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Post by JoJo on Aug 27, 2009 19:54:16 GMT -5
Sir Paul told Mojo magazine: "I think the worst thing that happened was that I could see people sort of looking at me more closely - 'were his ears always like that?'" Interesting. This is not an approach he usually takes, if ever, meaning talking about whether he looked "different". Usually it's all about the DJ, album clues, etc. Must have read the Italian Wired article.
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Jude
Hard Day's Night
Acting Naturally
Posts: 34
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Post by Jude on Aug 27, 2009 23:57:56 GMT -5
From the same article:
'Baseball to us (Brits) is a game called rounders we played as kids.
'Actually, I accidentally broke a girl’s nose when I was a kid with my back swing. I still remember her name. Shirley Prytherch. P-r-y-t-h-e-r, um, c-h, I think. I don’t know, but it sounds Welsh to me.
'It’s something like this that accounts for all the armour you guys wear now playing baseball. She didn’t have any and look what happened to her.'
What kind of impostor would make up such a story? You can't just give off-the-cuff anecdotes knowing that there are people still alive who went to school with him, and yearbooks that could prove there ever was a Shirley Prytherch and if she broke her nose or not.
That's why I'm convinced that he is Paul McCartney.
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Post by revolver on Aug 28, 2009 0:19:37 GMT -5
From the same article: 'Baseball to us (Brits) is a game called rounders we played as kids.
'Actually, I accidentally broke a girl’s nose when I was a kid with my back swing. I still remember her name. Shirley Prytherch. P-r-y-t-h-e-r, um, c-h, I think. I don’t know, but it sounds Welsh to me.
'It’s something like this that accounts for all the armour you guys wear now playing baseball. She didn’t have any and look what happened to her.'What kind of impostor would make up such a story? You can't just give off-the-cuff anecdotes knowing that there are people still alive who went to school with him, and yearbooks that could prove there ever was a Shirley Prytherch and if she broke her nose or not. That's why I'm convinced that he is Paul McCartney. Read this story for a second opinion on Paul's recall: invanddis.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=TAR&thread=3199&page=1
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Post by dyingfortruth on Sept 8, 2009 16:48:12 GMT -5
April fools hoax claims Paul is dead was a hoax Bruce Spizer is a well-know Beatles author and historian who has not only written a series of critically acclaimed books on the group's American records, but also has been known to tell a tall tale or two for April Fool's Day. This article originally appeared in the April 1, 2004 issue of Goldmine Magazine. I spoke with Bruce personally and he confirmed that the article was an April Fools prank. The Paul is Dead Hoax remains a mystery. While on a recent quick vacation in New Orleans, Paul McCartney let his guard down and admitted what some Beatles fans have suspected for years. He confirmed that the "Paul is dead" clues found in several Beatles album covers and songs were deliberately planted by the group as part of an elaborate scheme dating back to the summer of 1966. According to McCartney, the plan was formulated by manager Brian Epstein. "Brian dropped by the studio to hear the playback of our latest single, 'Paperback Writer.' He didn't like it one bit. 'Not a love song,' he said. He was concerned that the press and our fans wouldn't get it. He told us, 'People want love songs. They won't spend money for a song about a novel writer. You boys are gonna blow it with this one.' But by this time, we were running the show, not Brian. We insisted that 'Paperback Writer' would be our next single and told him that the song represented the new direction our songwriting was going in." When contacted in London, former Beatles press agent Tony Barrow confirmed Brian's concerns. "Brian was into traditional love songs. He had told Paul to come up with another 'Yesterday' or 'Michelle' for the next single. Imagine his shock when he heard 'Paperback Writer' and 'Rain.' Not only were they not love songs, but they were so loud! We didn't know it at the time, but the Beatles had recorded the first heavy metal single. Not exactly 'Till There Was You' or 'A Taste Of Honey.' I was worried, too. I wondered, 'Had the boys gone too far this time?'" Brian became even more concerned when he imagined an album full of unconventional songs. While a fan might take a chance on a single, an album purchase was a big thing in those days. Due to its higher price, youngsters, particularly those in the U.K., were very careful about buying albums. That is why the Beatles often issued an EP from an album containing four of its best tracks. So Brian came up with a plan to help sell albums in the event he was right about the dangerous new direction the group was heading in. Paul explained, "When I told him our future albums would be dominated by songs about interesting people and places, his heart sank. He didn't think people would buy such albums and came up with this great idea to push sales in the event he was right and we were wrong. The idea was that we would plant clues in our songs and album covers that one of us had died in a car wreck. If after a few albums, our records weren't selling well, we'd leak out word about the clues and let our fans and the press take over. People would buy the albums to see and hear the clues. We thought, 'Wow, that's an incredible idea!' We realized it would be great fun to have all those clues sitting there undiscovered until people started going nuts looking for them all." Tony Barrow also thought the plan was brilliant. "Nothing re-energizes a singer's career like his death. Do you really think Buddy Holly would have been so famous had he not died in that plane crash? Same for Richie Valens and certainly that one-hit wonder Big Bopper with his 'Chantilly Lace' song. And how about Otis Redding? He never had a number one hit till after he died in a plane crash. The fact that Brian came up with a car crash shows his genius. Airplane crashes were the norm." Having sold the group on the idea, the Beatles had to decide which one of them was to "die." Brian wanted the victim to be Ringo because he was the most popular Beatle in the all-important U.S. market, but the drummer wanted nothing to do with it. Tony Barrow recalls, "Ringo flat out refused to be the one. He said, 'Being painted red in a movie is one thing, but pretending to be dead's another. I'm superstitious. Those clues might make it happen.' Brian was disappointed because he knew Ringo was the most sympathetic Beatle. You know Ringo got more mail from America than the other members of the group combined." [Author's Note: Ringo was unavailable for comment.] After Ringo turned down the "opportunity" to die, the honor of being a dead Beatle was up for grabs. According to Paul, "George said right away he didn't feel comfortable faking his death. But it sure got him thinking. A few days later he showed up at a session with a new song called 'The Art Of Dying.' We didn't think it was that good a song, so we never recorded it. George later improved the lyrics and included it on his first album." Paul's recollections are backed by the original lyrics to the song, which appear in George's "I Me Mine" book. The 1966 version of the song referred to Brian Epstein, who was the mastermind behind the death clues. It contained the line "Then nothing Mr. Epstein can do will keep me here with you." With Ringo and George not willing to "die" for the good of the group, it came down to John and Paul, with both thinking it would be fab to be "dead." Paul recalls, "John wanted to be the dead Beatle, but this time I didn't cave in to John like I did on the songwriter credits. I thought it should be me because I was the second most popular Beatle. Brian agreed it should be me because he was worried that once the clues became known, people might think it was a John practical joke if John was supposedly dead. But me...Brian thought, 'No one would suspect Paul for rigging his own death. They think John's the clever one.' So I got to die." A few days after the "Paperback Writer" listening session, the group was at Brian's office when photographer Bob Whitaker dropped by with the pictures from the butcher session. Brian asked Whitaker to shoot a picture of Paul in steamer trunk to symbolize his lying dead in a coffin. Paul picks up the story. "Bob thought it was too direct, so he suggested we stand the truck upwards and have me sit in it with the other standing around. That way, it would only look like I was lying in a coffin if the cover was turned sideways. Bob had Ringo place his hand on the trunk lid like he was closing the coffin. Brilliant! Brian told us to throw some clues into our songs. Right away John came up with 'I'm Only Sleeping,' as if 'Paul isn't dead, he's only sleeping.' Pretty subtle. Most people missed that clue, and that was one of the first!" The "coffin trunk" photo was sent to Capitol to serve as the cover for the American album "Yesterday And Today." But when Brian saw the cover mock-up, he began having second thoughts about using the photo so early in the game. He was concerned that people might suspect Paul was dead a lot sooner than the group wanted to clues to be discovered. So Brian sent Capitol the butcher photo, knowing that it might ultimately be rejected, but at least it would deflect attention away from the provocative coffin trunk cover. The plan worked to perfection with the Butcher cover causing so much controversy that when it was "replaced" by the trunk cover, no one noticed it showed Paul lying in a coffin! One of the casualties of the plan was Robert Freeman's unused cover for "Revolver." Paul explains that, "For 'Revolver,' Robert Freeman came up with a great cover image, but there was no death clue in it. I asked Klaus [Voormann] to do a pen and ink with a photo collage so we could throw in some clues. I had him place an image of my face in my ear. That represented a 'beetle' crawling out of the ear of my buried corpse. You know, insects get into coffins and mix with the dead bodies, crawling through eye sockets, ear openings and the like. Very creepy and very subtle. And the other clue came from Klaus drawing my face in a side profile looking to the left. The others were drawn looking forward. When you turn the cover on its side, I'm looking upward, just like I'd appear on a morgue slab or if I were buried underground. We really were into having clues appear when you turned our covers sideways. I'm surprised nobody caught those 'Revolver' clues." According to Tony Barrow, there was one other clue planted on "Revolver." "John had this really weird song that had no title, so he called it 'Mark I.' Later he came up with 'The Void,' to symbolize the void left in the group by Paul's death. Ringo thought that was too subtle, so he came up with the perfect phrase for describing the direction the group would go in if Paul really were dead. And that was 'Tomorrow Never Knows.' Ringo was great at stuff like that." By the time the Beatles recorded "Sgt. Pepper," the plan really took off. Tony Barrow recalls, "Brian thought 'Tomorrow Never Knows' was way out there. You can imagine his fear of an entire album of songs like that. He was terrified that Sgt. Pepper would be viewed as pretentious nonsense! He told the boys to throw in a bunch of clues on that one!" The first song recorded for "Sgt. Pepper" was "Strawberry Fields Forever," though it ended up being used as a single. At the end of the song, John was supposed to repeat "I buried Paul" several times, but that was too obvious, so instead he said "Cranberry sauce" and then slurred his words so that "I buried Paul" sounded like "I'm very bored." The plan worked as it took over two years before anyone realized what he was really saying. Later songs also had clues. Paul admitted that "She's Leaving Home" contained the time the car wreck supposedly occurred-"Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins." The line "Meeting a man from the motor trade" tied in the motor vehicle. And, of course, "A Day In The Life" was about a car crash. According to Paul, "The drug references were just a smoke-screen to deflect attention away from the car crash, you know. 'He blew his mind out in a car' could mean his head was crushed or he was doing drugs. Take your pick." The cover was full of clues: the crashing car; Paul's bass made of flowers; Paul having his back to the camera on the back cover; the hand over Paul's head; and the infamous "O.P.D." patch on Paul's uniform, which was McCartney's favorite Pepper clue. "We had to work hard on that one. Someone told John that in America the letters OPD stood for 'Officially Pronounced Dead.' I remembered I had this patch with the letters "OPP," which I got in Canada. I think it stands for Ontario Police Precinct or something like that. So I got the idea to put the patch on my uniform's sleeve and shoot the picture so that the lower part of the second 'P' would not be visible, thus making it look like 'OPD.' I was quite pleased with the way it came out." Although the sales of "Revolver" and "Pepper" made Brian realize that the clues probably weren't needed to sell records, the group kept creating more and more clues. According to Paul, "It was so neat coming up with clues that we kept doing them even thought we never thought they'd be needed to sell albums. It was great mischievous fun! When Brian died, we really went wild with it! For 'Magical Mystery Tour,' I wanted to wear a black flower on my jacket. The florist thought Alistair Taylor was nuts when he insisted they send us a black carnation. We became worried people would catch on when they saw the 'Magical Mystery Tour' booklet because the clues were so obvious. The 4 or 5 musicians, the "I was" sign. But no one caught on." Paul stated that placing the clues in the songs was even more fun than the visual images. "Ringo had this old song, 'Don't Pass Me By,' which we had refused to record for years. But I realized it could be used for a clue. I gave him the line 'You were in a car crash and you lost your hair' And we did great stuff with backwards tape loops and mumbling. John going 'Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.'" Some of the clues were easy and obvious. John's "Glass Onion" even told the fans what was going on with its line "And here's another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul." But some were quite intricate. According to Paul, the toughest one was "Revolution 9." "We had to come up with a phrase to go 'Number 9' when you played it backwards. Our plan was to have it go 'Number 9' on the record, but when you played it backwards it would sound like 'Paul is dead.' When we recorded 'Paul is dead' and played it backwards, it didn't go 'Number 9.' It sounded more like 'Pythagorian Theorem.' The phrase 'Macca is dead' sounded like 'Thermo nuclear' when we played it backwards. We experimented for hours until Alan Parsons came up with 'Turn me on dead man.' When we reversed the tape, it sounded like he was saying 'Number 9, number 9.' So that's how we did it." Abbey Road engineer Alan Parsons remembers the session well. "We spent hours recording different phrases until I lucked into 'Turn me on dead man.' When I played the tape backwards and heard 'Number 9,' well, it was one of the greatest moments of my life! We were all sworn to secrecy about the clues, but now that Paul's let the cat out the bag, I can talk about it. I later recorded my own song about looking for clues, 'Eye In The Sky.'" The last batch of clues were planted on the album cover to "Abbey Road," which was designed by Paul. McCartney came up with the idea to stage his own funeral. George, in the role of the grave digger, dressed in work clothes. Ringo, the funeral director, wore a black suit. John, the angel, wore white. Paul was barefoot, as it is the custom in several cultures to bury people without their shoes. In a subtle touch, the left-handed McCartney held a cigarette in his right hand. This was to imply that the Paul who had been with the group since mid-1966 was a right-handed imposter. Paul recalls the other major "Abbey Road" clue with fondness. "I've always liked puns, so I wanted to have a Volkswagon Beetle represent me. Alistair Taylor arranged for a friend of his to park his VW Beetle on the street by the studio. Alistair and I placed a special license tag we had made the night before on the car. It said '28 IF,' meaning that I would have been 28 if I had lived. Unfortunately, I out-thought myself on that one. I was only 27 at the time, but I told Alistair to paint it as 28 because I didn't think "Abbey Road" would come out until I was 28. That's because I was sure that the "Get Back" album would come out first. By the time we decided to put out "Abbey Road" first, I had forgotten about that clue, so we didn't have the picture altered to have the tag read '27 IF.'" When John told the others he was quitting the group, Paul began thinking it was time to expose the clues. "I was always nervous before a record came out, you know. Would people like it? And, in this case, what if word leaked out that John had quit? We were all worried that the album would bomb, and when word spread that John was out, we'd be forgotten. No one would buy our latest LP or our old records. The clincher was a pair of bad reviews published in 'The New York Times' and 'Rolling Stone.' I thought, oh sh*t, no one likes the long medley on side two. So I had Mal [Evans] go to Detroit and tell some college kids about the clues. One of the guys phoned in some of the clues to a radio station there. That was all it took." Once people started looking for clues, they were easy to spot. The American press was fascinated with the story. Brian's plan worked to perfection. Not only did sales for "Abbey Road" take off, but people began buying "Sgt. Pepper," "Magical Mystery Tour" and "The White Album" to see and hear the clues. Paul hid away at his farm in Scotland to further fuel the hoax. When a reported from "Life" magazine finally caught up with him, Paul dead-panned, "If I were dead, I'd be the last to know." The Beatles and their inner circle kept the clue caper a secret for over thirty years. Not only do we now know that the Beatles deliberately planted the clues, but we also know that it was part of a brilliant marketing plan formulated by manager Brian Epstein back in 1966. As for why Paul finally revealed the secrets behind the scheme, we may never know if it was an accidental slip up on his part or a plan to reignite sales of the Beatles catalog. ------------------- The article comes from here: beatlesnumber9.com/paulisdeadhoax.html
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Post by 65if2007 on Sept 8, 2009 19:47:58 GMT -5
see he knows people think he is a imposter: August 27, 2009 -- The Press Association McCartney talks conspiracy theory Sir Paul McCartney has revealed one of the world's favourite conspiracy theories led to people regularly checking him over to see if he really was an impostor. Word spread nearly 40 years ago that the musician had died in an accident in 1966 and a series of clues on the cover of The Beatles' last recorded album Abbey Road were thought to prove it. Sir Paul told Mojo magazine: "I think the worst thing that happened was that I could see people sort of looking at me more closely - 'were his ears always like that?'" So although some people have speculated that he's close to a "confession", this news item -- which I think is just based on his remarks from the Letterman program -- belies that.
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Post by 65if2007 on Sept 8, 2009 20:05:24 GMT -5
From the same article: 'Baseball to us (Brits) is a game called rounders we played as kids.
'Actually, I accidentally broke a girl’s nose when I was a kid with my back swing. I still remember her name. Shirley Prytherch. P-r-y-t-h-e-r, um, c-h, I think. I don’t know, but it sounds Welsh to me.
'It’s something like this that accounts for all the armour you guys wear now playing baseball. She didn’t have any and look what happened to her.'What kind of impostor would make up such a story? You can't just give off-the-cuff anecdotes knowing that there are people still alive who went to school with him, and yearbooks that could prove there ever was a Shirley Prytherch and if she broke her nose or not. That's why I'm convinced that he is Paul McCartney. Well, REVERSE that. As always, I have no firm opinion on the main issue, though I lean PIA. But suppose, in fact, that there is no record or memory of any Shirley Prytherch or any female with a similar name attending school in Liverpool during this time frame. Suppose, in fact, that there is no one alive after all of these years who remembers the incident. Would you or anyone else -- OK, anyone other than a brainless twit such as you-know-who -- regard that as proof that he isn't the real Paul McCartney? No, of course you wouldn't. You would say, quite properly, that he is struggling to remember details of a childhood incident that took place over a half century ago and that this shouldn't count against him. So if -- for the sake of argument -- he's a "phoney", that's probably a mistake that he could feel comfortable in making or a story that he could feel comfortable in recounting or fabricating. I've always figured that if he was a "phoney", he is still someone who was quite close to the Beatles and/or McCartney -- quite possibly a relative or an unknown twin brother -- even before 1966 and who would know certain things -- though the "set up affair" remark from RA 38 has always puzzled me. How could he be that mistaken? So even the emergence of Shirley Prytherch to confirm some or all of these details wouldn't necessarily prove anything one way or another. A better argument -- possibly -- for the point that you're trying to make is the fact that none of the original Quarrymen have ever denounced this McCartney as a "phoney". And as I pointed out some time ago, after 47 years, Pete Best is still bitter about having been fired from the Beatles. I linked to an article to this effect. Best certainly seems to be as bitter and angry at this McCartney as if this McCartney were the same one who was responsible for Best's discharge.
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Post by 65if2007 on Sept 8, 2009 20:07:08 GMT -5
April fools hoax claims Paul is dead was a hoax Bruce Spizer is a well-know Beatles author and historian who has not only written a series of critically acclaimed books on the group's American records, but also has been known to tell a tall tale or two for April Fool's Day. This article originally appeared in the April 1, 2004 issue of Goldmine Magazine. I spoke with Bruce personally and he confirmed that the article was an April Fools prank. The Paul is Dead Hoax remains a mystery. While on a recent quick vacation in New Orleans, Paul McCartney let his guard down and admitted what some Beatles fans have suspected for years. He confirmed that the "Paul is dead" clues found in several Beatles album covers and songs were deliberately planted by the group as part of an elaborate scheme dating back to the summer of 1966. According to McCartney, the plan was formulated by manager Brian Epstein. "Brian dropped by the studio to hear the playback of our latest single, 'Paperback Writer.' He didn't like it one bit. 'Not a love song,' he said. He was concerned that the press and our fans wouldn't get it. He told us, 'People want love songs. They won't spend money for a song about a novel writer. You boys are gonna blow it with this one.' But by this time, we were running the show, not Brian. We insisted that 'Paperback Writer' would be our next single and told him that the song represented the new direction our songwriting was going in." When contacted in London, former Beatles press agent Tony Barrow confirmed Brian's concerns. "Brian was into traditional love songs. He had told Paul to come up with another 'Yesterday' or 'Michelle' for the next single. Imagine his shock when he heard 'Paperback Writer' and 'Rain.' Not only were they not love songs, but they were so loud! We didn't know it at the time, but the Beatles had recorded the first heavy metal single. Not exactly 'Till There Was You' or 'A Taste Of Honey.' I was worried, too. I wondered, 'Had the boys gone too far this time?'" Brian became even more concerned when he imagined an album full of unconventional songs. While a fan might take a chance on a single, an album purchase was a big thing in those days. Due to its higher price, youngsters, particularly those in the U.K., were very careful about buying albums. That is why the Beatles often issued an EP from an album containing four of its best tracks. So Brian came up with a plan to help sell albums in the event he was right about the dangerous new direction the group was heading in. Paul explained, "When I told him our future albums would be dominated by songs about interesting people and places, his heart sank. He didn't think people would buy such albums and came up with this great idea to push sales in the event he was right and we were wrong. The idea was that we would plant clues in our songs and album covers that one of us had died in a car wreck. If after a few albums, our records weren't selling well, we'd leak out word about the clues and let our fans and the press take over. People would buy the albums to see and hear the clues. We thought, 'Wow, that's an incredible idea!' We realized it would be great fun to have all those clues sitting there undiscovered until people started going nuts looking for them all." Tony Barrow also thought the plan was brilliant. "Nothing re-energizes a singer's career like his death. Do you really think Buddy Holly would have been so famous had he not died in that plane crash? Same for Richie Valens and certainly that one-hit wonder Big Bopper with his 'Chantilly Lace' song. And how about Otis Redding? He never had a number one hit till after he died in a plane crash. The fact that Brian came up with a car crash shows his genius. Airplane crashes were the norm." Having sold the group on the idea, the Beatles had to decide which one of them was to "die." Brian wanted the victim to be Ringo because he was the most popular Beatle in the all-important U.S. market, but the drummer wanted nothing to do with it. Tony Barrow recalls, "Ringo flat out refused to be the one. He said, 'Being painted red in a movie is one thing, but pretending to be dead's another. I'm superstitious. Those clues might make it happen.' Brian was disappointed because he knew Ringo was the most sympathetic Beatle. You know Ringo got more mail from America than the other members of the group combined." [Author's Note: Ringo was unavailable for comment.] After Ringo turned down the "opportunity" to die, the honor of being a dead Beatle was up for grabs. According to Paul, "George said right away he didn't feel comfortable faking his death. But it sure got him thinking. A few days later he showed up at a session with a new song called 'The Art Of Dying.' We didn't think it was that good a song, so we never recorded it. George later improved the lyrics and included it on his first album." Paul's recollections are backed by the original lyrics to the song, which appear in George's "I Me Mine" book. The 1966 version of the song referred to Brian Epstein, who was the mastermind behind the death clues. It contained the line "Then nothing Mr. Epstein can do will keep me here with you." With Ringo and George not willing to "die" for the good of the group, it came down to John and Paul, with both thinking it would be fab to be "dead." Paul recalls, "John wanted to be the dead Beatle, but this time I didn't cave in to John like I did on the songwriter credits. I thought it should be me because I was the second most popular Beatle. Brian agreed it should be me because he was worried that once the clues became known, people might think it was a John practical joke if John was supposedly dead. But me...Brian thought, 'No one would suspect Paul for rigging his own death. They think John's the clever one.' So I got to die." A few days after the "Paperback Writer" listening session, the group was at Brian's office when photographer Bob Whitaker dropped by with the pictures from the butcher session. Brian asked Whitaker to shoot a picture of Paul in steamer trunk to symbolize his lying dead in a coffin. Paul picks up the story. "Bob thought it was too direct, so he suggested we stand the truck upwards and have me sit in it with the other standing around. That way, it would only look like I was lying in a coffin if the cover was turned sideways. Bob had Ringo place his hand on the trunk lid like he was closing the coffin. Brilliant! Brian told us to throw some clues into our songs. Right away John came up with 'I'm Only Sleeping,' as if 'Paul isn't dead, he's only sleeping.' Pretty subtle. Most people missed that clue, and that was one of the first!" The "coffin trunk" photo was sent to Capitol to serve as the cover for the American album "Yesterday And Today." But when Brian saw the cover mock-up, he began having second thoughts about using the photo so early in the game. He was concerned that people might suspect Paul was dead a lot sooner than the group wanted to clues to be discovered. So Brian sent Capitol the butcher photo, knowing that it might ultimately be rejected, but at least it would deflect attention away from the provocative coffin trunk cover. The plan worked to perfection with the Butcher cover causing so much controversy that when it was "replaced" by the trunk cover, no one noticed it showed Paul lying in a coffin! One of the casualties of the plan was Robert Freeman's unused cover for "Revolver." Paul explains that, "For 'Revolver,' Robert Freeman came up with a great cover image, but there was no death clue in it. I asked Klaus [Voormann] to do a pen and ink with a photo collage so we could throw in some clues. I had him place an image of my face in my ear. That represented a 'beetle' crawling out of the ear of my buried corpse. You know, insects get into coffins and mix with the dead bodies, crawling through eye sockets, ear openings and the like. Very creepy and very subtle. And the other clue came from Klaus drawing my face in a side profile looking to the left. The others were drawn looking forward. When you turn the cover on its side, I'm looking upward, just like I'd appear on a morgue slab or if I were buried underground. We really were into having clues appear when you turned our covers sideways. I'm surprised nobody caught those 'Revolver' clues." According to Tony Barrow, there was one other clue planted on "Revolver." "John had this really weird song that had no title, so he called it 'Mark I.' Later he came up with 'The Void,' to symbolize the void left in the group by Paul's death. Ringo thought that was too subtle, so he came up with the perfect phrase for describing the direction the group would go in if Paul really were dead. And that was 'Tomorrow Never Knows.' Ringo was great at stuff like that." By the time the Beatles recorded "Sgt. Pepper," the plan really took off. Tony Barrow recalls, "Brian thought 'Tomorrow Never Knows' was way out there. You can imagine his fear of an entire album of songs like that. He was terrified that Sgt. Pepper would be viewed as pretentious nonsense! He told the boys to throw in a bunch of clues on that one!" The first song recorded for "Sgt. Pepper" was "Strawberry Fields Forever," though it ended up being used as a single. At the end of the song, John was supposed to repeat "I buried Paul" several times, but that was too obvious, so instead he said "Cranberry sauce" and then slurred his words so that "I buried Paul" sounded like "I'm very bored." The plan worked as it took over two years before anyone realized what he was really saying. Later songs also had clues. Paul admitted that "She's Leaving Home" contained the time the car wreck supposedly occurred-"Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins." The line "Meeting a man from the motor trade" tied in the motor vehicle. And, of course, "A Day In The Life" was about a car crash. According to Paul, "The drug references were just a smoke-screen to deflect attention away from the car crash, you know. 'He blew his mind out in a car' could mean his head was crushed or he was doing drugs. Take your pick." The cover was full of clues: the crashing car; Paul's bass made of flowers; Paul having his back to the camera on the back cover; the hand over Paul's head; and the infamous "O.P.D." patch on Paul's uniform, which was McCartney's favorite Pepper clue. "We had to work hard on that one. Someone told John that in America the letters OPD stood for 'Officially Pronounced Dead.' I remembered I had this patch with the letters "OPP," which I got in Canada. I think it stands for Ontario Police Precinct or something like that. So I got the idea to put the patch on my uniform's sleeve and shoot the picture so that the lower part of the second 'P' would not be visible, thus making it look like 'OPD.' I was quite pleased with the way it came out." Although the sales of "Revolver" and "Pepper" made Brian realize that the clues probably weren't needed to sell records, the group kept creating more and more clues. According to Paul, "It was so neat coming up with clues that we kept doing them even thought we never thought they'd be needed to sell albums. It was great mischievous fun! When Brian died, we really went wild with it! For 'Magical Mystery Tour,' I wanted to wear a black flower on my jacket. The florist thought Alistair Taylor was nuts when he insisted they send us a black carnation. We became worried people would catch on when they saw the 'Magical Mystery Tour' booklet because the clues were so obvious. The 4 or 5 musicians, the "I was" sign. But no one caught on." Paul stated that placing the clues in the songs was even more fun than the visual images. "Ringo had this old song, 'Don't Pass Me By,' which we had refused to record for years. But I realized it could be used for a clue. I gave him the line 'You were in a car crash and you lost your hair' And we did great stuff with backwards tape loops and mumbling. John going 'Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.'" Some of the clues were easy and obvious. John's "Glass Onion" even told the fans what was going on with its line "And here's another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul." But some were quite intricate. According to Paul, the toughest one was "Revolution 9." "We had to come up with a phrase to go 'Number 9' when you played it backwards. Our plan was to have it go 'Number 9' on the record, but when you played it backwards it would sound like 'Paul is dead.' When we recorded 'Paul is dead' and played it backwards, it didn't go 'Number 9.' It sounded more like 'Pythagorian Theorem.' The phrase 'Macca is dead' sounded like 'Thermo nuclear' when we played it backwards. We experimented for hours until Alan Parsons came up with 'Turn me on dead man.' When we reversed the tape, it sounded like he was saying 'Number 9, number 9.' So that's how we did it." Abbey Road engineer Alan Parsons remembers the session well. "We spent hours recording different phrases until I lucked into 'Turn me on dead man.' When I played the tape backwards and heard 'Number 9,' well, it was one of the greatest moments of my life! We were all sworn to secrecy about the clues, but now that Paul's let the cat out the bag, I can talk about it. I later recorded my own song about looking for clues, 'Eye In The Sky.'" The last batch of clues were planted on the album cover to "Abbey Road," which was designed by Paul. McCartney came up with the idea to stage his own funeral. George, in the role of the grave digger, dressed in work clothes. Ringo, the funeral director, wore a black suit. John, the angel, wore white. Paul was barefoot, as it is the custom in several cultures to bury people without their shoes. In a subtle touch, the left-handed McCartney held a cigarette in his right hand. This was to imply that the Paul who had been with the group since mid-1966 was a right-handed imposter. Paul recalls the other major "Abbey Road" clue with fondness. "I've always liked puns, so I wanted to have a Volkswagon Beetle represent me. Alistair Taylor arranged for a friend of his to park his VW Beetle on the street by the studio. Alistair and I placed a special license tag we had made the night before on the car. It said '28 IF,' meaning that I would have been 28 if I had lived. Unfortunately, I out-thought myself on that one. I was only 27 at the time, but I told Alistair to paint it as 28 because I didn't think "Abbey Road" would come out until I was 28. That's because I was sure that the "Get Back" album would come out first. By the time we decided to put out "Abbey Road" first, I had forgotten about that clue, so we didn't have the picture altered to have the tag read '27 IF.'" When John told the others he was quitting the group, Paul began thinking it was time to expose the clues. "I was always nervous before a record came out, you know. Would people like it? And, in this case, what if word leaked out that John had quit? We were all worried that the album would bomb, and when word spread that John was out, we'd be forgotten. No one would buy our latest LP or our old records. The clincher was a pair of bad reviews published in 'The New York Times' and 'Rolling Stone.' I thought, oh sh*t, no one likes the long medley on side two. So I had Mal [Evans] go to Detroit and tell some college kids about the clues. One of the guys phoned in some of the clues to a radio station there. That was all it took." Once people started looking for clues, they were easy to spot. The American press was fascinated with the story. Brian's plan worked to perfection. Not only did sales for "Abbey Road" take off, but people began buying "Sgt. Pepper," "Magical Mystery Tour" and "The White Album" to see and hear the clues. Paul hid away at his farm in Scotland to further fuel the hoax. When a reported from "Life" magazine finally caught up with him, Paul dead-panned, "If I were dead, I'd be the last to know." The Beatles and their inner circle kept the clue caper a secret for over thirty years. Not only do we now know that the Beatles deliberately planted the clues, but we also know that it was part of a brilliant marketing plan formulated by manager Brian Epstein back in 1966. As for why Paul finally revealed the secrets behind the scheme, we may never know if it was an accidental slip up on his part or a plan to reignite sales of the Beatles catalog. ------------------- The article comes from here: beatlesnumber9.com/paulisdeadhoax.html I read this about a year or two ago. This April Fool's story seemed quite plausible to me after I read it and before I found out that it was -- in fact -- an April Fool's story.
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Jude
Hard Day's Night
Acting Naturally
Posts: 34
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Post by Jude on Sept 9, 2009 15:33:34 GMT -5
. I've always figured that if he was a "phoney", he is still someone who was quite close to the Beatles and/or McCartney -- quite possibly a relative or an unknown twin brother -- even before 1966 and who would know certain things If he is an impostor then you're right, he absolutely must have been close to McCartney and the Beatles. I personally subscribe to the "if he's dead, then the new one's his twin brother" theory. I agree, it wouldn't. Ah, but it would seem that neither the Quarrymen nor Pete Best have gotten together with Paul since the 60's. Pete in particular has said in numerous interviews that he'd love the chance to talk things out with Paul, but neither Macca doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. Which, of course, plays right into the PID theory's favor, him not really being Paul McCartney and all.
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Post by B on Sept 9, 2009 16:23:17 GMT -5
And who will be "the one" after 9/09?
Will there be yet another "Paul McCartney", or better yet: will the original come out of retirement, and 'the one' who's played the part since 1967 retire?
(Just askin' because of this being 9/9/09, folks. ;D This isn't a serious post.... or is it?)
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Post by 65if2007 on Sept 10, 2009 1:58:36 GMT -5
. I've always figured that if he was a "phoney", he is still someone who was quite close to the Beatles and/or McCartney -- quite possibly a relative or an unknown twin brother -- even before 1966 and who would know certain things If he is an impostor then you're right, he absolutely must have been close to McCartney and the Beatles. I personally subscribe to the "if he's dead, then the new one's his twin brother" theory. I agree, it wouldn't. Ah, but it would seem that neither the Quarrymen nor Pete Best have gotten together with Paul since the 60's. Pete in particular has said in numerous interviews that he'd love the chance to talk things out with Paul, but neither Macca doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. Which, of course, plays right into the PID theory's favor, him not really being Paul McCartney and all. Yes, but after all, it is supposed to be "obvious" that these are two different people. It is supposed to be so "obvious" that "anyone" looking at pre and post 1966 pictures is supposed to be able to tell. So -- even without meeting him in person -- surely Pete Best should be able to tell from images that he has seen on TV, YouTube, the newspaper, Google, etc., that the post-1966 McCartney is not the same individual as his old bandmate. Yet he hasn't said anything.
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Post by Valis on Oct 1, 2009 6:05:49 GMT -5
from a myspace bulletin, still waiting for a paycheck from Bill's promo department ;D:
PAUL McCARTNEY "GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY"
Multi-Disc CD/DVD Special Package Features Dazzling Performances of Beatles, Wings and Solo Classics From Citi Field, Formerly Shea Stadium, Historic Site of The Beatles’ Landmark 1965 Concert
US Release – 17th November FROM HEAR MUSIC/CONCORD MUSIC GROUP
UK Release – 23rd November Mercury Records
“It was three great nights for the band and for me personally it was very exciting to be back opening a new stadium on the site of the old Shea Stadium where we had played 44 years previously. Even more exciting because this time round you could hear us!”
Paul McCartney's historic three-night musical christening of New York's Citi Field, witnessed by 120,000-plus attendees and universally hailed as a concert experience for the ages, will be immortalized November 17 when Hear Music/Concord Music Group releases “Good Evening New York City”. This momentous musical experience will be available in two formats: a 3-disc (2 CD + 1 DVD) standard edition and a 4-disc (2 CD + 2 DVD) deluxe version featuring expanded packaging and a bonus DVD including McCartney's traffic-stopping, headline-making July 15 performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee (including bonus numbers not aired on the Late Show with David Letterman broadcast). The set will also be made available in high quality vinyl. In any configuration, the 30+ songs and nearly 3 hours of music comprising “Good Evening New York City” are a must-have for attendees wishing to relive the July 17, 18 & 21 shows, those who couldn't get tickets and/or anyone interested in an audiovisual document of a living legend. “Good Evening New York City” marks McCartney’s 2nd release for Hear Music. The first was 2007’s highly acclaimed Memory Almost Full. The standard version of “Good Evening New York City” will be available at participating Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and wherever music is sold.
As the inaugural musical event at Citi Field, the site of the former Shea Stadium, the July 2009 shows held special significance not only for McCartney but for generations of his fans. The shows were performed on the same hallowed ground that The Beatles, in 1965, played the 34-minute show that would set the precedent for the modern day stadium rock show--and where in 2008 McCartney joined Billy Joel for the final rock show before the original stadium's demolition. As documented on “Good Evening New York City”, "I'm Down" from the 1965 set list was revived for the Citi Field shows, albeit this time played through a PA that was not overpowered by screaming fans (though there were still several thousand who tried). Other highlights of “Good Evening New York City” include faithful takes on Beatles classics "Drive My Car," "Got To Get You Into My Life," "The Long And Winding Road," "Blackbird," "Eleanor Rigby," "Back In The USSR," "Paperback Writer," "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "Helter Skelter" and more, plus "Something" rendered on ukulele gifted to Paul by George Harrison, and a tribute to John Lennon in the form of a medley of "A Day In The Life" and "Give Peace A Chance." Wings era chestnuts include “Band On The Run," "My Love," "Let Me Roll It" and the pyrotechnic tour de force of "Live And Let Die," while timeless McCartney solo material ranges from "Here Today" to the upbeat "Flaming Pie" and "Dance Tonight" to a pair of numbers from Electric Arguments, the 2008 album released under the alias of The Fireman.
The concert footage featured on “Good Evening New York City” standard edition features concert footage directed by Paul Becher, who has overseen live visuals for McCartney for some 200 performances and counting. The 33-song 2 hour 40 minute performances were shot in High Definition using 15 cameras and digital footage incorporated from 75 Flipcams handed out to fans over the course of the three night stand. The audio mix, in both stereo and 5.1, was handled by longtime McCartney engineer Paul Hicks, whose credits include the recent Beatles remasters, The Beatles Anthology, Let It Be... Naked, and two Grammy awards for his mixing work on the Beatles' Love album.
The deluxe edition bonus DVD will feature footage of McCartney's July 15 performance on the outdoor marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater, previously available only as a webcast on the Late Show with David Letterman website. The marquee set, which marked McCartney's return to the site of The Beatles U.S. television debut, generated front page headlines and literally stopped traffic as word of mouth generated a crowd that packed Broadway from Columbus Circle to Times Square.
Paul McCartney's July 17-21 Citi Field stand has already been unanimously hailed by critics and audiences alike as the concert experience of a lifetime. On November 17, “Good Evening New York City” will document it for the ages.
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Post by iameye on Oct 1, 2009 7:58:37 GMT -5
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Post by B on Oct 1, 2009 8:14:47 GMT -5
Trying to stir up the revolution, I ? ;D
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Post by iameye on Oct 1, 2009 8:19:59 GMT -5
Trying to stir up the revolution, I ? ;D you say you wanted one, B.
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Post by lenmac on Oct 12, 2009 22:56:40 GMT -5
strange Elvis Presley Styrofoam Cup For Sale (DCE Cinemas , February 10, 2005) A world-famous Styrofoam cup once used by Elvis Presley is being sold by its owner Wade Jones for $10,000 on the site eBay... but only if Paul McCartney bids. He also claims that he will give all the proceeds to Heather McCartney's favourite charity 'No More Landmines'. Many have tried to buy the cup from Jones in the past, but he had refused all of the offers. The cup manufacturer Dart Container has also allegedly put in a bid. Mr Jones also takes it on tour with him around the US to raise money for various charities. Wade Jones took the cup from an Elvis concert in Charlotte in February 1977, six months before the legendary singer died. Wade has since built up a cult status for the relic.He even has a website, elviscup.com, which celebrates the cup and supplies facts.
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Post by B on Oct 13, 2009 9:44:42 GMT -5
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Post by Valis on Oct 15, 2009 6:38:28 GMT -5
This makes me very happy, I saw him twice way back in 1993 www.maccablog.co.uk/news.php?news=6216Paul McCartney Tour - European dates to be announced soon? At the beginning of this week, Paul McCartney was present at the Stella McCartney Spring/Summer 2010 women's collection during Paris Fashion Week on October 5, 2009. Backstage, he was interviewed by a journalist form the Guardian and he said that some english dates are under scrutiny and may be announced soon. Earlier in the year, some rumours said that dates in Brasil were also planned next year (most likely in April). A few days ago, some sources reported that a few dates were to be announced for the European part of the Tour. The listings mentioned the cities of : London Manchester Dublin Amsterdam Berlin Paris Of course, for now, nothing official was announced but, some papers have already spoken about the Berlin Show ( at Checkpoint Charlie ) and the Mirror even said that the Dublin concert will be held at the O2 Arena on December, 20th 2009.
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Post by Valis on Oct 23, 2009 6:10:17 GMT -5
I Hope I can get a ticket tomorrow for the Arnhem show. Untill this year we used to be able to get tickets for all concerts at a recordshop in my city. Now you can only get them thru an expensive phoneline or online, which I tried for Muse, got me reclicking for 4 hours without luck. Finally got a seat, but not the preferred standing ticket. I miss those days when you had to sit in front of the recordstore all night and would be sure you had a ticket. Feels like a casino how they do it now. interesting date too Dec 9 news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Sir-Paul-McCartney-Announces-Seven-Dates-In-European-Tour/Article/200910315410940Sir Paul McCartney announcing European tour Sir Paul McCartney has announced his first European tour for five years, which will culminate just days before Christmas in London.He will play seven dates in arenas across the continent before playing his only live show in the UK this year, performing for the first time at the 02 Arena on December 22. The Good Evening Europe tour kicks off in Hamburg, a legendary site for the Beatles because of the residencies they performed in pubs there before they were signed to EMI. McCartney is also playing Berlin, Arnhem, Paris, Cologne and Dublin during the tour, tickets for which go on sale on Monday. "This is my chance to bring our current show home to where it all began," Sir Paul said in a statement. "Starting in Hamburg, ending in London and rocking everywhere in between. I'm very much looking forward to ending the year on a high." The concert dates: December 2 - Hamburg Color Line Arena December 3 - Berlin O2 World December 9 - Arnhem Gelredome December 10 - Paris Bercy December 16 - Cologne Koln Arena December 20 - Dublin The O2 December 22 - London The O2 Arena
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Post by JoJo on Oct 27, 2009 20:20:56 GMT -5
www.maccablog.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6309Paul McCartney was one of the performers Monday night at "Chance and Chemistry: A Centennial Celebration of Frank Loesser" in Broadway, New York City.
Numerous Broadway actors ran through Loesser's more famous numbers. Such known songs as "Some Like it Hot", "Once in Love with Amy", "The Inch Worm " performed by Phyllis Newman-John McMartin, Abby Cadabby, Elmo, and Cookie Monster who claimed he had been hanging around the green room eating "C-O-O-K-I-E-S!! with Paul McCartney. He then screamed back stage for Paul to save him some C-O-O-K-I-E-S!!. Other notable songs "sit down you're rocking the boat", "What are you doing New Year's Eve?", "Baby, it's cold outside", "Luck be a lady", Adelaid's Lament" and finally "On a slow boat to China" performed by Sir Paul McCartney.
Paul told a story at being a child and having family get together at their house and his dad at the piano playing many of the songs that he later found out were Frank Loesser's songs. He thanked Frank Loesser for all of the great family memories of the family singing the songs in the front parlour. Song started with Paul walking up to the band conductor and asking him if he knew "On a slow boat to China" to which he shook his head. Paul shrugged his shoulders and walked away and then the band started. As soon as he started singing it, I instantly recognized the song. It was a really nice, sweet rendition of the song which was done impeccably.
Paul took the stage at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre (home to The Lion King) at 10pm ET, near the end of the second act. He looked relaxed and happy in black suit, white shirt, no tie. He was introduced by Audra McDonald, who noted that she was jamming to The Beatles Rock Band earlier that afternoon.
A song followed by Jo Sullivan Loesser and then John Stamos and then they all came out for a final bow. Art Garfunkel who had performed "Two Sleepy People" left right after performing and was not there for the final bow. Security was tight and cameras were quickly acted upon. It should be noted that Paul's company MPL owns the rights to the songbook of Frank Loesser and he was a co-chairman for this event.
At the end of the night Paul returned briefly on stage to take a bow with all of the show's performers, including Art Garfunkel, John Stamos, Mario Cantone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nia Vardalos and Michelle Lee.
One funny note: During the first act, there was an appearance by Cookie Monster, who joked that he was hanging in the green room backstage, eating cookies with Paul McCartney. "Save me a cookie, Paul!" he shouted.
Here you can watch a video illustrating the song On A Slow Boat To China, sung by Gabriela Koch :www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3sPOuDQuAA
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Post by B on Nov 19, 2009 13:21:28 GMT -5
Paul McCartney accused of 'propagandising' by UKIP over 'farting cows' www.nme.com/news/paul-mccartney/48469Paul McCartney has been accused by a UK Independence Party (UKIP) MEP of using propaganda techniques to encourage more people to go vegetarian in order to help the environment. Liverpudlian UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall laid into McCartney's views on the subject, which include proposals to try and get meat eaters to give up eating flesh for one day a week to cut greenhouse gasses emitted by cattle. "He is just propagandising," Nuttall stated. "Maybe it is healthier but that should be their choice and not because a pop star thinks farting cows and pigs herald the end of mankind." Although McCartney's office declined to issue a response to the attack, a spokesperson for UKIP admitted that lambasting such a prominent public figure could have an adverse effect on Nuttall's popularity among voters, reports the Independent. "Well, they're both from Liverpool so perhaps he [Nuttall] will lose one or two supporters over this," the spokesperson said. "But if you think something's wrong you have to say. "At the end of the day McCartney's just trying to hitch his vegetarianism to the green bandwagon." McCartney has long been an advocate for vegetarianism and animal rights. UKIP have been heavily-criticised for their far-right political leanings. In 2006 Conservative party leader David Cameron branded the party members "fruit cakes" and "closet racists".
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Post by plastic paul on Nov 19, 2009 20:06:40 GMT -5
Jesus, while I am sceptical of the Climate Change propoganda, the UKIP keep trying to clutch more and more straws!
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Post by lenmac on Nov 25, 2009 18:47:26 GMT -5
Interesting answer to the question:
The glory of the Beatles, has never protected me from the sadness of life."
Sir Paul spoke out of the pain in an italian newspaper Panorama.
When fate knocked on his door, the fate that took his wife Linda and two old friends, George Harrison and John Lennon. But Paul also speaks of the perfect song and his friendship with Michael Jackson.
"Hello, I'm Paul calling from England. How are you?". That's how he introduced himself without frills and without the court that precedes him, the man who invented the pop and the notion of the true pop star. "Dear colleagues, we would be nothing today without Paul McCartney, just employees with a tie around the neck," said Bono at the Grammy Awards ceremony. And no one dared to contradict him.
"That day I understood the meaning of my career when I prevent a few million people to wear a tie in the subway at 8 a.m," Sir Paul added: "I do not know any other word in Italian , let's switch to English. "
We must first ensure that you are Paul McCartney and not a double ...
Well I give you some news from me: First, I am alive. The story of a car accident in which I am dead, was invented by an American DJ. To give a certain credibility to the legend, he then created a link between my bare feet on the cover of Abbey Road and a funeral ceremony in India. You know, at the time of the hippies were rumored that they had seen a flying red hippo and nobody said they were fools. In America, I was asked a thousand times if I was Paul or his clone. I prepared a ready-made answer: "I am neither Paul nor his clone, but I went out last night with your wife."
Nevertheless, remains a curiosity: why on the cover of "Abbey Road" are you barefoot?
I had a pair of uncomfortable shoes that hurt my toes. After few minutes I decided to walk barefoot.
Last summer, he returned to play at Shea Stadium in New York (demolished, rebuilt, and now called Citi Field) 44 years after the historic Beatles concert. Nostalgia?
Back on the crime scene is a perversion for all the artists. The magic of this night can be heard on the GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY CD and a DVD which I'm really proud of. They came to see me all over the country and this time I swear, everyone was able to hear the songs.
The first time, however, how it really happened?
It was a disaster. It seems strange to think that nobody has ever heard one of the most famous concerts in history. In 1965, we reported to some people that the amplifiers were ridiculous, barely louder than the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The result was that we did not hear anything on stage. Ditto for viewers, except those seated on the first two rows. There were 40.000 crazy fans in front of guys who wore a helmet. From the outside it has been a surreal spectacle. It was a unique moment in any case. From where I was, I saw hundreds of young girls in tears that have literally torn their hair. And I thought, but do you cry for us or because it hurts you?
About the return on the crime scene, how did you end up playing on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, for the "David Letterman Show" (the full concert appears on the bonus DVD of "GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY ")?
After a few seconds of the first song I closed my eyes for about ten seconds. When I opened I "saw" George Harrison on my left. For a few seconds it was as if I found myself on the rooftops of London as it happened in 1969.There were not really flashes , but echoes of the past. And the echoes, as everyone knows, last longer than flashes.
If you have any doubts about an episode of the Beatles era, do you ask Ringo Starr about it?
Yes, with horrific results. Our conversations about the past are more or less like: Ringo, do you remember when John jumped into the pool from the first floor of a hotel in Monaco? He said no, Paul ! George said that it happened the year before in Paris. They take us for fools and old men, but the Beatles era, with such intensity is at least the equivalent of three lives.
So I put Paul McCartney to the test: Does he remember how John Lennon reacted the first time that Paul made him listen to "Yesterday"?
He laughed, adding that he had the impression of hearing a melody well known. "And you think it could work?" It was his question. For several months, the title of the song was Scrambled Eggs.
What was your relationship with John in December 1980, before he was killed by Mark Chapman?
John was at a time when our relations were more than OK. Before and after the Beatles they had quarreled furiously on every imaginable topic. In 1980, we managed to talk for 10 minutes without insult.
Being a Beatle is what enabled to soften the hard times of life?
For some time, I thought that my position had the power to anesthetize the tragedies. But growing up, we learn the hard way that money and success does not put us away from our destiny. When the disease took away Linda, the only woman with whom I had a full complicity, I did not care royally at that time, having written Yesterday or Let It Be.
And then George Harrison died of cancer. When have you been made a witness of his illness?
Everything was clear from the beginning, but quickly, we forgot his condition. We acted like a family where things are hidden. This is the latest way to avoid suffering, not to hear the pain that comes and paralyzes you. When I think about it gives me the shivers, and this sensation will probably follow me for ever ...
Sir Paul, how do you live as a "legend" ?
I do not look back and I never read my diaries. If I stop and I think about people, how many of them told me that the Beatles music changed their lives, I feel a little anxious. " Hear the songs on the radio today as forty years ago is something that goes beyond all imagination. Everything comes and goes, but not the Beatles. In their music there is something that speaks to the heart and ears of the people. And I am surprised to think that behind all this I am also present.
Especially when you think that Paul didn't want to be the bassist for the group.
We were in Hamburg around 1961. Stuart Sutcliffe, bassist at that time, fell in love with a girl named Astrid and he dropped everything. He decided that in life he had just to make love and paint. Two noble activities, but not very profitable. But we were happy for him ... we thought that music was the most important thing and that being a bassist was th job of a loser in the band. The guy is shy and a bit "awkward seated in a corner of the stage in the darkness. And I did not want to be this guy there. So I agreed and, after all, I restored the dignity of the bassist in a role that wasconsidered minor, by then.
Is it true that your property is over 750 million pounds?
I do not know, so I can give you the phone number of my lawyers.
Is there still something normal and ordinary in the life of Paul McCartney?
Almost everything, believe me. Change starts when I'm onstage, and there are 40 thousand people in a frenzy to expect. This, I confess, is not part of the life of a man of sixty seven years old. But I love spending time on tour. I usually get up at 6 o'clock and a half, I prepare breakfast for my daughter (Beatrice, age 6). My scrambled eggs are the pride of the house. Then I took her to school.
What is the size of the stereo equipment at the McCartney home?
My relationship with technology has never actually started. While the world has gone to listen to digital music, I just recently bought a stereo equipment. And to tell the truth it is the only thing I like to listen.
In "GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY" you play on a ukulele given to you by George Harrison.
George had learned to play during the holidays at his villa in Hawaii. Each time he came home with the instrument, we used to try to improvise together. Fortunately, there are no records of these " ukulele jams. Our career would have probably suffered irreparable damage.
How did collaboration with Michael Jackson start? Was it a spontaneous meeting between two pure talent or a business meeting organized by the record companies?
On Christmas Day, in 1981, I think, the phone rang at home around 10 o'clock in the morning. A voice whispers: Mr McCartney would you like to hear some of my songs? And it bothered me, I did not know the guy personally, so I said if you want to send me tapes, do. Then, he semed embarrassed as told me: Sir, I am Michael Jackson, you do not recognize me? Since this day a great friendship was born. Michael was a man not prepared for life because his life was music. He did not walk, he danced. He never talked, he sang. His advice to musicians are not technical but poetic. Things like: When you take this note on the piano, do not be hard, play as if you had the most beautiful sunset in front of you. You'll see it will sound totally different.
The music of the Beatles was visionary and psychedelic. No one other than the Beatles was more able to write catchy without falling into banality. What was your secret?
Today records produced seem like they were recorded in a steel mill. We hear sounds, rhythms and melodies that are zero. This, far more than illegal downloading, has triggered the crisis in the recording market. But why should I pay for a CD of noises? So yes I prefer the sound of my drill.
So what was the Beatles method ...
I do not want to sound pretentious, but our work on the songs was amazing.
There was greater attention to detail, manic obsession to have nice choruses, the desire to experiment and repeat the same refrain 30 times until it reaches the perfect balance between the voice. All those things matter, like the determination of an artisan, then you get the perfect song. The four of us had the greatest respect for music. We treated our songs with the care and attention of architects for their greatest masterpiece. No modern construction can withstand competition with the great works of the past. For behind the great works, there is always an excellent job. Behind much of the music of today, there is no work.
And everyone knows it.
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Post by iameye on Nov 25, 2009 20:02:24 GMT -5
Eggs? Cooking?
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Post by B on Mar 30, 2010 20:33:39 GMT -5
Up And Coming Tour - Video Blog - O2 Rehearsals
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Post by Jai Guru Deva on Mar 30, 2010 21:55:42 GMT -5
Oops--he forgot his brown contacts and fake ears for the interview! Looks to me like he's using grecian formula to wash out the gray and getting botox injections to smooth out the wrinkles. Also, I don't think he's just a member of hair club for men--he must be the president! ;D
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