.
News from October 2001 to September 2002
GO TO: 2001
GO TO: 2002
GO TO: Paul and Heather's Wedding
ALL CONTENT ON THIS PAGE IS COPYRIGHT!!
SIGN UP FOR THE BEST MACCA MESSAGE BOARD ON THE NET!
MACCA CHAT THE PAUL McCARTNEY MESSAGE BOARD
RECOMMENDED NEW PAUL BOOKS CD'S AND DVDS
!!!Some links could be outdated!!!
October 2001
Paul and Heather were involved in a car accident on October 15, 2001 in East Hampton, Long Island when their rented Hertz car collided with another car and veered into a tree. They were on their way to catch a helicopter to New York city. Paul complained of back pain but did not go to the hospital. Heather was not injured. The driver of the other car, Rhonda Brown admitted she pulled out in front of him at an intersection and commented on how Paul emerged from his car and gave her a big hug as she sobbed. He said, "It's okay luv." She said she had dreamt of meeting him but never like this. Brown had stopped at a stop sign and edged out into the intersection when McCartney clipped her at 54 mph, swerving to avoid her and hitting a tree. The speed limit was 30mph. Both cars had to be towed away. Rhonda's car had $8,000 worth of damage and she had a slight injury to her arm. Paul did not have his driver's license with him at the time but was not cited. Neither driver was ticketed. The police took Paul and Heather to the heliport.
One news service claims that Paul is using a urinal on the cover of "Driving Rain." See for yourself.
To order Paul's new album at Amazon.com go to this link or click album cover.
Click on the graphic to go to Paul's Web site and e-mail a camera watch photo by Paul to your friends. Here's another link to send more of Paul's watch photos to your friends.Also check the Capitol Records Web site for some interesting links.
Visit the NEW "Driving Rain" Web site at paulmccartney.com New merchandise has been added to the Paul McCartney Shop.
Famed Beatles documentary filmmaker, Albert Maysles is working on a documentary about Paul and the "Concert For New York City"(October 20, 2001). Maysles followed Paul arround for five days prior to the concert shooting footage that he says will take six months to edit. Paul asked that the film be shot in black and white like the original documentary Maysles did back in 1964 called, "The Beatles First U.S. Visit."
After the Concert for New York, party-animal Paul and fiancee Heather Mills partied at the Hudson hotel, (scooped here)until 5am! He and Heather danced to "Mustang Sally" performed by Dan Aykroyd, Jim Carrey and Sheryl Crow at the private party. Paul joined the impromptu celebrity band onstage donning a fireman's hat and sang "I Saw Her Standing There." Access Hollywood had video from the party on the October 23 show. Photo, Paul wearing fireman hat. More photos backstage and at the after-party. Click here.
"The Concert for New York City," Paul McCartney's concert to support the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City took place at Madison Square Garden on October 20.The double-CD for the concert is now available . Click this link or the album cover to order the CD. The DVD is also available. Click here to order the DVD.
Lindsay Pagano's new album called "Love Faith and Inspiration" features a duet with Paul on her version of "So Bad." Click here to listen. Requires RealPlayer.
A photo book by Linda called "The Light From Within : Photojournals " has been released by Little, Brown. The book is 184 pages with color and black-and-white photographs with an Introduction from Paul. To order the book from Amazon.com Click HERE.
Paul was mobbed by fans as he and Heather arrived at the stage door of Queen's Theatre for his first ever London poetry reading. Paul participated in the "21st Poetry Olympics," a marathon celebrating the resurgence of verse in Britain on National Poetry Day, October 4, 2001. He read a new poem called, "Pretty Little Girl Next Door." Photos
In August of 2001 when Paul and Heather were shopping at Book Soup bookstore on Sunset Blvd., in Los Angeles a paper reported that Paul purchased a book called "Orgasm: Over 100 Truly Explosive Tips." Click the title to get yourself a copy at Amazon.com.
UNICEF is reproduced two of Paul's paintings: "Beach Towels" and "Prehistoric Antelope," courtesy of MPL. A box of eight blank note cards, (order No. 02450N) measuring 4 5/8" x 6 7/8" with four cards of each design and envelopes for $10.00 (shipping charge $4.50), that can be ordered directly through UNICEF. Checks should be made payable to "U.S. Fund for UNICEF," P.O. Box 1500, Louisiana, MO 63353-1500. AMEX, Visa, MC, and Discover Card users may order by phone (800) 553-1200.
Two tribute albums are currently available with a portion of proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in memory of Linda McCartney. "Listen To What The Man Said: Popular Artists Pay Tribute To The Music Of Paul McCartney" include "My Brave Face" by SR-71, "Jet" by Semisonic, and a collaboration by Barenaked Ladies singer/guitarist Steven Page and keyboardist Kevin Hearn with Stephen Duffy of the Lilac Time on "Junk." Also included is "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Virgos, which is fronted by Creed fill-in bassist Brett Hestla."Coming Up: Independent Artists Pay Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney" features " Woman, Oh Why" by Ray Paul, "With A Little Luck" by the Masticators, "Somedays" by Phil Keaggy, "Take it Away" by the Jellybricks and "Another Day" by Cherry Twister to name a few.
November 2001
Paul appeared on November 10, 2001 at the premiere of his third classical piece and second oratorio, "Ecce Cor Meum" (Behold My Heart). The piece was written for the Magdalen College Choir in Oxford, England. Chelsea Clinton was in attendance and received a welcoming kiss from Sir Paul. An album of the work will be released sometime next year. Photos here.
Paul was in Vienna, Austria Saturday November 3 at Hofburg Palace to pick up a "World Arts Award" for his contributions to music at the "Men's World Day Gala 2001 (photos)."
Paul and Heather were at the partnership launch of Adopt-A-Minefield and the Mines Advisory Group to save lives in Vietnam, November 1 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Mills called for an end to bombing in Afghanistan. She said, I don't think it should have lasted any longer than a week. If anyone thinks bin Laden is still in Afghanistan they are a bit naive. I think he got out a long time ago."
December 2001
McCartney recorded "I'm Partial To Your Abracadabra" for the late, Ian Dury tribute album called "New Boots and Panties." The album was released in the US and is available from Amazon.com
Out on DVD, "Paul McCartney Live at the Cavern Club" , "Paul McCartney Get Back Live." and Paul McCartney & Friends - The PETA Concert for Party Animals.
The expanded television version of the "Wingspan" feature-length (88 minutes) special is out on VHS and DVD. Included in are vintage videos of "Jet" (1973), "Let 'Em In" (1976), and "Rockestra" (1979), 22 minutes of out-take material never seen by the public, an exclusive gallery of 100 photos taken by Linda and a specially-designed complete interactive discography (on the DVD). To order, click either link.
Here's your chance to have your name on a brick walkway in Liverpool and help support the Linda McCartney Centre which treats cancer patients. Go to this link and sign up for the "Walkway of Love for Linda McCartney." The bricks cost £50 ($75.00)
Paul has a Shop where you can buy offiical merchandise including the "Driving Rain" and tour merchandise.
More detailed information about the Wings era can be found in "Paul McCartney: I Saw Him Standing There." by Jorie Gracen. Also check out the 1976 Web page with photos of Wings in concert.
Paul's book of his poetry called "Blackbird Singing" is available. For more info about the book check out the Blackbird Singing Book Web Site. To order the 128 page book, go to this link, Blackbird Singing.
The spoken word song by Heather Mills, featuring Paul McCartney was released on Coda Records (distributed by Pinnacle Records, UK). Proceeds from the recording called "Voice" will go toward the Heather Mills Health Trust for the disabled. If you would like to donate to Heather's charity, send donations to: The Heather Mills Health Trust, How Park Barn, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6QG England.
January 2002
Stella will open her second designer shop near Portobello Road in west London. She invested £1 million ($1.45 million) to renovate the property that was once a church. The shop will house an office, design studio and Indian restaurant. If all goes to plan, the store will be open by the end of the year. She plans to open a branch in New York as well.
February 2002
Paul and Heather partied after the Super Bowl at Windsor Court Hotel's Polo Lounge in New Orleans. Macca and his entourage, including his band members and security guards, arrived around 11:30pm and stayed for an hour. Paul ordered a Macallan single-malt scotch, on the rocks and a can of Coca-Cola. Heather drank a cosmopolitan. Pianist, Charlie Dennard who plays Beatles songs regularly at the lounge, was asked by Paul to play "The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble). After Dennard finished the song, Paul asked him to play it again and this time Paul grabbed the microphone to serenade Heather and the crowd of 30 or 40 surprised bar patrons. "It was beautiful," Dennard said. "He was super nice and a good singer. It was very romantic."
Heather has resumed her modeling career as the model/spokesperson for the INC. (International Concepts) 2002 spring collection. She was at Macy's (Herald Square, NYC) on Friday, February 1, talking about INC. (Macy's private label) and signing autographs after the fashion show. The moderately priced clothing manufacturer donated $10,000 to the Adopt-A-Minefield charity and will continue to do so from sales of the fashions. Paul was not in attendance.
Paul has come to the aid of Polish horses that are exported and slaughtered for meat. The animals are treated inhumanely and Paul has joined the campaign with VIVA (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) to stop the practice. He is donating Linda's new 2002 calendar full of horse photographs for the cause. "I love horses and have great respect for them," says Paul. "I believe they have the right to be treated with kindness, respect and love, for all they have done for the human race. These animals face up to five days road transport in overcrowded lorries, often without rest, food or water. They arrive dreadfully injured, exhausted, stressed and terrified and frequently dead." Linda's 2002 calendar will be available soon on the VIVA Web site.
Paul has become Britain's first ever "pop billionaire" according to a UK newspaper (Sunday Express) survey of the country's 300 wealthiest people. Estimates are that the pop star has £1.1 billion ($1.6 billion) and places 11th on the "Rich List 2002" with the number one position going to Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone with a reported £3.2 billion ($4.64 billion). McCartney's earnings from the "Beatles 1" album (£300 million/$435 million) and the inheritance from his wife Linda's (£200 million/$290 million) estate has seen his fortune increase over the last year making him a billionaire in Britain. Queen Elizabeth places 45th on list as the wealthest woman with a fortune of £450 million ($653 million).
March 2002
The richest figure in the UK music world is again Sir Paul McCartney, at £713 million ($1.3 billion), but still well ahead of second placed Lord Lloyd-Webber on £420 million ($609 million).
Paul and Heather party hopped after the Oscars. Starting first at the "Vanity Fair party at Morton's he was accompanied by no less than six body guards. Paul made a point to comment on women's gowns with a revelation about his desire for fashion design. "If I hadn't become a musician, I think I could have done well in fashion. I always have been intrigued with how we decide to dress ourselves ... and I do love color. ... But there would be no furs, of course," said McCartney. Meanwhile, Diana Ross jumping up and down on a bench cornered our favorite knight leaving the dance floor and suddenly enveloped him with her hair. Paul politely introduced Ross to his fiance Heather.At the "In Style" Elton John Oscar night benefit party held at the trendy Moomba restaurant, Paul met up with who's who of rock and Hollywood glamourElton John, Sting, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Jon Bon Jovi, Joan Collins, Ricky Martin, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Spacey, Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah, Jon Voight, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and more. Paul was spotted dancing with the skimpily-clad, buxom Anastacia as Ryan Adams belted out his mix of country rock.
And lastly, Paul and Heather trailed off to Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein's exclusive
late-night soiree at the Peninsula Hotel and partied into the wee hours with Sissy Spacek, Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Ian McKellen and others. Afterwards he was spotted with Heather having a nightcap in the Beverly Hills Hotel lounge.Heather's designer outfit by Bruce Oldfield drew some attention at the Oscars. She picked Oldfield because he was the only one who would lend her a dress 10 years ago. She wore a two-piece sheer black lace bra top with a matching mid-length fluted skirt accented with emerald green and magenta sequins. To find out how Heather's outfit ranked on People's Best and Worst Dressed List click the link.
Paul and Heather were spotted shopping at the Equinox (women's workout clothes) boutique in New York city early this year. Paul was waiting in line to pay for $600 worth of clothes when a woman budged in front of him. Paul said, "Excuse me, there's no cutting-you'll have to wait." The woman got back to where she belonged but not before customers asked Paul for autographs. He told them he never signs autographs when he's shopping. The 21-year-old salesgirl at the cash register kept asking, "Who's that?" McCartney was so touched by the salesgirl's naïveté that after walking out, he returned a few minutes later to give her his autograph on the receipt.
Paul and Heather spent a romantic Valentine's Day (Feb. 14, 2002) playing board games (Snakes and Ladders) in their hotel room in New Forest, Hampshire, England. The Brockenhurst hotel is known for it's beautiful forest surroundings, exclusive restaurants, tea shops, pubs and stores.
Check out Stella McCartney's new fashion Web page.
Paul was so taken with the trained Bald Eagle named Challenger at the Concert For New York City, that he requested to take a photo with him. Named in honor of the late Space Shuttle crew, Challenger was blown from his nest in a storm before learning to fly. Rescued and raised by humans until fully grown, the young orphan became too domesticated to survive in the wild. One attempt to release the bird into nature nearly saw him beaten by a man with a stick. Challenger is billed as the first national bird in United States history trained to provide that glorious soaring act during the National Anthem for the USA.
April 2002
When Paul was in Chicago, (April 7-13, 2002) he went with Heather to a restaurant called Spiaggia. Executive chef Tony Mantuano greeted the couple and asked what they would like to eat. He determined their likes and dislikes and went to work. "They are really into food," said Mantuano. "They like arugula, porcini mushrooms. The chef put together a meal that reflected those ingredients." In no time, he created an all-vegetarian, five-course tasting."They were very clear on what they like," said Mantuano. "They were so easy to talk to. They made you feel comfortable," he said. "They were so normal that I was thrilled" to have the experience. The tasting menu drew rave reviews from McCartney, who went back to the kitchen several times to offer praise and urge Mantuano to include it permanently among Spiaggia's offerings. The Paul-inspired food is now on the menu. Here's what Paul and Heather had for dinner.The vegetarian tasting menu starts with fresh burrata cheese with Ligurian pesto, sweet tinkerbell peppers, dried tomato and a long stem artichoke. A timbale of seasonal vegetables and an asparagus risotto follow. The next course is wood-roasted porcini mushrooms with Umbrian black truffle sauce, and white corn polenta with garlic and herbs. McCartney and Mills passed on dessert, but the tasting menu includes a warm bittersweet Valrhona chocolate tart with toasted almond sauce. (That night the prominent pair also opted for the arugula salad with shaved, pressed ricotta cheese, toasted hazelnuts and balsamic mustard vinaigrette, which already is on the Spiaggia menu.) The "McCartney menu" is a mere $75 a person.
Paul donated a generous sum of money to the Chicago Firefighters who are raising funds for a memorial park for fallen colleagues.
Heather Mills received an advocacy award from the Center for International Rehabilitation in Chicago on April 8. Paul accompanied her and did some on the spot interviews with the media. The couple mingled with Chicago Mayor Daley, Ted Turner and William Kennedy Smith who is the head of the charity. Heather talked about Adopt-A-Minefield and at one point during her speech showed off her artificial leg, rolling up her pant leg to mid-calf, while Paul made 'cat call' whistles. The event lasted until 9pm and the couple upon exiting were beseiged by charity patrons and fans. Paul politely refused to sign autographs. When asked about his upcoming two concerts in Chicago he said, "I'm going to rock Chicago!" See Photos on my "Meet Paul McCartney" Web page.
Paul stopped the auction of his own handwritten lyrics for the song, "Hey Jude," which he says disappeared from his home. The matter is now in High Court. The lyrics were sent for auction by Frenchman, Florrent Tessier who bought them in Portobello Road, Notting Hill, when he was a student in 1971 or 1972. Tessier said he had no idea the lyrics were genuine until he had them authenticated six years ago. The lyrics were to go on auction at Christie's in London and were expected to fetch £80,000 ($120,000). They will remain at Christie's until the court decides ownership. Christie's had proposed that Paul bid on the lyrics instead of going to court but the judge found that to be a "highly unattractive proposal."
Paul McCartney has given away tickets worth $25,000 for his concerts in Washington, D.C. The tickets are for the families of those killed in the September 11 attack on the Pentagon. McCartney said the 180 victims tended to be forgotten because of the enormity of the New York attack. His spokesman said McCartney felt very emotional about it.
May 2002
Paul threw Heather's £15,000 ($21,000) engagement ring out of a hotel window after a spat according to News of the World and The New York Post. The ring was later found in the grounds of Miami's Turnberry Isle Resort and Club where the couple were staying during the Florida dates of the Driving USA tour. The fight took place after the couple returned to the hotel after the final Fort Lauderdale show of Macca's American tour on Saturday, May 18. They checked into a fifth-floor suite and, by 3 o'clock the following morning there were sounds of a row. Though it was a rainy night, a number of balcony doors were open and guests rang reception to complain. Paul was said to be shouting, "I don't want to marry you. The wedding's off. We'll cancel it." A security guard at the resort, where suites cost at least £1,000 ($1,500) a night, said, "We patrol the grounds through the night and we radioed the guard nearest and warned him about the fight. He was practically below their balcony when he heard McCartney going on about cancelling the wedding. He kept yelling he wanted to call it off. Then suddenly McCartney appeared on the balcony and threw the ring out and stormed back inside. There was more screaming then it went quiet."Guests' complaints were reported to Mr. Gimmi, who was working that night. He phoned the couple's suite but was curtly told by a breathless McCartney, "Everything's fine. There's nothing to worry about." Within minutes, Macca had had a change of heart, called the hotel operator and said, "I'm so sorry. Could you possibly help me find my fiancee's ring?" The ring was found after the couple left the hotel for London and the person who recovered it received a $1,650 tip from McCartney. Paul bought hotel assistant manager Rudolph Gimmi a first-class plane ticket to London so the ring could be hand-delivered.
Rumours began to surface of the couple's fiery relationship, including one incident where they had a stand-up spat at a London restaurant. One diner recalled, "One minute they were facing each other over their meals. The next, Sir Paul was out of his seat and the two of them were shouting at each other."
According to Sunday People, Paul's designer daughter Stella has refused to talk to her dad in a month over a family rift because she is upset over her father's impending marriage to Heather Mills. One friend said, "Stella thinks Heather saw Paul as vulnerable and pounced on him like a preying mantis. Now she's dragging him up the aisle." Stella - who at 30 is only four years younger than Heather - is convinced she is trying to take the place of her late mum Linda and is said to have branded Heather a "preying mantis". She was so upset when Heather waved the peace sign at her fashion show which was Linda McCartney's signature gesture that she banned Heather and her father from the fashion show after-party. A family source admitted, "There is an uneasy silence between Sir Paul and Stella about the wedding. In Stella's eyes it has been done with indecent haste. Stella was furious when Heather claimed she could not make a classy enough gown - and branded her future stepmum's dress sense "tarty."
Heather Mills went for a make-over before her bachelorette party and got a parking ticket. A meter maid struck as Macca's fiancee spent 90 minutes pampering herself at a salon in Brighton, East Sussex. Heather, left her C-Class Mercedes in a loading bay. She had a disabled permit in the window but got the ticket anyway. Story
The Sun Newspaper reports, Heather Mills has spent $75,000 (£50,000) fixing up her home for her bachelorette party before marrying Paul McCartney next week. Builders and decorators worked for two months to get the $1.5 million (£1million) seafront house ready by this Friday (May 31). More than 30 of Heather's closest celebrity chums are believed to have been invited to her home on the South Coast for the weekend party. One builder who has been involved in the project said, "There has been no expense spared. The house has been completely redecorated from top to bottom. New carpet, new wallpaper, you name it everything is brand spanking new. Several of the latest hi-tech TV screens and a new sound system have been installed. Work has been going on for two months but we were told to be out by Friday or we would not get paid." Soccer-mad Heather, also installed a £9,000 ($13,500) 5ft-screen TV so the girls could watch Sunday's (June 2) England World Cup game.
The May 31, New York Post reports on Page Six that McCartney's bride, Heather Mills, is shaping up as the Yoko Ono of the McCartney clan by coming between the former Beatle and his longtime friends and family. "None of the kids or his old friends like Heather," said one source. "They think she is only after Paul's money, and were outraged when they found out Paul and Heather were trying to have a child - it just cements her place in his will."Since McCartney started dating Mills in 1999, his children Mary, Stella, James and Heather feel that the blond amputee "has made him a different man." He now goes to showbiz parties and she drags him out everywhere - things that he never would have done before. The kids don't like what he has become.
"Heather controls him to a large extent, and has started dictating who he can talk to, who he can be friends with," our insider continued. Mills has even "turned Paul against a lot of his old friends - or at least the ones who don't like her." McCartney's rep, Geoff Baker, said, "The kids are fine. It makes for a better story if everyone's unhappy, doesn't it?"
Paul admitted his children were finding it difficult to accept his forthcoming marriage to fiancee Heather Mills. "They find it difficult to think of me with another woman," he told Britain's Sunday Telegraph magazine in an interview. "I think a second marriage is hard for the children," he said. "But it's how it is and how it must be, and I think that more than anything they want me to be happy -- and this is what makes me happy."
Paul McCartney's wife Heather Mills has come under attack in America over her charity for the victims of landmines. New York columnist Andrew Goldman has suggested that the 34-year-old bride of the former Beatle failed to register the organization for six years.
Last night the Charity Commission in the UK confirmed that the former swimwear model only registered the trust in 2000 after the commission "became concerned" and made an approach to her. "We contacted the trustees in December 1999 following concerns that the charity had not been registered and they subsequently made an application to us," said a spokesman. The application was accepted and we did not conduct a formal inquiry."
The Heather Mills Health Trust recycles prosthetic limbs and sends them to landmine victims in war zones around the world. Miss Mills, who lost her left leg below the knee after an accident with a police motorcycle in 1993, discovered that there were thousands of amputees in the UK with spare limbs in the cupboard. She toured the country collecting unneeded limbs and recruited free labor in prisons, training inmates how to take the limbs apart. Two years after launching the charity she had helped 10,000 amputee children.
A prolific public speaker, she has received awards for her charity work and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. She began campaigning against landmines while living in Croatia in the early 1990s. She started another charity last year with Sir Paul (Adopt-a-Minefield). Supporters of the new charity pay to have land cleared of mines.
Last night Miss Mills's lawyer Stephen Taylor explained that she had decided against registration in the charity's earliest days. "She was advised that it was not worth applying for registration as this process was extremely costly and time-consuming for what was, at the time, a one-off project," he said. "Heather continued to work without registration as she did not feel that funds should be used for administrative matters." He said 150 people could be fitted with a second-hand artificial limb for the cost of registering the charity. Miss Mills decided to formalize the charity after she contracted dengue fever in Cambodia in 1999 and wanted to make sure it could continue regardless of her health. Supporters of the former model, who married Sir Paul in June, say she is driven by a determination to make her life better than it was before the accident. Story
Sir Paul's likeness has been used in a modern painting of Da Vinci's "Last Supper." The traveling exhibit called "The Diner" by Texan artist Greg Metz is a painting on wheels with famous vegetarians as Christ's disciples. One side shows the a compassionate dinner with vegetarians and the other side shows graphic depictions of animal cruelty. The showing was the brainchild of the People For Ethicial Treatment for Animals (PETA).
Paul was spotted at Blakes discount store in Brighton buying cut-rate summer clothes (T-shirts and a pair of shorts) for a grand total of $40 (£25).
Heather Mills will be making department store appearances in Tokyo as the spokesmodel for the INC clothing line during Paul's concerts in November.
Paul McCartney was the top concert earner in the first half of 2002 with ticket sales of $52.8 million, according to trade publication Pollstar.
When Paul was in south Florida (May 14 - 20, 2002) for his concerts, he and Heather were spotted at Baraboo, Miami Beach's most hidden haute restaurant. The couple feasted on spinach ravioli, carpaccio mozzarella, arugula salad and paglia e fienno. Macca was so impressed by the cuisine he went into the kitchen and complimented the very flattered chef Paulo de Barros. Paul and Heather also dined at another Miami Beach restaurant called The Forge Restaurant. While they drank 1997 Chateau Corton Grancey by Domaine Latour, Paul politely declined the numerous requests for autographs and photos. A nearby couple sent a note to McCartney's table announcing their Liverpool connection. Paul acknowledged with a "hullo" in his best scouse accent causing the woman to burst into tears.
Billboard gives insight to the Statue of Liberty backdrop Paul used during the song "Freedom." The CityKids Foundation created the 4-story (90 foot) banner backdrop called "CityKids Speak on Liberty." It was originally created in 1986 for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty through a collaboration between the CityKids Foundation and late artist, Keith Haring who died of AIDs in 1990. The banner took 3 days to produce with the help of inner-city kids asked to write their personal thoughts with drawings about the meaning of liberty and freedom. Haring drew the black outline of the statue with happy dancing figures around it and the kids filled-in the rest.
AOL did a video interview with Paul which is at "Keyword: sessions." Or through this RealPlayer link. When asked about the meaning behind his song "Cuff Link" Paul said, "I'm not really sure. I'm having an Ozzie Ozbourne moment. Link? What the "f * k" is that? I'm not wearing any. Don't know man. I don't know. I'm sure there isn't a lot of meaning behind it. It's just a title."
Heather Mills called Paul McCartney by code names when they began dating so as to keep their relationship secret. They were Lord Jock of Dundee, Vladimir the Russian masseur and Mr. Patel.
Paul McCartney unveiled a painting dedicated to wife-to-be Heather Mills for the first time. It is one of only a handful of works he has completed since meeting his fiancee. The abstract painting, called "Big Heart," on display at Liverpool's Walker Gallery this week features a figure of a female nude is scratched into the surface of the painting, which is mainly of a large red heart shape. McCartney created it shortly after meeting Heather. Also on display is 1988 painting called "The Kiss," showing Sir Paul kissing his late wife Linda and "Hottest Linda" depicting her sunbathing.
Exhibition curator Michael Simpson said: "The life work of Paul McCartney is all about heart. Love and passion are resonant themes in his music and so too now in his paintings. 'Big hearts' is what he and Linda said they most wanted for their children and a big heart is what he now plainly has for Heather."The exhibit of more than 70 paintings, sculptures and photographs by McCartney, many unseen, will be on display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool from May 24 to August 4, 2002. The exhibition is expected to break attendance records at the gallery with over 1,000 visitors a day expected. "The Art of Paul McCartney" is McCartney's first British art show and comprehensive exhibit to include his sculptures and photographs. There are two works incorporating digital photography, as well as some sculptures made of driftwood. None of the original works will be for sale but 25 signed copies of each of three pictures in the exhibition were sold at £1,000 each.
Wearing a denim jacket, sandals without socks and black trousers, Paul told the press gathered at the gallery, "The wedding plans are going fine. But I'm not telling you nothing." As for the critics, McCartney said he wasn't very interested in their opinions. "I'm not out to show the world what I can do. I'm not trying to impress anybody except myself. I think I've shown the world enough already. Some will like them and some won't. They're entitled to their opinions but I never read them. I really just do it for my own enjoyment. There's so much to learn, that's half the fun. Painting is just something I enjoy. I don't take it very seriously. A lot of these were done in the early 90s when I was on tour and I just wanted to paint on the days off. Some people don't like it. They think I'm getting a bit uppity, but I just enjoy painting. I like applying paint to canvases. I like the act of it. I'm making it up as I go along. That doesn't mean I know what I'm doing - but I know when to stop."
Paul and Heather attended the reception Thursday evening. Macca said that he hoped to play the UK soon, possibly Manchester. Friday 500 guests attending the launch of the exhibit including Paul's brother, Mike McCartney, film actress Rita Tushingham, Tony Blair's father-in-law Anthony Booth, and Peter Blake, the artist who designed the Beatles Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.The Walker Gallery had a contest to win a signed copy of Paul's painting book and a bag of goodies to coincide with "The Art of Paul McCartney" art exhibit. Three lucky winners were chosen.
Madonna and Stella had a "girlie chat" in the bathroom of London's San Lorenzo restaurant. Stella sat on the pot, with the door wide open during an intense conversation. A bathroom patron who just happed to work for the Mirror, wandered in and an embarrassed Madonna apologized for Stella and said, "I'm ever so sorry about her. It's a thing that she does. We always have a girlie chat and take a pee with the door open."
The day after the Anaheim show, May 5, Paul did some serious shopping on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. He was seen walking down the street by himself carrying lots of shopping bags.
U.S. President Bush filed his financial assets on Wednesday (May 15). The disclosure revealed presidential gifts Bush has decided to keep valued at $21,857. One of the gifts included a $310 hardcover copy of "The Beatles Anthology,'' given and signed by Paul McCartney.
Heather Mills is being investigated over a £250,000 ($365,000) charity appeal. The Charity Commission in the UK according to the Sunday Mirror is probing the distribution of collected funds by a charity called The Lions Charitable Trust which Heather is said to have launched in April 2001 to help earthquake victims in India. Supposedly the charity made a plea in a magazine for people to donate £20 to help buy limbs for earthquake victims.A Charity Commission spokesman said, "I can confirm that The Lions Charitable Trust is not registered as a charity. We have been in contact with Heather Mills on several occasions over the past month. Following letters and telephone calls, we are seeking documentation to
confirm that funds have been distributed as Heather has indicated."Heather is now waiting for a report from India before replying to the Commission. Under the 1993 Charity Act anyone wishing to set up an appeal must register with the Commission.
A spokeswoman for Heather Mills said: "The Lions Charitable Trust is not Heather's charity. All she did was collect money for the trust and send it out to India. We sent all the money out there as it came in."
Indian charity Jaipur Foot yesterday confirmed it had received £25,000 ($36,500) from Heather for earthquake victims.
In 1995 Heather set up the Heather Mills Health Trust. But it was not until March 2000 that the trust was registered as a charity.
Paul did an online chat on MSN.com backstage at his Dallas concert on May 9. Here's the link to the transcript.
The "Driving Rain" album received a gold certification from RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) on April 29 for selling more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. and making this Paul's 22nd gold album as a solo artist.
Forty-one members of the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir were in New York for a festival last month. After visiting ground zero, then singing the national anthem and "Amazing Grace" in St. Patrick's Cathedral, they weren't about to be thwarted when they spotted Sir Paul in the coffee shop of their hotel, The Wellington. A couple of girls decided to approach Paul while he was eating lunch in spite of choir director Mia Savage's warning to leave Paul alone. Sure enough, the ex-Beatle joined the entire group in the lobby. "We sang this really complex gospel piece," said Savage. "The kids just nailed it! Wow!" said McCartney lingering to pose for pictures with the group.
Check out Paul McCartneyshop.com for exclusive tour merchandise.
Regarding the high price of his concert tickets Paul said, I understand that's what you charge for these shows. I always say to my promoter: What does Madonna charge? Ding! What does Elton charge? Ding! What does U2 charge? Ding! And they always give me the ballpark figure. And that's what I charge. I try to get it on the cheap side. This ain't Streisand. We're not trying to take advantage. I hate to tell you, but I thought tickets were still at about $40. But I'm from the prehistoric ages. I just let the promoters do that. I say what do things cost, and they tell me, and I'm always shocked."
Chris Carter of "Breakfast With The Beatles" on KLSX 97.1 FM in Los Angeles, got a surprise call on his Sunday Show (May 5, 2002). He asked a trivia question that nobody had the answer to: "What Beach Boys song does Paul appear on eating a carrot?"(answer, "Vegetables") The only caller that answered the question correctly (via cell phone) was Sir Paul himself. Paul requested Chris play "Here Today." Macca liked the interview so well with Carter that he sent his "Driving Rain" video crew over to the station to videotape the show. If it makes the cut it will appear on the tour DVD and on a TV special (ABC) about the tour. Story
A sore throat is the reason why Paul did not perform the two songs he was supposed to on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. He sang an impromtu duet of "Let It Be" with Vicki Randall from "Tonight Show" band during the commercial break. When the show went into the commerical break, the band played "Let It Be" with Randall on vocals. Paul starting singing from his seat and after several seconds couldn't help himself and joined Vicki to sing a soulful version of the song. As she sang, "Let It Be" he put his arm around her and she stopped singing and said, "Oh no I can't do this. I'm too nervous." Paul said, "Oh come on, you can do it." The audience stood in awe, some crying. Security waved at them to sit down, but some refused to sit. Jay seemed disappointed that this all happened during the commercial break. Just seconds of it aired for the TV viewing audience when they came out of the break. During the breaks Paul waved to fans in the audience. He and Jay joked around and slapped each other on the backs like old buddies. Jay asked Paul to autograph a script of the show. Paul stood up and sat down a dozen times during the commercials and during the "Your Loving Flame" video to get the fans to react. The band played during commericals and Paul would sit and beat on an imaginary drum or snap his fingers getting into the music.
Pop singer Lulu's new duets album called "Together" (Mercury) featuring her collaboration with Paul on "Inside Thing" was released on May 20, 2002 in the UK.
June 2002
Paul and Heather jetted to the Seychelles Islands for a two week honeymoon two days after their Irish wedding. To insure their privacy they rented out the entire island of Cousine at a cost of £13,000 ($19,500) a week. The island is less than a square mile and lies in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. The couple's villa boasts a huge bedroom with spa bath, giant pool, bar and library. Views from the the bedroom are supposed to be breathtaking. They are going to Long Island to continue their honeymoon after they leave Cousine.
According to the Sunday People Newspaper Paul's daughter Stella begged him to call off his wedding just hours before the service insisting, "It's still not too late to change your mind." Her sister Mary joined the attack on the ex-Beatle's bride-to-be Heather Mills. An insider who witnessed the scene said, "The girls made it clear they thought their father was doing the wrong thing. They told their dad he still had time to pull out of the wedding but Paul was adamant he wouldn't change his mind."The insider said, "Family and friends didn't know where to look, it was that embarrassing. Paul tried to staycalm but was very hurt by his daughters' outburst. Since he began seeing Heather his children have always refused to accept her as their stepmum so he knew they disapproved. His children hadn't seen much of their father recently so perhaps it was Stella's and Mary's last chance to make a face-to-face plea to their dad."
The fight erupted when Paul talked through the wedding details as Heather slept in another wing. "He started telling the girls of his own pre-wedding nerves and I think they took it as a sign he was having reservations," said the insider. "Within minutes it was a full scale fight and when one of the girls suggested Paul could still cancel, he was outraged. It got so bad some of the other family members thought Stella and Mary might leave that night. But they stayed and kept out of their dad's way."
And as Stella and her sister mingled with the 300 guests - including brother James and half-sister Heather - they avoided Paul. They also stayed well clear when Heather showed off her diamond studded wedding ring.
Our source said, "In his speech Paul made no reference to the girls or any support they'd given him since Linda's death. He was trying to make sure it was a happy occasion." And our source struck an ominous note for the future by saying, "He's now made it clear where his priorities lie. He has also failed to build a bridge between his children and his new wife."
The News of the World claims the real reason Paul daughters refused to talk to his bride Heather Mills on her wedding day was because Stella and Mary believed their father would wear the ring from his marriage to their late mother forever. They were furious when he emerged in public with his new bride, no longer wearing the ring with a tiny jade heart or the gold family band he wore for years before Linda died of cancer four years ago.Instead he wore a gold and sapphire wedding band, believed to be his wedding ring to Heather, 34, who he married in Ireland on Tuesday.
Stories circulated in May that Paul threw Heather's £15,000 ($21,000) engagement ring out of a hotel window in Miami following a fight between the ex-Beatle and his bride-to-be. That bust-up was caused by Heather's request that Paul remove his wedding ring given to him by Linda. (The reason for the fight, first revealed here on the "Macca Report!") When Stella and Mary learned about Heather's demand, they hit the roof. In a bid to appease his bride, their dad removed Linda's ring from his finger the night before their lavish Irish wedding. In photos taken before the wedding Paul is wearing his customary two rings. But in the official shot he is only wearing the new single ring. As the couple posed for photographs before the ceremony, Paul's left hand remained out of sight in his trouser pocket. A source revealed, "Stella and Mary never spoke a single word to Heather at the wedding. The two girls made their feelings blatantly obvious."
He began wearing the wedding ring with a jade heart in the early seventies, a gift from Linda. He was forced to purchase a replica following his arrest for drugs in Tokyo in 1980 when police lost the original.
Paul McCartney's daughters walked out of his wedding bash "as soon as they could". Pals said fashion designer Stella and her 7-month pregnant sister Mary, left more than three hours before the bash ended because they objected to Macca marrying Heather Mills. While the newlyweds partied until the early hours, the former Beatle's daughters were tucked up in bed by midnight. Photographer Mary - who at 32 is just two years younger than Heather - told one pal she attended the wedding "under duress" and that she and Stella, 30, left as "soon as was polite". Mary's pal said, "She had to go to the wedding for the sake of her father, but all his children were against him marrying Heather. "By leaving early, Mary and Stella made it obvious how they were feeling." (The Sun)
Heather reportedly signed a prenupt agreement that would give her £20 million ($30 million) if there was a divorce. The prenupt was insisted upon by Stella who was adamant about it. Paul was reluctant but they both went ahead with it. Later Paul denied that there was any prenupt.
McCartney said in a recent interview: "I think a second marriage is hard for the children, no matter who it is.""The children are devastated," claims one source.
The source contends that Mills is "totally jealous of Paul's late wife, Linda. She freaks out when Linda's name comes up." Recently, when they were in Los Angeles, they quarreled so badly over Linda that Mills moved out.
"She went to stay with friends," says the friend. "They got back together, made up and they went on Jay Leno. Paul tried to make up for it all by never mentioning Linda on Leno."
"Doing press and promotions all the time now is for her. He started to do that with Heather so she could launch herself. He and Linda stayed home. It's so that it will be more about her, and less about Linda."
Paul Freundlich, McCartney's New York publicist called talk of spats over Linda "ridiculous."
"This is a happy period in Paul's life," said the rep. "I don't understand why people would want to throw stones at Heather. She's unbelievably supportive. I don't see why anyone would want to deny them their happiness." (NY Daily News)
Paul is reportedly trying to buy up raunchy nude photos of Heather from her early modeling days that are popping up all over the net. The photographer is not willing to sell them to Sir Paul...yet.
Heather's self-designed? wedding dress is getting mixed reviews from wedding gown designers. Though knockoff artist Allen B. Schwartz just unveiled his cheapo version yesterday - to sell at Saks and Bloomies for $300 by summer's end - other bridalwear designers said she has no future in their field.And even Schwartz wasn't dazzled by her bridal frock - even though he's all set to cash in on it. "Although I didn't love it, it was a big wedding, and we felt we should have the dress," said Schwartz, who is notorious for knocking off Oscar gowns.
"A lot of second-wedding customers will buy it. It's not contemporary. But more sophisticated, more missy."
Paul reveals in the new "Hello Magazine" that he was smitten with Heather when they first met. "As soon as I met her I knew she was the one for me."
THE WEDDINGPaul married his fiancee Heather Mills in a $3.6 million fairly
tale wedding at Castle Leslie in the Republic of Ireland on June 11, one week before his 60th birthday!
Heather Mills wept as she exchanged vows with Paul in front of 300 guests at the Protestant Church of St. Salvator on the castle estate, Glaslough, Co Monaghan. Heather was 8 minutes late for the ceremony and fumbled her vows. She choked up as she said, "I do" weeping with what McCartney publicist Geoff Baker called "tears of joy."
The ceremony was performed by the Venerable Cecil Pringle Archdeacon of Clogher.
The bride's sister, Fiona Mills, and her brother Shane gave her away.
Mike McCartney walked his brother Paul into the church humming Irish band Thin Lizzy's hit "The Boys Are Back In Town." Mike said the unorthodox entrance won praise from former Ringo Starr. Ringo told me afterwards, 'I loved the entrance.' "
Instead of the traditional " Here Comes the Bride" Heather entered the church while the song "Heather" from "Driving Rain" album was played. As the newlyweds walked down the aisle after becoming husband and wife the organ played the "Wedding March" from the film "The Family Way," for which McCartney wrote the soundtrack in the Sixties.
Hymns were "Praise My Soul The King of Heaven" and "Lord Of All Hopefulness." Instead of a traditional reading, the couple's friend, poet Adrian Mitchell (the poet who helped put Paul's poetry book together "Blackbird Singing"), read "Roses In The Summertime," a work he wrote especially for the newly-weds.
Church wedding bells began ringing at 12:15am ET (5:15 BST) signaling that the 30-minute wedding ceremony was over.
MUSIC AND TENT DECOR
The ceremony was followed by a reception featuring five bands including Paul's touring band. New Jersey's R&B "Soul Solution "and the "Celtic Ragas" an Indo-Irish band. The reception lasted for 90 minutes and then the guests sat down for dinner.
Lilies and roses costing a staggering £100,000 ($145,000) especially imported from The Netherlands were delivered for the wedding. The fresh flowers were delivered in two 40-ft. refrigerated trailers. "We went to Holland to choose all the flowers," says Chris Ram, manager of Bill & Ben Flowers in London. "The type? The list goes on for five pages."
With an accent on peaches, reds and pinks, Michael Dendels of Eric Buter Baugh Flower Design at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles supervised the arrangement of thousands of roses, carnations and tulips into elaborate table centerpieces involving three glass vases set inside one another.There were elaborate decorations in the tent, including Indian silks and luxurious cushions with Paul and Heather's monogram on them for the guests to relax in.
THE CLOTHES
The bride, wearing a fitted ecru lace dress she designed herself with the help of two London designers Eavis and Brown and carried a bouquet of 11 pink McCartney roses - named for her new husband - and two peonies. Her hair was styled by Amanda Amos from Brighton and her make-up was by Mathew Alexander of Michael John.
Sir Paul chose to wear a Richard James hand-finished bespoke suit in dark chocolate, lined in deep purple silk. Set off with a Richard James
classic double-cuff shirt and one of his exquisite colorful pure silk ties, Sir Paul McCartney looked every inch the perfect modern English gentleman.
For extra luck Paul wore a "magic buttonhole" in his lapel. "Not only did he have a pink McCartney rose but he had a sprig from his Dad's lavender bush and his mother's favorite flowers - two buttercups - in his lapel.
CELEBS
Celebrity guests confirmed at the wedding were, Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach, actor Aidan Quinn, George Martin, tennis champion Monica Seles, actor Steve Buscemi (Bus scemi), Jools Holland, David Gilmour, Chrissie Hynde and Twiggy.
THE PASSWORD
Each guest was assigned a color- coded security number which allocated them a hotel room and a place at the reception. Anyone unable to whisper 'blue 52', or whatever, was not allowed in.
THE MEAL
Guests were served an Indian vegetarian feast of meal of mushroom pastry, salad, a roasted wheat dish, plus an Indian-style buffet accompanied with merlot, Australian chardonnay, gallons of champagne, and 150 kegs of Ireland's black Guinness beer to wash it all down.
PAUL'S RAP
After the meal, Sir Paul McCartney had his guests in fits of laughter when he rapped a song about his love for his new wife Heather at the reception. Paul was joined on stage by five rappers and dancers, then by his brother and best man Mike, and eventually Lady McCartney herself in the rap which ended with them revealing the location of their honeymoon - McCartney's house in the Hamptons, Long Island. More about the honeymoon later.
THE SPEECH
Paul's sense of humor flavored his speech when he recalled his Liverpool childhood. Guests laughed when he said, "Back then, I'd have had a wedding just to get the rice." He went on, "My trousers were so thin that if I sat down on a penny I could find out which way up it was - heads or tales." But Paul choked up with emotion when he told his guests that he felt George Harrison and John Lennon were probably looking down on him and wishing him well.
Heather took he microphone and sang to her new husband his favorite Beach Boys song,"God Only Knows."
THE VIDEO
Sir Paul and Lady McCartney screened a 10-minute video the theme of which was "kissing." The couple were filmed kissing some 20 times in 20 different countries around the world.
FIRST DANCE
Mike McCartney, introduced the first dance, Tony Bennett's "The Very Thought Of You." Paul and Heather's favorite song.
THE CAKE
The guests feasted on a 4ft high wedding cake made by Little Venice Cake Company who also made cakes for Madonna's wedding and Pierce Brosnan's. Macca's cake costed £3,000 ($4,500) more and was dark-chocolate based, with four double tiers, covered in white chocolate. There were also white roses, made out of white chocolate, over the top, and real pink McCartney flowers decorating the table it sat on.
THE RINGS
Throughout the reception, Heather showed off a stunning white gold ring inset with half a dozen white and yellow diamonds. Paul sported a gold and sapphire wedding band. And yes he finally took off his old wedding bands!
THE GIFTS
Gifts ran the gamut from a bread maker from Paul's cousin Kate Robbins to donations to Heather's land mine charity. One unique gift was a framed sketch of the couple from Paul's artist cousin Ian Harris. "What do you give a multi-millionaire?" said Harris. "At least this is different."
Mike McCartney gave the happy couple a frisbee with the initials "P" and "H". Paul tried it out tossing it around the castle walls.
The guests, most of whom contributed to Heather's charity, Adopt-a-Minefield UKwere given silver Waterman ball pens engraved with the words "Love Paul and Heather" before leaving at around 2am. Scores carried on partying at local hotels until dawn.
GRAND FINALE
The night's finale came at 1:20 am with a laser and firework display costing $145,000 (£100,000) as Sir Paul and Lady McCartney boarded a 40-ft vintage cabin cruiser boat and sailed across the castle's lake to a specially-built jetty. The craft was decked with flowers, and the couple stood under an arch of roses, waving farewell before later heading off in a helicopter to begin their honeymoon.
THE HONEYMOON
Paul and Heather are said to be spending their two-week honeymoon on the Seychelle Island of Cousine in the Indian Ocean, at a cost of $39,000. They will end up in Long Island to finish the honeymoon in August.
Paul rented the Castle Leslie for two weeks costing in upwards of $1,500 a day plus extra staff and security. Extra cost was involved for the removal of cattle on the property because of helicopters and fireworks that would spook them into a stampede. Port-a-potties were brought in for guests to use. The castle is not air-conditioned and the bathrooms/toilets are not modern. There are no phones or televisions in the rooms.
Paul was furious that BBC helicopters were flying over the church because the helicopter noise spooked a horse on an adjacent property causing it to run into an electrical fence. The animal later had to be destroyed.
There was a party at the castle for the family and friends on the eve of the wedding, June 10 where Paul played the drums. The party went on until almost 4am!
A food vendor took advantage of the hungry spectators outside the castle and workers charging $2.84 for a non-veggie "Big Macca" burger. "Paul McCartney has banned his crew from eating meat," said a contractor, who smuggled in hamburgers from the street vendor. "They get sacked if they are caught eating these."
A man was arrested at the gates of Castle Leslie after trying to drive through them before the ceremony. Security said he tried to enter the grounds with a guitar on the passenger seat of his car. A sergeant on the scene said, "I think it was a case of a man having too much drink and deciding to give the couple a song."
Paul had his stag party on Saturday June 1 at the exclusive Home House club in London. Paul's brother Mike, his son James and 15 close friends took part in the bachelor party.
Heather was so paranoid about damage to furnishings during her bachelorette party in her newly spruced-up home that the invite carried the condition that guests brought their own comfy footwear so not to damage the new carpets.The party on June 1 came the day after workmen finished a two-month £50,000 ($75,000) renovation at the £1million ($1.5 million), four-bedroom Brighton pad.
One pal said, "It was a great party and everyone had a really great night but we all thought the slippers rule was a bit strange. All the girls were glammed up in their very best outfits and having to put on a pair of slippers didn't really finish off the posh evening wear as we would have liked. We didn't really feel like we could have a wild time. We looked more like grannies than party animals. But no one complained as Heather is so incredibly proud of all the work she has had done on her home."
He's an impoverished trombonist who lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment and plays gigs in smoky nightclubs. Yet Shane Mills, 31, will soon call the world's richest musician his brother-in-law. Shane was staying tight-lipped, about his sister's wedding but confirmed he would be among the guests. "We see each other from time to time and keep in touch on the phone," Shane said. "Things between us are fine but Heather's a busy girl. She has a lot on her plate." For the man dubbed "The Lips" in musical circles and brother of Heather Mills, Shanes earns around £100 ($145) for the odd gig and admits he usually performs for free. Shane dreams of success one day with his own band Deep Fur. (Sunday Mirror)
Paul and Heather were spotted June 6 at a Brian Wilson concert at the Brighton Centre. Paul signed autographs for the small crowd of fans and posed for photos but Heather seemed eager to get away. The photographer for the Argus Newspaper in Brighton said, "She was reluctant to have her picture taken and was very sheepish about posing with Paul. After the photos were taken it was obvious that Heather was not wearing her engagement ring. A photo in the Sun Paper shows that the engagement ring is missing from Heather's finger but Paul is still wearing his wedding rings. This adds fuel to the rumor that the spat at the Ft. Lauderdale hotel where Paul supposedly tossed Heather's engagement ring over the balcony started because Paul promised to remove his wedding bands after the tour ended and changed his mind.
Another story centers on Mills' displeasure at learning her ring, valued at up to $40,000, was made at the expense of child laborers in the Jaipur region of northern India. A spokeswoman for Mills denies the story, claiming the former TV personality is perfectly happy with the ringWhile in Brighton, Paul passed by the Italian Suit Company in Duke's Lane and was asked by the store manager if he could come in and sign some limited edition Beatles T-shirts. The gracious star replied, "Yeah, no worries." Manager Tim Mycock said, "It was pure luck. I spotted them walking along the street outside the shop. I was a little bit nervous and said he must get this all the time but he was as nice as pie. Heather just seemed to go along with it all."
He signed three shirts with a marker pen while his fiancée looked on. Paul was given a T-shirt featuring pictures of the Beatles to keep. Mr Mycock said, "He was such a nice guy. I want to wish him all the best."
The shop has already sold more than 100 of the T-shirts and another 100 Beatles shirts, which are part of a Ben Sherman collection this season.
Heather Mills did not seem to be in the best of moods at Monday evening's Jubilee concert, June 3. One VIP told reporters, "She seemed downbeat and glum though at least she was wearing her engagement ring." However, when some reporters approaced her asking if perhaps had already become Mrs. Paul McCartney, Heather flashed them a big smile, and said in reply, "Sorry, girls, I can't comment."
Rumors that the couple were already wed began to circulate on Monday when they arrived at Buckingham Palace for the concert rehearsals. Sir Paul's publicist, Geoff Baker's only response to the question was, "I can tell you we are all very happy."
At the Queen's Jubilee concert - "Party at the Palace" Paul opened alone on acoustic guitar with "Your Majesty," saying "I had to do it," followed by "Blackbird." Then George Martin came out and made a speech about the Beatles and George Harrison. Then Eric Clapton came out and sang, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Paul on piano and Phil Collins on drums. The next song was "Sgt. Pepper's Reprise/The End" (Driving USA version) where Paul was joined by Rusty, Abe and Brian and Wix, who was in the house band. "All You Need Is Love" followed with the British Anthem at the beginning of the song and Rod Stewart leading off on vocals joined by all the performers onstage. Joe Cocker and Paul sang a verse as well. When the song finished, the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Princes William and Harry, George Martin and Shirley Bassey greeted the performers onstage. Prince Charles made a speech about all the musical talent in Britain. When the royalty family left Paul told the audience, "I said to Her Majesty, are we are doing this next year. She said, 'Not in MY garden!' Do you fancy another song? Because you are getting one!" Paul launched into "Hey Jude" complete with the singalong, "just the men" and "just the women" and "everyone at the house of Windsor!" The crowd wasn't ready for Paul to leave so he decided to play an impromptu version of "I Saw Her Standing There" which was after TV cameras were supposedly turned off for the evening.
Heather Mills and Yoko were spotted sitting next to each other in the Royal Box.
Security was so tight at Buckingham Palace, Paul was told to have two forms of ID on him including a passport.So Macca told the flunkies that if they wanted to kick him out, they could. "It was a case of security gone mad," a source said. "Paul wasn't trying to be a prima donna. But to expect one of the biggest stars in the world to carry his passport for fear he might be a security risk is ridiculous. He told them in no uncertain terms to get stuffed." The MTV video crew who were following Ozzy Osbourne around got in Macca's way and were reportedly kicked out of the concert.
If you weren't able to score a ticket to the Queen's Jubilee concert, don't worry! Naxos of America and BBC/Opus Arte have released two DVDs featuring highlights from the Queen's Jubilee Concerts, "Prom at the Palace" and "Party at the Palace" DVD (US version-click to order on Amazon.com) with Paul McCartney. The concerts were filmed by the BBC production team and broadcast live on the BBC. Highlights from the concerts were transferred to DVD and released on July 2nd.
An album of the Golden Jubilee rock concert at Buckingham Palace has been released. "The Party at the Palace" CD (UK version-click to order on Amazon.UK) will raise money for charities nominated by the Queen. The 21-track album is the same as the US version.
July 2002
Heather Mills McCartney was voted as the 97th most irritating person in the UK Mirror 3am's list of "Britain's 100 Most Irritating People."Readers lodged votes galore for Heather Mills and most of them cited her irritating reaction to speculation that she could be a gold-digger.
When it was suggested the blonde former model might be after Macca's vast £750million fortune, Heather responded by saying if she wanted money she would have married somebody "a lot richer."
No wonder that rubbed people up the wrong way. But to be fair, Heather suffered an appalling fate when she lost her leg after a police motorcyclist mowed her down while she was crossing the road. And we take our hat off to her for her fight back to fitness and her charity work.
But as reader David Levine told us, "There is just something about her that's very irritating." And it seems Sir Paul's kids might agree. They were less than delighted when their father wed Heather last month. And they remain convinced she's a gold-digger.
Heather Mills claims Paul McCartney's fans are jealous of her relationship with the former Beatle. She says she has faced a hostile reception since the pair revealed their relationship. The jealousy mainly comes from female Beatles fans around Paul's age.Speaking to UK's Prima Magazine (September issue), Heather said, "Even now, they're jealous that I'm with everyone's favorite Beatle."
She said the age gap had no effect on her relationship with the 60-year-old star: "He's so sweet. He's energising - like a kind of Peter Pan character. When you see him walking down the street, he literally skips, just like a little boy."
McCartney is totally supportive of her career as an anti-landmines campaigner, she said. "Psychologically, I feel on an equal level with Paul. There are a million reasons why I love him, but the main one is that I'm with someone who is totally secure in who he is and doesn't resent my work. We're together seven days a week. We sit down and go through our diaries together each month and we don't do anything if it takes us away from each other."
The anti-landmine campaigner added, "The best thing is that Paul fell in love with who I am, and he wouldn't try to change me," she said. "Just as I wouldn't dream of telling him to stop singing and painting and touring, he wouldn't try to stop my charity work. This is what my life is about."
Other men in her life had been resentful of the amount of time she devotes to her cause, she said, "I've only had six relationships in my life. Men fall in love with who I am. But then they end up resenting my charity work because I can't help giving myself totally to anything or anyone who's in need. One of them said that when I go off to a war zone, they feel inadequate staying at home."
Though devoted to her philanthropic efforts, she's cut down on her schedule in order to spend more time with her 60-year-old husband, who regularly brings her breakfast in bed. "In the evening, I cook and we eat together and talk," she says. "That's been very good for me." Commentary1 Commentary2
The honeymoon is over. Paul McCartney's bride Heather is seething over his plan to honor late wife Linda with a life-size statue, reveal insiders."Heather told him, 'Get over her!'" says a source. In the couple's first fight since their June 11 wedding, Heather flew into a rage when she learned about the memorial. McCartney has told pals he wants to place a bronze figure of Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998, on their palatial Scottish estate, Mull of Kintyre, overlooking the sea. McCartney once wrote a hit song about the place.
He even commissioned his cousin Jane Robbins to fashion the piece. But the 60-year-old Beatle, who promised Heather, 34, when they wed that he'd stop living in the past, neglected to tell her of his plans.
"Now even though they are man and wife, the ghost of Linda still haunts her," reveals a friend of the newlyweds.
Although McCartney's spokesman says Heather is "in no way displeased with the statue", sources reveal she's livid.
"Heather was kept totally in the dark about this," says the friend. "She's furious. On the eve of their wedding, Paul promised her he'd move on and put the past behind him."
The statue issue has trapped McCartney between a rock and a hard place. He began planning it long before Heather came into his life. The source adds that McCartney also never made those plans public.
"In the lead up to the wedding, he especially kept a tight lid on it because he didn't want to appear insensitive to Heather," the source explains.
Ironically, Heather, who has reportedly been feuding with her stepdaughters Mary, 35, and 33-year-old Stella, also had a big blowout with McCartney just days before their wedding while in a hotel room at the Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in south Florida.
Heather asked him to remove the gold ring that Linda had given him. McCartney was so furious, he hurled her $25,000 engagement ring out the window.
Later, to make up with her, he launched a search for the ring and after they finally tied the knot, McCartney was thrilled and was thinking about starting a new family with Heather. He told pals that "a baby Beatle" would be the "icing on the cake."
But Heather sees the statue as Linda's ghost coming between her and her new hubby.
"I think she wants Paul to concentrate on her - his present and future - rather than the past," notes an insider. "Many women would feel the same." (The Globe)
Liam Gallagher is always up for pasta while Sir Paul McCartney reckons a glass of water is the perfect antidote to a hard day's night. Chef to the stars Danny Booth has spent his career tickling the taste buds of the rich and famous. Now he's moved to Brighton, the celebrities still cannot stay away. Danny opened sandwich bar Redeli on Ship Street, Brighton, a few weeks ago and it has already become an oasis for hungry showbusiness types. Danny has been staggered by the amount of famous faces who have come through his doors. He said, "I'm shocked by how well I've done. It has been fantastic. I had Paul McCartney come in for a drink of water just the other week. I don't know how he heard about the place. Will Young was in a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. A load of children were hassling him on the streets and he dived in here for cover and a quick drink. I must be lucky with all these celebrities popping in."
Paul will be a guest on "Otro Rollo" a three-hour variety show from Mexico hosted by Adal Ramones. Paul will be promoting his concerts in Mexico City. Dates have not been announced but are expected to be in early November. (thanks to Macca Reporter David Ochoa)
According to the New York Post, Stella McCartney is getting married.Paul McCartney's daughter is set to marry publisher boyfriend Alasdhair Willis who proposed at the weekend, according to New York sources. But last night a pal said the wedding guest list is already a problem - with Stella in a quandary over whether to invite stepmum Heather Mills. Fashion designer Stella is said to dislike Heather and there was talk of a serious family rift when she married Macca. Stella's pal said, "The proposal was a surprise. She is thrilled. The only thing marring the couple's happiness is what they are going to do about the wedding. Stella really dislikes Heather but she doesn't want to upset her dad by not inviting his new wife." A rep for Stella said, "We don't comment on her personal life." Stella and Alasdhair, of ultra-hip mag Wallpaper, have been dating for a year after meeting in London. She recently said of him, "I've never felt this way before in a relationship. It's just a dream. He looks after me. I've got a good person." Story
George Harrison's wife Olivia hosted a secret memorial service for him at their Henley-on-Thames mansion. Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were among the guests. They were joined by Fab Four producer George Martin at the moving service on last Wednesday July 24. An insider said, "It was a very somber occasion with all of George's friends uniting to talk about their grief. "Everyone drew comfort from each other and it was a perfect way of remembering George." George died in November last year, after suffering from an inoperable form of cancer.
Paul and Heather watched a cricket match between England and India at the Lord's Cricket Ground in St. Johns Wood, London on Saturday July 27. Photo
Although specific details aren't yet confirmed, a live album and DVD chronicling Paul McCartney's recent Driving USA tour are in the works for a November release. David Kahne, who produced McCartney's latest Capitol studio set, "Driving Rain," is in London with producer/engineer Michael Brauer mixing 36 live tracks for use on the projects.Brauer says his objective is to put the listener 10 to 15 rows from the stage. Along with the concert experience the CD and DVD will replicate, he adds, mixing decisions are made in no small part by the songs as originally recorded by the Beatles. "I grew up with these songs, and I want to maintain their integrity," Brauer observes. "David also makes sure that the spirit of the song is again brought out. And Paul is here to listen to it. I've got all the original songs from the show on my iPod, so I'll listen to it, asking myself, 'What were the elements that made it so cool?' A classic is a classic -- you don't want to mess with it."
The "Driving USA" DVD will be released on November 26.
There are many things that Sir Paul McCartney will do for his native Liverpool, but sharing a balcony appearance with Yoko Ono is clearly not one of them. The former Beatle, his new wife, Heather, and John Lennon's widow had been due to join the Queen and civic dignitaries on the balcony of Liverpool Town Hall July 25, to watch a parade marking the Queen's Golden Jubilee visit to the city.The official program handed out at the beginning of the day listed both the McCartneys and Ono as balcony guests, but at the last minute Sir Paul and Lady McCartney jumped into their silver Jaguar and headed south, pleading a pressing recording session in London.
Sir Paul further argued that he did not wish to upstage the Queen on her big day. He would not have done; outside the city's Walker Art Gallery she got a considerably bigger cheer from the crowd than he did.
The rival Beatle camps, who have maintained years of frostiness, managed to side-step each other all day: Ono greeted the Queen at Liverpool airport, recently renamed John Lennon International, and joined the royal reception at the Town Hall, while barely 500 yards away the McCartneys conducted the Queen around an exhibition of Sir Paul's painting and sculpture, most of it rather too scatological for the royal taste.
Dressed in a smart dark suit and pale blue tennis shoes, in sharp contrast to the Queen's cool peppermint green, Sir Paul denied any hint of nervousness as he awaited his visitor. "She's great, a lovely lady, jubilee year - rockin'," he said.As the Queen toured the exhibition, she walked quickly past canvasses bearing such titles as "Bowie, Spewing," "Bondage Girl" and a number of other McCartney works big on genitalia. He diplomatically guided her to the relatively safe "Big Face Mountain." The Queen laughed. "Your pictures are very colorful," she told him, non-commitally.
Sir Paul has executed three paintings of the Queen, including one entitled "The Queen After Her First Cigarette," but they were not included in the show. He gave the Queen a copy of his book of paintings, inscribed "Hope you enjoy it" on the flyleaf. "I hope she's got a quiet moment at the Palace to read it with her feet up," he said afterwards.
The Queen, who last met Sir Paul at the Palace rock concert in June, was also steered quickly past a McCartney sculpture entitled "Running Legs With Penis." "It's driftwood. Don't blame me, blame nature," Sir Paul said later. "Anyway, I don't think my paintings are risqué at all; the Queen has seen a lot."
He was clearly flattered by the royal attention, and to be included in the jubilee. His wife said, "You can't accept a knighthood and then not turn up when the Queen asks you," a reference to Sir Paul's brief dithering over whether or not to appear at the Palace gathering of rock dinosaurs in June.
It was a far cry from 1965, when all four Beatles were appointed MBE and several other holders returned their medals in disgust, dismissing the Fab Four as "vulgar nincompoops". Lennon handed his insignia back in 1969, but McCartney kept his and was eventually knighted in 1997. Yet the only Beatles representative standing beside the Queen on the Town Hall balcony yesterday was Lennon's widow. Photos
Paul McCartney showed Queen Elizabeth around a display of 70 of his largely abstract paintings and sculptures Thursday July 25, saying afterward, "I think she liked them. She said they were very colorful, and I took that as a great compliment.''
However, curators of Liverpool's Walker Gallery had removed three canvases of the queen herself, entitled: "The Queen After Her First Cigarette,'' "The Queen Getting A Joke," and "A Greener Queen."
"The gallery had the opportunity to include the pictures - it was up to them," said Sir Paul. "I would have been happy to have shown them to the Queen - they are very affectionate and I think she has a good sense of humor. She's a fine woman.Photos
Paul's lead guitarist, Rusty Anderson was at the San Diego Beatles Fair, July 20 and talked about the tour.The band rehearsed a number of songs before the "Driving USA" tour and one of them was "No More Lonely Nights."
He said that the Chicago audience was the best on this tour.Rusty said he suggested to Paul to play "Getting Better" and Paul said that he wanted to play the guitar part on the song himself.
He mentioned that his favorite song from the "Driving Rain" album didn't make the cut. It's called "Washington" and Paul said it will be on the next album though there are no immediate plans to record a new album.
Will there be new songs on "Back in the U.S." tour? Rusty said, "Yes, we are going to mix it up a bit."
A crew of 100 took five days to clean up the grounds at Castle Leslie. The grounds were strewn with flowers from McCartney's wedding. All the flowers were sent to hospitals and nursing homes.
A LIPA lecturer is behind bars in a Japanese jail accused of drug smuggling. Chris Snell, 47, a lecturer at Sir Paul McCartney's LIPA college in Liverpool was arrested at Tokyo airport after three kilos of cannabis was discovered in a hidden compartment of a suitcase he was carrying. Mr Snell, a father of two from Croxteth Park, now faces up to four years in jail if found guilty of bringing drugs into the country. But today his wife Olga, 51, pleaded for his release, insisting he had been set up by a so-called friend. "Chris is totally innocent - he is not a drug dealer and does not even smoke cannabis," she said. Mr Snell a freelance music producer was arrested at Tokyo's Narita airport after arriving on a flight from Switzerland two months ago. But he insists the suitcase where the drugs were found had been given to him by a musician colleague in Zurich. He claims the case - larger than his own - was given to him so that he could carry additional clothes for the friend's brother who lived in Tokyo. Mr Snell was travelling to the Japanese capital to work on a reggae music project. The colleague has since disappeared. Today his wife added: "There is no way he would risk his family and career over something so stupid. "I will do everything in my power to get him released and home with us in Liverpool." Story
Britain's biggest stars have lost up to £270 million ($423.9 million) in the stock market slump. Paul McCartney is believed to be the biggest showbiz loser, suffering a staggering £54million ($85 million) plunge in the value of his shares.Macca's total estimated wealth stands at around £713million ($1.12 billion), but the downturn has put a dent in the cash he has available to invest.
Others losers include Sting, who's been stung for £9.3 million ($14.6 million) of his £150 million ($235.5 million) fortune, and singer Tom Jones, worth £110 million ($172.7 million), who is believed to have lost £8.25 million ($12.9 million).
Former Genesis drummer Phil Collins also took a beating.
The tax-exile with a personal fortune of £120 million ($188.4 million), has seen the value of his portfolio crash from £18 million ($28.26 million) last year to £9 million ($14.13) now.
The top ten losers chart also includes Madonna and Sir Elton John. Story
Paul and Heather attended the LIPA graduation at the Philharmonic in Liverpool on Friday July 19. Heather brought her dog Oliver, and Paul chatted and signed autographs for waiting fans at the Philharmonic and at LIPA. Photos
John Lennon and Paul McCartney are nominated for this year's 54th Annual Emmy Awards. Performances by Paul for "The Concert For New York" and "Come Together: A Night For John Lennon's Words and Music" have been nominated in different categories.The list of categories are:
Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program: "The Concert for New York City," VH1.Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: "Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music,'' TNT.
Variety, Music or Comedy Special: "The Concert for New York City,'' VH1.
Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special: "Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music,'' TNT.
The show will be broadcast live on NBC, September 22 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Paul McCartney sent a powerful message to the Capital of Culture judges today, "Let it Be Liverpool!" The former Beatle gave his full backing to Liverpool's bid to be named "European Capital of Culture" for 2008. And it comes on the day eight judges arrive in Liverpool before tomorrow's tour of the city.
Winning the title would generate millions of pounds for the local economy and cement the city's place on the world stage.
Paul told the Echo Newspaper, "Liverpool richly deserves the "Capital of Culture" honor. This is a great city with very many achievements, past and present. I fully support Liverpool's bid. In fact, I agree with the American poet Allen Ginsberg, who said that Liverpool was the capital of the entire universe."
The judges and Sir Paul will visit his LIPA fame school graduation ceremony tomorrow, Friday July 19.
The judging panel will drop in at the Philharmonic Hall, where Paul will preside at the graduation of 240 students from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Special box seats have been reserved by LIPA for the judges, who will be on an eight-hour tour of the city.
Sir Paul McCartney, Joanna Lumley and Martin Shaw are appearing in a new video to mark national vegetarian week. The short film has been produced by Viva!, which is campaigning against factory farm practices. The issue will be highlighted in a national march and rally in central London on Saturday, July 13. People at the rally will be shown the film, in which Paul says, "There are a whole lot of things wrong with our planet at the moment. We hear a lot of words from big business and from Government but they don't seem to do much about it. But we can do something about it. We can help the environment, we can help end cruelty to animals and we can help improve our own health, and all you have to do is go vegetarian." Others who appear in the film are Chrissie Hynde, Michael Mansfield, QC, Jerome Flynn and Wendy Turner-Webster.
The Sunday People (July 7) reports that Heather has expressed an interest in portraying an enemy agent in a future James Bond film. She has come up with an storyline to cast herself. "I could get into bed with James and then take my false leg off and it would really be a gun," said Heather.
Annie Brown and Caroline Eavis had been looking forward to the wedding for five months. Ever since Heather Mills first asked them to design her bridal dress, they had been waiting for the fame and recognition that such a prestigious, high-profile commission would bring to their small Fulham-based business. "We were very upset that our names weren't mentioned."In lieu of payment for the dress, Heather had apparently promised that their names would be attached to the official wedding photograph so that everyone would know who had designed it. It's an agreement that fashion designers and celebrities make all the time. But come the big day, after 20 weeks of hard graft, there wasn't a credit to be seen. The new Lady McCartney was even said to have claimed that she designed the dress herself.
Eavis and Brown, who also made a dress for Pamela Anderson at the time of her ill-fated marriage to Tommy Lee, are keen to put the record straight. They want everyone to know what really happened when they were asked to design the year's most high-profile wedding outfit. The two women, both in their forties and living in London, set up the Eavis and Brown label 10 years ago. They met while studying at the London College of Fashion and after a few years of dabbling - Brown in theatrical design, Eavis in handicrafts - decided to start a company specialising in cocktail and evening wear.
While hardly household names in this country - although British devotees include Annie Lennox and Helen Mirren - they have attracted a large Arab clientele and a celebrity following in Los Angeles. Stars, including Halle Berry and Drew Barrymore, have been snapped posing on a red carpet in an their creations. In fact, it was in a popular LA store, Les Habitudes, that Sir Paul McCartney first picked out one of their frocks for Heather to wear to a reading of his poetry in New York last year.
"Unfortunately, Heather put her heel through the chiffon hem," says Eavis, "and when she got back to London brought it here to us to be repaired." While in their small studio, filled with rails holding eye-catching, heavily-embroidered gowns - prices range from £800 to £10,000 ($1,200 to $15,000) - Heather tried on some other designs and was soon borrowing them for special occasions. Most recently, she was pictured wearing one of their green chiffon shirts with flower embroidery to the Queen's Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace."When we heard that Heather was getting married, I sent her an e-mail congratulating her and reminding her that we also specialized in wedding dresses," says Brown. "It wasn't long before she got in touch and asked us if we would design it. We were thrilled." Heather made an appointment and turned up with her sister, Fiona, and a rough sketch, drawn by a friend, of what she wanted. She was very keen to use lace and had some other ideas, as all brides do, but the end result bore very little resemblance to the original idea," says Brown firmly.
The bride wanted a dress that wasn't too romantic, opted not to have a veil and, after helping choose the lace - from a shop off the Edgware Road - left the pair to it until it was time to come for a fitting. "She's very easy- going and calm to work with," says Brown. "She also has the perfect figure to design for: a great body and large breasts. She had about three fittings - all here in the studio. When Heather came for the last fitting, her mobile rang twice with calls from her sister and a friend in New York wanting to know what it looked like. We also designed the white trouser suit that her sister, who was 'best man', wore to the wedding."
While Heather was at one of the fittings, the Bond Street jewellers Cartier sent over a selection of necklaces for her to choose from to wear with the dress. None of them were suitable, however, and the jewellers had to design one especially for her. "While sitting there with all the Cartier jewels," says Eavis, "Heather said, 'Now I am beginning to get excited.'"
The day before the wedding, Eavis and Brown had to fly over to Castle Leslie with the dress. "We only knew a couple of days before where and when the ceremony was taking place." On arrival, the guests were ferried around to different hotels. "Ours was four-star and about 10 minutes from the castle. The next day we helped Heather get dressed. She looked beautiful and was really pleased with it," says Eavis. Luckily, so was the groom. "Sir Paul hugged me after the wedding ceremony and said thank you."The pair were also invited to the party and were surprised to find themselves seated next to the mother of Heather's ex-husband, Alfie Karmal, who wrote a less than flattering piece about his former wife in a newspaper last weekend. "She seemed very happy and told us what a lovely girl Heather was."
Stella, however, kept her distance and didn't congratulate them on the dress. The following morning, they returned to London eager to see how their outfit looked in all the newspapers. "We were very upset that our names weren't mentioned," says Brown, "although I wasn't, as reported, in tears. It was just hugely disappointing to have spent so long working on the dress, not telling a soul about it, and then not to get any credit. Heather had definitely told us we would be on the press release along with everyone else involved."
Is it true that Heather didn't pay a penny for the dress? "She paid for the fabric," says Brown, "but I really can't go into any more details. That would break client confidentiality." And if Lady McCartney, who they haven't been in touch with since the wedding, were to pop in to borrow another frock when she gets back from her honeymoon, would they lend it to her after all that has happened? "Ask us in a few weeks' time," laughs Eavis. "We'll have to see." Story
Yoko Ono wants Paul McCartney to "shut up" blaming her as the opportunist who broke up The Beatles. "If Paul says something about me, there's many people who will write to him saying, 'Good for you! You said it!' " she tells New York magazine. "There's a whole group of people who'd like to egg him on. If nobody were applauding, maybe Paul might shut up!"
Paul McCartney's new wife is to be known as Heather Mills McCartney. Appearing together at an awards ceremony (July 4) for the first time since their wedding last month in Ireland, Paul and Heather remained tight-lipped and walked out of a press conference when asked about their honeymoon. But it emerged during the recording of Carlton television's awards show "Britain's Brilliant Prodigies" that Heather is to use both her maiden and married name. Davina McCall, host of the show which is due to be broadcast on ITV later this year, introduced the blonde 34-year-old as Heather Mills McCartney rather than Lady McCartney as many had expected.Heather, wearing a black chiffon and sequinned trouser suit with slashed sleeves, was presenting the "Young Person Who Made a Difference" prize to seven-year-old Marcus Johns. She appeared at ease on stage but refused to discuss anything other than the program afterwards.
Looking tanned, Sir Paul, 60, declined to reveal whether or not the couple were feeling broody (planning children). He said, "Oh, here we go, the British press, I mean. Jesus isn't that so typical. We can just nix that question and try again and talk about how we're here for Sarah's (Ferguson) charity (Children In Crisis) and the charity work done. We're very proud to be here. They are all very talented kids and we're very honored about being in their presence."
When asked about whether or not the couple had enjoyed their honeymoon in the Seychelles, Paul said, "Thank you very much. We don't want to talk about that, we're going now." He then ushered Heather out of the room. saying, "Right let's go" as he playfully slapped her behind. Photo
Paul and Heather returned from their 20-day honeymoon and were spotted at a trendy vegetarian restaurant in Primrose Hill, London. Paul, and his new wife Heather, dined at Manna where the average meal costs less than £20 ($35). Paul is a regular at the establishment. He may have spent more than £1 million ($1.5 million) on a wedding feast but Sir Paul McCartney is not above taking home a restaurant doggy bag. When the couple left arm-in-arm, they were clutching two doggy bags of food. They dined on organic brie and leek strudel and a tarte Tatin before Lady McCartney remarked to restaurant staff how much she liked the caperberries used in some of the dishes. Sir Paul, who is estimated to have a £713 million ($1.7 billion) fortune, also commented on how much he had enjoyed his meal. Obliging staff did not hesitate to give the pair some berries to take home. The caperberry is a Mediterranean fruit said to be an aphrodisiac and stimulant. Story and photo
Paul McCartney had a marked influence on the new Counting Crows album "Hard Candy," which comes out Tuesday (July 9). Crows frontman Adam Duritz told LAUNCH that his goal to make the songs on the album punchier and more focused was inspired by a chat with Paul McCartney that gave Duritz a fresh appreciation for the craft of songwriting."I had this conversation with Paul McCartney a couple of years ago at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and I just left the conversation thinking, 'Man, what a treasure the guy is,' and so underrated, I think, and underappreciated at times. To, like, write a melody that sticks in someone's head for 40 years--I mean, how the hell do people do that? I thought, 'Well, I want to really concentrate on that for this record. Every song has to have a great melody. That's the starting point,'" he says.
Hip-Hop/Rap-Artist Knoc-Turn'al got the OK from Paul McCartney to use a sample of "Old Siam Sir" on his new single "Muzik." The rapper explained that "Muzik" is "sort of a rock thing," but that McCartney initially wasn't going to clear the sample. "But when he heard it and realized it was a positive song, he cleared it," Knoc-Turn'al said. "So I wanna give Paul McCartney a shout-out for doing that." Knoc wants Paul to crowd-surf in the video for "Muzik." "We gonna have a scene where I'm walking down a long hall and we have different dressing rooms," he explained. "I'm trying to get the guitar player from Metallica to come through, and some other people. And it's like I'm going through dressing rooms and by the time I get to the third verse, I'm gonna walk out onstage and hopefully Paul will be there. And we'll get on a platform, and a guitar player will be there, and we'll just start crowd-surfing, have the crowd passing us around, and we'll just do it like that." Paul hasn't said yes or no to the Hip-Hop-Artist about the video. "Muzik" is one of six songs on LA Confidential Presents Knoc-Turn'al, which is due July 30 and features guest appearances from Dr. Dre and Missy Elliott. Click to hear You will need RealPlayer.
Paul McCartney is fitting his luxury homes with high-tech "panic rooms" to foil crazed intruders. He has joined a growing band of celebrities building armour-plated bunkers in their houses. Paul will spend up to £150,000 ($225,000) on reinforced steel fortresses at his homes. The Panic Rooms provide secret bolt-holes from potential intruders and contain CCTV monitors to keep tabs on intruders and emergency buttons to alert local police. (Sunday People UK)
The July 8-15 Us Weekly on newsstand now, has an article on Paul and how his marriage is affecting his family. According to the article, just before the family wedding photos were taken, Stella and Mary struck up an conversation and walked away from the assembled group. "You won't see the girls in any of the group photographs," said a family friend.
Geoff Baker, McCartney's long-time publicist and friend said regarding McCartney kids, "It would be naive to say children from a first marriage are going to take immediately to their father's new partner, but this whole feud idea has been exaggerated."
Patti Wood a body-language expert who has been studying Paul, Linda and Heather in photographs had this to say. "Paul and Linda have 'mutual gaze' - they are looking at each other. This is very unusual for star couples in public. And they are mirroring each other, which shows love. Paul and Heather, on the other hand, don't show any 'couple signals.' The pair, both face toward the front, and aren't touching affectionately.""Paul and Heather are brilliantly suited to each other," said record producer Mike Batt who attended the wedding.
Regarding the couple's spat at a Miami resort in May where Heather's engagement ring 'accidently' fell off a balcony and was found 100 feet away, a hotel employee confessed, "It was not dropped - it had to be thrown. It wasn't a little toss. If it was a little toss, it wouldn't have ended up where it did. Paul came down and said, 'We had a little tiff, and I threw the ring off. It wasn't a big deal. A stupid thing that happened.'"
Paul McCartney interrruped his honeymoon to help a sick donkey. The former Beatle wrote a £1,000 ($1,500) check after being told about 17-year-old Humphrey's plight. The donkey was found dying in an Aberdeenshire (Scotland) field with his hooves hacked off. McCartney wrote to Willows animal sanctuary in Banffshire where Humphrey is being looked after. In his letter, Paul said, "I hope this will help you continue your great work." Story
McCartney has not forgotten about animal causes. In a letter released Thursday June 27, Paul asked the top 100 share holders of McDonald's to apply its U.S. animal welfare standards to its restaurants worldwide.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released the letter Thursday. The Norfolk-based animal rights organization said McCartney wrote the letter on behalf of the group and Trillium Asset Management, an investment firm in Boston.Dear McDonalds Shareholder,
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Trillium Asset Management, and caring consumers across the globe, I am writing to ask for your help in convincing McDonald's to internationalize its farmed animal welfare standards.
Although McDonald's has made laudable efforts on behalf of farmed animals in the United States and United Kingdom, it now needs to do the same in other countries. Abuse is abuse, whether it goes on in Sussex or San Salvador, Toronto or Tijuana.
McDonald's animal welfare "Guiding Principles" state, "we buy all our beef, pork and poultry products from suppliers who
maintain the highest standards and share McDonald's commitment to animal welfare." Yet McDonald's has very different
standards (and often no standards), country-by-country, for its suppliers.Allow me to offer just two examples:
· In the United Kingdom, McDonald's has banned battery cages for hens and gestation crates for mother pigs, using the RSPCA seal of approval and placing advertisements that promote McDonald's for eliminating this abuse of animals. Yet McDonald's has not yet pledged to even phase such abusive confinement systems out anywhere else in the world. McDonald's is supporting this abuse around the globe, and it is abuse McDonald's acknowledges as such. It is worth recalling that only one-twentieth of McDonald's Restaurants are in the United Kingdom.
· In the United States, McDonald's requires audits of all cattle, pig, and chicken slaughterhouses, has chicken handling standards, and bans forced molting (starving hens to shock their bodies into another laying cycle). Yet just one country north of the U.S., in Canada, McDonald's has not yet phased in cage space requirements for hens, hasn't banned starving hens to force another laying cycle, and is only auditing cattle slaughter. The company's Canadian animal welfare statement does not indicate plans to do any more than this at any point in the future.
Not long ago, corporations with excellent track records on labor issues in the United States and United Kingdom refused to address the injustices going on in apartheid South Africa. They learned that the public does not want to support injustice anywhere, and that good practices in one country must be mirrored by good practices everywhere.
If McDonald's corporate policy, that "humane treatment of animals is an integral part of a world class supplier system," is to have meaning, then the corporation must adopt international farmed animal welfare standards. I am attaching PETA and
Trillium Asset Management's analysis of McDonald's statements on global farmed animal welfare. I hope that you will review it and then contact PETA's director of vegan outreach, Bruce Friedrich, to help us push McDonald's to follow the lead of Burger King, Wendy's, and Safeway, by adopting international standards for farmed animal welfare.Sincerely,
Paul McCartney
Paul and Heather are cruising around the Greek Islands. London's Evening Standard is reporting that Sir Paul and Heather have started the second leg of their honeymoon with a cruise around the Greek island of Paxos. The couple have been seen diving into the sea from their three tiered $24.6 million rented super yacht . The 174-ft state of the art luxury yacht called the Salperton costs $175,000 a week. The ship has five state rooms finished in cherrywood with marble bathrooms, a gym and the latest sports equipment including scuba gear and three sea canoes. It also has the latest DVD technology.
A Scottish paper says the couple will spend the remainder of their honeymoon in July at Paul's Scottish two-room house near the Mull of Kintyre. They are due to arrive by private jet to a tiny airfield near Machrihanish before driving to High Peak Farm.
Mary McCartney has donated a photograph of her sister Stella entitled "Fly Eye" to a charity auction at Christies in London. More than a 100 photographs will be on auction by photographers with funds from the sales going to WellBeing, a health research charity for women and babies, and The LOOC Foundation for parents who want to adopt babies from Chinese orphanages.
Carla Lane, dear friend of Linda McCartney was not invited to Paul and Heather's wedding. She said she is not upset and wishes the couple well. Carla runs an animal sanctuary called Animaline in West Sussex and has been struggling to make ends meet. Linda always donated money to keep the sanctuary running and after Linda died, Paul continued to help out but there is not enough money to care for the 800 birds and animals. Lane is now desperate and currently facing financial crisis. If you would like to donate Animaline send checks or money orders in UK Pounds Sterling payable to: Animaline, The Lodge, Broadhurst Manor, Horsted Keynes, Nr Haywards Heath, West Sussex. RH17 7BG. ENGLAND. For a donation of £15 ($22.50) Animaline can now provide memorial plaques, in memory of a loved one, to be erected on their animal units.
Paul McCartney's 7-month pregnant daughter Mary was left battered and bruised after being viciously mugged in a London street in June.Two cowardly thugs struck from behind as photographer Mary, 33, left work and was putting belongings in the trunk of her blue Mercedes. One attacker covered her mouth to stifle her screams while the other wrenched out her diamond earrings and ripped off her engagement ring and watch.
Terrified Mary feared for the life of her unborn child and put up no fight. A friend said, "It was a planned operation. They were in hiding, waiting ready for Mary to arrive at her car. These weren't first-time thieves. They knew what they were doing. They were on her like a flash when she left work, grabbing her from behind. It only lasted seconds but seemed like a lifetime. The McCartney family are all terribly shocked."Shaken Mary - oldest of Macca's three children by first wife Linda - went to hospital as a precaution after the attack in
Maida Vale, West London. The friend went on, "Mary never dresses in flash clothes or expensive jewellery. She likes the fact that she can walk around unrecognized. She has always avoided the public eye, unlike her sister Stella who is a regular face on the celebrity circuit. Her concern was for the safety of her child, although she was devastated at losing her engagement ring."Mary has a three-year-old son Arthur with her husband of four years Alistair Donald. Sir Paul, 60, who dotes on Arthur, was thrilled when Mary announced that she was expecting her second child. And the star was devastated by the savage mugging. A family friend said, "Paul was gravely concerned about Mary and the baby. Emotions have been strained because of the children's unhappiness over him marrying Heather Mills. But all that was cast aside when Mary needed his support. They have a special bond." (UK People)
Paul has turned his talents to stamp designing. The former Beatle may be the first major pop star to design a series of legal postage stamps. The six designs, to raise cash for the Adopt-A-Minefield, charty will be issued on July 1 at the Isle Of Man Post Office (order here) in England. The colorful floral designs are said to be works of art. There will be 170,000 sets issued. Dot Tilbury of the Isle Of Man stamp bureau, said, "Paul's stamps are truly works of art. We anticipate that the issue will be extremely popular - the stamps have just the look that collectors like and, as art, they can hang on the wall in any decor." The collection, received the royal seal of approval from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. The set of designs are said to reflect the music legend's fond memories of the island, which lies off the northwest coast of England, which he visited as a child while growing up in Liverpool.
Virgin America released "Party at the Palace" on July 2, in the US featuring two songs that Paul performed on, "All You Need is Love" and "Hey Jude." Click the title to order from Amazon.com.
"The Party at the Palace" CD just released in the UK on Virgin featuring the same tracks, will raise money for charities nominated by the Queen.Click here to order the DVD of "Party at the Palace." .
Paul McCartney's Tour Diary is in latest issue of "Q Magazine." The Mac takes on the US with "loads of Beatles songs", plus an honorary NYPD detective's badge. "When I smelled weed in the crowd, I announced that I would shortly be going into the audience and busting some people," said Paul.
From the National Enquirer - And hot-to-trot Heather knows how to keep Paul's motor running. A school pal, who still lives in Heather's hometown of Newcastle, revealed, "Heather gives Paul sex, sex, then even more sex---anywhere and everywhere! The last time she came up to Newcastle she boasted about having sex with Paul on his private jet. She even had to hold the door shut with her foot when the pilot tried to get in (toilet). Heather says she's giving Paul the best sex of his life and as much of it as he wants. No wonder he looks so happy!"
Paul McCartney spent four hours playing music with apes at a research lab. The bonobos played along to "Eleanor Rigby" and a new song he wrote for them. Macca visited the Language Research Facility in Atlanta during his tour after being told about it by Peter Gabriel. McCartney told The Sun, "The fact they could recognize and understand 800 words was pretty astounding and we found ourselves actually communicating with them easily. We played some music - the male ape and I jammed a little and his sister joined in with us. He played keyboards and she played drums. It was wild."The visit was filmed for possible inclusion on the DVD of McCartney's latest album Driving Rain. Story
From the NY Post - While Paul McCartney and bride Heather Mills are sailing on their chartered yacht, the former Beatle's daughter, Stella, is bragging to friends that she did persuade dad to draw up a prenupt after all. Stella says she and her uncle, Paul's business manager, John Eastman, brother of the late Linda McCartney, convinced Paul it would be madness to put his $1 billion fortune at risk. The prenupt supposedly gives Heather up to $30 million (with other provisions for children they may have) and, while very generous, is not the open-ended arrangement Paul's kids were so worried about.
Heather's ex-husband millionaire businessman Alfie Karmal, whose two-year marriage to her began in 1989, has joined the chorus of Mills-mockers. "She lived in a dream world, desperate for fame and fortune," Karmal wrote in the London Sunday Times. "I just hope [she] does not give him the run-around she gave me during our five years together, which included 20 months of marriage."Karmal relates, "Heather had difficulty with reality and telling the truth. She told me a lot about her past that turned out to be embellished or even fantasy . . . She told me so many fibs that if she said it was raining, I would have checked."
Karmal says he only agreed to marry Mills on the condition that she see a psychiatrist about her pathological lying.
But there was always a bit of truth to her fiction. Often there was nothing sinister about her saying she had gone somewhere when she'd actually been somewhere else. And she was good-hearted, giving the impression that she would do anything for anybody. So when I found the part-truth in her stories I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. I was besotted with her, just as McCartney is now.
Karmal said, "Marrying Heather was the biggest mistake of my life. But she was so gorgeous that I just fell hopelessly in love. I wish her and Paul all the best - but I wouldn't put a penny on it lasting the distance. My message to him is. 'Enjoy it while you can and make the most of it while it lasts.'"
Alfie said, "She would lie about the most stupid little things and have terrible temper tantrums. One night we were having a meal and disagreed about something incredibly petty like what we wanted to watch on TV. She picked up my dinner plate and emptied it over my head. She told me she had brilliant A-levels which was completely untrue, and that she had been a down-and-out at King's Cross. It got so bad that I told her I would not marry her unless she saw a shrink to stop the lies and curb her temper. I paid for the sessions, about six or eight in all. The shrink told her that she didn't need to exaggerate things to make people warm to her and that she had to calm down for her own good. She seemed to listen and take it all in and I had high hopes. But deep down, she never changed."Although he was intensely aware of Heather's problems, Alfie remained fiercely loyal to her through their five years together. It was he who encouraged her modelling ambitions. He took hundreds of sexy pictures of her on their first holiday in Tenerife. Alfie said, "She was a complete natural in front of the camera. She looked fantastic - especially in the topless shots. But amazingly no agencies were interested. Despite what she tells people now, she had no success at all as a model all the time we were together. But she was desperate to be famous in a glamorous profession. It didn't matter whether it was modelling or on TV. She's fiercely ambitious but just didn't know what she wanted," says the thrice-married Karmal. "She was always trying to come up with a get-rich-quick plan. But in her time with me she had few - if any - big modeling jobs."
"She would complain that she couldn't get work and was bored. So, with a business partner, I set her up running a model agency, Excel Management, off Marylebone High Street. Later it was based in a nightclub in the West End. It was never really a success."
"Heather wrote in her autobiography that she sold the agency and lived off the proceeds. In fact, when it collapsed my partner and I took the name for a shell company to run a nightclub that I started in Luton. After her accident, Heather put it about that she had been earning six figures a year as a model. This must have caught the eye of the Inland Revenue. Although we were divorced by then, she rang me to ask if I would write to the taxman to say I had been carrying her financially for five years. This, at least, was true and I agreed."
"I believe Heather lost her sense of reality at a very early age when her father told her to lie to the rent man about him not being in. Most children are told not to lie and this shapes their conscience. But if you are told it's all right when you're very young, lying becomes an automatic response."
"I hope Heather is genuine about what she's doing. Over time people's looks can change, but I suspect their basic character remains the same."
Heather Mill's stepfather, Charles Stapley, claims that much of her autobiography, "Out On A Limb," was pure fantasy, including claims that she once ran away at 15 to join a funfair. He says she left home when she was 20-years-old. Mills claimed that her mother lost a leg in a car accident. Stapley who was married to Heather's mother says that is totally false. Her mother's leg was injured in the accident but never severed. "She did have a car accident and injured a leg, but she didn't lose it." Nevertheless, despite these alleged embroideries, Stapley concedes that a sexual assault by a swimming pool attendant when Heather was eight, and the actions of her father, "left a deep mark on her" and was responsible for much of her early "wild behavior". This included turning briefly to crime. She was put on probation for stealing from a jeweller's where she worked after she had left school. (BBC's News Profiles)
The owners of the 17th-century castle in Glaslough, Co Monaghan, where Paul and Heather were married, are having to deal with a massive clean-up operation - with the estimated £50,000 ($75,000) bill landing firmly at the couple's door.
The dozens of heavy trucks that trundled over the 1,000-acre grounds, combined with torrential rain, have turned the land surrounding the castle into a "quagmire".
Co-owner Samantha Leslie said the repairs would all be paid for by Sir Paul as part of the terms of the agreement he signed to use the castle. She said, "All the land will patch up again - it was just so unfortunate that the weather was so wet. There was an agreement before any of the trucks moved in that any damage would be paid for by the McCartney party." "
However, Mrs Leslie's cousin, Tarka King, who owns the land surrounding the castle, was less than happy about the state of the grounds in the aftermath of the wedding. He said it had caused a family fight because he had not been consulted properly before the grounds were used. He added, "It was on my ground that helicopters landed and fireworks went off. This was very upsetting. I'm in a foul temper about the mess. The helicopter churned up all the land and the enormous amount of vehicles turned the ground into a quagmire. My family's to blame. They're the ones who escorted the party planners around and made the arrangements. My mother is buried there. Exactly where the party planners and my cousin arranged to have the site for the pyrotechnic display is, to me, hallowed ground. You might say I'm a very unhappy bunny. As a result I've fallen out with Samantha and her husband."
Mrs. Leslie would not be drawn on the disagreement with Mr. King, but said that specialist firms would have to be brought in to extensively re-turf and repair the grounds.
Sir Paul's close friend and spokesman Geoff Baker said, "Paul is not contactable at the moment since he is on his honeymoon, but there is no reason to disbelieve the Leslie family when they say there was a clause in the contract whereby Paul would pay for the cleaning up of the castle after the wedding." (This Is London)
As billionaire Paul got down on one knee, cradled her hand and asked the question she had been dreaming of hearing, did Heather have just one thought . . . "Could there be a book in this?" The new Lady McCartney, is planning to publish a second autobiography at 34, called "A Single Step." And this one will include the inside story on her love affair with Macca. The book will first come out in hard cover for £14.99 ($22.00) and will be sold only through Heather's Web site. (The Sun)
August 2002
Excerpt: MACCA'S FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH, August 3, 2002 From the Daily Record, UK- Full StoryThe teenage girl was busy filing videos on a quiet Sunday when the door to the shop swung open and a middle- aged man walked in. She stood open-mouthed as the stranger began chatting with her boss, Dale McArthur, the owner of Main Movies. Her surprise turned to disbelief as she heard the new arrival asking Dale what videos he could recommend for the young man with him. The man in the shop was one of the most famous people on the planet, so the young sales assistant's shock was understandable. After all, it's not every day Sir Paul McCartney wanders into your shop. Especially when your shop is in the small Scottish fishing town of Campbeltown in Argyll.
The scene unfolded a couple of years ago, when the millionaire singer and songwriter was making his annual pilgrimage to the farm he bought in the area back in the Sixties. Dale, 39, recalled, "Paul popped in with his son James. He was carrying a camcorder and had probably been filming in the street. My assistant was totally in awe of the fact that Paul McCartney was in the shop. But everyone just treats him normally. He's really down-to-earth. I helped James pick a out a film, Robert Carlyle's "Ravenous" and then they left."
The locals of Campbeltown are protective of Paul, but treat him just like one of their own. Dale, who also owns estate agent Argyll Property Shop, said, "We do get people coming in wanting to look at property in the area because they've heard Paul McCartney has a home here, so they know it must be a lovely place. People do sometimes ask if we can tell them where he lives, but we'd never do that. James is often in the area surfing and pops in. He's very friendly. Stella has also been in - she's naturally stunning and a really nice person. The family know they can get away from it all here."
Now that Paul has remarried, the locals are hoping to catch a glimpse of his bride, Heather. Dale said, "The last time I saw Paul in here, he looked very happy and relaxed - he must have been seeing Heather by then. I haven't seen his new wife yet, but everyone here wants him to be happy."
Paul's friend and spokesman Geoff Baker said, "He loves Scotland - he's written some of his best songs there, new and old. He's sharing his life with Heather, so I'm sure he'll share Scotland with her, which he says is his favorite place on earth. But I don't know when he's planning his next visit - he doesn't tell me."
Paul usually arrives in the Argyll region by private plane and stays at his farm. He's bought other properties over the years, so now has a large secluded, secure area if he wants to stay out of the limelight. Now the townsfolk are hoping Heather will also fall in love with this beautiful corner of the country which has been such a haven to Paul.
Local resident Anne Leith, 50, said, "He normally comes up every year, usually around this time. But whether he'll appear with Heather I don't know. It must be really difficult for her coming here because the area was very much a part of Linda McCartney. It would be very difficult for Heather to fit in, but, of course, the locals will make her as welcome as they would anyone else. I think it would be hard for Heather, but perhaps she'll just shrug it off." She added, "I think Paul was up last year for a few days, but I don't think Heather was with him. Everybody is waiting to see if they will arrive. It's such a fantastic place, I'm sure she'd love it, too. We saw Stella last year. She's quite quiet - most of the family are. They just want a bit of normality. That's why they come here." She added, "It's brilliant having Paul here, he's done so much for the area. He has given donations to various local causes, but it's all low-key. He's just one of the crowd really."
Campbeltown barber Ian McKerrel, 40, said, "All the locals hope Heather will like it here, too, so that they'll keep coming back. Paul usually comes up about twice a year. He's just an ordinary - albeit very talented - down- to-earth man. He can walk down the street and nobody bothers him."Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4
NEW - From the August 31 (The Mail UK)During a modelling career remarkable only for the extreme naffness of the outfits she wore - in particular, the 'sexy' lingerie - Heather Mills could hardly have dreamed of this. Her face is currently gazing out from huge advertising hoardings across America as the face of Inc, an upmarket clothing range sold in legendary New York department stores Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
The hair is sleek, the look chic and unfussy - the very opposite of those embarrassing Eighties pictures. The contract is yet another triumph for the woman who has prevailed against adversity for much of her life to become Lady McCartney, the beautiful young bride of the most famous living Beatle.
It is also just one part of this fiercely ambitious woman's campaign to conquer America. Heather, friends say, is bitterly aware that in Britain she will never, despite all her dedicated charity work - over which questions continue to be raised - be able to erase the specter of the 'opportunist' and 'adventuress' labels that have always shadowed her.
Also in her mind is the knowledge that in Britain she will, despite her marriage to 60-year-old McCartney, never truly be accepted on to the celebrity A-list, not least because on that list is Sir Paul's daughter Stella McCartney and her fashionable friends such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.
In an interview with the New York Magazine this week, Heather, 34 made the bizarre claim that Stella had "issued a press release saying how much she liked her new stepmother" - a claim quickly denied by Stella's publicist.
In truth, the enmity between Stella and Heather is as strong as ever and the celebrity A-list in Britain isn't big enough for the both of them.
That perhaps is why Heather has set her sights on America, where, in her mind, she has a "clean slate" and where, she hopes, she will became as idolized and revered as her legendary husband.
After spending much of the early part of this year in the States, the pair flew out to America again last week and will remain there for the next couple of months. Heather is accompanying her husband on his rock tour, but has no intention of playing second fiddle to him. She has her own plans.
Among other things, she has given an interview to Vanity Fair magazine; she is re-releasing her autobiography, "Out On A Limb," re-entitled "A Single Step," complete with gushing new chapters on the McCartney romance; and she is planning to find time in her busy schedule to give "counseling" to victims of the September 11 atrocities.
She has also appeared on two television talk shows, Good Morning America and The Today Show, in her drive to raise her profile.
Bit despite the PR frenzy, America, it would seem has not taken Lady McCartney to its heart either. Americans, too, are slightly suspicious of a woman who is so assertive that she gives her husband advice on how to make his songs sound better. (And amazingly, he listens).
"When Heather and Paul to go to parties," a source explains, "everyone is keen to see Paul because he's extremely popular over in the States. But as soon as someone is introduced to him, Heather practically pushes him out of the way and starts banging on about herself and her charity work. It can get a bit tiresome - people are wary of her."
And of course, by now, all of America has read the stories about Heather's colorful past. She was arrested for stealing jewelry as a teenager, and her ex-husband Alfie Karmal, believes she is a fantasist who should carry a "Buyer beware" sticker, and so on.
Soon, America will be able to read Heather's own version of her life story. Interestingly, the new version of her autobiography will not go on sale in Britain. We're probably not missing out on much. It's unlikely that all the really interesting aspects of the Mills/McCartney romance will appear in the book.
How, for example, just weeks before the wedding, the pair had a furious row at a Florida hotel, culminating in McCartney screaming at Heather: "I don't want to marry you," and hurling the £15,000 ($22,500) sapphire and diamond engagement ring out of the window and into the tropical undergrowth below.
Only after a painstaking search lasting several hours by hotel staff was the ring retrieved and returned to its owner by one of the security guards.
The pair kissed and made up although both were said to be 'ashen-faced' the next day and the wedding did indeed go ahead, at Castle Leslie in Ireland in June. But even the big day was not without its tensions.
Stella, vehemently opposed to the match to the last, was seen by guests with her father just an hour before the ceremony, saying to him - begging is perhaps a better word "You don't have to do it Dad. You don't have to go through with it."
All of McCartney's children, Heather, 38, his step-daughter from Linda's first marriage, Mary, 33, Stella, 30 and James, 25, are said to be upset about the relationship with Heather which began a little over a year after the death in 1998 of his beloved wife Linda at 56 from breast cancer.
They felt it was too soon, and that their mother's memory had been betrayed. But they also felt uneasy about the age gap and Heather's checkered history and suspected she was a gold-digger. Stella's attempt to persuade her father to draw up a pre-nuptial agreement was in vain.
However, it seems that the two Heathers have plenty to talk about, if Lady McCartney's recent estimate that they're on the phone "for 40 minutes every day" is anything to go by.
But friends say that the more the children have tried to warn their father against Heather, the closer it has pushed him and Heather together. And there is no doubt that he is absolutely besotted with his new wife.
The children going on at him about Heather only made him more determined to marry her," says one friend. "Heather is extremely cunning and uses the animosity to her advantage. She says things like, 'Why is everyone against us? It's us against the world, and we have to be strong together.' She gets Paul behind her every time because he feels sorry for her."
A fascinating insight into Heather's character emerged after the wedding, when there was a furor over her lace gown. The designers, Caroline Eavis and Annie Brown, had agreed to make it free of charge in return for publicity from the couple, which they didn't get. That came only after they complained to the newspapers.
Why someone about to marry a man with £713 million ($1.7 billion) in the bank should need a freebie wedding dress is baffling; but goes some way, friends say, to explain Heather's motivations.
"She had a difficult childhood and it was a struggle after her mother walked out," explains one. "Heather has never managed to shake off her fear of having no money. That's why she loves a freebie. She gets a real sense of satisfaction when she manages to wangle something for herself. There will always be a bit of the wheeler-dealer in her, even though she's married to a multi-millionaire."
Stella, for one, found the wedding dress debacle "highly amusing." "It was said at the time that Stella was upset that she didn't get asked to make the dress but that's rubbish," says one friend. "Stella didn't want to get involved at all." The unhappy episode appears to have been resolved after Heather offered to pay the £10,000 ($15,000) cost of the dress.
So after the pre-wedding traumas, how is married life treating the couple? Paul, say friends, "remains as 'under the thumb" as ever, but it would seem the relationship remains volatile. The two are said to have fierce rows over what friends call Heather's "megalomania" usually resulting in Heather storming off, leaving McCartney' to stew for a few hours before returning.
By the time she gets back, he's so grateful that she hasn't been kidnapped - he is obsessed with security - that all the harsh words spoken before are forgotten.
"Paul doesn't think it's necessary for Heather to be so high profile, and they argue a lot over it. When they row, she goes off on her own and switches her phone off," says one friend.
"Paul's terrified she might get kidnapped, so he's just overwhelmingly relieved when she comes back and they kiss and make up."
There are whispers that a recent row was even more heated than usual and ended with Heather disappearing for two days before returning to her husband, by now beside himself with worry. McCartney's spokesman Geoff Baker says he has "heard nothing" about such an incident.
But in public, at least, they present a united front. In the weeks before McCartney's first tour date, his wife will be keeping herself busy giving "counseling" to victims of the September 11 atrocities, and their relatives.
Her heart is, no doubt, in the right place, but some suspect her motives are not entirely altruistic. "She sees herself as a cross between Princess Diana and Hillary Clinton," says one critic. "She revels in the glorification of herself."
This may or may not be a fair criticism, but Lady McCartney's erratic way of handling her charity, The Heather Mills Health Trust, which provides prosthetic limbs for amputees (Heather having lost part of her left leg after being hit by a policy motorcycle in 1993) does nothing to keep her detractors at bay.
Why, columnists have been asking, did Heather fail to register her charity for six years after its inception in 1994 and only then after a journalist inquired why she hadn't done so? How is it that the review of the first year's accounts of the Trust list just £102,210 ($153,315) in income, nearly £50,000 ($75,000) shy of McCartney's much publicized £150,000 ($225,000) donation of late 1999?
Heather's explanation for failing to register the Trust with the Charity Commission is that she did not feel its money should be wasted on administration.
Although registration with the commission is free, she said she had been quoted thousands of pounds from firms specializing in setting up charities. The price, she claims, would have equaled the cost of fitting 150 people with an artificial limb.
As for the alleged shortfall in the first year accounts, Heather says the annual returns reflected only the period after March 20, 2000, when the trust was officially accepted by the Charity Commission, and that by then much of the money had been given away.
Heather's explanation as to why she did not register her charity is all very laudable, but the fact remains that her charity's expenditure and activities for six years are completely unaccountable.
On Wednesday of this week, the Mail asked Heather's solicitor, Stephen Taylor, of Sheridans Solicitors, how much she raised during those six years and what the money was spent on. By Friday, the response was, "I haven't had a chance to talk to Heather because she's away."
All these rumblings are doing Heather no favors in America, where her publicity drive continues unabated. Next week, the October issue of Vanity Fair goes on sale.
Inside is a glamorous photo shoot and interview with Heather. For a woman who has dragged herself up to where she is today, it must be a dream come true.
There is, though, just one cloud on the horizon; for while there will be a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde staring out from the cover, it won't be Heather's face, but that of Madonna, who is of course in the inner circle of Stella McCartney.
Losing out on the prestige of the Vanity fair cover to someone in her stepdaughter's camp will be a particularly bitter pill for Lady McCartney to swallow.
Billy Connolly lambasted the media reports of his 60th birthday celebration at his mansion in Scotland. "The only people on the guest list they got right were me and Pam. Apparently Paul McCartney sang happy birthday to me. That will come as a f.... surprise to him."
Earlier reports said, Paul and Heather were seen having drinks with Bob Geldolf at the Hilton Craigendarroch in Ballater, Scotland and they attended the birthday party of actor Billy Connolly at his 17th century mansion Candacraig, where 300 guests were treated to an impromtu rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung by Sir Paul, Rod Stewart and Sir Bob.
Stella McCartney partied until 4am at her engagement party. As engagement parties go, it was straight out of the rock 'n' roll handbook. Starting with a six-hour wine-fuelled lunch yesterday (August 1) and ending with Krakatoa cocktails as the sun came up this morning, Alasdhair Willis and Stella McCartney showed they know how to celebrate in style.Even though the couple have not publicly admitted their engagement, the friends who joined them on the 16-hour marathon in London knew exactly why they were there.
Just in case there were any doubts, Miss McCartney, 30, proudly showed off a diamond engagement ring - a diamond or moon stone set in white gold.
Mr Willis, 31, is said to have proposed at the weekend, the day after leaving his high-profile job as publisher of the fashionable magazine Wallpaper*.
After a lunch with colleagues from the magazine, Willis moved on to the Jasper Conran-owned Cow pub in Notting Hill. As his fianceè arrived - at about 8pm - a loud cheer went up, with friends wishing the couple congratulations on the "shush shush" - a less than complex code word for the wedding celebrations believed to be taking place as early as this weekend.
She had arrived back on the Eurostar from her job as chief designer at Gucci in Paris. Once reunited in the Cow the couple enjoyed a round of gold tequila shots, then a round of beers followed by more tequila as a baying crowd cheered on.
They ended their night out at Henry's bar in Alexander Street, where a lock-in went on until 4:30am. Staggering down the road, they managed to get involved in a scuffle with photographers before flopping into Stella's £2 million ($3.5 million) home. (This Is London)
First came the happy news that Stella McCartney was engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Alasdhair Willis. Now the rumor is circulating that she is pregnant. The 30-year-old Gucci fashion designer has spoken in the past of her wish for a hubby and kids; she said in an interview earlier this year that "I'd rather not do fashion if it meant that I couldn't have a family." With a lot of her famous friends pregnant, she would be in good company - Stella recently threw a baby party for pregnant pals Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri. Stella met Alasdhair (the former publisher of Wallpaper magazine and a man known to his friends as 'Mr Gucci') a year ago at a party and, happily, they found that they both shared a love of the label. Sounds like a match made in heaven could it be Gucci baby grows soon? Story
Stella McCartney is to move from Notting Hill to a more exclusive neighborhood - Belgravia.The Gucci designer, who is soon to marry her partner Alasdhair Willis, is looking to buy a colossal £7 million($10.5 million) five-storey town house.
Friends say she also wants to build another open-air shower in its roof garden - identical to the one she has at her present £1.5 million Notting Hill home.
McCartney is said to want the larger home to start a family with Willis, who she met in Majorca last November.
Sources close to the 30-year-old - the daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda - say that she has also been concerned about security after her friends Kate Moss and Madonna were recently burgled.
The new house is close to one of the proposed locations for McCartney's first London fashion store on Sloane Street. It is also near to the homes of Baroness Thatcher, Joan Collins, Roger Moore and Lord Lloyd-Webber.
The property boasts a huge studio, where she will be able to work.
Willis, 31, is said to have asked the designer to marry him the day after leaving his high-profile job as publisher of the fashionable lifestyle magazine Wallpaper*. Friends say she accepted "gleefully" and that the couple are besotted with each other.
McCartney was reported as saying her relationship with Mr Willis is "a dream", adding: "I have never felt like this in a relationship before.
"We are having the best time just doing ordinary things, you know things that couples do. And it's just fantastic."
She is said to have wanted to settle down and start her own family after realising that most of her friends are expecting babies.
In June she hosted a baby shower for pregnant friends Sadie Frost, Kate Moss and Sharleen Spiteri.
Paul McCartney was seen exclusively on Mexican television August 29 in a two-minute taped segment talking about his upcoming tour. He reflected on the enthusiastic Mexican audience and ended his speech with, "Vaya con dios. Adios amigos!" (Go with God. Goodbye friends).
Cindy Adams of the New York Post reports in her column dated August 27, that Heather Mills can no longer be contacted directly. Her sister Fiona is now handling all her correspondence.
Here's the full text of the New York Magazine article by Andrew Goldman which has been quoted in various UK papers this week.It was the middle of a February morning, and Paul McCartney's famous sad eyes gazed out from the stage of the Louisiana Superdome, the New Orleans coliseum that was being prepped for Super Bowl XXXVI. The field was empty save for a handful of technicians, there to rehearse McCartney's flag-waving, game-closing extravaganza. The Beatles alumnus did a run-through of his song "Freedom," the would-be anthem he had composed following the World Trade Center attacks.
Clear on his cues, McCartney hopped off the stage to talk to an attractive blonde who had been intently studying his performance. It was Heather Mills, his new fiancée. The pair huddled for about five minutes, with McCartney listening and nodding his head.
Mark Steines, an Entertainment Tonight correspondent waiting to interview McCartney, imagined that what he thought he was seeing probably wasn't what he was seeing at all. So when McCartney finally strolled across the field to meet him, Steines joked that it looked as if Mills had been giving him notes. Steines says: "Paul said to me, in a corrective way, 'Yeah, don't be surprised, because she does. She knows music, and she has a good ear and she has input.' I said, 'You listen to it?' And he said, 'Yeah.' "
Yeah?
Lately, something odd has been happening to Paul McCartney. In his 40 years of celebrity, he has generally led his life with the quiet dignity one doesn't expect from a rock star. But now, three years after his beloved wife's death, McCartney is everywhere, often trotting in the wake of his 34-year-old model-activist-entrepreneur second wife. If he's not schmoozing backstage with Ozzy Osbourne at Howard Stern, declaiming his poetry on television with Larry King, or dancing on the bar at Hogs & Heifers, he's helplessly attempting to ad-lib on the subject of American football with Terry Bradshaw.
At 60, McCartney is beginning to look like the Elvis of 1968: intact, more or less, but teetering on the precipice of something unbecoming. And Mills, who seems to be cottoning to the role of McCartney's Colonel Tom Parker, may be the last person McCartney needs whispering in his ear.
Even before she became Lady McCartney -- and before he was rumored to have thrown the $34,000 engagement ring out the window of their Miami hotel room and loudly threatened to call off the wedding -- we began to have nagging questions about Heather Mills. Was she the plucky self-made model who took the loss of a leg cheerfully and spoke out bravely for amputees everywhere? Or the shameless self-promoter who turned her accident into a business opportunity? And is the charity work reported to have attracted Sir Paul as her suitor really, in part, a canny marketing device, a way to sell Mills as a sort of Mother Teresa-meets-the Spice Girls? Now, just as Mills prepares to release her autobiography in the United States -- complete with new chapters about her romance with McCartney -- doubts that have surfaced in the British press are following her to this side of the pond.
On a muggy afternoon in July, I get my chance to find out, when Heather Mills calls me. She's in New York for a photo shoot, and I arrange to meet her at Lotus, the aging nightclub on West 14th Street. I find her sitting cross-legged on a squat little leather stool; she's wearing black lacy bell-bottoms and a blindingly white blouse; two matching sets of toenails peek out from a pair of open-toed pumps. Her younger sister Fiona, who doubles as her personal assistant, sits next to her, glowering.
So why did her love affair with the British press turn bad just as her courtship with McCartney was igniting?
"It's jealousy," Heather snaps. Fiona nods supportively. "What else would it be?"
I bring up the name of one columnist in particular, Lynda Lee-Potter of the Daily Mail, who had been scorching in her suggestions that Mills was reeling McCartney in like an experienced trout fisherman. "In her youth she was a proven liar and thief," Lee-Potter wrote of Mills just before the wedding. "She's hugely vain, bloody minded, confident, combative and pushy."
Mills snipes: "Well, just look at a picture of her! She's probably an ex-Beatle fan."
Of course, the world couldn't have been happier when McCartney started going out with Mills. When Linda died, there was popular speculation that McCartney would while away his days as the shattered widower, growing old on the farm, with only his sheep and gold records to kiss good night. When Mills appeared at his side, there was a collective sigh of relief. The relationship, drawn broadly, had a pleasing symmetry: Two people with deep wounds nurse each other back to health. McCartney seemed smitten, reborn.
The romance made her an international celebrity, of course, but the creation of Heather Mills as a tabloid character began much earlier, on an August afternoon in 1993, when Mills stepped off a curb and was knocked down by a police motorcycle speeding to a call. Her lung was punctured, her pelvis crushed, but most ghastly of all, her left foot lay several feet from her body. But then, in the hospital, something clicked in Mills. As she later explained, she "went into business overdrive." She didn't see any reason the tabloids shouldn't pay her medical bills.
The first interview went to a downmarket tabloid called The People, which produced a series of stories of the inspirational-recovery variety:
"LOOK AT ME . . . I'VE GOT TWO LEGS AGAIN AND YOU CAN'T SEE THE JOIN! IF MY LEG POPS OUT, I'LL POP IT BACK IN AGAIN," SAYS BRAVE HEATHER. When she broke up with her boyfriend, an Italian banker, readers were treated to HEARTBREAK FOR BRAVE HEATHER AS SHE CALLS OFF HER DREAM WEDDING; "YOU CAN MEND BROKEN LIMBS, BUT BROKEN HEARTS TAKE A LOT LONGER!" Happily, she was just as quick to share more cheerful news. In 1995, she told another tabloid that she had fallen "madly in love" with Marcus Stapleton, a tennis-tournament director she had met only a week ago but hoped to marry soon. Not long after, the tennis pro was out, and a BBC filmmaker in.Capitalizing on her newfound notoriety, Mills produced Out on a Limb, her breezy autobiography, featuring a coquettish dust-jacket portrait of herself in riding gear, a prosthetic leg leaning on the wall next to her. Inside was everything anyone could ever want to know about her: the absentee parents, the topless modeling, the breast reduction, the arrest for nicking £1,000 worth of jewelry from a store she worked for. It appeared to be the work of a person grooming herself for a new level of fame and scrutiny. By divulging and spinning the sketchiest chapters from her past, she left little to dig up.
And then, in 1998, she met Paul McCartney -- at a Daily Mirror dinner celebrating Brits with inspiring, mostly harrowing stories. Not long after the dinner, McCartney called Mills, ostensibly to talk about war victims. Then he called again. At the end of one of their first meetings, he wrote out a check for £150,000.
Meanwhile, her honeymoon with the tabloids was coming to an end. No longer interested in shilling Brave Heather's newest romance, they had indeed begun dredging up her past. Her ex-husband wrote a story warning Sir Paul that Mills should carry a BUYER BEWARE sticker, and grumbling that he ended up sending her to a psychiatrist to treat her for "her problems with the truth," as he put it. Next up was her stepfather, Charles Stapley, a former soap-opera actor, who told the Mail on Sunday that MY STEPDAUGHTER HEATHER IS JUST A CONFUSED FANTASIST. Mills, he wrote, had invented many of the more romantic details about her past, including her celebrated claim that she had been homeless among the bums under London's Waterloo arches.
When I bring up the accusations at Lotus, Fiona erupts. "Her stepfather is broke, he's a failed actor, and he wanted the money for the story!" she says. "And her ex-husband is the biggest asshole in the world. I used to work for him. He's a tosser!"
And on the subject of her penchant for invention, her publicist, Anya Noakes,
offers this game defense: "I'm not pretending that she's never exaggerated stories. But I don't think it's ever been done with malicious intent or anything. What I find quite funny about it all is that when she was a little girl, because of all the horrible things that happened in her childhood, she lived in this slight fantasy world. And then what's happened is, it's all sort of come true for her: She's ended up with Paul McCartney!"Which brings us back to the project that attracted Sir Paul's attention in the first place: the Heather Mills Health Trust.
A charity, it turns out, that didn't exist -- at least as far as the Charity Commission for England and Wales was concerned. The commission requires that any organization that collects more than £1,000 per year must apply for charitable status. But for all of Mills's purported business acumen, she neglected to make the trust official until after McCartney began calling.
Mills had been collecting money for her trust since May 1994, when she'd unveiled plans to start her own Bosnian relief effort. The People reported that it had already donated £2,000. "I give my personal guarantee to each People reader that every single penny you send will be used to buy false limbs and wheelchairs," Mills told the paper.
But soon, Mills's plans changed. Instead of spending the money on new limbs, she began to collect secondhand limbs from people, like herself, whose stumps had changed shape, rendering their old artificial limbs useless. In her book, she says that about 5,000 limbs were collected, dismantled into component parts, and transported to Zagreb. Mills claims that 22,000 mostly recycled limbs have been fitted, a staggering number considering that by her own count, there were only 63,000 amputees in all of Britain. Mills finally registered her charity in 2000 -- after a journalist inquired why it hadn't been registered.
A review of the first year's accounts of the Heather Mills Trust lists £102,219 in income, nearly £50,000 shy of McCartney's donation of late 1999. Mills's explanation is that the charity's annual returns only reflected a period after March 20, 2000, when the trust was officially accepted by the Charity Commission, and that by then much of the money had already been given away -- but in the end, she declined to furnish New York with details on how the moneys were spent. (The commission also declined to provide New York with financial information relating to the trust before March 20.) Also unclear is when royalties from the dance single "Voice" -- which she cut with McCartney, promising that all proceeds would go to the charity -- would actually be paid to her trust. Though the record was released on December 13, 1999, no royalty revenues appear in the trust records through December 31, 2000.
The returns show that the trust spent nearly a quarter of its income on support costs and management, and Mills took £10,000 as repayment for an unexplained loan she'd given the charity.
In order to sort out these puzzling inconsistencies, I e-mailed questions to Mills's publicist. "Whatever she's done with her charity is utterly, utterly by the rule book," Noakes assured me.
Still, when I broach the subject at Lotus, Heather casually mentions that the last newspaper that raised questions about her charity was in deep shit. "I can't say who it is right now," she says. "Only one paper has slagged it off, really crossing the line, and normally I don't bother suing. But this time I went all the way, and they are just totally being drained of all funds. Like huge. Huge!
"I can handle as much bad press on me as they want to do," she adds, "but when they cross to my charity, God help them, because I will go all the way! Paul was like, 'Screw them!' "
She admits she doesn't have accounts for her charity for 1994 to 1999, saying she had thrown them out because British law stipulates that records need be kept only five years. "I don't keep them," she says, "because I'm totally honest and I'm trustworthy." But she refuses to provide any more recent records.
Everybody, she moans, is getting her story wrong. The ring-tossing incident? "Absolute rubbish -- we were messing about!" Resistance from the McCartney kids? "I am so close to the daughters you have got absolutely no idea. I speak to Heather, the eldest, especially, 40 minutes every day. Every day! And Stella and I get on brilliantly." Two weeks before, she adds, Stella had even issued a press release saying how much she liked her new stepmother. As for the ongoing libel case, she tells her sister to put me in touch with her barrister. Then Heather also instructs her to put me in touch with the trust accountant and their contact at the Charity Commission.
The next day, Noakes tells me the offer has been withdrawn. It turns out Mills's new IMG agent is busy negotiating to sell her book's first serial rights, along with an interview and photo shoot, to "a major glossy American magazine."
Oh, and just for the record, Mesh Chibber, Stella McCartney's publicist, denies the designer ever put out a press release about Mills. "No," he says firmly. "No. Stella never discusses her private life, so a press release would never have been issued.
Meningitis B victim four-year-old Danielle, who had recently both lower legs amputated and also faces losing all her fingertips in further surgery after the disease caused massive blood poisoning, received a call from Heather Mills.Heather, who lost a leg in a road accident, made a 30-minute phone call to Danielle's mother Lyndsay, after learning of Danielle's plight in a local paper. Touched Lyndsay said yesterday, "Heather was a tower of strength. I can't thank her enough. She told me to tell Danielle that she is thinking of her, to be strong, to keep her chin up and to remind her how special this now makes her. Famous or not, Heather knows what Danielle is going through. She also gave us lots of really good advice - and ended the call with the words, 'If you ever need me, I am always on the end of the phone'. "
Doctors at St James's Hospital, Leeds, say it will be some time before Danielle can have artificial limbs. Every room will need adapting to cater to her special needs and she will need to adapt too. "It will be hard for her and she is so confused by everything, but she is being so brave," said Lyndsay. (Story)
Previously unseen film footage of the Beatles has been released. The footage showed the band in Bangor, north Wales, where they travelled to meet spiritual leader the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in August 1967. It was during the visit, which took place at Bangor Normal College, now Bangor University, that the group learned of manager Brian Epstein's suicide.The color footage, shot by a local teenager who now wishes to remain anonymous, shows Lennon, Harrison and Starr being interviewed by a TV reporter about Epstein's death. It also shows a large car pulling away which is believed to have been taking Paul McCartney to Liverpool.
Bangor University bosses showed the film and unveiled a plaque at its Hugh Owen Hall to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the trip. Video News Report
Paul McCartney's fame school, LIPA, was the setting Saturday, August 24, for an auction of Beatles memorabila in Liverpool kicking off the three-day Mathew Street Festival which coincides with Beatles Week. A concert ticket stub signed by the Beatles sold for £3,500 ($5,250) as Fab Four fever hit Liverpool. The stub for a 1963 Beatles concert at London's Royal Albert Hall went to an anonymous male bidder for £1,000 ($1,500) more than its asking price.
Paul was a guest at his niece, Theran's graduation at Wembley Centre on July 30. Theran, 32-years-old, is Mike McCartney's second eldest daughter who is a nurse and was taking an advanced degree course from Middlesex University.
Billionaire Paul McCartney has a retirement fund. Last year he put 1 million pounds ($1.5 million) into his pension. His salary from 2000 was £524,440 ($786, 660) which he doubled in 2001 to £1,026,195 ($1,539,292). Paul is the chairman and sole shareholder in his company MPL.
Previously unseen film footage of music legends the Beatles has been shown to the public. The footage showed the band in Bangor, north Wales, where they travelled to meet spiritual leader the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in August 1967. It was during the visit, which took place at Bangor Normal College, now Bangor University, that the group learned of manager Brian Epstein's suicide. The color footage, shot by a local teenager who now wishes to remain anonymous, shows Lennon, Harrison and Starr being interviewed by an ITN reporter about Epstein's death. It also shows a large car pulling away which is believed to have been taking Paul McCartney to Liverpool. Bangor University bosses showed the film and unveiled a plaque at its Hugh Owen Hall to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the trip. The film footage and plaque ceremony was watched by local people and journalists who came to see the band in 1967. The plaque was unveiled by Bangor University Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Gareth Roberts, who as a student had also attended the Maharishi's public meeting with the group.
Top pop acts from the past 50 years are being lined up for a BBC music special. Bosses have asked charttoppers including Cliff Richard, Oasis, Sir Paul McCartney and The Wurzels to perform their No.1 hits. The show, called "Number 1," will be hosted by Ian Wright and is being lined up for BBC1 in November to celebrate 50 years of the UK charts. An insider said, "They want as many artists to perform as possible." (The Mirror UK)
Stella McCartney is commissioning a poster campaign in the UK to advertise her fashions. The posters feature the campaign artwork of David Remfry. Unlike magazine ads, the poster campaign does not feature Stella's name, so only the fashion-conscious will know their purpose. The thinking is meant to go like this: you see the adverts in Vogue, then you clock the odd surreptitious poster, you feel clever for recognizing the image, you feel part of the brand, so you suddenly want to spend a bomb on Stella McCartney oversized quilted jackets and chunky knits. (The Guardian UK)
"You don't have to have sex to be in love. I've never had sex. I don't think I will ever have sex. I think that's what keeps me going. I hear it's good fun, though. I think it's much sexier to have not had sex." -- Stella McCartney
With a wave of his hand and a warm smile, Sir Paul McCartney looks every inch the doting grandfather as he says goodbye to the latest addition to his family. He and his daughter Mary had a get-together Sunday, August 18, at Paul's north London home.
The baby, named Elliot born August 1, is Sir Paul's second grandson. And the star was clearly bursting with pride as he followed them on to the street as they left his home.
A friend said, "He is absolutely smitten by the baby and looked as pleased as punch. He just stood there grinning as he saw them off. Paul thinks it's hilarious that even two weeks after the birth, his daughter can't decide on a name. He has made suggestions but none has been taken too seriously."
Two months ago, pregnant Mary was mugged. Hospital checks showed her unborn son was fine inspite of the attack.
It was unclear whether Sir Paul's new wife Heather was present for Sunday's gathering. (Daily Mail)
Though Paul McCartney expressed his regret for having to postpone the Kennedy Center Honor until next year because of his niece's wedding, rumors are flying that the wedding is really his daughter's, Stella.
Paul McCartney has made the top 100 all-time greatest Britons list along with ex-bandmates, George Harrison and John Lennon. The BBC compiled the list from a poll conducted last year and will announce the top 10 this fall on BBC2's "Great Britons" series.
UK hip-hop star Roots Manuva is set to drag Paul McCartney back into the legalize cannabis debate by suggesting the former Beatle smoked "more weed than me."Manuva was speaking ahead of the release of new mix album "Badmeaninggood," an album that features a dub reggae reworking of The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."
Explaining why he had chosen the track, Manuva said, "I've got this whole plan in my head for a label called Banana Clan, so this is the theme song. And The Beatles are a band I've got a lot of respect for. Paul McCartney used to smoke more weed than me so I'm sure we can identify with each other on a certain level."
A charity set up by Heather Mills, wife of Sir Paul McCartney, has been quizzed over an alleged £50,000 ($75,000) shortfall in its first year accounts.Charity Commission officers have contacted the three trustees of the Heather Mills Health Trust and asked them to explain where the money has gone.
Accounts lodged with the commission for 2000, the first year the charity was registered, say donations came to £102,177 ($153,265).
But in August 1999, the charity received £150,000 ($225,000) from Sir Paul, who met the model - who lost a leg in a road accident - a few months earlier at an awards ceremony.
The trustees of the charity, which supplies prosthetic limbs to landmine victims, claim the money was spent before the start of the accounting period.
A commission spokesman said, "We are considering a question raised about the charity's accounts. We have contacted the trustees and they have been co-operative. There was no evidence at this stage to warrant a formal inquiry," he added.
Miss Mills's lawyer, Stephen Taylor of Sheridans Solicitors, said yesterday the question raised would be given a full response.
He said, "I will respond to this letter on Monday. I am sure they will be quite happy with this and everything will be to their satisfaction."
On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that although the charity had been running for six years, it was not registered with the Charity Commission until January 2000.
Any charitable organization receiving more than £1,000 ($1500) a year in donations has a legal requirement to register.
When Miss Mills launched the charity as the Heather Mills Health Fund in 1994, it was reported that £5,000 ($7,500) was raised by a Sunday newspaper's reader donations.
After that, Miss Mills said she funded her charity work from £5,000 ($7,500) speaking engagements and from her autobiography, "Out On A Limb," published in 1995.
By 1997 it was claimed in the Sunday Telegraph magazine that Miss Mills had helped 22,000 Yugoslavian amputees through the charity.
An article Miss Mills wrote for "Hello! Magazine" last year said it cost £20 ($30) on average to make a new limb with local resources.
If that was the case, the charity would have needed to raise well over £1,000 ($1,500) a year, the minimum requirement for registration.
In a statement via her solicitor, Miss Mills said she decided not to register because she did not feel the charity's money should be wasted on administration.
Although registration with the commission is free, she said she had been quoted several thousand-pounds from firms specializing in setting up charities.
The price, she claimed, would have amounted to the cost of fitting 150 people with a secondhand artificial limb. It was not a price she was willing to pay, she added.
She formalized the organization via a company called Global Village after the commission "became concerned" and made an approach to her in late 1999. (Story)
In a major blow to the organizers of the prestigious annual Kennedy Center Honors, Paul McCartney has pulled out of December's event so that he can attend his niece's wedding (Mike McCartney's daughter, Abbi). McCartney will instead receive his honor at next year's black-tie ceremony. It is the first time an honoree has withdrawn and the first time the center has publicly agreed to postpone an award. He asked to withdraw because his niece is getting married over the Dec. 7-8 weekend, when the honors are scheduled. The wedding plans were reportedly formed after McCartney had committed to receive the 2002 award. "We felt that under the circumstances, it made perfect sense to honor his request," said George Stevens Jr., co-producer of the honors program and creator of the award. "We are happy that he will be able to be honored next year."
Kennedy Center chairman James A. Johnson said the center "understands and respects (McCartney's) sense of priority that places an inescapable personal obligation ahead of other commitments." The ex-Beatle expressed to the center his "deepest regret and profound apologies" for his withdrawal.
The artist committee has selected Paul Simon as McCartney's replacement in this year's ceremony. (Reuters)
Stella McCartney has finally admitted that her relationship with her stepmother is not what it could be. The designer had denied rumors of a rift between herself and Heather Mills since news of her father's new romance broke. But, in an interview with Face magazine, she hints that things are not totally amicable after all. "You can't keep everyone happy all the time, can you?" she asks. But while she admits that she got as much coverage for not designing Mills' wedding dress as she did for designing Madonna's, Stella is characteristically unwilling to elaborate on the state of relations within the McCartney household. "Unless you say glowing things about everyone they all get offended, and I'm not up for offending people, really. It's not really my gameplan in life." Describing herself as a glutton for punishment, Stella goes on:
"I think I'm probably trying to prove to people that I'm not just some privileged kid. I am quite driven at trying to separate myself from my family celebrity status." The 30-year-old Brit, who recently accepted a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend, Alisdhair Willis, also reveals that she is still not over the death of her mother Linda. "Nothing else is as sad as that," she says. "And I get sad about things that have come pretty much from that - things that have happened because of that, but I'm lucky because I have a job, I can pay the rent. If I didn't have that, I would probably get sad about being on the streets, or things like that. You never know, I could have become a privileged drug addict and lived on the streets." Currently putting together the final details of her spring/summer 2003 collection for her show in Paris in October, Stella is also preparing to open her first New York flagship and is busily designing the bottle of her debut fragrance, which is as yet nameless. "Smelly Stelly is on the cards at the moment..." (Story)
Word is the 4-DVD Beatles "Anthology" scheduled to be released on November 5 in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound has been postponed until next spring. Reasons may include McCartney's DVD of his US tour coming out on November 25 and a Ringo DVD concert video (from the Rosemont Theater in Chicago) to be released in October.
"Good Rockin' Tonight: Legacy of Sun" a tribute to Sun Records will be released on DVD/VHS on October 8th. The 112-minute documentary features Paul in the studio recording Elvis' "That's All Right Mama." (Video clip) You will need RealPlayer.
On (London-Sire Records), "Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records" is a collection of rockabilly music covered by various artists including Paul McCartney ("That's All Right Mama"), as a tribute to the famed Sun Records label that launched Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis in the '50s.
The "Hard Day's Night" two-Disk DVD was released on September 24. Order it here on Amazon.com. It has more than 6 hours of new material with digitally restored sound and unseen Robert Freeman photographs!! Among the extras is a new documentary called, "Things They Said Today," which is about the production, including thirty interviews with most of the surviving cast and crew members as well as close friends of The Beatles. These in-depth interviews feature director Richard Lester, the film's two Academy Award nominees -- Musical Director Sir George Martin (Best Music 1964) and Screenwriter Alun Owen (Best Screenplay 1964) -- and leading co-stars John Junkin and Victor Spinetti.
The DVD includes the bonus disc "Give Me Everything!" -- an extensive new production which presents a huge amount of vintage and contemporary material relating to the 1964 film.
FACTOID: The seven-week "Driving USA" North American tour covered, two countries, 14 states, 20 cities with 27 shows grossing approximately $53 million with an estimated attendance of 407,000 people. The two Las Vegas shows took in $5.6 million and were the top-grossing event for the tour. Shows in Chicago, New York and Dallas grossed over $4 million in each city. Only four shows were not sellouts. Billboard dubbed the tour "an unqualified critical and commercial success."
September 2002
Paul shared his health secrets recently with the Sunday Tasamaian Australian newspaper . He follows the Alexander Technique, "a method that works to change (movement) habits in our everyday activities. It is a simple and practical method for improving ease and freedom of movement, balance, support and coordination. The technique teaches the use of the appropriate amount of effort for a particular activity, giving you more energy for all your activities. It is not a series of treatments or exercises, but rather a reeducation of the mind and body. The Alexander Technique is a method which helps a person discover a new balance in the body by releasing unnecessary tension. It can be applied to sitting, lying down, standing, walking, lifting, and other daily activities..."
McCartney says, "It helps us re-learn how to use our bodies as nature intended." And "to grow old gracefully..." McCartney who is an avid yoga enthusiast ever since visiting the Maharishi's camp as a Beatle in the '60s, practices daily yoga and meditation to stay fit.
A vegetarian since the '80s, Paul likes to cook a healthy breakfast of muffins and 'free-range' eggs, produced by his own chickens. His farm in Peasmarsh, East Sussex is kind to animals. "There is no slaughter on the farm. We raise sheep for wool; we make hay, grow cereal crops and masses of vegetables," says Paul. The rock star milks the cows and makes cheese, but his favorite thing to do after a hard day of work, is to put his feet up in front of a warm fireplace, and relax with a cup of hot cocoa and chocolate biscuits.
Paul McCartney was seen serenading his new wife, Heather Mills, with "I Only Have Eyes for You" at Shelly's Restaurant in New York City while on the east coast for his tour.
Stella McCartney has asked good friend David Bowie to attend her wedding and sing a duet with her dad, Sir Paul. (Page Six)
Heard at Paul's recent soundchecks: "Calico Skies," "For No One," I've Got A Feeling," "Do You Want To Know A Secret," "You Won't See Me," and a new song called "Ode To New York." Rumors are flying that he may add, "Lovely Rita" to the set list.
At the September 30th Boston Fleet Center show, as mentioned exclusively here on the "Macca Report" (above) that Paul was planning on performing "Lovely Rita" on this leg, Paul's video screens accidently flashed the words "Lovely Rita!"
Because of the enthusiasm of the Milwaukee and Chicago concerts on the "Back in the US" leg of the tour, sources say video footage taken by DVD crews may show up on the "Back in the US" DVD coming out November 26. Later shows will not be included. Footage that is not used for the DVD will be included on a special Web site only accessible through the DVD when used on a computer connected to the Internet.
Chicago sightings - Lead guitarist extraordinaire, Rusty Anderson and always fabulous keyboardist, Paul "Wix" Wickens hung out in Chicago an extra day to catch Bruce Springsteen's concert at the United Center (September 25) where they played the night before with THEIR "boss." Paul was in New York for the UN Awards so he missed Brooooooce!!
On the morning of the Chicago show (Sept. 24), Heather Mills was visited by a local musician/saxophone teacher at the Ritz Hotel who was told he would be giving a music lesson to a visiting celebrity. The song that Heather practiced was "Fly Me To The Moon."
For those who live in Boston, classic rock station WZLX 100.7 FM, is giving away passes to Paul's soundcheck: "Tune in all this weekend to win. We're giving away invitations to Paul McCartnety's Tailgate Party on Rocktober 1st at the Fleet Center. You'll get the chance to check out Paul McCartney's SOUNDCHECK!"
Hear Paul's interview online with WDRV 97.1 FM "The Drive's" Bob Stroud who interviewed Paul on his cell phone while Paul was in route to the United Center in Chicago. Windows Media Player - RealPlayer. Paul talks about the Beatles photo film of Linda's photos that will be released next year "hopefully if I can get my act together." And the "Back in the US" DVD and Heather's land mine cause.
More McCartney Milwaukee sightings - The Pfister Hotel decided to move Paul and Heather to a private lake house in the Milwaukee western suburb of Lac Labelle on Friday. The house belongs to guitarist, Daryl Steurmer, formerly of Genesis.
Paul was seen buying Colgate whitening toothpaste at Fitzgeralds drug store in Whitefish Bay. An 80-year-old woman shopping in the store noticed Paul buying the toothpaste and asked another shopper, "Doesn't that gentlemen over there look like Paul McCartney?" The women who happed to be Heather Mills said, "Yes, that's my husband and he will be entertaining in Milwaukee tomorrow night." When Paul paid for the toothpaste the sales clerk said, "I'm surprised you even brush your own teeth." Paul told her, "I put my pants on like everyone else."
Macca enjoyed the warm Wisconsin weather kayaking on Lake Michigan while Heather shopped.
He and Heather went shopping together at the Boston Store (which is in a shopping mall) on Friday (Sept. 21), the day before the show. They were also at Bruegers Bagels eating lunch and signed autographs for the starstruck crowd there.
Paul's limo stopped on a side street near the Pfister Hotel on an outing before his show. Observant fans in the area ran over to the waiting limo where Paul was more than happy to sign autographs.
Mary McCartney Donald was at the reception for Paul Simenon's art exhibition at the Ivy Restaurant in London on September, 24. With her was her new baby and her husband Alistair Donald. (Photo)
Paul received a request from Playgirl Magazine for an article about him and his new band. Stay tuned.
Paul McCartney is planning a historic gig for 500,000 fans in China's Tiananmen Square. The ex-Beatle will be one of the first Western stars to play in the Communist country, beating his old rivals The Rolling Stones by a few months. Sir Paul - currently touring the US - is finalizing details for the gig, in the capital Beijing. He also plans to play Red Square in Moscow. The New Year concerts could get a total audience of one million. Tiananmen Square achieved notoriety when it was the scene of the brutal massacre of peaceful protesters in 1989. The few stars to have played in China include French musician Jean Michel Jarre in 1982 and Wham! in 1985. Madonna was banned from playing in 1993 because she was deemed too raunchy. A tour insider said, "They will be two of the most important gigs ever and will provide a message of peace and love in a world experiencing some crazy times." The Rolling Stones are planning to play a huge gig in China next spring. (The Sun)
Paul McCartney and Lady Heather Mills McCartney accepted a special award for Global Humanitarian Action from the United Nations Association's AnnualDinner - on Wednesday, September 25 in New York. The honor was given for outstanding leadership by an individual or organization in furthering the purpose and principles underpinning the United Nations, as inscribed in its charter. "The McCartneys have been tireless in their efforts to raise awareness about land mine clearance and survivor assistance," said William Luers, UNA-USA president.
Paul and Lady Heather Mills McCartney arrived at the Sheraton Hotel around 7pm, September 25 to pick up their Global Humanitarian Award. Heather got out of the car first and Paul alerted his security that he would sign autographs for the 12 waiting fans. He signed only his first name and did not want his photo taken. He even blocked a fan from taking a photo with her point and shoot by covering up his face. After he was done, he and Heather went into the dinner. Around 10:30pm everyone started to leave and Paul decided to leave from the garage instead of the front of the hotel. Fans caught up to him as he was getting into the car but he did not sign any autographs. The limo got caught in traffic and the fans ran after it but were subdued by bodyguards who were walking along side the car. (Photos from Rex Features) (Photos on Yahoo)
Eyebrows are flexing over tonight's U.N. black-tie dinner honoring Muhammad Ali, Mayor Bloomberg and Paul and Heather Mills McCartney. Seems Heather insists on being referred to as "Lady Heather Mills McCartney." (Page Six)
Wonder why Stella McCartney never took her black satin coat off during the opening of her boutique last Friday? She had nothing under it but a very sexy bra and satin knickers. The highlight of the afterparty at Gaslight was Stella, Gwyneth Paltrow and Usher singing karaoke for the likes of Bono, Britney Spears, Liv Tyler, Debbie Harry, Russell Simmons, Graydon Carter, Christy Turlington, Karolina Kurkova, Helena Christensen and others too fashionable to mention. (Page Six)
Paul has announced his plans to re-release the Beatles album, "Let It Be." He doesn't want to just remix and remaster the music, however. He will be completely deleting the ochestration that was added by producer Phil Spector. The new version should be in stores in early 2003.
Paul did not attend his daughter Stella's store opening in New York, September 20. Celeb guests who were there; Liv Tyler, Cindy Lauper, Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Christensen, Alicia Silverstone, Marianne Faithful and David Bowie. (Photos)
With the sun melting behind warehouse rooftops and the hog butchers heading home, a prime selection of Beautiful People settled into the back seats of limos and whisked on down to the meatpacking district Friday night. (Journal Sentinel)
For a vegetarian hot dog.Don't ask. OK, ask.
Stella McCartney, 31, the cheeky, designing daughter of Sir Paul, opened her first-ever store at dusk Friday by welcoming 300 of her very best friends to check out the place. They came in droves to eat (wienies), drink (champagne and Fiji water) and make merry in the limelight.
It took a squadron of New York City police officers, a platoon of private security guards and an army of publicists to hold the paparazzi - and a few curious passers-by - at bay.
"This is what New York is all about - hubbub," one police officer said.
"It's another indication of the gentrification of the neighborhood," added New York art gallery director Doug Heller, 56, gazing in wonderment at the fuss. "It's a dramatic change from the meat markets to the fashion world."
Gwyneth Paltrow arrived first, having threaded her way through a garment workers union demonstration and having dodged an al fresco performance by New York's "Naked Cowboy" in front of the tony boutique.
"Stella's clothes are very unique. She has an amazing sense of style," the actress said, showing off a T-shirt emblazoned with McCartney's saucy store ad campaign.
Alicia Silverstone strolled in next. Then McCartney arrived wearing a black, double-breasted coat and no indication of anything else. "It's a cotton twill trenchy thing," she explained, casually.
Usher and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas from TLC walked the gantlet arm in arm, he all decked out in Dolce & Gabbana, she in sexpot Lloyd Klein. "We're flamboyant," he said, needlessly.
As the night wore on, the list of stars expected to show up would fill a casting director's black book: Liv Tyler, Toni Braxton, Marianne Faithfull, Mya, Iman, Lou Reed, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgewick.
With the natural confidence of a woman born to endless wealth and status, McCartney espouses an irreverent fashion aesthetic that is just off-kilter enough to be precisely on target. She has been known to alleviate the problem of a too-sheer chiffon dress by tossing it over jeans and vest.
McCartney has designed several runway collections under her own name since the spring of 2001, when she parted ways with the Parisian couture house Chloe and joined in partnership with the Gucci Group.
Dresses in her collections retail for $800 to $1,700, blouses for $300 to $700.
McCartney is a passionate vegetarian, like her late mother. But she located her first store in the meatpacking district because, she said, it "has a strong New York identity."
The boutique's design concept is described as "abstract landscape as an antidote to the urban condition."
A long, black infinity pool is topped by mannequins that appear to be strolling on the water. That - along with clothing that combines sharp tailoring, humor and sexy femininity - should make the store an amusing place to buy or merely browse.
"Playback" the autobiography of George Martin with forewords by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will be released by Genesis Publications on October 11. The limited editon book (2,000 copies) comes with a CD and a big price tag.
Paul sighting in New York:
Paul McCartney, ambled out of Sosa Borella Restaurant, 460 Greenwich Street, known for it's Italian and Argentine sandwiches Thursday September 19. No Heather in sight. As he crossed the street, the knighted one ended up in a nice little chat with the handyman (aka Elvis) of a posh Tribeca building. (Ted Casablanca's column)
One of the hottest tickets for New York's fashion week is the Sept. 20 opening of Stella's first store. The 4,000-square-foot space with lots of frontage is at 429 West 14th St. in Manhattan's trendy meatpacking district. The sign will say, simply, "Stella McCartney," and the shop will stock her ready-to-wear line, shoes and accessories. McCartney, 30, chose Universal Design Studios, a British architectural firm. (A second is planned for London next year.) The company designed artist Damien Hirst's Pharmacy restaurant in Notting Hill, the London section where Stella lives. "It's a cool space. It's going to be all textures," she tells September's Harper's Bazaar. Her label is just more than 1 year old, but Americans have been very receptive, even when she was first with French label Chloe. She has done two collections since she began a partnership with Gucci Group in May, and her spring line will be on the runway in Paris in a couple of weeks. The clothes are at major stories and specialty shops. Her style: see-through chiffon over tight jeans, a timeless mix. "I don't think that anything should go out of fashion," she tells Bazaar. She keeps a photo of her late mother, Linda, on her desk and follows Linda's philosophy of "keep it real." Mum "never waxed her legs, never dyed her hair, and that is so rare. ... A lot of the things that I do have originated from Mum's way of throwing things together, sort of old and new and not too self-conscious." Mum also is the word on how she feels about new stepmother, Heather Mills, although stories of a rift surfaced before the June wedding.Stella won't talk about reports that she and Alasdhair Willis will be married in December, although Sir Paul pulled out of the Dec. 8
Kennedy Center Honors gala.
Her reps won't comment, either, nor will they name any celebrity guests for the store opening or whether her dad, Mills or pals such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Kate Moss will attend.
Paul McCartney and former Beach Boy Brian Wilson performed Sept. 18 at the second annual "Open Hearts. Clear Minds" event in Los Angeles organized by McCartney's new bride Heather Mills and hosted by comedian Jay Leno.
The "Open Hearts. Clear Mines" benefit was held at the Century Plaza Hotel, and raised funds for Adopt-A-Minefield supported by McCartney and his wife.
Before the entertainment, Paul introduced the honorees, but had a problem reading the paper that had the names on it because it was creased. He kept joking about the "crinkley paper" which brought roars of laughter from the audience.
"Paul and I have dedicated ourselves to Adopt-A-Minefield because it is a solid program with tangible results," said Heather. "If we all pulled together as a global community, we can solve the landmine crisis within our lifetime."
Paul's 45-minute set included; "Coming Up," "Band On The Run," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Blackbird," "We Can Work It Out," "Michelle," "Your Loving Flame," "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude."Brian Wilson performed his set first. During the set, Paul got out of his seat and was hopping up and down for "Good Vibrations." He punched the air and waved his hands around as he danced in place. Paul danced the twist to "Heroes and Villians." He gave Wilson the peace sign and was totally enjoying himself. Paul and Heather bopped in their seats like a pair of teenagers swaying in unison for "Surfer Girl."
At the end of Wilson's set he called Paul onstage to join him on "God Only Knows" which he said was Paul's favorite song. Brian started the song and Paul came in on second verse and then they alternated each verse.
Steven Stills performed after Brian Wilson's set and Paul followed after a short break. During the break they had an auction with three of Paul's signed painting prints. They went for $10,000 each. Rob Reiner bought one.
Paul performed his set with his band and sounded fabulous. After "Band on the Run" he took off his tux jacket and rolled up his sleeves, but he had trouble unbuttoning his left cuff and joked, "This one can stay."
After "Your Loving Flame" Paul introduced Brian Wilson and said "what a thrill of a lifetime" it was to perform with him. Brian sang the first half of "Let It Be," and Paul finished the song. Then Wilson left the stage and Paul performed the last song, "Hey Jude" with his band.Jay Leno got onstage when the band took bows and joined the them. They all put their arms each other and bowed.
Celebrities that attended were; Mickey Rooney, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chubby Checker, Steven Spielberg, Gary Bussey, Rob Reiner, Cameron Crowe, Catherine Oxenberg, Sally Kellerman, Barry Williams, Pierce Brosnan, Josh Grobin, David Spade, Eric Burdon (Yahoo Photos) (Wire Image Photos) (Rex Feature Photos)
Paul hopes to put to rest the rumors that 46-year-old singer-songwriter Michelle Le Vallier (who has changed her name to Michelle McCartney) is his secret love child. Paul told The Mail Newspaper, "It is total rubbish. I am fed up with scum like her putting around stories like this. There is no truth in it whatsoever. If people want to believe it, they will have to live with the consequences." Paul's publicist Geoff Baker added, "This woman is no more Paul's daughter than I am. She should see a doctor or psychiatrist as soon as possible because she is clearly not well. It's absolute rubbish she's out to lunch. But Paul is not going to be bothered by malicious assumptions of idiots."Michelle Le Vallier is filing papers this week to have Paul's DNA tested. According to her timeline, Paul, now 60, was 15 when he met her mother, Monique, in London and they had sexual relations. He would have been 16 when she was born according to Le Vallier. But in fact, Paul would have been 14-years-old when Michelle was born because she is 46-years-old and Paul is 60. Paul would have met her mother when he was 13!!!! Paul says he lost his virginity at 15.
McCartney daughter reels in the stars to back health campaign (The Observer)Mary McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul, has recruited eight leading women to help to promote the fight against breast cancer, the disease that killed her mother, Linda, in 1998.
McCartney photographed the stars for Breakthrough, the breast cancer charity, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A selection of the prints will be on view in London for two weeks, from Tuesday until 30 September, before being sold by silent auction.
McCartney said: 'When a loved one is touched by cancer it becomes instinctive to want to help others who find themselves in similar situations and to support the charities that work for relief against cancer.'
The celebrities who took part were Jade Jagger, actresses Emily Mortimer, Natascha McElhone, Rosamund Pike and Vanessa Redgrave, musician Lamya, model Kirsty Hume and artist Tracey Emin.
Stella McCartney was honored at the Elle Style Awards at London's Natural History Museum on September 16.
A source tells The Scoop that the children are complaining that Heather Mills is keeping them away not only from their father, but his late wife as well. "It's true that Paul didn't make Heather sign a pre-nup - bizarre, but true," says the source. "When Linda McCartney died, she left everything to Paul, and now when Paul dies, everything is going to Heather. Some of the children have asked Paul for something to remember Linda by - we're not talking about anything expensive here, things with entirely sentimental value - and they've been stonewalled." The source says they're trying to get any belongings now because they might not have the opportunity to get them later, once Paul is no longer around. "The kids are heartbroken," says the source. "They feel she's getting in between them and they don't have access to him anymore." McCartney's spokesman had no comment.
The Guardian reports:
A last-minute gagging order issued by a Los Angeles judge prohibits the broadcast of footage of Lady McCartney throwing rocks at a squirrel. She and her husband Sir Paul, both committed vegetarians, have repeatedly claimed that the footage--which dates from 1998--is misleading, and that the "rocks" were actually large Brazil nuts.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon are among the artists featured on "A Tribute To The King," an Elvis Presley covers collection due out October 22. A Tribute To The King tracklisting includes: "All Shook Up," Paul McCartney; "Blue Suede Shoes," Eddie Cochran; "Heartbreak Hotel," Willie Nelson & Leon Russell; "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", Bryan Ferry; "In The Ghetto," Candi Staton; "Jailhouse Rock," Jerry Lee Lewis; "That's All Right Mama," Canned Heat; "Don't Be Cruel" (live), the Smithereens & Otis Blackwell; "(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame," Del Shannon; "Love Me Tender," Kenny Rogers; "(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I," Lou Rawls; "Suspicious Minds," Fine Young Cannibals; and "Hound Dog" (live), John Lennon. Click here to pre-order the album.
McCartney to Release Lost Beatle Track - ReportPaul McCartney is to release a Beatles track unheard for 35 years as the soundtrack to a film montage of his late wife Linda's photographs, The Sunday Times said. The 14-minute "Carnival of Light," first recorded by the Beatles when they were making their Sgt. Pepper Album, had last been played at a London avant-garde festival in 1967. Beatles producer George Martin was quoted by the paper as saying: "It was one of those weird things. It was a kind of uncomposed, free-for-all melange of sound that went on. "It was not considered worthy as issuing as a normal piece of Beatles music at the time."
The Sunday Times says the track - Carnival of Light - is almost 14 minutes long and largely instrumental. It features church organ music, the sound of gargling with water and John Lennon shouting "Barcelona".The track was recorded at the Abbey Road studios in north London while the band were laying down tracks for their Sgt Pepper album.
A tape of the music was played in public once at an avant-garde festival at the Roundhouse in London's Chalk Farm in January 1967, but few of those present realised it was by the Beatles.
McCartney had reportedly wanted to include the track on one of the CDs of Beatles studio outtakes and rarities released in the 1990s but the late George Harrison vetoed it as "too far out".
McCartney had been planning a movie based on his late wife's 4,000 pictures of the band, mostly unseen, while she was still alive. The music will now form a soundtrack to the "photofilm" which will show the Beatles in informal settings from 1967 to 1970.
Fashion guruess Stella McCartney's work is seen on catwalks across the world, but she's evidently far less forthcoming when the cameras point at her. When she visited the Linda McCartney Centre in Liverpool with sister Mary, the Gucci designer quickly did a cover-up.
It's no secret that 31-year-old Stella is engaged to publishing wunderkind Alasdhair Willis, and there are rumors of a wedding in the not-too-distant future. Impending big day gossip has been fuelled by her dad Paul pulling out of an American awards presentation on December 8 "because of a family wedding on the same evening." Stella, though, is a bit shy when it comes to revealing any details in public. And that includes the ring.
The designer, beloved of Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow, was typically stylishly dressed for her visit in a black ankle-buckled satin trouser suit, gold open-toed high-heeled shoes and a tweed trilby. But all eyes were on the third finger of her left hand where she was clearly sporting a mega platinum ring with oblong, flat-cut diamonds almost as big as Macca's bank balance. In fact it was so sparklingly obvious, our photographer Frank Loughlin couldn't help pointing at it and asking, "Can I take a picture of the ring?" Stella smiled but unlike stepmum Heather Mills, who has no such embarrassment of riches, was reluctant to display her gems. The request was met with plenty of giggles but a hasty, "Oh, s***!" as she quickly put her hand behind her back. Both sisters were then quickly whisked off, back to Lime Street station to catch their return train to London, leaving the rest of the McCartney clan ruing the shortness of their trip. "It's a pity they couldn't stay longer," one remarked. "We were going to take them out on the lash round town tonight!" Not the sort of offer you get on Bond Street. (Liverpool Echo) More about Mary and Stella's visit to the Center below.
The September 2002 Beatles Monthly reports:
Mr. and Mrs. McCartney held their first dinner party since returning from their honeymoon at the house brought for Heather in Hove. Six couples were invited to get together on August 3rd, mainly friends of Heather's from London. Paul was not keen to put them all up for the night but arranged for them to stay at the Grand Hotel in Brighton.
From the New York Daily News Sept. 12, 2002
Rumors persist that Stella McCartney is with child. The Beatle daughter, who's said to be engaged to Alasdhair Willis, was spotted holding her plumper-looking tummy the other day when she had lunch in London with Kate Moss and Sadie Frost, the pregnant wife of Jude Law, who's due on Sunday.
Paul was seen on CNN at 12:55am ET September 12 on a show called "America Remembers" in a new taped interview from his rehearsals in Los Angeles. He performed "Freedom" with CNN showing stills from the 911 ceremonies. Paul talked about seeing the twin towers on fire and writing "Freedom."
Stella McCartney has been asked to design the hospital gowns for the Linda McCartney Centre in Liverpool. Cancer patients receive treatments and counseling at the centre.
Stella and Mary McCartney (shown arriving at the Linda McCartney Centre Sept. 6) spent two hours at the Linda McCartney Centre 'Mum would have loved it.'
From the Liverpool Echo
TO the world she was the woman who stood by Macca's side, the one the former Beatle called 'our lovely Linda'.
And as two of Linda McCartney's daughters visited the Liverpool cancer centre named in her memory, they described her as "just the best mum in the world".
Fashion designer Stella and photographer Mary were seeing for the first time the £4m ($6 m) project which opened two years ago at the Royal Liverpool hospital.
They said their mother, who lost a long battle with the disease in April 1998 aged 56, would have been very proud to have her name attached to such a fantastic pioneering centre.
"It's a really amazing cause and I'm very happy to be here," said Stella. "Mum would have loved it."
The 30-year-old Gucci designer said she was struck by the sense of peace at the centre. "It's got a lovely aura which is pretty rare for medical places. "It seems really positive here."
Stella and 33-year-old Mary met patients as they toured the centre before unveiling a fountain in the grounds. Stella also revealed that they were to help establish gardens at the centre which she said Linda would have particularly appreciated.
"Mum was really a nature woman so we're going to include some of her favorite flowers."
Then, clearly moved and biting her lip, she added, "She was the best mum in the world."
"Mum was really good fun and quite mischievous," added Mary. "She was the kind of woman that always tried to make you feel included. This centre has a lot of those attributes as well, so it's very fitting to carry her name."
Liverpool teacher Jenny Evans, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two-and-half-years ago, met the sisters as they toured the unit. She said, "The girls were absolutely lovely."
Paul McCartney is one of many celebrities and politicians that has contributed a "message of hope" for a new Web site honoring fallen heroes of 9/11. You can read the messages at http://www.september11th.com. More will be posted after the official launch of the Web site on Monday September 9. LTDnetwork Chairman and CEO, Allan Klepfisz, whose company created the page said, "We're proud to donate this living memorial to America as a forum that provides an ongoing source of comfort, inspiration, and exchange of information."
According to Globe (US-Sept. 17 issue) Paul walked out on Heather Mills after a huge fight and spent two nights fuming in a hotel room by himself. His shocking walk-out came after he caved into his wife's demand that he skip a huge celebrity-studded gala at the Kennedy Center where he was to be honored Dec. 8.The 60-year-old music legend explained to the organizers that he had to attend a family wedding and the dates conflicted. Insiders say Macca dropped out because Heather Mills insisted that he go to a function for her "victims-of-landmines" charity.
After two days Paul returned to his home to kiss and make-up and to discuss their problems and mend fences.
Like father, like daughter. Stella McCartney is looking to tie the knot in an Irish castle just like her dad. Stella, engaged to Alasdhair Willis, checked out Ashford Castle Hotel in County Mayo, Ireland last weekend. "She tried out the food and met the manager," a source told Heat magazine. "Stella was given all the event brochures and price lists." The castle costs around $24,000 to rent for a wedding. Stella's nuptials are believed to be Dec. 8. (NY Post)
Paul and Heather are in the US and where Paul will begin rehearsals for the "Back in the US" tour next week on the west coast.
Paul McCartney was spotted getting a facial at the Susan Ciminelli Day Spa in East Hampton while wife Heather Mills had a massage.
Sir Paul McCartney likes to massage the stump of wife Heather Mills' amputed leg. He gets on his knees and gives her a rub when the limb is " purple and angry'' at the end of a busy day. Vanity Fair magazine, who interviewed the couple, say, "Her husband is ever eager to massage it for her, soothing the stresses and strains of the day." Heather lost her left leg below the knee in a road accident. (Daily Record)
Paul McCartney tells Vanity Fair Magazine (October issue) that he knows some people think he's been suckered by a gold digger. "I'm not stupid,'' he says. "Heather's a really nice person, or else I wouldn't be attracted in the least. She's great. But you're going to find people who are going to knock her, because the better story is the negative one.'' According to the article James McCartney and Heather McCartney did not attend their father's wedding.
Stella McCartney is featured in the August 26-September 2 issue of "New York Magazine." The article is also posted online.
The reported Paul McCartney two-hour ABC television special slated to air November 27 in America, is a documentary about the US tour. ABC crews followed the tour around America interviewing fans, crew, etc. They covered Paul's wedding in Ireland. David Saltz, the executive producer of the show was also the producer for the "Anthology" documentary. Paul had a second crew videotaping for his own tour DVD "Back In The US" which is coming out November 26 and will not include his wedding as rumored. It will feature 30 live songs from his US tour. A double CD of the show will be released at the same time with 36 songs.
From PaulMcCartney.com:
WORD TO EACH OF YOU 406,521 FANS WHO SAW SHOWS OF THE 'DRIVING USA' TOUR - WATCH OUT, YOU COULD VERY WELL FIND YOURSELF ON SCREEN WITH MACCA LATER THIS YEAR. PAUL WILL BE ISSUING A CD OF THE TOUR SHOW IN LATE NOVEMBER - PLUS A DVD OF THE TOUR IN STORES AROUND THE SAME TIME. WORD FROM INSIDE THE EDIT STUDIO IS THAT THE DVD WILL BE UTTERLY UNLIKE PREVIOUS FILMS OF MAC IN CONCERT (I.E. 'GET BACK' AND 'PAUL IS LIVE') IN THAT A GOOD WHACK OF THE THREE HOURS OF IT WILL CONTAIN BACKSTAGE AND OFF-DUTY FOOTAGE THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU NEVER GET TO SEE. BESIDES TAKING YOU ON AN ACCESS ALL AREAS TOUR OF SOUND CHECK, DRESSING ROOMS, ON THE CREW BUS, AT THE AFTER-SHOW PARTIES, IN THE BACK SEAT OF HIS LIMO AND EVEN ABOARD HIS PRIVATE TOUR JET (AND A LOT MORE), THE DVD CONTAINS A LOT OF CROWD SCENES FROM THE GIGS.
From Ananova:Heather Mills has accepted £50,000 ($75,000) libel damages over a newspaper article. The Sunday Mirror wrongly suspected her of dishonesty over cash collected for an earthquake appeal.
The former model is in the USA with husband Sir Paul McCartney, and was not at the High Court in London to hear the reading of an agreed statement before Mr Justice Gray.
Her counsel, Thomas Shields QC, said the "highly damaging and wounding" allegations, in the newspaper in May, were "wholly without foundation".
Publicist Anya Noakes said later, "Heather Mills is pleased that the Sunday Mirror has recognized the allegations were unfounded and that her reputation has been vindicated."
All the money has been donated to the charity Adopt-A-Minefield (UK). MGN Limited also agreed to pay her legal costs.
Mr. Shields told the judge that the McCartneys were returning from a holiday in India in January 2001 when there was an earthquake in Gujarat. Miss Mills returned to the area to assist the relief workers and arranged with Hello! magazine for a photographer to accompany her.
Mr. Shields said the Sunday Mirror article left the reader with the impression there were reasonable grounds to suspect Miss Mills had been guilty of dishonesty or a serious lack of proper accounting in relation to money allegedly raised by her fr om the public for the earthquake victims - in that only part had ever been distributed.
Mr Shields said the publication of the article, shortly before her marriage, caused Miss Mills considerable distress and embarrassment.
No Pre-Nup for McCartney and New Wife (Reuters)
Heather Mills offered to sign a prenuptial agreement with new husband Paul McCartney but the former Beatle, one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, turned down the offer, according to an interview published Tuesday. Mills, who married McCartney at a lavish ceremony in June despite the misgivings of his adult children, also told Vanity Fair magazine that they would like to have child. Mills, 34, said she volunteered to sign a prenuptial agreement with McCartney, whose fortune is estimated at close to a billion dollars. "I wanted to prove that I love him for him," she was quoted as telling the magazine in an interview, released on Tuesday, in its October edition. "He said, 'I wouldn't let you'." The former model turned charity worker, who had her leg amputated after a traffic accident, is infuriated by widespread assumptions that she married McCartney, 60, only for his money. "It's the biggest insult to Paul to say 'Oh there's nothing else a woman would want him for.' He's not talented? He's not sexy? He's a very sexy, charismatic man?" Mills was quoted as saying. McCartney met Mills a year after his wife Linda died in April 1998 of breast cancer news - web sites). Mills said she was wooed the old-fashioned romantic way. "I had flowers sent to me; I was sung to on the phone, sung to while I was making dinner. I thought: This is unbelievable! This is what people dream of," she said. "I'm really happy. It's incredibly passionate. It's intense all the time and we love each other's company. Our favorite thing is to stay home. I cook a meal -- Indian or Thai or Italian -- and he dances around the room like Fred Astaire," Mills added. Mills said she and McCartney were trying for a baby, but she was not hopeful about her chances because she suffered two unsuccessful pregnancies in the past. "I just say 'What will be, will be'....I adore kids, and if it happens, it happens, but I've seen too many people get too upset about it," she said.
This is London:Heather Mills offered to sign a prenuptial agreement before marrying Paul McCartney but he turned her down, she has revealed The former model says she was prepared to draw up an agreement which would protect the billionaire ex-Beatle's fortune if they split in order to show that her affection was genuine. "I wanted to prove that I love him for him," she says. "He said, 'I wouldn't let you.' " But she adds that she will always remain financially independent. "I believe every woman should have a reserve, because you never know what will happen in life. Guys can get bored, especially if they feel they've just got you there."
Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine, she also talks candidly about home life with her new husband - revealing intimate secrets about the relationship with the man she calls her "soulmate". The new Lady McCartney - who wed Sir Paul, 59, at Castle Leslie Estate, in County Monaghan, Ireland in June - adds: "Our favourite thing is to stay home. I cook a meal and he dances around the room like Fred Astaire.
"We're great for each other. I could eat him. I think when you find your soul mate, you could sleep under their armpits. I'm like a little dog. He says, 'You're always sniffing me!' I'm really happy. It's incredibly passionate. It's intense all the time, and we love each other's company."
In the interview Lady McCartney also expertly glosses over a number of reports about Sir Paul's children disliking her and a pre-wedding argument which ended up with her engagement ring "falling" out of a fifth-floor hotel window.
Just weeks before the wedding, newspapers in both the United States and Britain reported that she and Sir Paul engaged in a screaming match in their Florida hotel suite.
According to a security guard, the argument became so heated that Sir Paul yelled: "I don't want to marry you. The wedding's off" as he threw her £15,000 ring out the window. Sir Paul reportedly had to call security guards at the Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in Miami to search the hotel garden for the ring. But when questioned about the incident, Lady McCartney simply said: "We were playing a game, having a joke, doing catch with the ring."
Lady McCartney, 34, maintains that she gets on famously with Sir Paul's children, despite the reports of a fierce feud. She says: "We get on so well it's hilarious." She adds that Heather McCartney (Linda's daughter, whom Paul adopted) is very friendly. "We speak every day. We are so close she's like another sister."
Lady McCartney says Stella McCartney did not design her wedding dress because "she never offered".
The former model, who has suffered two ectopic pregnancies, says that the couple are relaxed about the idea of having children. "I just say, 'What will be will be.' I adore kids, and if it happens it happens, but I've seen too many people get too upset about it."
RECOMMENDED NEW PAUL BOOKS CD'S AND DVDS
Home Page | Wings Tour (photos) | 1989-90 Tour (photos) | 1993 Tour (photos) | Back in the US 2002 (reviews) | 2002 USA Tour (photos) | Driving USA 2002 (reviews) | 2003 Tour (reviews) | 2004 Tour (reviews) | Meet Paul (photos) | Standing Stone (photos) | Macca Report (Paul News) | Archived News Index | Paul Photo Book| Back in the World CD/DVD Detailed info | McCartney
Animation DVD | Fab Buys Shop | Beatles News | Ringo News | John News | George News | Bill Bernstein (interview) | Rusty Anderson (interview) | Brian Ray (interview) | Geoff Dunbar (interview)| Macca-Chat (Internet chat room) | Fan Close Encounter Page | Paul Shop | Message Board | Links | Paul Concert Tickets
Jorie Gracen
