync, Keith Richards, Salman Rushdie, Sting, Pete Townshend, Christy Turlington and Jann Wenner. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
As his New York art exhibit draws to a close this evening, Sir Paul disclosed in a telephone interview with the USA Today newspaper that his work has even impressed the art experts:
"There was surprisingly little vitriol. There were only one or two people who totally bitched at me, and they tended to say, 'Someone like him shouldn't be allowed to do this.' So the baptism of fire is over with. I did the show thinking that if I really hate this off-Broadway experience, if the critics are too tough on me and it's too hurtful, I don't need to do further exhibits.
"I didn't want an exhibition to be based on my celebrity. I met people who said, 'Oh, I'll give you an exhibition.' When I said, 'But you haven't seen my paintings,' they said, 'It doesn't matter.' But you know what? It does...
"I knew Linda had a great eye for art. She always supported me
and complimented me. But I had a bit of a block about the idea of someone
like me painting, because I didn't go to art school or have any formal
training. Meeting de Kooning was very liberating. He said things that led
me to realize that I'm allowed to do this."
Comparing his music to his art work, Sir Paul finds painting less restricting:
"It all has to do with freedom and following the accident, which is what
often happens in music. I'll go, 'Hmm, what am I doing here? Eleanor Rigby? What am I talking about? Oh, it must be a song about lonely people.' It happens the same way with painting. The major difference is, once you get into painting, it's a magical process, and you feel like you've gone through a looking glass. You can get lost in it. You can get lost in a song, too, but you still have to be a little bit practical. You can't go out of your vocal range, for instance. With a painting, you can do anything."
Music and painting are not Sir Paul's only interests :
"I just have a lot of interests. If I listed all the things I like, it would be embarrassing. I'm a Gemini, so it's natural that there are a lot of things I like to do. I used to shrink away from them and think, 'That's not my thing.' Now I've learned that if there's something I really love to do, why should I repress that passion?"
Why isn't Sir Paul willing to sell his paintings?
"I hate to say it, but it's because I don't need the money. And I am attached to them. They're like my babies. Obviously, most painters paint for a living. Selling is a crucial affair. I'm painting just for my own pleasure."
Of course, no interview would be complete these days without the obligatory Heather Mills question:
"We're having a lot of fun. She's a nice girl. I feel very lucky to have romance in my life." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Today, the American magazine TV Guide pays tribute to the Beatles with
four separate collector's magazine covers featuring John, Paul, George and Ringo. The
magazine is also introducing online the first-ever exclusive collector's cover resembling
the popular "White Album" , a tribute to the Beatles' 1968 double-LP The
Beatles. The four collector's covers and exclusive online cover will be available on
newsstands and in the TV Guide Store beginning Monday,
November 6.
In the article, Sir Paul credits his art with helping him with get over the deaths of both Linda and John. He says, ''There is a lot of sadness in my life. My mother died when I was 14. Three years on, I was up and running in the Beatles. I was actually one of my great bonds with John (Lennon), because his mum died." Of Linda, he shares, ''I did a lot of portraits, none of which capture her but all of which capture a certain essence. We often used to sit late at night, and I would paint her. Thirty years is a lot to get over. She was a very powerful person in a very quiet way. In the article, Sir Paul reveals that he ahs painted portraits of John Lennen even though he had to struggle to remember what he looked like, ''Then I'd think, 'Of course you know. You wrote all those songs facing each other'." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul was in New York city last evening to attend the opening of the first exhibit of his artwork in the United States. The show is being held in the spacious, white-walled, sun-filled Matthew Marks Gallery which is said to provide a perfect setting for 26 of Sir Paul's large, vividly colored oil and acrylic paintings.
Why so many McCartney exhibits lately? In an interview to promote the book that accompanies his show, Paul McCartney: Paintings, Sir Paul explained ,"I knew I couldn't escape being called a celebrity painter and that's why I didn't paint seriously for so long because I didn't want that and because of the fact I felt any attention I would get would depend on my celebrity and not my pictures. But I missed getting feedback on my art, and I wanted a little of that, not so much the exhibits, but the feedback."
In the interview, Sir Paul went on to express his admiration for his chief mentor, Willem de Kooning. Linda's father Lee Eastman was de Kooning's attorney and the artist's studio was in East Hampton, N. Y., near the Eastman Long Island home. "I enjoy the De Kooning approach, the very wild approach, the spontaneous approach," Sir Paul revealed. "Other painters who have influenced me are Matisse, Van Gogh, Picasso and Magritte."
Although none of the works displayed in this New York exhibit are for sale, lithographs of three McCartney works, "Egypt Station", "Ancient Connections", and "Big Mountain Face" are being offered for $1,750, with proceeds going to New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Britain's Garland Appeal for breast cancer research. The exhibit will run through Thursday, November 9.
On the eve of the opening, Sir Paul granted an interview (currently available for viewing via RealPlayer) with journalist Diane Sawyer which was broadcast on her ABC program Prime Time Thursday. Part 2 of the interview will be aired on Thursday, November 9. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
It's official! EMI announced today that on November 13th (the release date of 1) the Beatles will launch their first official website. A year in the making, the project combines ideas contributed by Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono with the unique resources of the Beatles' recording companies - Parlophone, EMI and Apple. The end result is a site filled with films and archive materials supporting the 27 chart-topping tracks featured on the 79-minute CD.
Beatles' spokesman, Geoff Baker, has dubbed the site Dot-Com Together:
"The Beatles are back at Abbey Road - in cyber space. The Beatles are pioneering new ground for the launch of a new album. Nobody has ever done anything on this scale before. "
And what will we see? EMI has offered a few hints:
- a film of the band's famed final live performance singing "Get Back" from the rooftop of Apple headquarters;
- an "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" page providing a virtual tour of Studio 2 at the Abbey Road studios;
- a "Help" area of the site that promises to turn us into virtual Beatles;
- and a "Day Tripper" page containing visuals of the Beatles as seen through special effect glasses.
In all, the site will feature 24 original promotional films, single sleeves from around the world and charts from the early 1960s.
Jeremy Neech, project manager for the song sites reports that the Beatles are thrilled with the results:
"They loved it. They are all Internet-savvy and like what we have done. Paul suggested taking sound from the Abbey Road archives of them talking whilst they were recording. Ringo recommended a Los Angeles designer. George loved the Day Tripper stuff ... We went over to New York and showed Yoko Ono what we were doing."
Through this site, the Beatles seek to offer a state-of-the-art window into their music for their faithful fans and, hopefully, a new generation.
(submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the US) has launched an online campaign to find the sexiest vegetarian alive. Sir Paul is included on the list of 32 candidates (as is daughter, Stella). Here's your opportunity to cast your vote . May the best man win! ;-) (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul was in New York city on Friday to surprise his daughter Stella, presenting her with the VH1/ Vogue Fashion award as Designer of the Year for her work at Chloe.
That wasn't his only surprise for Stella! Next, he opened his jacket to reveal a T-shirt which read: "About flippin' time". (Remeber what Stella wore to Sir Paul's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?)
Sir Paul's appearance received a standing ovation from the audience and a heartfelt hug from his daughter. "Well, I'd better thank him," she said. "And I would like to thank my mum. I give this to her. She would be so proud and I wish she was here to see this. I would also like to thank my dad, who I had no idea was here. I will have to take him out later." In further tribute to her mother, Stella added, "If there is anybody thinking of buying a fur coat this year, please don't. Don't make animals fashion victims."
Then Stella took her dad off to the after-show party for a few frames of pool. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul has announced that next year his beloved home city of Liverpool will host the first comprehensive exhibition of his art work. The show will be the first to be held in the Walker Art Gallery's new special exhibition galleries and marking the completion of a major multi-million improvement program.
Sir Paul announced: "I've been offered an exhibition of my paintings at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool where John and I used to spend many a pleasant afternoon, so I am really excited about it. It's from October 2001 till January 2002. I didn't tell anybody I painted for 15 years but now I'm out of the closet."
The exhibition, the result of negotiations between Sir Richard Foster, Director of National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside and Sir Paul's agent, Robbie Montgomery, will display 60 paintings created by Sir Paul over the last 12 years. The Walker Gallery's curator Michael Simpson said he had difficulty in selecting works for the display. "Many of the paintings in the show are new and have never been previously exhibited or published. They reflect different periods in the artist's life, his music, his humour and his links with the city of Liverpool." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
October 13 Opportunity for an Art Chat with Sir Paul!
In a statement yesterday, Sir Paul invited his fans to join him in a behind-the-scenes virtual tour of his latest art exhibition at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, England. The event will be shown on Thursday, October 19 at 4:15 p.m. UK (11:15 a.m. EST / 8:15 a.m. PST) at http://chat.yahoo.com. The "Artcast" will open with 40-minute film of Sir Paul discussing his artwork followed at 5:00 p.m. UK (Noon EST / 9:00 a.m. PST) by a live chat session between Sir Paul and his Internet audience. Please send your questions in advance to author-series@yahoo-inc.com with "McCartney Paintings'' in the subject line.
In his statement, Sir Paul added that: "For many years I painted in private and I didn't really talk about it to anyone outside of my family. Now I'm interested in showing my paintings to anyone who is curious about them, partly to learn what people think." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
October 8 Paul and Linda's Shadow Cycle
Sir Paul was in Italy this weekend, speaking as the guest of honor at the Castelli Animati animated film festival at Genzano, outside Rome. Sir Paul was there to present an animated film he produced with Italian-Argentinian director Oscar Grillo called Shadow Cycle. The film is based on a musical idea of his late wife Linda. During the event, Sir Paul disclosed that Linda had been totally taken in by the project and had begun working on the music without telling him. She died two years ago and was unable to finish the soundtrack. Now completed, it serves as yet another beautiful tribute to her memory. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul has has commissioned the creation a life-size statue of his lovely Linda to be displayed in the Linda McCartney Memorial Gardens near their Mull of Kintyre home.
The bronze figure will be the work of sculptress Jane Robins, daughter of Paul's cousin, and will portray Linda sitting on a tree stump, cradling a dog in her arms. Ms. Robins explained: "I went to see Paul about another matter when he asked if I could do it. I knew Linda and the sort of person she was, so I am in a good position to produce something that Paul's going to be pleased with."
The model will take two to three months to complete at which time Sir Paul will be asked to give his final approval before it is sent to the foundry to be cast in bronze. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
"That's Alright" Paul
Daily Variety has announced that in December, 2001, the American public television station PBS will broadcast a two-hour tribute to the Sun Records label as part of its critically acclaimed "American Masters" series featuring the music of such Sun Records artists as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash. The project will be accompanied by a soundtrack album produced by Atlantic Records founder, Ahmet Ertegun.
Sir Paul has agreed to participate in both the film and soundtrack along with Bob Dylan, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, Chrissie Hynde, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Bryan Ferry, the Who and Aerosmith.
A highlight of the project will be Sir Paul's cover of "That's All Right," recorded by Elvis Presley at one of his earliest Sun sessions in 1954. He will be backed by guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana, who played with Elvis in that original session nearly 50 years ago. The soundtrack will be released on Warner Music Group's London-Sire label. (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul had some interesting comments to share at the opening of the exhibit of his paintings at the Arnolfini Art Gallery in Bristol:
"I always liked drawing as a kid and I liked the idea of painting, but I felt there was some sort of reason why I shouldn't, because I hadn't been trained, because I hadn't been to art college, because I was just a working class person.
"I started painting when I was about 40. People say life begins at that age. But after a few weeks, when nothing happened, I thought painting is something I've always wanted to do, so I did it."
Sir Paul said he was inspired to begin painting during a casual conversation with abstract impressionist Willem de Kooning in his East Hampton, close to the McCartney home in Long Island, New York.
"We were looking at one of his paintings and I said, 'At the risk of appearing gauche, what is it, Bill?' and he replied, 'I dunno, looks like a couch, huh?'
"I thought his painting looked like a purple mountain and he thought it looked like a couch, but the fact that he said that it didn't matter what it was just freed me."
It was Linda who provided him with the encouragement to paint:
"When I started painting, if she was in the room she would say
things like, 'Wow, you paint like a painter', and that was obviously a
great encouragement to me. She was my biggest supporter, just by thinking I was good."Since her death, Linda has no longer been the subject of his work:
"I only painted her when she was alive because she would model for me ... I don't paint from photos normally and it is difficult to paint from memory but if she was to appear in a splodge of paint I was
knocking around, her face or something, then I would paint her."She had a fascinating face to paint. She had a very square jaw and a nice long neck, and I just used to love trying to capture it ... I think looking back on it, in every painting I painted of her I captured something of her, but never the whole thing."
In fact, Sir Paul has not painted since his Segen, Germany exhibition:
"I had been going through the fact that Linda died, which kind of ... stopped me painting."
In answer to his critics, Sir Paul confided:
"I take my work seriously, but I don't care what the critics say. I just like applying paint to canvas. I'm out to enjoy it ... I know that anyone who crosses over out of his own field tends to get criticised, so I just painted for myself and didn't tell anyone. For years I kept it quiet, and only my family knew that I painted."
The opening also gave Sir Paul an opportunity to comment on the recent republication of a December, 1970 interview John Lennon granted to Rolling Stone magazine editor Jann Wenner in which John's originally deleted vicious remarks against Paul have now been revealed. Paul remarked that the interview had been conducted in the midst of a period during which he and John were going through their worst crisis:
"It hurt a lot at the time but we got back together as friends and he is on record as saying 'a lot of that slagging off I gave Paul was really just me crying for help.'
"He was going through a lot of problems himself, and I don't think he meant most of what he said. So I have to look at those factors and think, wait a minute, he was crazy guy, who would say just what he wanted.
"He could have been boozed out of his head, as he was during that period, he could have been crazed on this, that or the other substance, he could have just decided to have a go at me.
"But we did get very friendly, and he did tell me that a lot of those things he said he didn't mean. I was very lucky in as much as before he got killed we were able to tell each other we loved each other. It was just a domestic tiff or, as we used to call it, a domestic blitz." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul Talks about his Paintings.
On Saturday, September 16th, the Daily Telegraph (London) published a portion of a longer interview which appears in the Autumn, 2000 edition of the journal Modern Painters in which Sir Paul shares his thoughts on painting with the journal's editor, Karen Wright.
When asked how he became interested in collecting art, Sir Paul responded:
"I would like to say I am not a great expert on anything. - I have fragments of knowledge but I am not a great expert. I am not a great expert on music, either. I used to hang around some of the galleries in London just for fun [in the Sixties] and I bought a little Cocteau drawing, which I had on my wall. And then it started seriously when I met Robert Fraser. We became good pals and we just talked art all the time. Robert had a lot of pieces in his apartment and I'd say, "That's nice", and he'd say, "It's for sale".
And why was Robert Fraser's art gallery such an influence on Sir Paul?
"I think he hung around with music people because he was attracted to them. It was the happening scene - it was where all the energy was coming from. A lot of artists like Peter Blake were into music and there was a kind of crossover that happened naturally. Robert would say, 'Do you know Takis? He's a cool sculptor', and I'd say, 'What kind of thing?' And he'd say, 'Long tank aerials, that kind of thing.' So we'd go and see him. We'd all just get in my car and drive down the Fulham Road. So I got this very informal education, which is how I like my education. I have never been good with the formalities - in music or anything."
Is Sir Paul defending himself with this remark?
"It's more a disclaimer. I don't want people to be reading this thinking, "Bloody hell! That's completely wrong, he doesn't know." I like the primitive approach, so if I learn to sail I don't take sailing lessons: I get into a boat and I capsize a lot. It's actually very much my philosophy and it works equally well in painting and in music.
"Back to Robert Fraser. We would go to all these painters, and that's when I got to know Alan Jones, Paolozzi, Takis. And when I developed an interest in Magritte, for instance, which became one of my passions, Robert would say, 'Why, I know Isoles' [Magritte's dealer]. So I'd say, 'Great!' and we'd go over to see Alexandre [Isoles) and have dinner with him. He lived over the shop so we'd go down after and there would be these beautiful Magrittes, and I bought some wonderful ones, which I still love.
"The definitive moment with Robert and me was when I was in London, and I was filming a singer, Mary Hopkin, in the garden. Robert arrived, got let into the house, then left. And when I came back in I found he'd propped up this little canvas by Magritte on the table where he knew I'd see it. It was a big green apple, and written in lovely cursive writing was Au revoir, and Robert had put it there like a conceptual thing - he'd just left and Au revoired. It was a golden moment. It's still one of my favourite pictures of all times. The Apple logo came from that.
"The next most influential person was Linda. Linda was very knowledgeable because her father, Lee Eastman, was a great collector - of mainly Abstract Expressionists. He was a lawyer in New York. When you went to his house there were a lot of fine paintings - he had Rothkos - and he knew a lot of these people. He had French Impressionists that he'd bought in the Thirties.
"So Linda was the next major influence. One of my chat-up lines was 'Would you like to see my Magrittes?"
Did this line work on Linda?
"Yeah! She said 'What! You've got Magrittes?' Most of the other girls wouldn't have known what I was talking about, but Linda knew all that. She had known the Warhol crowd, so she could fill me in. I had never wanted to get in with them - I sensed a danger. Linda would go down to Max's Kansas City, and all that, but she didn't get too in with them; like me, she wanted to get out before it got too crazy. And you had to judge it all in the Sixties. At the same time as being stoned you had to retain some sense of balance.
"Linda helped a lot in collecting. We built up a very personal collection. I fell madly in love with Tiepolo's drawings and occasionally she would buy me one. We decided we wouldn't have any themes - they just had to be pictures we really liked. She bought me Magritte's easel when he was selling the contents of his studio, and with it came a little table and his spectacles, which is very poignant, and there's all this stuff in the drawers. I like these connections, I like to feel a part of him - although using the easel was very intimidating."
What about the influence of Willem de Kooning on Sir Paul?
"He was the great influence because through Linda's dad, who was his lawyer, we got to go to his studio in Amagansett. When we were on holiday we'd just ring him, and we'd go over and have coffee and sit in these two big chairs and look at his new work, and just wander around and chat to him about it.
"What happened was someone said, 'Bill would like to give you and Linda a picture.' Bill had known Linda since she was a kid and he'd always liked her because she was a free spirit. Faced with this gift we thought, 'We can't have one of those big million- pound canvases.' So we chose one of his pulls. (When he had too much paint on the surface of a canvas he would put the New York Times on it and pull the paint off and he'd get like a print from it.)
"It was a beautiful one. I plucked up the nerve to ask what it was. And then came the most freeing moment of my painting life when Bill said, 'I don't know, it looks like a couch, huh?' And the way he said 'huh' excited me because he threw it open to me and it was like my head just burst. I thought it looked like a purple mountain, but it was so liberating - the idea that it didn't matter. I suddenly realised it was the freedom, the colour, it was the paint and the way it was applied. I'd been itching to apply paint to a surface, and I decided life begins at 40, so let's do something.
"I reminded Peter Blake recently of when I asked him for practical tips. I wanted advice on painting and he said, 'Paint more, that's the only advice I can give.' I said to him more recently: 'You know, what I was looking for was how to get hair off the canvas if it's on there and you don't want it.' We had a laugh about it. "
Sir Paul then proceeded to discuss specific paintings:
"This series [in a new book accompanying an exhibition at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol] comes from an image I got of someone scratching three fingers down a wall. I woke up with this thing [in my head] and I thought it would be just a black canvas and these three-fingered scratches, like someone in prison who is either trying to get out or they're trying to mark the dates. It's like graffiti.
"That set me off on a little bunch of paintings. And things happen, like I didn't want it to just be black, so I was going to make it blue-black. So I threw some blue on the canvas and was going to blend it. But then a shape emerged with this blue, and I still don't know what it is. It looks vaguely phallic, or somebody's ass bending away from you. But that's what started to fascinate me. It's probably an accident, but what I like is the inner content, that I have no idea what my dreams are about.
"My equation would be that my computer is fully loaded by now - maybe in younger people there's a bit of loading to go, but mine's loaded pretty much - so what I try and do is allow it to print out. I'm interested to hear what it's got in there. I think we must be interested as musicians, too, as often our music arrives that way. I dreamed the song Yesterday. It was just in a dream, I woke up one morning and had a melody in my head, so I have to believe in that."
When asked about his painting Oak Apple, he responded:
"This is made of oak apple. I was in the post office trying to buy some Quink one day, and they said, 'We don't sell ink any more in this modern day and age.' I was on the way out and there was an old man and he said, "If you want some ink, get those little oak apples, put them in water for two weeks and you'll have a nice ink.' So that's what I did, and that's the ink you get, beautiful brown ink. "
Asked if the 1920s feeling of his work is intentional, Sir Paul replied:
"I think it's just the guy, his little moustache, he's very Twenties. If I had to use one word about my paintings it would be free, and that's what I like about it. Things just arrive. "
Is that how things work for him in his painting?
"Well, it seems to be the road I'm going along. I have millions of little ways to get over blocks because for me - because I don't do it for a living - it's important I enjoy it. But every artist that I've ever talked to gets a moment in a painting of "What the f*** am I doing? What the hell is this?' You get that scary feeling I used to get at school: you suddenly think, 'Oh my god! This could go horribly wrong at any second.' So I developed tricks.
" In my mind I have a friend who is Luigi. Luigi owns a restaurant and he's got an alcove, and he always needs a painting for it. So whatever I'm doing, if ever I get that terrifying moment I say, 'It's for Luigi's alcove, Luigi will like this.' And he just lets me off - it frees my head for two seconds and then I'm over the hurdle and I can carry on. Luigi's alcove is one of my huge saviours.
"And then I like blending paint, so I have an alter ego called Mr Blendini. He often paints for Luigi. "
What is Sir Paul working on at the moment?
"I've done a few things in the past couple of years. Not an awful lot. I think some of them were just therapy, but again I don't think that's a bad thing. Yeah, it's been quite grief-laden, the last couple of years, so anything I've done has picked up a tinge of that. A bit stark. A bit sad, dark perhaps. But it was good to do them. I'm glad I did." (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Sir Paul and the Red Squirrels
Sir Paul is lending his artistic talents to raise awareness to the plight of the endangered red squirrel by taking part in a "scribble a squirrel" charity auction which is currently taking place on QXL .
The pictures are to be auctioned on the Internet during Red Squirrel Week, which begins September 15. The auction will run for two weeks and will raise money for the North EastWildlife Trust and The Calvert Trust, charities which both work to raise awareness of the dangers facing the red squirrel who could be threatened with extinction in England within the next decade.
Others whose pictures will be auctioned include Phil Collins, Sir Elton John, the Duchess of York - and Jane Asher! (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Byline: Paul McCartney
Three articles with a Paul McCartney byline appeared in the September 12 issues of the Times (London): (submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
Fond memories of John Lennon
ANY MINUTE now it is going to be what would have been my mate John's 60th birthday, and for some reason when I think about it, it's the silly little things that I remember.
John was always short-sighted, and consequently wore thick horn-rimmed specs. When there were girls about these became a bit of an embarrassment to him so he would whip them off, but then be completely unable to see anything around him.
This problem was cured by the emergence of the late great Buddy Holly. Buddy's popularity meant that John could wear his specs with pride - most of the time, that is. I do remember one occasion when he'd been to my house in Forthlin Road. It was around Christmas and we'd been working on a song; he left around midnight, taking a short walk back to his home.
The next day he said to me: "Those people on the corner of Booker Avenue must be mad. They were out on their porch last night after 12, sitting around the table playing cards." Puzzled by this, I went past the house later in the day to discover that the midnight card players were, in fact, a Nativity scene with the holy couple bending over the baby Jesus.
Finally, on the same note, one of the most poignant exchanges between John and me (which will probably mean nothing to anyone except me) came after a minor argument we had had on some point or other and, realising he had hurt me with one of his comments, John lowered his granny glasses and peeking out from behind them said gently: "It's only me."
Battle to ban landmines
RECENTLY my interest has been reawakened in the landmine issue through my friendship with Heather Mills. Thinking through my personal reaction to the problem of landmines, it occurred to me that the thing to do was to imagine you had been living in a country that had been at war. Peace had now been declared, but as you were on your way to work, stuck in a traffic jam, bullets were still flying through the air. You would take a child for a walk at the weekend while snipers were still firing from the trees.
This would be totally unacceptable, but that is exactly what happens when landmines are left behind. It seemed to me, when seen like this, that a clearer picture is painted of what we need to do, and that is why I am now involved in a campaign to ban landmines for ever.
Please don't call me a 'celebrity painter'
I've got a book coming out this week, which is exciting and a little daunting too, because it's a book that I once thought you would never get to see, a book of my paintings.
People say to me: "I didn't know you painted", and they wouldn't, because for about 15 years I hardly talked about it to anyone outside my family. And for more than 20 years before that I didn't paint (even though I wanted to) because I didn't reckon I was entitled to.
Throughout the Sixties and the Seventies, I didn't dare to buy a canvas because I believed that "people like me" were not allowed to paint - that because I hadn't gone to art school it was not right for me to paint.
But I had always loved painting. I won a small art prize at school, and as a kid I was interested in modern art. I'd buy long rolls of paper, lay them out on the floor and use watercolours or poster paints and blow the paint everywhere - as I blew, it would splay out like spiders' webs. I did a few of those big abstracts, which I'd hang in my room for decoration.
Even when I was in the Beatles and began to be interested in collecting art, meeting artists through my friend Robert Fraser, I still couldn't get around this idea that the likes of me didn't paint on canvas, we were allowed only to paint bits of wood or toilet seats ...
It was Linda who helped me to get around the problem. When I turned 40 she introduced me to the great American painter Willem de Kooning. Linda's family had long been friends of de Kooning, her father Lee was his lawyer, and she took me to meet him at his studio in Long Island.
It was a great experience to watch him paint and chat about his work. At the end of our visit he said that he'd like to give us a present of one of his paintings and that we should take our pick. Being friends, we didn't want to take one of the big million-dollar jobs, so we selected a small one which he had framed himself.
To me, it looked like a painting of a purple mountain, but, being unsure, I said to de Kooning: "At the risk of appearing gauche, Bill...what is it?" - and he replied: "I dunno; looks like a couch, huh?"
That "huh?" in that moment liberated me. I'd thought his painting looked like a mountain and he thought it looked like a couch - but the fact that he said that it didn't matter was such a liberation. And so, at the age of 40, I grew up and realised that I could paint if I wanted to. It was allowed.
So I bought a few canvases and started painting - now that I was free I devoured canvases, and in the 15 years that followed I painted more than 500.
But then I came up against another block - the whole "celebrity painter" thing. I didn't want to get labelled with that one, but I knew it was lurking out there because anyone who crosses out of his own field into a different medium tends to get criticised.
Because I was known as a musician, I felt some critics wouldn't even allow for the possibility that I could also paint (even though Leonardo Da Vinci apparently ended his days as a court musician).
So I just painted and didn't talk about it beyond my family circle - I felt that if the news got out I might get calls from galleries who would want to exhibit my work, not because the work did or didn't deserve an exhibition, but because they would want to exhibit my name.
Sure enough, after I'd painted privately for 15 years, the news did leak out and galleries offered me exhibitions. I said: "But you haven't seen my paintings," and they would say: "Oh, that doesn't matter..." But it did matter; that was the "celebrity painter" label I wanted to avoid.
I might have painted in private for the rest of my life if it hadn't been for the curator of an art museum in the off-Broadway German town of Siegen. He also inquired about an exhibition, but he was the first person who wasn't remotely interested that I'd been a Beatle. He was interested in the pictures as pictures, not as my pictures. So last year I agreed to his request; and a little nervously I did the show in this remote place and got enough positive feedback from that to encourage me.
Now I've got a book of my paintings coming out - and I cautiously agreed to that only because the publishers asked me to do it on the strength of the Siegen catalogue - and to give anybody interested in what I do on canvas the chance to check it out. I know I'll be getting a few snide comments for doing this book - it seems that if you approach the art world by one route, that's OK, but if you've come via another route, then it invites prejudice. In fact, after Siegen, one "critic" wrote that I "shouldn't be allowed to do this". Stupid, but it's kind of interesting; it's that art college entitlement thing again - maybe it's not just me who had the hang-up.
September 11, Paul addresses the UN Conference on Landmines
In Geneva, Switzerland, Sir Paul McCartney has delivered the opening address at the UN Conference on landmines urging all Governments to ban landmines and provide more support for landmine victims.
Sir Paul told representatives: "We support the campaign to get every country to join the Ottawa Convention. We want to see an end to the use, manufacture, production stockpiling and export of landmines. We applaud Governments that have already joined. The treaty is a vital step forward. "But there is still an urgent need for greater effort to clear mined land and to help the victims. Not enough is being done. Too many people are still being killed and maimed, too much land can't be used. This is a problem that can be solved, if we want to. Every minute counts. Imagine you've been living in a country that was at war. Now the war is over and peace has been declared, you're on the way to work in the morning in the traffic and the bullets are still flying. This is obviously unacceptable, but this is exactly what leaving land mines behind is. "
VIVA USA
Sir Paul has recorded a message to be played in Atlanta, Georgia on September 14 at the launching of Viva USA (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) in which he urges Americans to support this British animal charity by turning vegetarian with these words: "There's a whole host of things threatening the planet but Government and big business don't seem to be doing anything about it. But you can and you don't need anyone's permission. You can help end the appalling cruelty to animals, you can save the environment and you can improve your own health - just by going vegetarian. It couldn't be easier, so join us."
Paul Confronts His Critic
Sir Paul McCartney, is furious with a certain art critic who has been panning his talents as a painter: "I liked the idea of getting feedback, but the moment it got reviewed, people like Brian Sewell, whose name I shouldn't know but do, said, 'But he's hopeless! He just can't paint!" McCartney added: "You get plans to mug him. Find out where he lives, but then you say, 'No come on. You just don't do that.'"
Lifetime Achiever
On September 9, it was announced that Sir Paul had been nominated for lifetime achievement accolades in a new awards initiative launched by the BBC. His daughter, Stella, has also been nominated in the Arts category. All the People's Awards winners honored at the awards ceremony on October 6th 2000 at the Royal Albert Hall will have been nominated and voted for by the British public. aims to honour outstanding individuals who have been selected by the public to be recognized for their major contributions to society. To cast your vote for Sir Paul, please visit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/peoplesawards/vote.shtml before September 24.On September 5, Sir Paul's lifetime achievements were recognized at GQ magazine's Men Of The Year Awards at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
Next "Paintings" Exhibition in Bristol, England
Paul's Paintings Exhibition was a huge success with its world premiere in Siegen, Germany, last year (see my report from the opening).
The Arnolfini Arts Complex in Bristol will be the first place in England to exhibit his paintings.
Also, the exhibition catalogue (as it premiered in Siegen) will see its proper release as a book "Paul McCartney - Paintings" (priced at £30).Poetry
Last week's Sunday Times reported that Paul intends to write a book of Poetry. He started writing poetry when a friend died and he couldn't write a song - just the words came.Liverpool Sound Collage CD released in the USA
This CD has been released in the United Kingdom on 21 August, and in Germany on 25 August. At last, it will be released in the United States of America on 26 September 2000.
You can pre-order this CD in the USA here:
USA: Release 26 September 2000
Click to order AmazonUK: Release 21 August 2000
Click to order
Germany: Release 25 August 2000
Click to order
As reported on this site earlier this year, Peter Blake's exhibition at Liverpool's Tate Gallery has been accompanied by some very special music, prepared by Sir Paul McCartney!
These recordings are now being made available to the public - officially! Here's some information from the record label:
"Paul McCartney's Liverpool Sound Collage was created as the soundtrack for About Collage, Peter Blake's exhibition now running at The Tate Liverpool.
It extends the medium beyond its traditional visual form and includes recordings made by McCartney on the streets of Liverpool, as well as out-takes from recordings made between 1965-69 with George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.
The sound collage is a collaboration between Paul McCartney, The Super Furry Animals and Youth and is available (in the UK) on Hydra Records from 21st August 2000."Liverpool Sound Collage - track listing:
1 plastic beetle paul mccartney. the beatles 08.22 2 peter blake 2000 super furry animals. the beatles 16.54 3 real gone dub made in manifest in the vortex of the eternal now youth 16.37 4 made up paul mccartney. the beatles 12.57 5 free now
paul mccartney. the beatles.
super furry animals03.28
You can listen to excerpts of two tracks, and read more about the background here:
You can order this CD from the United Kingdom or Germany:
UK: Release 21 August 2000
Click to order
Germany: Release 25 August 2000
Click to order
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