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May 2003 to June 2003
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Some details about Paul's visit to LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) on May 31. Paul arrived around 1pm in a silver Jaguar with John Hammel driving. It was thought that Paul would come through the back entrance to LIPA but after spotting a handful of fans waiting there, security decided to drop Paul off at the front entrance. There was one press photographer there and Paul flashed a thumbs-up and peace sign as he walked up the steps of his old school. While inside, Paul held a three-hour workshop for music students.
Heather arrived around 4:15pm with with her personal assistant in a Mercedes. At 4:45 the couple emerged smiling from the back entrance and got into the silver Jaguar with Paul driving. There was a crowd of 50 + people waiting outside and Paul had to drive through it. Some bystanders stopped cars in the street to jump out and join the frenzy which caused more problems for Paul's exit. One driver pulled his jeep right into the driveway where Paul was trying to exit, slowing Paul's getaway.
There was no security or police to control the crowds except for Heather's female bodyguard who pushed as many people away as she could. Paul honked the horn as he drove through the frenzied crowd. Once past them he hit the gas and roared away.
Paul McCartney took the long and winding road home on Sunday, wrapping up his world tour with an emotional concert in the Beatles' birthplace.
From Rome's Colosseum to Moscow's Red Square, two million people have paid to see McCartney play the greatest hits of the world's most famous band. But the 60-year-old rocker, who shows no signs of hanging up his guitar, has come full circle.
"This is the big one," he told Reuters before the sell-out show. "This is the most emotional gig of the tour. Tonight I'm bringing it back home. Halfway across the United States last year, I realized I must take this show back to Liverpool. All the family will be there. Knowing the size of my family, it will take up half the crowd."
McCartney said he might have to choke back a few tears when he sings "Here Today" about his singing partner John Lennon, who was gunned down by a crazed fan in New York in 1980. In the imaginary conversation with Lennon, McCartney sings, "I love you. You were always there with a smile."
McCartney said, "I do get choked up when I sing that and I don't know how it is going to get to me singing that about John in Liverpool. I might have to take a deep breath and gulp. If I cry, that's OK."
McCartney and his second wife, model turned charity campaigner Heather Mills, have just announced that they are having their first baby. Despite the parental responsibilities, the ageing rocker shows no signs of slowing down.
McCartney shares with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger an insatiable appetite for life on the road. His tour began in Oakland, California in April 2002. He played 58 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan before coming to Europe. The ex-Beatle, whose personal fortune is estimated to have topped $1.2 billion, grossed $70 million in the United States alone, breaking box office records in 21 cities.
At each of his dates, McCartney has been performing up to 25 Beatle classics. That is twice as many as the world's most famous band ever played in concert together, McCartney's spokesman said. The concert, down on the River Mersey on Liverpool's King's Dock, is McCartney's first major solo concert in the northern English city since 1990. The 35,000 tickets sold out within 45 minutes. McCartney has already been down memory lane in his hometown, hosting a party on Friday night at the legendary Cavern Club where the Fab Four were first launched on the road to international stardom. (Reuters)
Sir Paul McCartney has revealed to the Sunday Herald that he will no longer seek to have the famous Lennon-McCartney songwriting credits reversed in his favor, which he did on his last album.The musician, who caused outrage last year when he reversed the credits on the 19 Beatles' songs on his "Back In The US Live 2002" album, changing it from Lennon-McCartney to Paul McCartney and John Lennon, said he has changed his mind and is now happy to keep the original order of the 'rock 'n' roll trademark'.
At the time, the action prompted a furious response from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, who was said to be so incensed she was investigating possible legal action against the multi-millionaire.
But speaking to the Sunday Herald ahead of his sell-out show to 30,000 fans in Liverpool tonight, McCartney said, "I am happy with the way it is and always has been. Lennon and McCartney is still the rock' n' roll trademark I'm proud to be a part of -- in the order it has always been."
The dispute with Ono first occurred when The Beatles' Anthology was being assembled in the 1990s. Then, Ono objected when McCartney asked her if he could put his name first on "Yesterday," a song he largely wrote alone.
The DVD of his current "Back In The World" tour does not reverse the credits and the singer says he is now content to let the matter rest.
When Paul was asked about his impending new fatherhood at 61, he joked that he won't be the only one in the house wearing diapers.
Liverpool native Paul McCartney, back home for the final date of his world tour Sunday, has played a secret gig at the city's Cavern Club.
McCartney played three songs, including the Beatles classic "Let it Be," and also joined in with a rap solo to Sister Sledge's 1970s hit "We Are Family," at the crew's end-of-tour party Friday night (May 30). Sir Paul's pregnant wife, Heather, attended the party, along with around 150 crew members and a few of McCartney's close friends and family. The club was given a Moroccan makeover for the party and decorated with plants and beanbags.
The Cavern was the notoriously crowded "swinging Sixties" smoky basement venue where The Beatles played at the start of their rise to fame. The original Cavern was bulldozed in the 1980s, but a replica was created just a few feet along Mathew Street.
Cavern owner Bill Heckle told the UK's Press Association, "Paul was really dancing the night away, enjoying every minute of the evening. He was incessantly on the dance floor with Heather."
McCartney will have played to 2 million fans by the end of his concert Sunday, which is being held at a specially built outdoor arena with a 70-foot stage at Kings Dock, Liverpool. The concert will be McCartney's first major solo concert in Liverpool since 1990.
He plans to mark the close of his tour by giving a £17,000 ($27,800) Volkswagen Beetle to one lucky concert-goer. (CNN/Reuters)
The silence, as they say, is deafening. While most of Sir Paul McCartney's family are falling over themselves to say how thrilled they are that he is about to have a baby with wife Heather Mills, his children have remained tight-lipped.Fashion designer Stella has steadfastly refused to say anything on the matter. Yesterday, outside her Notting Hill home, she ignored questions and her siblings have been doing the same. Hardly the behavior of excited individuals looking forward to a new brother or sister.
The arrival of a new McCartney, it seems, will do nothing to bridge the gap between Heather and her stepchildren. However much the new Mrs. McCartney would like the rest of the world to believe that they are "so close" to her, the truth is they can barely conceal their dislike.
Paul's children Mary, 33, Stella, 31, and James, 25, and stepdaughter Heather, 40, have made her feel distinctly unwelcome. It was hard enough when Sir Paul started dating the model-turned-charity-campaigner a year after their mother Linda had died from cancer and when Paul married Heather they were far from overjoyed. But now she is going to have his baby which friends say is due in October they know there is no turning back.
"Stella feels as if she has had the wind kicked out of her," said one friend of the designer yesterday. "Now that there is going to be a baby involved, she and her brother and sisters are going to have to get used to the fact that Heather is stuck in their lives.
A friend of McCartney's daughter, Stella, said the children were always secretly hoping the relationship might run out of steam. Now that she is having his baby they know that he will stick with her, whatever happens.
Heather is, of course, rightly thrilled at the news. For her, this is the baby she was told she would never have. After suffering cancer of the uterus and two ectopic pregnancies, she believed the chances of conceiving were `tiny'. But her stepchildren clearly find it hard to share in her joy. And one can only wonder how they feel to see their father as the doting dad-to-be at an age when most men are enjoying the rather less hands-on role of grandparent."The children see this as yet another way of Heather elevating her position and alienating their father from them," said the friend.
Perhaps it is this coolness between Heather and her stepchildren that has fuelled her desire to have McCartney children of her own. It certainly hasn't been happy families so far since her marriage. In fact, according to friends, Paul has been encouraged to avoid taking Heather with him when he goes to their houses. She has to tolerate their distant manner on the few occasions they do meet. And she knows that every attempt at public reconciliation has been rebuffed.
"The children haven't made any secret of their dislike," said one friend of Mary. "The decision all round was that they should try and avoid seeing her as much as possible. When they do see her, they are perfectly polite. And when Paul told them about the baby, they all wished her congratulations. But they have made it clear she will never be part of their family."
As far as they are concerned, Heather has changed their father so much that he is almost unrecognizable. That change is reflected in his trimmer physique, a new penchant for dying his hair and a maniacal need to keep touring. Indeed, his very desire to have a child at his age represents a huge change in itself, as he and Linda always shared the ethos that, as Linda once put it, "parents should grow up with their children."
"Contrary to popular belief, all is not a bed of roses between Paul and his children," said one friend close to Mary last night. "They became very close when Linda died, they really clung on to each other, but there have been lots of ups and downs since. "Things became very strained when Heather came on the scene and the situation is still very difficult. Soon after he started dating Heather, the children asked for a lot of Linda's things from their father. There was a massive row over it as he refused to hand them over for a long time. They believe that Heather was making him so stubborn, and it was one of their first causes of complaint. Since then, they feel that she has made the relationship with their father difficult. He knows they don't like her, so when he sees them, he sees them alone. And he is not alone very often."
Heather and Paul attributed the children's coldness to the fact that he has replaced their adored mother Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998. "I think a second marriage is hard for the children, no matter who it is," said Paul 12 months ago. "They find it difficult to think of me with another woman. But it's how it is, and how it must be. More than anything, they want me to be happy and this is what makes me happy."
"To them she is not in the same league as their mother. They were shocked that Paul started dating her so soon after Linda died and they were amazed that he believes he is in love again. They believe that what their mum and dad had was a unique love that could never be recreated. Of course, they want their father to be happy, but they feel that Heather is wrong for him. They feel Paul is mistaking lust for love."It is hard to say whether they would dislike a new stepmum even if she was a woman without a past. Heather, of course, is anything but that, and has a colourful history even by her own telling.
But many feel she is a woman who is, to put it politely, economical with the truth. Her recollections of her past are hazy at best and many believe she has always yearned for money and fame. Allegations that she is a gold digger were aired on a recent documentary for Channel 4.
Most damaging of all the interviews was one with Ros Ashley, a former "pleasure wife" for rich Arabs, who claimed she put Heather in touch with wealthy Lebanese men. "Heather's ambition was to meet a wealthy man, Arab, English, French, Spanish, whoever would give her wealth and status," she said.
Paul has defended his wife, even threatening legal action against Channel 4. He has claimed people do not like her simply because she is his wife recalling how the public distrusted Linda at times.
And then, of course, there is the eternally delicate subject of money. Stella tried to persuade her father one of Britain's wealthiest men, with a £750 million ($1.2 billion) fortune to sign a prenuptial agreement with Heather, but he refused. He told her he had more money than he could ever hope to spend and Heather deserved as much as she needed."They were brought up with a very relaxed attitude towards money," said a friend of Stella. "They know they will be well provided for. But they believe their father is behaving naively over Heather. And they believe the appearance of a baby means she is entitled to a greater share of his fortune."
Amazingly, if you listen to Heather, she and the children could not be getting on better. "I am so close to the daughters, you have absolutely no idea," she said in August. "I speak to Heather, the eldest, especially, 40 minutes every day. Every day! And Stella and I get on brilliantly." She has even posed in one of Stella's dresses for a women's magazine donating her fee to her charity and Linda's cancer charity. But this "closeness" is far from the case, although each of the children does have a differing opinion on how they should handle what they term "the Heather situation."
Stella and Mary feel the most grievance with Heather. When Paul and Heather married, they were the first to leave after the wedding.
Heather, Paul's stepdaughter whom he adopted when he married her mother, Linda, is, perhaps not surprisingly, the closest to her namesake. She has already had one step-parent and is not as convinced of the "eternal" love story of Paul and Linda.
James, a backing musician, simply tries to avoid the whole row.
Mary, whose two children will be older than their aunt or uncle, is urging some sort of rapprochement now there is a child involved, but Stella will not be moved.
As for Heather, what she thinks of the children is more difficult to gauge. If you believe what she says, she absolutely adores them. She has avoided bitching about them, even to her closest associates, and she has made light of stories of a rift. But those close to her feel that she can afford to be magnanimous. She has Paul and now she is having his baby. "The children might enjoy bitching and sniping at her, but Heather has had the last laugh," said one source close to Paul. "To her, what Paul's other children think is an irrelevance. They are going to have a new family and that is all that matters."(story)
It is amusing to watch the tabloids trying to swallow the news that Heather Mills McCartney is pregnant. "Through gritted teeth" is the phrase that comes to mind.
After its campaign of carpet-bombing Heather Mills, culminating recently in gleeful recapitulations of the contents of a TV documentary devoted to trashing her, a ceasefire is now the order of the day. The unborn child is also Paul McCartney's, after all, and announcements of wished-for pregnancies conventionally come under the heading "good news". But the gnashing of hacks' dentures remains audible.
Prior to this, it had been open season on the woman sometimes sarcastically referred to as "model-turned-landmine-campaigner" - which, of course, is code for "trivial, vain and brainless person trying to drag her reputation upmarket by doing charity work". In case you've been living on Mars for the past couple of years, the general tenor of the coverage can be summed up as suggesting that Mills McCartney is a mendacious, manipulative gold-digger.
We can skip quickly past the question of whether any of this Heather-hate is justified. Mills McCartney may have a troubled past from which, to extricate herself, she exercised more than average powers of self-invention. She may even be "not very nice", though none of us who don't actually know her can be sure of that. But does she deserve the kind of vilification that would make an indicted war criminal wince? Surely not.
The more interesting question, then, is: why are people so horrible about Heather? What did she ever do to us? Well, actually, she did something very terrible: she had just about the richest and most eligible widower in Britain fall in love with her and marry her. But this is not only about envy or jealousy. It is also about her temerity in filling the space left by Linda McCartney, Paul's first wife, who died of breast cancer in 1998.
How quickly it has been forgotten that Linda herself was for years subjected to a sour press that portrayed her as a talentless chancer who had hitched herself to Paul's stardom but then dragged him down - all but ruining his career during the Wings years - and who then sold a million veggie sausages on the back of his name. Yet now, it is as if she has become canonised in death: the perfect wife, mother and career woman, of whom we never said a bad word and whom no one could replace. Undoubtedly, she was all those things - if her children are anything to go by - but she was also a human being with, no doubt, all the usual foibles and neuroses.
People who die do not get "replaced"; they live on in the memories of their loved ones. But those left behind also have to return to life and their own futures; not to do so, ultimately, is pathological. By moving on from Linda McCartney's death, Paul did only what was normal and even necessary. Yet for some observers there will always be a sense of betrayal, a feeling that a kind of infidelity that defiles the memory of the dear departed has taken place.
Any direct expression of this is thwarted, however, because there is a prohibition against articulating such criticism of the widow or widower. So what happens is that the "next partner" becomes the lightning conductor. It is their misfortune to bear the rage. And it doesn't matter who they really are: no one will want to know or bother to find out because they are too busy believing the worst about the new favorite.
What is less obvious, but is almost the worst aspect of Heather-hate, is what it says about Paul. If she is a gold-digger whom his kids hate, the corollary is that he must be a dupe for falling for her - someone lacking in judgment who has no entitlement to happiness. (It is the flipside of our culture's misogyny that women often regard men as emotional idiots.)
There is little that is edifying in the symbolic lynching of Heather. The poisonous judgmentalism that drives it is in the worst traditions of small-town gossip. It is prurient, spiteful and hypocritical, and we should cry shame on it.
The one redemptive element is provided by Paul McCartney himself, who appears not to let any of it get to him. He just goes on writing songs, painting pictures and making music. Now that is generous. (Guardian UK)
The motorcade swirled through the streets of Dublin, sirens blazing - two Irish Gardai motorcyclists leading the man and woman in the limo. Sir Paul McCartney and wife Heather, soon a mum-to-be, were in town and the traffic stopped. Driving straight into the RDS stadium Paul bounced on stage for a soundcheck. While Heather, just a few months into her pregnancy and wearing a loose-fitting floral dress, chatted with the back stage crew.Paul and his own band on the run are at the close of their Back to The World Tour and their leader is ready to rock all over again. I caught up with Macca in Dublin this week as he prepared for one of the last shows of his world wide tour. His final show is fittingly in his home city at Kings Dock.
He has conquered America, Italy, Germany, the Far East, Russia and now he is ready for a triumphant home-coming. And he can't wait.
"Yeah, I am looking forward to coming home to finish off the world tour in Liverpool," he says. "It was always going to be that way. I remember thinking half-way through the US tour when we saw the reaction, 'I have got to bring this home to Liverpool'."
At the age of 60, Paul - due to be a father for the fourth time later this year - has lost none of his enthusiasm or energy for performing. On stage he looks years younger. It's yesterday all over again. Before every gig he runs through a selection of songs from his pre-Beatle days. In Dublin there were just 10 people standing around during the soundcheck and yet he treated it as if it was a real concert.
"The harmonies aren't right," he says, getting his four-piece band go through it without him. Then, while tinkling on one of two pianos, he notices a wrong note. Looking at the smallest crowd he has played to on the tour so far, he says in a strong Scouse accent, "You've been a great wild audience - now calm down - you all right out there? Calm down, calm down."
Macca is having a ball and he wants everyone else to join in. He rocks into the 50s song "Matchbox," followed by "Honey Hush" and throws in a few Beatle classics including "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Lady Madonna." There's also the Wings hit "C Moon."
Behind him more than 20 huge video screens feature the famous Macca grin and the Hofner bass guitar close up. Paul McCartney on tour is a slick operation from the security to the catering - everything is made to measure. So did that motorcade make Paul feel in any way like royalty?
"That was flash wasn't it? I'd love to go to work like that every day," he says with a smile.
Paul, in blue suit and white T-shirt with blue trainers, is really buzzing. But doesn't he feel tired after being on the road for many months and playing to two million fans since the start of last year?
"No, I do keep fit. I make sure I have a good breakfast. Lots of fruit. They say that breakfast sets you up for the day. I don't play every night. I mean, If I did then I would really be knackered. But we have a few days off and then we go on and play again. I'm loving this tour and the fantastic response. I am going to miss it when it's over. I know a lot of the crew will - it's been a very happy crew."
Paul says the tour does have elements of his first venture out with Wings in the 1970s. He smiles at the memory. After the split with The Beatles, Paul and Linda and family piled in a van and played to student halls for a mere 50p entry fee.
"It's great to have the band with you on the road," he says. "But the great thing about touring is that you are also looking forward to going home. I enjoy it when I get off stage and join the band and Heather on the tour coach for a bevy."
However, he insists it's nothing stronger than mineral water for him before every show, "I'd forget the words, otherwise. Imagine singing "Eleanor Rigby" and stopping and then starting again?"
For every show Paul is concerned that the audience gets value for money. He is so keen for fans to see and hear everything that he has invested in the most state-of-the art video screens in the world.
He says, "I remember when I went to see Genesis and was trying to recognize Phil Collins. I was squinting and thinking is that HIM? In some cases bands play and they are just match-stick figures on stage. People have paid to come in to see me, so it's only right that they can see and hear, no matter where they are."
It is a philosophy that has paid off across the world - in 16 countries. He has fond memories of the massive tour. Paul says he is an emotional man and there were many times when he was lost for words. On the final show of the US leg the loyal road crew all held up cardboard hearts after his poignant version of "The Long and Winding Road."
He says, "Yeah, I was choked and I did find it hard to sing it. It was difficult. No wonder it wasn't a good version, but I did explain."
Awesome reaction hasn't just been from his own crew. Audiences of all ages sing along to the 23 classic Beatles tracks, from "I Saw Her Standing There" to "Hello Goodbye" to "Hey Jude."
In the US he has also had celebrity fans. Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise were both captured on camera in the audience singing along.
Adds Paul, "And John Cusack came to say 'Hi'. He's a very deep man. Clearly a big Beatle fan."
Paul was "chuffed", too, that his pal Sting came back stage in Paris and offered some good feedback.
Sir Paul's current 92-date tour is his most successful. He has a team of 100 working with him, handling the logistics of staging gigs in Rome and Moscow.
Says Paul, "At The Colosseum it was a great sight - all those light bulbs and people with ciggy lighters stretching out far ahead. Playing there brought back memories of Latin lessons.
"I remember seeing the sun go down 'and the fool on the hill sees the sun going down'. It all went so well."
But playing Moscow was something else, "There I was on stage singing 'and Moscow girls make me sing and shout' and I was there - with St Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin in the background in Red Square - singing it for real to Moscow girls. And there in the front was President Putin.
"I was thinking: 'This isn't bad for a lad from Liverpool - a scruff from Speke'." (Liverpool Echo)
From the Beatles to the palace, Sir Paul McCartney is one of the few who deserve the title, "Living Legend." BBC Radio Sheffield's Antonia Brickell met the Mac Daddy of pop... (May 29 BBC 1 Radio)
Last time I saw you was Sunday 6 April, you were doing your soundcheck and I was chomping at the bit to talk to you. What a build up - and here you are now.And I lost my voice, but here I am now, yeah.
And we cried.
Why did we cry, because I lost my voice? It was very weird, you know. I'd never had to cancel a show before and I had to walk around with a pad and a pen, writing things down.
The doctor said, just don't talk for two days and that's not easy. But anyway I'm glad to be back, it's really great and the penultimate night of the tour now, so it's fabulous.
So how's the tour been? You've been to Moscow, you've been to Rome.
Well at least I've got more to talk to you about now. Yeah, Moscow was fantastic. We played in Red Square and Heather and I got invited to the Kremlin with Mr. Putin and all that.
It was really great - the weather was great, the Russians were fantastic. I'd never been and Heather had never been, so it was a great first visit. We got to see St Petersburg and Moscow and everything.
Then we were in Rome, which was unbelievable, by the Colosseum playing a gig inside one night and then outside the other. And the outside gig was like five hundred thousand people - so it was just a mile of people. Unbelievable - they had screens going down so everyone could see and hear and it just worked out great. So we've been having a great time.
Do you not feel that the pressure is on when you drive past and you see these thousands, these millions of people waiting to see you - you and Heather?
Well, not really you know, because you get used to it, to tell you the truth. It's normally not millions of people, that takes a bit of getting used to. But it is normally thousands. I think when you don't do that - a lot of my friends don't do that and they're ordinary - well not ordinary, they're normal people, whatever you call people...
Whatever you call normal?
Well that's what I mean, it's hard to describe people like that. But they're people who don't do what I do. And they say "Oh you must be really tired." And I say "No I love it, y'know." 'Cos I think the idea for them of getting out of a traffic jam and getting out of work each week and going and doing all this stuff would be really exhausting.
But I say to them "No, it's great really, we have a good time, we love playing the music, we travel in real style." So half the time it's like being on holiday. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
You played in Sheffield in 1964 with the Beatles at the City Hall and obviously things have changed a little bit. Now you're here, what do you see the differences as for you as a performer?
I feel lovely about the whole tour, obviously and coming to Sheffield after losing my voice and stuff. I was always very disappointed not to do that second night. It's great y'know - I didn't really notice enough the first time around to be able to say to you well that's new, or that's been built or that wasn't here.
But the feeling was, we're talking about the 60s, so Sheffield was a little northern town, or seemed like. And now it seems bigger and more modern - all the obvious stuff.
But did you imagine when you were here with the Beatles, that you'd still be packing them in at 60?
No, no, I really didn't. We didn't think any of that was going to happen. We thought we might have about five or ten years tops with the group, but it just continued. When the 10 years was up we thought "Well now we're coming up to 30, it's time to retire isn't it?" But it wasn't y'know because we were still doing stuff, then I went on with Wings and that ended up to be a big success. I think the truth is I just always enjoy it; and if you really enjoy what you do you don't want to stop.
So people say "Are you going to retire?" and stuff. I say "Well you know, even if I retire I won't stop singing. I just love it too much. I won't stop writing songs." So it's just a natural thing for me to do this. Obviously the audiences are coming and it's still as big as this tour has been. Which is phenomenal...
And internationally as well. I mean people love you in the States, you're away...Aw gee, thanks for saying that! No it is true though - it is fabulous, it's quite surprising. I do love what I do and as long as they love what I do, I'll continue to do it?
So do you look back on this tour and see it as a Paul McCartney tour or a Beatles nostalgia tour, because you do do a lot of the Beatles numbers don't you?Well I actually think it's a Paul McCartney thing, because I always do 'after the Beatles'. So it was Wings and then solo stuff. But the thing is, what I do is my songs out of the Beatles, the ones that I sang like "Hey Jude" and "Let it Be." I feel that in one way those are Beatles songs, which they are, and it was due to the Beatles that they were successful. But in another way, because I wrote them, they're my songs
Just as if John had been here now, he would've been doing "Strawberry Fields," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Nowhere Man," "Day in the Life" - you know, his selection. I do my selection.
So I do feel it's like a Paul McCartney tour yeah, but it means I'm very lucky - there's a lot of Beatles songs, a lot of Wings songs and a lot of my own...
You were a member of the Quarrymen, then the Beatles, then you went solo, then you were with Wings, then you went solo again. Which is the most enjoyable phase, is it now?
It really is very enjoyable now. I don't really like to think of any of them being more enjoyable than the other. They're all different and they're each really enjoyable for different reasons.
When we were starting off as kids, just the idea of maybe going to do this as a living instead of getting what we thought was going to be a boring job, was exciting. So that, doing it for the first time was like "wow, really exciting." And then getting into the Beatles and that building into a phenomenon was like, "Oh my god, this is really exciting." And then instead of just not doing anything, re-doing the whole thing with Wings and then that being a success, y'know, with Linda. That was really exciting, but in different ways. And now, with this new band and the success we've had with this tour it's in a new way again. So I just feel amazingly lucky to be part of all these different phases and still be loving it.
You've recently got married and I'm just wondering why you don't fancy being relaxed at home putting you feet up with the beautiful Heather. Drinking, eating, being kind of domestic bliss orientated...
Well I do fancy that, and I fancy her, and I fancy drinking and eating!
You know what? The truth is we actually do that quite a lot. We were in Dublin the night before last and Heather and I were out at a little restaurant last night. We went for a little bike ride during the day, we went for a little drive out in Dublin. So I mean that's what you do when you're together and we do that on our days off. But every so often there's this little thing called a gig.
And I kind of enjoy it y'know, but mainly we're at home watching the TV and stuff. We have quite a long time off coming up now so we'll do a lot of that then. But actually on this tour, you'd be surprised. In America we did three months, which is quite dotty. It's not like we're slaving away: we're down in Miami, we're on the beach, we're in a posh hotel in Miami for two days and then we do a show. So it's not a slog.
I know you don't want me to talk about this too much but congratulations, a dad at 60! How do you see the next five years mapping out? Because we are so excited.
Well I'm excited too. I never look forward and say this is how the next five years are going to be, because to tell you the truth I have no idea about how any of it happened to getting here. So I've no idea how the next five years are going to be.
Heather and I are very excited and we don't really want to add anything to that, but we're very, very happy about having a baby. It's lovely news. (BBC 1 Radio)
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Paul McCartney is just nuts about becoming a dad again - as he revealed last night in South Yorkshire. The 60-year-old music icon chewed on cashew nuts as he cuddled pregnant wife Heather, aged 35. It was their first photo in public together after earlier announcing they are expecting their first child at the end of the year.
Macca, in a designer black suit and white open neck shirt, wrapped his arms around Heather's bump and joked to press photographers, "I don't know why you want a picture!" When he declined to comment on the expected birth, Heather, with a sparkle in her eyes, said he couldn't talk as he was "chewing on cashew nuts".
The former model-turned-landmine campaigner is believed to be three months pregnant and showed clear signs of a slight bump under a white Sergeant Pepper-style military jacket. The happy couple were full of smiles and looked head over heels in love backstage before Macca's rescheduled concert at Sheffield's Hallam FM Arena. Heather looked more radiant and a little chubbier than when her husband, a father of four, played his first concert there almost two months ago. The second night was cancelled when he lost his voice to a bad cold. Later, Sir Paul made only one passing reference to his forthcoming new arrival during the three-hour concert. Dedicating a newer song to his wife, he added, "We've got some good news now." He also congratulated one fan who was holding a placard saying, "We love Heather."
Outside, die-hard fans were jubilant at the couple's news. Pam Walker, 38, from Portland, Maine, USA, said, "I'm so excited for them. It's wonderful and I think he'll make a great dad."
There were fears that Heather would not be able to conceive after suffering two ectopic pregnancies and cancer of the uterus. Just three months ago, she told Barnsley born chat show king Michael Parkinson of her fears she might never have children. The singer and his ex-model second wife, who lost a leg in a road accident 10-years ago, married in Ireland in June last year. Sir Paul is father to Mary, 33, Stella, 31, and James, 25, and stepfather to Heather, 40, all by his first wife Linda.
Cashew nuts could be Macca's secret weapon to staying fit and healthy on his gruelling Back In The World Tour - which ends with his 90th show in his home city of Liverpool on Sunday. The nuts are reported to be medicinally helpful in lowering cholesterol level, relieving arthritis and rheumatism. They can also help to treat diabetes, kidney disorders, skin diseases like eczema and collagen disorders. (Sheffield Today)
The former Beatle visited Russia for the first time, performing a mix of Beatles classics and his own songs Saturday in Moscow's Red Square for an audience that included former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.Prior to the concert, McCartney and wife Heather Mills McCartney joined President Vladimir Putin for a private tour of the Kremlin, where McCartney treated the president to an impromptu version of "Let it Be."
Another momentous announcement followed on the heels of the Moscow concert: The McCartneys are expecting their first child.
"All I'm saying about the baby is that we're very happy, and I'm not going any further than that," McCartney told TMR's reporter Amanda Palmer in an exclusive interview in Sheffield, England, Thursday.
McCartney did shed some light on his professional plans, and it looks like there will be another chance to see Sir Paul live in concert.
TMR: Is this the last tour? Or will we see you out on the road again?
MCCARTNEY: A lot of people have asked that. I think it's because, you know, when you get to my venerable age people think "Ooooh, this is probably like the last time," and also 'cause we're doing a lot of Beatles songs it's like "Ooooh, he's summing up his career."
I didn't think I was doing that at all -- I suppose I am in some ways -- but it's not intended certainly to be my last tour. You know, as far as I'm concerned, I'm planning the next one now. A lot of songs we left out of this one that we've been rehearsing trying to get in, but it's hard to know on this show what to take out because we've got it pretty suss now, we kind of know how it goes now. So I think we'll just save them for the next one.
So I certainly, this is just the beginning for me. I'm mad, you know, I don't think of retiring at all. And the thing is, it's been such a huge success, and the band is so cool, that's it's like, "Well, why would you fold Led Zeppelin?" You know it's a really good band. It's a great band to play with. They're great musicians. I enjoy just listening to them.
And it did hit me after the first American three months -- which was all we were supposed to be doing -- I just thought "Well, I can't just go home and say goodbye to this band. We'll go and have three months off, have a summer, get married and have some real quality time, but then we've got to get back." You know, because there's no sense, you can't fold this band. So, yeah, this isn't the last tour. I can pretty much guarantee you that. (CNN)
Sir Paul McCartney has posed with his wife Heather for the first time since it was announced she is expecting their first child. The couple smiledand joked with photographers ahead of his sell-out concert at the 12,000-seat Sheffield Arena.
Sir Paul hugged his wife with both arms around her middle and joked "I can't think why you want a photo."
They disappeared back inside the venue after a couple of minutes with the former Beatle saying, "We're not doing any talking."
Mills-McCartney wore all white, sporting a Sergeant Pepper-style military jacket and a white frilly heart motif on the back of her jeans. Sir Paul wore a casual black suit over an open-necked white shirt. The 60-year-old and his second wife have been trying for a baby since they married in Ireland in June 2002. (Ananova)
Stella McCartney today refused to add her congratulations to messages of support that have flooded in since her father, Sir Paul, announced that his wife Heather Mills was pregnant with their first child last night. The ex-Beatle, now 60, said he was "thrilled" at the prospect of a fourth child, which his 34-year-old former model wife expects in October. But for celebrity designer Stella -just three years younger than her stepmother - a frosty relationship continues.Lady McCartney's name was conspicuously absent from the guest list when Stella threw a party to celebrate the opening of her first London store this month and last night she remained grim-faced and tight-lipped when she arrived back at her £2 million Notting Hill home after the news of the pregnancy was released.
Sir Paul's three grown-up children - Mary, 33, Stella and their brother James, 25 - were said to have been unhappy that their father was planning to marry again just four years after the death of their beloved mother Linda from breast cancer. The rift between Stella and Lady McCartney has always been strongest - although Sir Paul's second wife has been at pains to claim publicly that she and Stella get along "brilliantly."
Stella refused to issue a good luck message to the pair when given the opportunity as she arrived home last night back from her job, as did her boyfriend, publisher Alasdhair Willis. (Femail UK)
Sir Paul McCartney is to be a father once again - at the age of 61. The three-times father and his wife Heather, 35, last night announced they are expecting their first child. The baby is expected later this year and comes almost 12 months after their marriage in Ireland. In a simple statement, the couple said, "We are delighted with this happy news. The baby is expected later this year."
The baby will be the first to the former model but the fourth child to Sir Paul who is father to Mary, 33, Stella, 31, and James, 25, all by his first wife Linda, and also stepfather of Heather, 40.
Last night brother Mike McCartney said he was "over the moon" he was to be an uncle again and congratulated the happy couple. Mike, 59, told the Daily Post he and his wife, Rowena, heard of the news a couple of weeks ago and that it would make his brother's home-coming concert "extra special."
Mike, whose photographic exhibition is currently on display at the Museum of Liverpool Life, said, "It's great news. When we were first told, my reaction was 'Oh my God, we are going to be an uncle and auntie again.' We spoke about the wonderful news a while ago and I have spoken to our kid again today. They are both very happy, in fact the whole McCartney mob are in great form. I will hopefully be seeing them both very soon. My exhibition's on at the moment and Paul is of course playing on Sunday. It's a great time for the whole family. Rowena and I are particularly delighted because the announcement comes the day before our 21st wedding anniversary. The news has made us both feel a lot younger."
Sir Paul's cousin, Ian Harris, told how the former Beatle telephoned all his relatives to give them the good news. "Paul is absolutely ecstatic - Heather is about three months pregnant and doing very well. He called to let the family know before it became public knowledge and he just sounded really, really pleased. Paul may be getting on a little bit but he's full of life - he's still a child at heart himself so I'm sure he'll be a great father again. He did really well with his other kids - they're all lovely."
The couple have been trying for a child since they married but only three months ago ex-model Heather told of her fears that she would never conceive. She told interviewer Michael Parkinson that a catalog of health problems had damaged her fertility. Discussing pregnancy rumors, she said, "They said I'd been pregnant, which is really hurtful, knowing that I've had cancer of the uterus and two ectopic pregnancies. The chances of me getting pregnant are about that much (holding up her thumb and finger an inch apart) and I'm sure for any woman out there it's hard enough when your family keeps saying 'When are you going to have a baby, then?,' never mind the whole world keeps saying 'Oh, she's pregnant this week.'"
A spokeswoman for Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which was founded by Sir Paul, said, "Everybody at LIPA sends their warmest congratulations to Sir Paul and Heather and we wish Heather a happy and healthy pregnancy."
Liverpool Lord Mayor Coun Ron Gould expressed congratulations on behalf of the city council, "Paul has given joy to many people through his music. I am delighted that on his return to Liverpool, in a few days' time, the people of the city will be able to help him celebrate in style with an unforgettable concert."(Liverpool Echo)
Friends and fans of Paul McCartney were today delighted to hear he was to become a father again.Gerry Marsden, lead singer of Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers, said, "It's absolutely wonderful news. I'm so pleased for Paul and at his age as well. It's good to see there is life in the old dog yet. He'll make a great father."
The Beatles' first manager Alan Williams said, "Good luck to the man. He's proved himself as a great father and I think that's because he has never forgotten his working class roots. He was brought up sensibly by his father and he does the same with his children. I think its great."
Sam Leach, who promoted The Beatles in the early 1960s, said, "I'm made up for Paul and Heather. Paul's children are a credit to him. It would have been so easy for him to spoil them rotten but he made sure they were down-to-earth and they are their own people. I'm sure he and Heather will bring their new kid up in the same way. Congratulations to them."
John James Chambers, president of the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society, said, "He didn't waste much time, did he? It's fantastic news and I wish them both the very best. If it's a boy, it would be wonderful if he names him after John Lennon, as they were best of friends back in the day. If it's a girl, maybe he can call her Michelle, after the Beatles song."
It's been announced this afternoon that Paul McCartney's wife Heather is pregnant with the couple's first baby. McCartney last night played his first gig in Ireland in forty years, at the RDS. (Irish Independent)
Heather Mills today (Wednesday, May 28) told teenager Laura Range who lost her leg after falling under a train, "You can get through this."
Laura, from Bootle, had her left leg amputated below the knee after it was crushed by a train pulling into Orrell Park station. The 13-year-old is recovering in the intensive care unit at Alder Hey children's hospital after the incident on Monday night. And Heather - who lost a leg in a motorbike crash - has offered to visit her when she comes to Liverpool for husband Paul McCartney's gig at the weekend. The former model is also going to get in touch with Laura's family to give them support as they come to terms with what has happened.
Heather said, "I am really sorry to hear about Laura's accident at the train station in Liverpool. My thoughts are with her and her family at this very difficult time. I hope to be able to offer her and her family some words of support over the coming days as she begins to adjust to life after her accident."
Heather lost the same limb as Laura when she was hit by a police motorbike in August 1993. Heather added, "I know only too well the how important it is to feel you can continue to lead a full and active life after such a massive change."
Today Laura's bother, 29-year-old Dean Range, said, "Laura does not know what has happened yet because she is in and out of surgery. She will be devastated but the family will support her. Laura loves dancing and playing sport but we will cope. It is very kind of Heather to try and help because we will have hard times in the future and need any advice and support available."
Laura was with a group of friends when she fell under the Ormskirk to Liverpool train as it pulled into Orrell Park at around 9.30pm on Monday. Surgeons battled for two hours to save her leg but were forced to amputate it so she could be rushed to hospital. Three girls who were with Laura have been questioned by British Transport Police over the incident. Detectives leading the investigation say they want to speak to a group of youngsters who ran away from the train station at the time. Anyone who can help police should call 0800 405040. (Liverpool Echo)
A council last night approved the construction of a 1,000 foot warehouse despite objections from Sir Paul McCartney and several other celebrities who claimed that it would spoil the character of their seaside homes.
The former Beatle was joined by Norman Cook, alias Fatboy Slim, his disc jockey wife Zoe Ball, and the actor Nick Berry in opposing a scheme to build a peat processing plant at Shoreham Harbour, West Sussex, close to their £1million ($1.6 million) villas. They claimed that they would be affected by the smell from the plant and their peace would be disturbed by the day and night movement of heavy lorries.However, Adur district council planners dismissed the objections, stating that they should not have bought their homes beside a busy port without being prepared for new commercial development.
Councillor Michael Mendoza said, "I think it is vitally important we realize and understand this is a working port. It is not a marina. If people choose to buy expensive properties backing on to it they should check first. I can't see a problem with it at all."
Cook moved into his property three years ago and Sir Paul and his wife, Heather, bought their home last year. (Telegraph)
He's not just back in the world ... he's on his way home. The stage is set for the biggest gig of the year as Sir Paul McCartney prepares to rock Liverpool in front of 30,000 fans. Construction experts have been hard at work creating a temporary arena at the Kings Dock where the legendary musician will play. A 70ft stage has been set-up at the riverside location and seats and barriers are being installed in time for the show on Sunday.Pub and bar owners are also preparing for a busy weekend as Macca fans from all over the world flock to the city. Bill Heckle, who runs Cavern City Tours, said interest in the concert had been huge even after all the tickets were sold in just a few hours. He said: "The tickets went quickly and we were involved in selling them to fans from all over the world. We get calls all the time from people who are desperate to go and see Sir Paul at the Kings Dock. The gig is going to be massive and the weekend will be really busy in Liverpool which can only be a good thing. In addition to the 30,000 people with tickets there will be lots who are looking for one on the day."
Work at the Kings Dock started last week with the stage being the first thing to be put up using a small scaffolding system. Security fences are being erected around the site along with the ticket entrance areas where the 30,000 fans will pass through. Months of planning have gone into drawing-up plans for the arena to ensure people going to the gig are safe.
Sir Paul's last big concert in Liverpool was also at the Kings Dock where he put on a show in 1990. But this time it is set to be even more memorable as the star will belt out a huge range of Beatles' classics along with his solo material. The Liverpool gig will mark the end of Macca's world tour which included a historic performance in Russia's Red Square.
Last year he made a surprise appearance at the Empire at a tribute concert to the late George Harrison and in 1999 he played a gig at the Cavern club and paid thousands for the set to be relayed live to fans who poured into Chavasse Park. But it was the 1990 concert that people remember the most which was the first time Macca had played in the city since 1979.
In November 1979 he played four nights at the Royal Court and is credited with bringing bands back to play at the theatre and saving it from closure.
Bill Heckle, of Cavern City Tours, remembers Paul's first gig following the break-up of the Beatles in 1974. He said, "He performed two shows in one night for just one hour. It was a low-key tour as people had less interest in the post-Beatle period as punk became more popular. It was not a big production and nothing like the show we are expecting on Sunday. It will be fantastic." (Liverpool Echo)
Heather Mills-McCartney believes she may have persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin to reconsider his country's policy on landmines, she said today. The former model turned anti-landmines campaigner used husband Sir Paul McCartney's trip to Moscow to lobby President Putin on behalf of her charity. And she said she now felt "incredibly optimistic" that she had achieved a "tremendous breakthrough" during a 40-minute meeting with the Russian leader.Sir Paul and Heather Mills-McCartney met President Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday (May 24) ahead of the former Beatle's historic concert in Red Square. Revealing details of their encounter, Mrs Mills-McCartney said, "I asked President Putin to take the lead as the world's second largest manufacturer of landmines and to stop their production and use now, rather than wait for some of the world's other superpowers to acquiesce. I pointed out the inhumane nature of these weapons and asked him if there wasn't another way to satisfy the needs of his military. President Putin's compassion was obvious and his statements firm. This makes me incredibly optimistic for our future. This could be a tremendous breakthrough for us in ridding the world of landmines."
President Putin has pledged to set up meetings between Mills and Russia's defence minister to discuss the issue further, she said.
Mills, who lost a leg in a road accident 10 years ago, is patron of the Adopt-A-Minefield charity, which is dedicated to clearing landmines and rehabilitating victims. (Ananova)
Sir Paul McCartney plays Dublin at the RDS tonight (May 27) - but Belfast could be playing host to the Beatle Knight before the end of the year.The man who wrote "Mull of Kintyre" within sight of the Ulster coast is anxious to pay us a visit for the first time in 40 years. And promoter Jim Aiken will accommodate him in the autumn.
"He was last here in 1963 at the King's Hall with the Beatles," said Mr Aiken today. "Which just shows what an enduring superstar he is." Likely venue for McCartney live in Belfast will be the Odyssey.
Fussy Sir Paul who is making a lot of demands on the arena and on his hotel this time, played Dublin that same summer of '63 at the Adelphi Cinema with far fewer requests for fresh flowers, special towels and all that jazz. This time he's on a Back in the World show which is also visiting European cities but until now there has been no room for Belfast.
However, McCartney is impressed at the exodus of Ulster fans to Dublin for tonight's gig and agrees with promoter Aiken that it's high time he returned to Belfast. (Belfast Telegraph)
While one McCartney completes his world tour, another Macca is starting the Liverpool leg of his own. Mike McCartney's Liverpool Life - a collection of photographs celebrating the city in the 1960s - is now on display. The exhibition has already been critically-acclaimed in Alberta, Canada, where it spent six months attracting big crowds.Mike explains, "I was approached by the Alberta Gallery, who said they wanted to display my work.The singer Long John Baldry was talking to them about my '60s photos. So I agreed, but as long as there were no Beatles pics. I wanted to reflect My Liverpool. And now I'm pleased to say after travelling well it's come home."
More than 50 of Mike's black and white photos and some lithographs are on display at the Museum of Liverpool Life, accompanied by captions and amusing anecdotes written by Mike.
He says it has been a trip down memory lane for him. Each picture tells a story, whether it's Brian Epstein in reflective mood or Jerry Lee Lewis on stage at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton.
"Loads of things come back - the clothes, the stripey shirts I was wearing. Going to the Cavern to picture Little Richard; fooling around for photoshoots with The Scaffold and taking tour pics of The Hollies," says Mike. "There are some pictures of the Liverpool Inny (his old school The Liverpool Institute). I recall throwing water bombs at Peter Sissons . . . the school prefect."Mike was fascinated when he saw a negative of his of Hope Street in the '60s. "So I went back to do the same shot 40 years on. I showed it to Willy Russell and he said it was like one of those famous 'Spot The Difference' cartoons. On one there's the Metropolitan Cathedral, but it's not on the other. That's what I wanted to do with this exhibition, breathe life into Liverpool now."
There is also a tie-in book called MMML - Mike McCartney's Merseyside Life, which is a bit of a family affair."My son Josh has designed the cover - a picture of a stunning Liver Bird image. There's also a picture of my wife, Rowena. It's a shot of Ro sewing. "I have tried to capture my Liverpool life and I made the captions snappy. One of the main strengths of the display is that I know where I am coming from and where I've been. I look back and remember our kid at home in Forthlin Road. He'd be in his room with his guitar and I was in mine with my book and camera experimenting with reflections in mirrors. I remember when Paul bought me my first Nikon camera."
When Mike started out with his first camera he went to Allerton library to borrow some photo technique books. He didn't have a darkroom so he used to wait until late at night to print his pictures, which he then hung out to dry with ladies hair-grips on a string tied across his bedroom. "I looked at my first picture of a seagull flying over the rooftops and realized I had a lot to learn. So I hope that those interested in photography come along and see how I started out. I was always learning."
After Liverpool the exhibition goes stateside to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, then on to Tokyo, before returning to America and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
The exhibition is being officially opened by film producer and champion of the arts Lord Puttnam this Thursday. The day is extra special for Mike - it is also his 21st wedding anniversary.
He says Paul and Heather will catch the show at some stage.
Once the exhibition moves, Mike will work on two new projects involving fellow Liverpudlians. He says, "For me it's always special when you do something in your home town. This feels natural and I hope people see that Liverpool is the centre of the universe."
Mike McCartney's Liverpool Life is at the Museum of Liverpool Life from 24 May until September 28 2003. (Liverpool Echo)
Paul McCartney has been down this long and winding road before, seeing his wife derided in public.It seems it's in vogue to find fault with Heather Mills. The mean-spirited say she only married the one-time Beatle for his £700million ($1.1 billion) fortune. A newspaper article last May claimed Mills - a patron of Adopt-A-Minefield and a United Nations Association Goodwill Ambassador - was under investigation by the UK Charity Commission. She sued and received an apology.
A recent Channel 4 documentary (Heather Mills: The Real Mrs McCartney) accused her of being a gold-digger and of lying about her traumatic childhood. Then there were the stories before the Castle Leslie wedding last year that Paul's daughter Stella couldn't stand her future stepmother. And on it went, the bile leaking out at every turn.
Paul heard it all years ago when he was married to Linda Eastman. He learned to live with the snide remarks about his American wife. (And the so-called jokes: What do you call a dog with Wings?) She had been abused, written off and derided throughout their 30-year marriage.
"My answer," Linda told Rolling Stone magazine in 1976, "is always 'F**k off!'"
Twenty-seven years later, however, Heather Mills is perhaps not so battle-hardened. Marrying Paul, she said recently, had brought her a lot of unhappiness.
"I'm glad you've brought this up, because I don't often get an opportunity to talk about this," Paul said last Sunday, not a little passionately. It's inevitable that he would be livid after the Channel 4 hatchet-job.
"It really is out of order what has been said. Obviously, I wouldn't have married Heather unless I thought she was a really great woman, and very, very impressive. I do think it is shocking not only the way Linda got it just by marrying me - they're not committing any crime, these girls, you know - but with Heather, they're trying to spoil all the amazing work she does.
"She's a fantastic worker," he said. "Would you have gone to Gujarat a couple of days after the earthquake? We'd just got home from India and she hotfoots it back out there. She does that for no pay and to raise money for charity." The previous night, in front of 45,000 people at Munchen Konigs-platz, I watched Paul dedicate Your Loving Flame to Heather. "Help to discover what it is you're thinking of," he sang, note-perfect, "'Cause when we kiss, nothing feels the same, / I can spend eternity inside your lovin' flame."
The following afternoon in Salzburg, Macca's flame, it appears, is burning brighter than ever.
"Heather has got a soul probably bigger than most of the people we know," he says. "She should be praised for that rather than be on the receiving end of cheap shots.
"I warn anybody who writes that stuff about Heather that they are my sworn enemy. It's wildly untrue and it takes a shot at someone we ought to be praising," he says. "I really do stick up for her and I would like people in the media to know that anybody who does that with Heather is an enemy of mine. I'm her husband. I'm going to stick up for her."
Paul McCartney is nothing if not consistent. "I could have done a smart bit of PR during the time she [Linda] was being criticized," he told Beatles biographer Hunter Davies in 1977, "but I thought: 'Sod 'em. I don't have to explain her away. She's my wife.'"
Examining his yesterdays, Macca is still the man he used to be. In 2003, he doesn't see the need to explain away his second wife either. He clearly adores the former model who lost her leg below the knee in a road accident with a police motorcycle in August 1993.
There is nobody like her, he says, proudly. "She spends a lot of her time on the phone counseling young girls who've got to have a leg off. They say: 'I'm so scared - I won't be able to dance again.' And she says: 'You will!' She talks them through it. She'll talk to some young guy who lost his leg and wants to snowboard. She tells them that she skis and can snowboard."
On July 26, 2001, two years after they first met, Heather and Paul announced their engagement. With a lavish £2 million($3.2) reception, they were married on the estate of Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co Monaghan on June 12 last year. The wedding in Ireland was a poignant return to Paul's maternal roots - his mother, Mary Patricia Mohan, had lived nearby before moving to Liverpool when she was 11. "I just wanted to be where my mum was from," he says. "So it was like a sentimental journey. It was lovely that we ended up getting married at Castle Leslie. It was a fabulous day out. The Irish did us proud. Especially Uncle Jack Leslie - who told everyone it was a secret! We're still laughing about him. He was just fabulous."
The idea for the venue originally came during a trip to Dublin in early 2002. Paul and Heather had visited the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Hugh Lane Gallery. Afterwards, the two of them decided on a whim to hire a car and drive all the way to Monaghan. While they were there, Paul and Heather heard about this castle which would be the perfect wedding venue.
Paul's parents were married on April 15, 1941 at St Swithin's Roman Catholic Chapel in Gill Moss, Liverpool. They met during a Nazi air raid on Liverpool. Their first son, James Paul McCartney, was born in Liverpool on June 18, 1942.
"My mother grew up in the other capital of Ireland, Liverpool, and became a nurse and then a district nurse and then a midwife," he remembers. "She did very well as a health visitor. Then she ended up as a nit nurse. Who'd have ever guessed that? She was Irish but she was sort of posh-Liverpool. She always used to tell me off for talking funny.
"It's a bit late now, isn't it?""It is a bit late, you're right," he chuckles. "But all the edges have rubbed off my accent. I have been down south in England longer than I was in Liverpool - which is a scary thought."
His beloved mother succumbed to breast cancer in 1956 ("She died when I was 14," he says). The same disease took Linda McCartney in 1998, with Paul by her side; she was first diagnosed on December 7, 1995 and underwent an operation. When she died on April 17, 1998, Paul's life was turned upside-down. He personally chose the 45,000 flowers that decorated Manhattan's Riverside Church where Linda's friends and family gathered to say a final goodbye.
Paul and Linda raised four children together: Mary, James, Stella and Heather (the latter by Linda's first marriage). Mary was born at Avenue Clinic, London, on August 28, 1969. Becoming a father was, says Paul, a magical experience. Holding his baby for the first time, he says, he felt "incredibly proud".
"Before you have children, they say, 'Oh, it's the most miraculous thing,' and you go yawn, yawn. Then of course you have a kid yourself and you realize everything they said - and more - is true." He has two grandsons now "by that little baby I held in my arms all those years ago".
Paul and Linda, so the story goes, never spent more than one night apart in their 30 years together. I ask him if it's still difficult to come to terms with Linda's death.
"Yes, it is," he answers quietly, "but it's five years now . . . and I think anyone who's lost someone after 30 years will know how difficult it is. It's very difficult, but I am a very lucky man to have known her. I am privileged to have known her. And I am now a very lucky man to have found another lady who I love."
Heather has an amazing sense of purpose in life, he says. Amazingly, it transpires that she also possesses a sense of humor worthy of Brendan O'Carroll. Uncut. Paul is filled with a mixture of shock and awe, he says, whenever he hears his beautiful wife tell jokes. "I'm always saying, 'She's not going to tell that one about the ferret!'"
Heather is in New York on charity business (he'll see her in Hamburg in a few days), so she is not here to perform it, but after much persuasion, McCartney agrees to tell his wife's joke, complete with accent changes and mannerisms. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he laughs.
"This guy walks into a pub," begins the author of such tender classics as "Let It Be" and "Yesterday." "He's having a drink when he notices that the barman has a ferret on the bar. That's a bit unusual, he thinks, a ferret on the bar. 'That ferret, you see, gives the best blowjob in the whole world,' says the barman. 'Actually, I've got a couple more round the back. I'm selling them.'
"'I'll buy it off you,' he tells the barman and goes home to his wife.
"'You're a bit late home from the pub,' she says before spotting the creature under his arm. 'What's that doing in the house?'
"'It's a ferret. I've just bought it,' he says.
"'What do you me want me to do with that?' she asks.
"'Teach it to cook and f**k off.'"
There is a big burst of laughter from both of us as he finishes his wife's comic routine. "Heather is a bad, bad lady for telling all that," he says fondly. "But she has a great, great sense of humor. And she's not hard to look at either."
Heather was born in 1968, the year the Beatles released "The White Album." Seated in their private jet on the tarmac at Kennedy Airport, Heather and Paul watched the Twin Towers blaze on September 11, 2001. The plane never left the ground. They went to their house on Long Island and continued to watch the tragedy unfold on TV. On September 17, they visited Ground Zero. Three weeks later, Paul organized and headlined the Concert for New York to aid the families of the victims of the World Trade Center disaster and honor the heroes. Living and dead.He's eager to put you at ease, and witty with it. He is, in many senses of the word, a living legend. And you don't want to bother him with silly questions about the enduring characters in the Beatles' songbook - the Walrus, Rita the meter maid, Desmond and Molly, or the secret message on "Revolution 9." I've got far sillier questions than that. I ask him if it's true - as reported in a new book on McCartney - that Ted Kennedy interceded with the Japanese authorities to release him during his famous 10-day incarceration in Toyko for marijuana possession in 1980. (It was hardly a surprise revelation that he would be carrying drugs: as far back as the summer of 1967, Paul was outlining to Life magazine his penchant for LSD.)
"Ted Kennedy did help me, yes," he laughs. "When I was busted in Toyko, their law states that if you're arrested for what I had, the penalty is seven years' hard labor. A lot of liberal people, like Ted Kennedy and John and Yoko, wrote and sent telegrams saying, 'It's less harmful over here than it is over there. So please take that into account.' The Japanese authorities were, like, 'Wow! Is this really from Senator Kennedy?'"
What further impressed his Japanese "hosts" was the fact that Paul had been awarded the MBE in 1965 by the Queen (along with the rest of the Beatles).
"When they were questioning me," he recalls, "they asked, 'Does this mean you live at the Palace?' I was tempted to say, 'Yes, I live next door to the Queen - don't mess with me!'"
Perhaps it's fortunate that he didn't. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth on December 31, 1996; the investiture ceremony took place the following March. I enquire whether HRH mentioned his various drug arrests. "No way," he chortles.
She didn't offer you a spliff?
"No. I offered her one but she wouldn't do it. 'I don't do that any more, Paul,'" he says, getting the Queen's accent down pat.
Performing some of his best work over a breathless three-hour show that comes to Dublin on Tuesday - his first Irish show in 40 years - McCartney bounces along eagerly on the warm goodwill of the German crowd. He is wide-eyed and boyish. Even in his 60s, it seems McCartney is still somehow thebaby-faced member of the Beatles who had the girls on The Ed Sullivan Show screaming back in 1964.
When he bursts into "We Can Work It Out," "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude," followed by a breathtaking "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Band on the Run," the audience are entranced - sticking their arms up in clenched-fist salutes, whooping in celebration of each of the twenty-something Beatles songs offered during the set, unleashing ferocious Zippo-lighter ovations for the encores of "Lady Madonna" and "Yesterday." The realization that you're watching one of the Beatles, up close and personal, is almost overwhelming.
But I have a question. Does he ever wonder, in an almost out-of-body way, who this Paul McCartney person is, or consider the fact that his life has become ever more surreal: a working-class Liverpool lad who went on to be the most celebrated songwriter in history, made £700m, worked with John Lennon, etc.?
"All the time. God, it's the realization that this happened to me. And is happening," he says. "It's a bit spooky, you know. But I suppose a deep-sea diver gets those kind of thoughts, 'Jesus Christ, do I really go down to those depths?' Or a Concorde pilot, 'Do I really fly at twice the speed of sound?' It is a bit daunting. I just go, 'Wow, was I really in the Beatles?' I have a safety valve where I kind of block it off. He is 'Him' - the other guy. And then at home I'm like 'Our Paul', who I always was."
It's a Liverpool thing, if you got big-headed, the locals would tell you to f**k off, I say.
"That's one of the reasons I love going back to Liverpool - no, not to be told to f**k off!" he laughs. "I know exactly what you mean, though, because I grew up there. I'm not anything special when I'm there, which is really cool. Maybe visiting American branches of the family are in a little bit of awe. For everybody else, I'm just this geezer who's always there and shows up just like all the other cousins and uncles. And then I sort of leave that world and go to the Maldives on holidays. That's like, this is the Other Geezer."
The Other Geezer bemoans the fact that Liverpool Football Club haven't had a good season, by their standards, and didn't qualify for the Champions League. "People expect everyone from Liverpool to know everyone in the team," he says, adding, "With the Beatles, we were never massive football fans. We never had time. We left school and went into the Beatles. I went to matches with my Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron, who were Everton supporters. I'm officially supposed to be an Everton supporter because my dad was born in Everton."
Tough and uncompromising, Paul is far from the prevailing stereotype: the emollient Mr. Showbiz who wrote all the nice songs in the Beatles. (He says he ignores criticism - he relishes reminding journalists how critic Richard Goldstein panned "Sgt. Pepper," one of the greatest collections of songs ever set to vinyl.)
I ask him what was going through his head in 1972 when he penned perhaps his most controversial song ever, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," his reaction to the troubles in Northern Ireland. He sums up the feelings that made him write the song, "The fact that Bloody Sunday had happened," he says. "That fact, that it came over as our lads - the British troops - killing our mates. It would have been different if it was in the Sudan or something - you would have been able to remove it to your own imagination - but there, particularly as I am of Liverpool-Irish descent, it was our people killing our people to me.
"Like a lot of people at the time, I just thought it was wrong, and I wrote a song imagining if Irish soldiers were on the streets of Liverpool - 'how would you feel?' kind of thing. That was my take. They banned the record."
The head of his record company EMI - "a big English guy called Sir Joseph Lockwood", he says - rang him up before his band Wings released it, "'Paul, you really ought to think twice about this. It's a very bad idea.' I told him that I thought something's got to be said and I'm going to say and I am going to release it. Henry McCullough - one of our guitar players who was from the north of Ireland - his brother, who was still living there, got beaten up for his association with us and the song."
All but one of his Beatles colleagues are gone now; George Harrison of cancer last November; John Lennon murdered in 1980. Onstage that night in Germany, Macca plays "Something" on a ukukele as an homage to Harrison, and then, in a moving tribute to Lennon, he plays "Here Today," an imaginary conversation with the Beatle with whom his relationship was never less than stormy:
"And if I say I really knew you well, what would your answer be/ If you were here today?" he sings emotionally. "Well, knowing you, you'd probably laugh and say that we were worlds apart / But as for me, I still remember how it was before,/ And I am holding back the tears no more. I love you."
McCartney explains the song's origins, "It was a moment after he died when you go through your grieving and you just sort of think, 'What if he was here? What might we say?' We might talk about when we met and, being John, he might say, 'Ah, f**k off,' because we were that kind of mates, and I'd say to him, 'No, you f**k off.' It was just ruminating on that thought that led me to put that song together."
He particularly remembers a night he and John sat around crying, "probably just because we were too pissed for words. Just all those special little moments and they all crept into the song. It's like when you think of someone who's passed away, you get to see them again."
Since Lennon initiated the breakup of the Beatles in 1969 by telling Paul, "I want a divorce," things appeared to go from bad to worse between the separated couple right up until Lennon's death.
Most recently, it turned nasty when Paul, in the eyes of the world's press, seemed to attempt to rewrite history by putting his own name first on certain Beatles' songs. (For the record: McCartney and Lennon agreed early on to share all songwriting credits, even though they directly collaborated on only a handful on songs; throughout the Beatles years "McCartney-Lennon" wrote and sang the vast majority of Beatles tunes.) Unfortunately, the whole affair cast something of a pall over Macca's legacy. "That's been blown out of proportion," he says. "That was just a simple little request, originally in "The Beatles Anthology," for the one song and in this one instance, to put 'Yesterday by Paul McCartney and John Lennon'. I have since said to people that I don't give a sh*t if they won't let me do it. People get the wrong end of the stick and think I'm trying to get McCartney-Lennon.
"I got asked about it a lot," he continues, "and instead of going, 'I don't give a sh*t' - which I have now taken to saying, which I don't - I tried to explain it. Of course, if they use half the explanation it comes out like, 'He's dancing on a dead man's grave. He wants to put McCartney-Lennon instead of Lennon-McCartney.' That's an absolute fallacy. It's not true. I'm happy with Lennon-McCartney. It was just a request for old times' sake."
Years ago, when the Beatles and their wives and girlfriends visited the Maharishi, the guru gave them a book. He wrote in Paul's copy, "Radiate bliss consciousness." And then, simply, "Enjoy."
Initially baffled, McCartney says he eventually took that message to heart. If, at the end of most days, he could say, "That was a good one," it builds, he says, "into a reasonably successful life."
With Heather Mills, you imagine Paul McCartney's found just the woman to finish that building project. Not quite, as the famous song says, 64 yet (he'll be 61 in a few weeks), Paul is nonetheless getting older. But you don't doubt that when he reaches that age, and is losing his hair, Heather will still feed him, still need him, knit him a sweater by the fireside and Sunday morning go for a ride. (Irish Independent on Sunday)
Legions of Russian Beatles fans who never got to see Lennon and McCartney instead got Lenin and McCartney on Saturday (May24) when the former Beatle played to about 20,000 people and President Vladimir Putin just a few hundred meters from Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square.After missing out on the Beatlemania that took over the world in the 1960s, Moscow fans made up for lost time by eagerly welcoming McCartney to Russia for the first time. "30 years waiting for you," read one banner hoisted over the crowd, as many concert-goers wept tears of happiness.
Although the Beatles were deeply disapproved of in the Soviet Union, their popularity knew no bounds and far outreached any other Western rock groups.
"There's no one higher than Paul McCartney, only God," said an office manager with a Western firm who had been a fan since her student days.
"This is my youth come back!" said a middle-aged woman as she danced during the concert. "I never thought I would be here in Moscow listening to him."
"This hand shook Paul's," a stunned fan told TVS television, after meeting McCartney before the concert. "I don't plan to wash it for several days."
Although the Beatles were derided as the "belch of Western culture" and McCartney was refused permission to play in the 1980s, he received a welcome worthy of a royal visit on Saturday.
There were objections. More than 100 State Duma deputies tried to have the concert canceled, saying it was too close to the graves of Lenin and Stalin or that the loud music might damage St. Basil's Cathedral.
But this time McCartney had a powerful fan. A clearly starstruck Putin showed McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills, around the Kremlin on Saturday afternoon after they arrived from a stop in St. Petersburg, where the former Beatle was feted by the local conservatory. McCartney then performed an informal rendition of "Let it Be" especially for Putin.
Putin, 51, who was a teenager at the height of the Beatles' popularity, told McCartney how much Russians loved the group in Soviet times. "It was very popular, more than popular. It was like a breath of fresh air, like a window on the outside world," he said in a meeting shown on television. "I'm sure a lot of people play and sing your songs. They like you a lot."
The concert, one of the last in a 14-month world tour, was obviously something special for the 60-year-old McCartney as well. "I hear a lot of you learned English through the Beatles. ... How proud does that make me feel," he told fans on Red Square.
Doing his best to charm the audience, he spoke in Russian, reading from prepared notes throughout the show, starting with "Privet rebyata."
Beginning the 2 1/2-hour concert with "Hello, Goodbye," he ripped through a hit list of Beatles' songs including "Hey Jude," "Lady Madonna" "Getting Better" and "She's Leaving Home," as well Wings and solo numbers. But the song the audience and McCartney himself seemed to be waiting for the most was a simple parody of the American rock songs by The Beach Boys and Chuck Berry: "Back in the U.S.S.R." When McCartney began to sing, the crowd went wild.
"Finally we got to do that one here," he said after the song.
Putin, although not scheduled to attend the concert, strolled out of the Kremlin about a half hour after the concert started and sat down between Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and rock singer Andrei Makarevich. Having missed the first raucous rendition of "Back in the U.S.S.R.," Putin may have been behind a decision by McCartney to diverge from his set list and play the song again for an encore. McCartney said only that it was a request from a special person.
Perhaps due to high ticket prices of 1,000 rubles to 10,000 rubles ($30 to $320), the number of people at the concert was far from the expected 50,000. Anyone with the 1,000-ruble standing-only tickets saw little of McCartney performing at the St. Basil's end of the square, apart from the display on large video screens. Those who got the posh front-row seats looked at times like they belonged more at a fashion show than a rock concert.
It was a pity, said one fan on the Beatles.ru forum, that McCartney didn't recycle John Lennon's famous quip at the Royal Variety Performance in London in 1963, when he said, "Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry."
Although crowd control seemed more courteous than usual at such events, the police and security guards still managed to be a bit heavy-handed, confiscating bottles of water and telling people to stop dancing and being so excitable.
"You're not at B-2," one security guard told a group of fans, referring to the Russian rock group. "How right he was," retorted a fan. (Imedia)
You can bid on a drawing by Paul McCartney on sale though eBay.co.uk between June 1 - 11. Sir Paul's 5x6 inch pen and ink autographed sketch is expected to be the major attraction of the Outline and Orchid Auction. All proceeds go to Dorset Wildlife Trust.
The fund is auctioning over 240 original pictures drawn by celebrities. The artists range from well-known actors and authors through poets and photographers to soap stars and singers. They were asked if they could 'Outline an Orchid' (the logo of the Dorset Wildlife Trust).
The Dorset Wildlife Trust is the largest voluntary wildlife charity in Dorset with over 11,000 members. Its primary concern is to conserve the wildlife and natural habitats of the county. It currently manages 35 reserves covering approx. 3,000 acres. It's one of the 46 County Wildlife Trusts which together make up the partnership known as The Wildlife Trusts.
"The Family Way," Paul McCartney's first try at film music, has been rereleased by the Montreal-based XXI-21 Records label. McCartney scored the British film in late 1966, while the Beatles were on break between the "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" albums.The original version of the album was only 24 minutes long, with McCartney's music performed mostly by the Claudel String Quartet. The new edition of "The Family Way" features the McCartney soundtrack along with two additional treatments of the music performed by the George Martin Orchestra and Carl Aubut.
All of the tracks on the album are instrumental, though that wasn't the original plan. Jazz and pop songwriter Johnny Mercer was lined up to write lyrics for the song "Love In The Open Air," but McCartney passed because at the time he didn't know who Mercer was. (Launch)
Paul McCartney is one of the nominees for European president at www.50.connect.co.uk. The British Internet portal for 50 and over is running an independent vote and asks the public to cast their vote.
Other nominees include: DJ Terry Wogan, John Simpson, actress Joanna Lumley, actor Anthony Hopkins, Richard Branson of Virgin-Atlantic, Prime Minister Tony Blair, actor Billy Connolly, Anne Robinson ("The Weakest Link"), David Attenborough, Alan Titchmarch and Mo Mowlam.
From the 50 Connect Web site: "McCartney is one of the most famous Europeans on the Planet, McCartney has the fan base to be political. He has a good record of campaigning, especially on green issues and vegetarianism, but he would be unlikely to draw much support from farmers or butchers."To vote for Paul send an email to news@50connect.com
Paul McCartney kept the Russians waiting. Until the demise of the Soviet Union. Then more than another decade. And finally an extra 20 minutes Saturday. But when the former Beatle kicked off his Red Square concert, near Lenin's mausoleum and Stalin's grave, thousands of his Russian fans weren't holding it against him.
"I've waited my whole life for this,'' said Vladimir Snopov, 52, of Samara, about 550 miles south of Moscow, who recalled when the only way to hear McCartney sing was by listening to banned and often-fuzzy broadcasts over Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
McCartney told journalists that he tried to get to Russia in the 1980s, but was told a concert here was out of the question. Now, though, Russia bestowed royal treatment on the ex-Beatle. McCartney met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who confessed that in Soviet times the Beatles were considered "propaganda of an alien ideology.''
Putin, an ex-KGB agent, had no such hang-ups Saturday, giving McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills, a personally guided tour of the Kremlin. In return, McCartney serenaded Putin with "Let It Be.''
McCartney also pulled off the remarkable coup of commandeering the main portion of Red Square for the evening - usually rock bands are relegated to lesser space.
Even the upscale shopping mall GUM got into the act. It was converted into "Strawberry Fields'' for a champagne and strawberry invitation-only bash.
"Good evening, Moskvichi,'' McCartney yelled to an estimated 20,000 fans - a mixed crowd including those who arrived in chauffeur-driven Mercedes and sailed hassle-free through the heavy security at the gates, to families and couples wearing old Beatles concert T-shirts.
Tickets ranged from about $30 to $300. With average monthly wages around $140, the concert was a splurge for many.
"I bought the cheapest ticket there was,'' said Irina Trifonova of St. Petersburg. But the music was still audible far outside Red Square, and thousands of Russians took advantage of the warm weather to gather behind police barricades and listen.
McCartney told journalists before the concert that he was thrilled to be in Russia and performing on the doorstep of the Kremlin. "When I was a little kid growing up we didn't know much about Russia. We heard about Siberia and saw the marches pass through this square. We thought it was very military,'' he said.
The first-time visitor was clearly in awe of his surroundings. "It's a long way from Liverpool, isn't it?'' McCartney said during a soundcheck ahead of the concert.
And when asked where he could perform that would top Red Square, McCartney didn't hesitate, "Next stop the moon,'' he said.
But the concert did cause some controversy, with a few Russian lawmakers complaining that it was in poor taste to host a rock concert on Red Square, usually the scene of more sedate events. Earlier Saturday afternoon, more traditional music filled the square. An Russian Orthodox procession - columns of bearded priests and women-only choirs - wound its way slowly past the giant, temporary stage erected in front of St. Basil's Cathedral. "Who needs this,'' said Nadezhda Romova, gesturing disgustedly toward the stage as she clutched an icon to her chest. (AP)
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Beatlemania gripped Moscow as Sir Paul McCartney staged an open-air concert in Red Square. Russian president Vladimir Putin was in the audience as the ex-Beatle entertained in Moscow's celebrated venue with its Lenin Mausoleum.
Earlier, Putin had a brief meeting with Sir Paul in the adjacent Kremlin before the star went out to face the fans. Organizers said around 20,000 tickets had been sold but streets around the square were packed, bringing the number to nearer 130,000.
McCartney, banned in the Beatles era, was greeted in Moscow by many of the trappings of a state occasion. "I'm very excited that after all this time of the Beatles banned in Russia that we can finally come and do this show," he said just before going on stage. He revealed that he had given a private performance of "Let It Be" when he met the 51-year-old president, adding that the former KGB colonel was a "really nice guy. I sang him a song - he couldn't come to the concert tonight."
Putin showed up halfway through the concert. (Sky News)
Check out Paul singing "Back in the USSR" from Sky News. Download the video clip
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Here are various news reports from Russian television about Paul's concert.
Watch news clip 2
News from Russian television about the concert preparations.
News clip 1 News clip 2 News clip 3
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AP News Clip in English and a BBC News report. You will need RealPlayer
President Vladimir Putin told Paul McCartney on Saturday (May 24) the Beatles, hugely popular in Soviet times despite being frowned on as propagandists for an alien ideology, had been a breath of fresh air for Russians."It was very popular, more than popular," Putin said when asked whether he had listened to the Beatles when contacts with Western pop music were discouraged. "It was like a breath of fresh air, like a window on to the outside world."
Hours before the ex-Beatle was due to perform in Red Square, his first Russian concert on his first visit here, Putin invited him to the Kremlin for a chat and a cup of tea.
Putin said he understood there had been a plan for McCartney to play in Red Square, beside the Kremlin, in the 1980s but that the final refusal exposed the shortcomings of communist society.
"It was considered propaganda of an alien ideology," he said of McCartney's and the Beatles' music.
Music by Western bands was not exactly banned in Soviet times but was very hard to obtain, though a few albums were manufactured here and many fans heard their songs on the Voice of America and BBC radio.
Tickets for McCartney's concert were selling for hundreds of dollars in a country where the monthly average wage is below $100.
McCartney, thronged by fans since arriving in Russia, received an honorary
doctorate at the conservatory in St Petersburg, Putin's home town now marking its 300th anniversary.
He told Putin he was pleased to have visited the same school which had trained Tchaikovsky, Russia's most celebrated composer. And he had come across many talented young musicians.
"It was an honor for me to be in the same school where Tchaikovsky was educated. Pretty cool for a kid from Liverpool," he told the president.
In a stroll through the Kremlin grounds, McCartney told reporters his trip to Russia had dispelled many notions he had held, even when the Beatles had the hit "Back in the USSR."
"I didn't know anything about it then," he said. "It was a mystical land then. It's nice to see the reality. I always suspected that people had big hearts. Now I know that's true."(Reuters)
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The star will stage a concert in the heart of the former Soviet Union on Saturday night, unthinkable during the Beatles' heyday.
Hours before the event, McCartney took tea in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, who was a KGB agent when the Fab Four topped the charts around the world. Putin said that while Beatles' music was not banned by the Communist regime, "The fact that you were not allowed to play in Red Square in the 1980s says a lot."
Western music was not banned by the Communist authorities but Russians generally only heard it on records smuggled into the country or secretly on foreign radio stations, such as Voice of America and the BBC.
After more niceties, McCartney's wife, Heather Mills, broke the harmony by asking Putin if he were aware of a campaign to ban land mines - of which she is a fervent proponent and Russia a leading exporter. Putin replied, "I think it is a very good cause. I think everything aimed at saving human lives deserves our utmost support.'"
After their meeting, Putin took McCartney and his wife, Heather, on a tour of the Kremlin, surprising onlookers who recognized the ex-Beatle. Asked about The Beatles' hit "Back in the USSR", McCartney said he did not know a lot about the former Soviet Union when he co-wrote the song with John Lennon. "It was always a mystical land," he told reporters. "It's nice to see the reality. I always suspected that people had big hearts. Now I know that's true."
There was, however, a reminder of past days, when a group of leftist and nationalist deputies in the Russian parliament tried to move McCartney's concert away from the Red Square, as too sacred a place for Western rock music. About 20,000 fans are expected to pack Red Square to catch a glimpse of their idol. (BBC/The Guardian)
Paul McCartney opened a modern sound recording studio for musically gifted children. Children from St. Petersburg boarding school No. 38 are participated in the studio opening, which is located in the former stables of the Menshikov palace on Vasilyevsky Island. They sang songs by the former member of the legendary group Beatles.The studio was opened with support from the charity fund The Menshikov Foundation. According to the fund's director Enti Ino, the fund was created to support musically gifted children, and the modern sound studio will become a stage for the exercises of these children. (Pravda)
Cilla Black has had her 1968 hit "Step Inside Love" remixed and released as an underground dance track. The TV star has had 3,000 white labels of the track pressed under the name TS vs CB with the help of DJ Tommy Sandhu. The track, written by Sir Paul McCartney in his Beatle days, has already gone down a storm in clubs.
Cilla's son Robert Willis, who also manages his mum since the his dad's death, said, "This is a fun idea to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday. Tommy has done three mixes of "Step Inside Love" and we put them out as a white label to see if people pick up on it. It would be great if it is a summer dance hit."
Cilla has also signed a deal with record label EMI and will release a new album next year.
A lecturer from Sir Paul McCartney's fame school has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a Japanese jail for drug smuggling. Chris Snell, 48, from Liverpool, was caught with around three kilos of cannabis at Tokyo airport in May last year. The music lecturer from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (Lipa) was arrested as he stepped off a plane from Zurich in Switzerland.
Coincidentally, Sir Paul was arrested at the same airport in 1980 after being caught with marijuana in his luggage.
Since his arrest Snell has been locked up in a Tokyo detention center and 150 days have been knocked off his sentence for time spent on remand. He was also fined thousands of pounds. Snell has always denied the charges, claiming he was set up. He was sentenced in January and tried to appeal against his conviction on Monday but his legal bid failed.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said Snell would be forced to work as part of his sentence. He said, "That is common practice in Japan's jails."
A spokesman for Lipa said, "Chris Snell has been employed at Lipa on and off for a number of years as a part-time music lecturer. "Chris has been a very popular and respected member of staff. He is a good human being and a good teacher. Everybody at Lipa who knew him was completely shocked when we first heard of the allegations." (Ananova)
Paul McCartney, mobbed by fans in Russia's second largest city, collected an honorary degree Thursday May 22.
McCartney is to give a concert Saturday in Moscow's Red Square as part of his Back to the World tour. Tickets are reporting to be changing hands for hundreds of dollars in a country where average salaries remain less than $100 per month.
In remarks to hundreds of well-wishers jammed into the building, he made no reference to the Beatles hit "Back in the USSR," but paid tribute to Russia's rich musical heritage. "It's really exciting to be in the same school that such great composers as Tchaikovsky came to," he said, switching to English and pointing to his doctorate. "It's fantastic to be here. And receiving this diploma is the icing on the cake."
Beatles recordings were highly prized in Soviet times, when contact with Western musical trends was often limited.
Russian television showed him later in the day stuck in a traffic jam, waving out of an open car window, with fans running alongside the vehicle. (Reuters)
The diploma of an honorary doctor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory was handed to Sir Paul McCartney on Thursday, May 22 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He addressed the audience at the ceremony in Russian, reading from prepared text.
"Hello! I am glad to be here. This is a great honor for me. Thank you," he said in Russian. Switching to English, he said that his old dream of visiting Russia had finally come true.
The former Beatle said that in his childhood, Russia had seemed a mysterious and cold place to him, but now he knows much more about it. "I composed 'Back In The USSR', but never visited the place myself. In the cold war era, we were pleased that mysterious Russia also knew The Beatles."
Presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Valentina Matviyenko welcomed McCartney, calling him a great musician and an idol for millions of fans.
She told reporters that as a student, she had been a great Beatles fan and "Yesterday" was one of her favorite songs. (Interfax)
Sir Paul McCartney arrived in St.Petersburg in a private plane. Although it was thought that the singer would have a concert in St.Petersburg, the only concert in Russia will take place on Moscow's Red Square, May 24.As it became known, 17,000 tickets for the concert have been already sold. 20,000 spectators are expected to come to the concert; now only tickets to the so-called "dancing party" are available. As the organizers of the concert say, unfortunately some swindlers sell fake tickets.
On May 24, entry to the Red Square will be prohibited; the audience will be allowed to the Square only 1.5 hours before the concert. A special entry to the Square from the Vasilyevsky Spusk (the hill sloping down from Red Square's St.Basil's Cathedral) will be opened for VIPs, ITAR-TASS news agency reports.
Lots of instruments have been delivered to Moscow especially for the concert. Technical and administrative services, a dining-room, an office, a cloakroom for artists and a make-up room for McCartney will be placed in tents raised behind the stage. (Pravda)
On May 24, Sir Paul McCartney will be giving a concert on Red Square. The venue was his own choice for he was aware of its symbolic value. Though he may not have been aware just how symbolic it was State Duma deputies, apparently for want of more important things to do, made another desperate attempt at preventing Sir Paul from performing on Red Square. This time around, Alexei Mitrofanov, Nikolai Bezborodov, Sergei Reshulsky, Tatiana Astrakhankina, Yuri Nikiforenko, et al., decided to appeal to the musician's conscience and on May 13 sent him a letter where they demanded the concert's cancellation as Red Square, in their opinion, was a "cemetery of a special nature" and playing rock-'n-roll on it would be a sacrilege. McCartney was advised to reconsider his decision and let the dust of Soviet leaders rest in peace; otherwise the musician, the deputies believed, would find himself in the center of a political scandal. The whole thing looks more like an ultimatum while the scandal referred to will, in all likelihood, be staged by the letter authors.With Paul McCartney's arrival, a certain historical circle will be closed, and an entire epoch will come to an end. The Beatles were the idols of the whole planet, but to Russia they were truly special. That was what Alexander Gafin, member of the Alfa-bank Board of Directors, meant when he said that until McCartney came to Russia, democracy would not begin in this country. Roger Waters, Deep Purple, Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, Rick Wakeman, and Ringo Starr have already been here; McCartney is the only one who has not. Russia is to see McCartney turn from a semi-mythical personage into a musician of flesh and blood who can come to Moscow on a tour, as dozens of ordinary mortals have done before him. Attending the Red Square concert will be not unlike an initiation rite when thousands of people will see in the flesh the legend whose words have changed the outlook of billions, while the person on the stage will be a musician who will simply be doing his job and get paid for it. It is like realizing that SantaClaus does not exist - painful but necessary. The inevitable bitterness of growing up. There will be one myth fewer, but one great musician more. Which is just as well.
The fact that the concert will take place on Red Square is of special significance of course. Red Square and the Beatles used to be things of the same order to us, albeit on the opposite poles. And their coming in contact should, according to physical laws, produce an explosive effect. (Moscow News)
Paul McCartney was back Wednesday (May 21) to the place where it all began for the Beatles - recalling "wonderful memories" of the group's legendary time in Hamburg in the early 1960s."I have a lot of fond memories of Hamburg," said McCartney who was in the northern German port city as part of his "Back In The World" tour.
"But I also remember how much we froze, how we played all night long, how we lived at the back of an old cinema next to the toilets - and you could smell those ... the women's toilet was our bathroom," he told the local Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper.
McCartney's concert Wednesday evening at the modern multi-purpose AOL Arena was a far cry from the seedy red-light district clubs he and the band from Liverpool played in more than 40 years ago.
McCartney, now 60 and knighted, recalled how the Beatles moved from initially playing in a dingy, empty club to another venue, the Kaiserkeller, "which was great because it had a dancefloor." He added, "According to the contract we had to play six hours alternating with another band. That was 12 hours a day. Hamburg opened our eyes," he said.
Originally the group comprised McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best on drums. Ringo Starr, who had been playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes as the Kaiserkeller's other resident band, was to replace Best, while Sutcliffe later quit the group.
"We went to Hamburg as children and came back as adults," McCartney said.
It was after returning to Liverpool after a first spell in Hamburg in 1960 that the Beatles began to earn wider notice, thanks in no small part to the new leather look they had acquired in Germany.
"In Hamburg there was great leather gear," McCartney said. "We returned to Liverpool and wore black clothes from Hamburg."
The group had been billed as "from Hamburg", and everybody thought they were German. "Even in Liverpool people didn't know we were from Liverpool. People thought we were from Hamburg and said 'your English is really good,'" McCartney said.
Meanwhile a local Hamburg political faction has called for an area in the center of the Reeperbahn district to be named Beatles Square. The idea by the opposition Social Democrats has won approval in principle from the ruling conservative coalition.
Sir Paul McCartney has sent a good luck message to Britain's Eurovision Song Contest entry and said he would be "rooting" for them.
Pop duo Jemini are carrying the UK's hopes for victory on Saturday with a song written by Martin Isherwood, head of music at Macca's 'fame school'. And students from the college - the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts - will provide backing vocals on the night.
Liverpool pair Jemini will compete in the contest on Saturday night in Riga, Latvia. And students Emma Nowell, Nicola Bell and Lyndsey Powelling will sing with them as they perform the track Cry Baby.
Sir Paul sent a message to the Liverpudlian contingent to be through BBC3's Liquid Eurovision show, which will be broadcast no the Friday edition. "Best of luck, we'll all be rooting for you and listening to Terry Wogan commenting on you," he said. "Particular congratulations to LIPA students, Lyndsey, Emma and Nicola for being the backing singers. Go Martin, go Jemini and Cry Baby."
Controversial Russian duo Tatu are favorites to win the contest. In an interview with Liquid Eurovision they said they were still not sure whether they would be performing a raunchy routine. There have been fears that their performance might be too steamy for the live show and producers may have to pull the plug on their show. Asked whether they have a saucy show planned the group's Lena Katina said, "We don't know yet. We'll decide on stage on the 24th." (Ananova)
UPDATE
Pop duo Jemini are back in the UK after receiving the worst ever results for a UK act in the Eurovision Song Contest. Following an off-key rendition of their song "Cry Baby." Chris Cromby, 21, and Gemma Abbey failed to collect a single point from judges and finished last in the 26-nation competition held in Latvia.
Jemini suffered a further setback after their dressing room was vandalized as they gave interviews following their defeat in Latvia. "The door was kicked in. Then the walls were smashed - I think it was specifically targeted," said the duo's representative Martin O'Shea.
Cromby said on Sunday that despite still being "in shock" at the result, they still felt "fantastic." The singer added that it was possible that the result could have been influenced by the UK's role in the recent war with Iraq. "With the countries across Europe something has rocked the boat in a way. We don't think it was fair we came last because we gave the performance of our lifetime," he said.
Mike Cockayne, who manages the Liverpudlian duo, said they had tried their hardest. But he added, "It's a big, big, big pressure event - there's 600 million people watching and things can go wrong and I certainly wouldn't want to put any blame on anybody. It's not an ideal result by any stretch of the imagination, but hey, life goes on."
On paper things had looked good for Jemini, with composer Martin Isherwood - head of music at Sir Paul McCartney's fame school, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts - writing their song.
Jemini had the support of Sir Paul McCartney. Earlier this week, Sir Paul sent a good luck message to the duo and said he would be "rooting" for them.
Some pundits believe politics played a part in the vote. As the results came in Terry Wogan, who provided the BBC's commentary for the show, offered the consoling thought, "I think the UK is suffering from post-Iraq backlash." Later, Isherwood echoed this in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live's Up All Night program, saying the competition was "extremely political." "I think politically we are out on a limb at the moment. As a country I think we paid the price last night."
But former Eurovision winner Cheryl Baker said the UK scored nothing because it had "the wrong song." She was a member of Bucks Fizz, who triumphed in 1981 with "Making Your Mind Up."
"There's always politics involved. In every single Eurovision there is and there always has been so perhaps there was an element involved of whether we should have gone into the Iraq war," she said. "But even so, we wouldn't have won. Despite the politics, despite the euro, we wouldn't have won last night. The nerves do affect your voice and they (Jemini) did sing out of tune, not completely, but they did on occasion. The song is a chart-worthy song, perhaps not in the top 10, but it's just not a Euro song. It was the wrong choice of song."
Paul McCartney and his neighbors Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball are trying to block plans for a factory near their beachfront homes.
The stars, along with actor Nick Berry, have teamed up to oppose the proposed peat processing plant. They claim it will create noise, dust and bad smells at their £1million ($1.5 million) homes on Western Esplanade near Shoreham Harbour in Hove.
A letter sent to Adur District Council by the nine residents of Western Esplanade says they "strongly object" to the plans. The official author of the letter, Western Esplanade Management, says it is concerned over the "extremely serious health and environmental impact on the quality of life experienced by residents owing to the large volumes of traffic."
The former coastguard cottages have become known as millionaire's row after a string of celebrities moved in. Sir Paul and Heather Mills, live in one of the white houses, each of which have exclusive access to the beach. Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball live in another.
Council leaders are being recommended to approve the factory plans at a committee meeting next Tuesday. (Ananova)
Paul McCartney will visit St. Petersburg on May 22. McCartney will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the St. Petersburg Conservatory. McCartney will also visit several music schools in St. Petersburg.
The singer/song-writer will come to St. Petersburg in a private jet . He will not sing in St. Petersburg, which was initially planned. McCartney's only concert in Russia will take place on Moscow's Red Square on May 24.(Interfax)
Dear Paul,
Welcome back to Hamburg, I, together with thousands of citizens of Hamburg and Northern Germany am delighted to see you again for this spectacular musical occasion. Our common love of Rock`n Roll is the cement of a friendship which has lasted all these years. I have many fond memories of our session at the Star Club and the great time we had there together. My reminiscences lead me back to the first time I saw you, the new band, on the 16th of August 1960 trough the windows of an old Ford Transit, and how the following evening after the Tony Sheridan concert we met over chicken soup in Haralds on Große-Freiheit-Street. A lot of water has flowed down the Elbe since then! I`m really looking forward to the concert (May 21). To see you on stage in Hamburg once again with all your musical versatility and showman-ship will be one of the highlights of my life. Paul McCartney, Horst Fascher, Star Club Hamburg, St. Pauli, a phrase that hangs together; and together we made musical history.
In this spirit with many other fans here in Hamburg I want to say how thrilled we are to have Sir Paul McCartney here,
God bless us always,
Horst Fascher, your friend,
one-time StarClub Manager and "everything-man" (Welt Newspaper)
Although it was a serious topic, activist Heather Mills McCartney drew laughs Tuesday in Jackson as she recounted the traffic accident in which she lost a leg 10 years ago.
"My leg was so severed out that the nerves were like spaghetti. So it got stuck in a bag. They could have asked me whether I wanted it frozen or something,'' McCartney said. "I mean they just stuck it in an incinerator. It was my property.''
McCartney encouraged attendees of Mississippi's first statewide disabilities conference to rise above their physical limitations and not pity themselves. Her hourlong speech was peppered with stories about mishaps she had with her prosthetic leg, including when it slipped off while she was riding on a ski lift.
"Having a sense of humor has been my saving grace,'' she said.
The conference was the largest public forum ever held in Mississippi promoting the accomplishments of disabled residents, said H.S. "Butch'' McMillan, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitative Services.
McCartney, who is married to musician Paul McCartney, was struck by a police car in August 1993. She had already lived a full life by then - going from homelessness to business owner to model. After her accident, McCartney made a career of counseling people who have lost limbs in accidents or through illness, natural disasters or terrorists attacks. She also campaigns to raise funds and awareness to rid the world of land mines.
McCartney said she's working to show Third World countries how to use various resources, such as metal and rubber, to make their own prosthetics so "they didn't have to rely on charities forever.''
McCartney has a simple answer for questions about her activism. "I've always known from a very young age that the reason we're here is to make a difference to other peoples' lives, not our own,'' she said.
Natalie Ellis, president of the Mississippi Paralysis Association, said McCartney's life is inspirational. "She's a true role model for people with disabilities,'' Ellis said. Ellis, who was left a paraplegic after a car crash in 1988, said McCartney's celebrity status could help raise awareness about Mississippians living with disabilities.
The conference was sponsored by MDRS and the Mississippi Society for Disabilities in partnership with Methodist Rehabilitation Center. The services offered by those agencies are a "well-kept secret,'' said Sammy Shute, 41, a counselor with the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Shute, who uses a wheelchair after a 1983 diving accident, agreed with McCartney about humor being key to a patient's rehabilitation. "Once you've adjusted to it, if you can't have a sense of humor about it, you still need some adjusting,'' Shute said. (AP)
Despite conflicting news from different sources, including the BBC, Paul McCartney will not play in St. Petersburg, according to Anthea Eno and Seva Gakkel, officially appointed by McCartney's management to look after a charity event during the former Beatle's visit to the city next week.McCartney's visit to St. Petersburg is purely a private visit at the invitation of Anthea Eno, whose U.K.-registered charity operates in St. Petersburg for the benefit of musically gifted but deprived schoolchildren.
"Paul will officially inaugurate the work of the charity, called The Menshikov Foundation," said Eno. McCartney's scheduled masterclass at an unnamed musical college on May 23 has been canceled.
"Naturally, we all hope that he will have such a pleasant impression of the city that he will return for a concert at some time in the future," said Eno.
McCartney will arrive in St. Petersburg on May 22 and leave on May 23 to play a huge open-air concert on Moscow's Red Square on May 24. The cheapest tickets will cost from 1,000 rubles ($32.25) to an unprecedented 10,000 rubles ($322.50). (St. Petersburg Times)
Paul McCartney fans said on Monday they were itching to welcome him home next month for his first major solo concert in his northern England home town since 1990.
The Liverpool-born musician, who made his name as one quarter of 1960s rock and roll phenomenon the Beatles, will play the 90th and final gig of his "Back in the World" tour to 30,000 fans on the banks of the city's River Mersey on June 1.
One fan who is well aware of the value of his concert ticket is Eddie Porter, who for 24 years has been a guide on the "Magical Mystery Tour" bus that shuttles tourists to Liverpool's many sites of Beatles interest.
"Put it this way: you can buy me love, but you can't buy my ticket," he said over a beer near the Cavern Club, where the Beatles performed nearly 300 times.
McCartney had 17 number one hits in Britain with the group.
"They were a unique band, they were teenagers talking to teenagers. When they played, your whole body could feel the heat of the music," Porter said.
Since the band split in 1970, McCartney has had further success with the group Wings and as a solo artist.
In all, some two million people will have seen his latest tour, which started in California in April 2002. It has made McCartney the world's highest earning celebrity and will have taken him through more than 15 countries including concerts in Rome's Colosseum and Moscow's Red Square.
Liverpool city council said tickets for the final date sold out in four hours.
Bob Scott, head of Liverpool's bid to become a European city of culture, said: "It's probably the biggest concert to come to Liverpool in a generation and will be one of the most memorable in Britain this year."
McCartney's tour crew will erect a 70-foot (20-metre) stage in an open-air arena that will buzz to the sound of more than 30 solo hits and Beatles classics like "Hey Jude," "Yesterday" and "Let it Be."(Reuters)
It is half past six on a Wednesday (May14) evening, and I am sitting on the floor of Stella McCartney's VIP room, staring into a goldfish bowl. The designer herself has just breezed in (cropped Prince of Wales trousers, vintage Chinese blouse, fabulous pink slingbacks) to find that her old pet has new company. Within seconds she is on her knees, tickling it through the glass. "Aren't you pretty!" she coos at the frilly fins, before being told that the new fish is also male. "Ooh! Drag queen!" she exclaims, then blithely ignores the information. "What shall we call them? Harold and Maude? Sid and Nancy?"Stella McCartney's own-label shop near Bond Street has been open for three weeks, but Thursday is the official launch party. When I ask her about the event, she says it's just a question of making sure everyone can fit in the building (there are three enormous floors), then she catches herself and scoffs, "Then again, I should be so lucky, if even four people turn up!" The modesty is false, of course: Stella knows she has invited 150 more people than she's strictly allowed, and as we speak there are workmen outside, pasting sheets of purple PVC to the front window so that paparazzi won't be able to snap any of the celebs who are expected to come.
Ever since she took over the house of Chloé in 1997, Stella McCartney has been the toast of the A-list. She hangs out with Kate Moss and Sadie Frost, has dressed her friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson, and designed Madonna's top-secret wedding dress - as well as being her maid of honor. Now that she has her own label, in its third season, her time, she says, "is just chopped up into tiny little pieces. But it's OK," she shrugs. "Got a job. Better than nothing. I'm lucky that I'm working ..."
Stella is keen to show me around. She takes me through the clothes and decor, pointing out the complicated inlays on different pairs of trousers - beads, fine gold chains or puckered chiffon, and woven ribbons that have been slightly burnt at the edges to give a delicately damaged effect. She runs her hands over the marquetry patterns in the wooden walls, explaining that she wanted it to look like a winter forest. "That's for my mum, really," she says, pointing to a bird in the grain, "because my mum loved hummingbirds." She closes in on patterned pins and dangling trinkets, as if they were intimacies that needed careful introduction. "There's so much love in this room," she sighs, "it's probably silly of me - people probably come in and never notice ... Look, this is nice" - she reads out a little motto carved in wood: "I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that."
Stella McCartney's face is a clean, sun-kissed circle, with round blue eyes shining out under a strawberry blonde pony tail. Her whole life, or at least her heritage, is something she carries around for all to see, whether she likes it or not. When she first became known as a fashion designer, people assumed that the daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney was only being given the breaks because of her famous name. Karl Lagerfeld, whose job she took over at Chloé, complained that the company should be hiring a big name, "and they did, but in music, not in fashion."
In spite of the inevitable association, and concomitant pressure, however, Stella has a lighter time of it, in a way, than some of her siblings. Her sister Mary is a photographer, like their mother, and her brother James is a musician, like their father. At least she isn't working in the same field. "Yes," she says, "that was very intentional, from day one. I knew very, very early on that I wouldn't do music, because I thought it was too good a story, really. And I have to say I was very surprised when I started doing design that anyone made the connection with my family. But I think it was a turning point: now anyone's a celebrity, it's easier to be one, and there's more pressure on famous people full stop."
I ask her if she remembers John Lennon dying - she would have been eight at the time - and she says she does. That was the moment when her father had an electric fence put around their Sussex home - did she perceive it as a warning about the perils of fame?
"Well, I didn't really realize who my dad was at that age, so I just knew that this guy who was one of the most important people in our family had died. That's how I took it. It wasn't like, 'Dad, you're a Beatle too, we have to worry about security!"'
And what would she wish for her own children, if she plans to have them?
"I'd do it exactly the same. Hopefully I'll be living in the country if I'm lucky enough to have kids, and they'll go to normal schools and nobody will know about them, unless they decide they want to be known about. You know, it's funny for me that this always comes up," she says, a little sadly. "I don't know if it takes away from what I do a little bit. I look at these rails and I think, I wish we were talking about the clothes instead of John Lennon."
So we talk a bit about the clothes, about her new perfume (due to go on sale in September) and her "vegetarian shoes." She's feeling happy about this last collection, especially since there was so much pressure on her in her first. Critics were quick to say Phoebe Philo, Stella's old friend and right-hand woman, who had stayed behind to become head designer at Chloé, was the real wizard behind the Stella McCartney curtain, and that McCartney's solo debut paled in comparison. There was talk of a rift between the two women, a subject on which Stella keeps famously shtoom. "It was pretty hard-core," she says of that period. "But I feel like the collections are getting better. I feel like I'm pushing it a bit more, like it was easier for me before to just sort of go, 'Oh, this is a T-shirt."' Subtly, she puts the knife in to the Chloé look, separating herself from the youthful endeavors with Philo that made her name. "I think because I was introducing that style of things it was easier to get away with slightly easier designs."
Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue, has pointed out that McCartney is significant because there are very few famous female fashion designers. Does she feel she is blazing a trail?
"I've no idea." says Stella. "I'd love to think so, but I wouldn't presume I was doing anything of that sort of weight. I think probably younger kids think, 'Well, if she can do it I can do it,' which I hope they do."
The woman Stella imagines herself designing for now is someone who "wants to feel good about herself, and wants to feel sexy, slightly clever, that there's more to what she's wearing than meets the eye. A confident woman. I think confidence is what makes a woman modern. To be a classy bird is a big deal. My mum was very classy, so I'd like to think that I could have ..." Her sentence trails off. When Linda McCartney died five years ago, Stella lost a muse as well as a mother. "I think the energy that she had and the kind of person that she was is a great reminder of keeping it real, of being true to yourself, and of more important things than fashion," she says, "But I do all different sorts of women," she resumes. "I do a sassy, naughty woman, and I do a businesswoman, and then I do a little funny girl. The Stella McCartney woman is quite complicated, I guess."
She certainly has more than one dimension. Stella McCartney speaks with all the playful enthusiasm of a young girl. At one point, as she is debating what to wear to her party tomorrow, I take a glorious burgundy dress from a rack. Why don't you wear this, I ask. "That won't fit me!" she laughs, as if it were obvious, "They're for models, darling!" It turns out everything in the room is a sample - in other words, size minus 10. And Stella seems strangely detached from the mechanics of actually buying the clothes. Though she speaks about how flattering it is that women should choose to wear them, especially since such expensive decisions are not taken lightly, when I admire a pair of turquoise satin shoes she says, "Get them! How much are they?" "I don't know," I say, "they don't have a price on." "Hmm," she frowns, as if she were an ordinary frugal shopper, "never a good sign, is it?"
Yet she is well known for her hard-nosed business sense. When she was first approached by Chloé, she said she would only be interested if it was the top job - and at the time she was barely out of college. She's always had it written into her contracts that she won't work with fur or leather. The deal she brokered for the launch of her own label in April 2001 allegedly left her backers at Gucci quaking. One of her nicknames is "Stella Steel," and she informs me that one of her friends was reading the Guinness Book of Records while sitting on the loo one day and found her in it. "I thought the Guinness Book of Records was for like the biggest lemon, or the biggest bubble you can blow, but apparently I'm in there for being the fastest rising fashion designer or something." She thinks about this and gets a bit miffed. "And I haven't even been inducted! I should get a medal or something, shouldn't I?"
The conversation inevitably returns to her association with fame - I have to ask her about Madonna and co, but what I really want to know is whether the celeb-y image is a fair representation of the way she lives her life. "It's not really. I've got a balance - you know, I've got a lot more unfamous friends than famous friends. But it's just something that sounds good, isn't it - I mean, who would you rather hear about, my friend Joanne or my friend Madonna?"
"Well actually," I say, "your friend Joanne. I'd like to hear about your life as you see it - there's no point in my asking about people who aren't really part of it just because I've heard of them." "Well," she tells me, "my friend Joanne is coming tomorrow night and she's staying at my house. And she just asked me if she could borrow some clothes, and so did my friend Jane, so we're going to sit and try on all my clothes before we get ready. I've known them for about 15 years."
How often do you get to see each other given your busy schedule?
"We all just understand each other. I'm not the kind of friend who can sit and chat for three hours on the phone, or writes letters - I don't even really email. But I do have a lot of contact with my friends."
Her responses aren't antagonistic, but they are resigned, and there's no mistaking the fact that she's being put through paces she has traced a thousand times before. Her parents, her impending marriage to magazine publisher Alasdhair Willis, her controversial step-mother: she is guarded about all of these. "What wedding?" she will say, in a voice as sweet as pie, knowing that tabloids have been speculating on the date and venue for the past year. Even just checking facts, to make sure mistakes are not repeated - like whether she lives in Notting Hill or Belgravia (the former), and whether she has really bought a dilapidated church to house her studio - feel to her like interference. She says she'd rather not draw attention to all that, in case people stand outside with pea-shooters.
When I ask about Heather, the step-mother she is rumored to despise, Stella pretends not to know which one I mean - her sister Heather or her father's wife. I say Heather Mills, and she gets up from the sofa with all the efficiency of a maiden aunt about to embark on a bit of dusting. "Come on," she says briskly, "this interview's not about that." And off she goes to have her picture taken.
By eight o'clock the following evening, the launch party is in full swing: a bank of photographers outside the door, several black-clad people with clipboards and headsets, and a sprinkling of dour-faced policemen all the way down Bruton Street. The hazy silhouettes of several hundred people can be seen through the PVC-covered shop window.
Fashion doyenne Isabella Blow is standing near the entrance in what appears to be a paper hat. Valentino glides through the ground floor, not a russet-coloured hair sprayed out of place. Mary McCartney snaps pictures with her Leica, while Sam Taylor-Wood and Jay Jopling flit around the stairwell. Tracey Emin is posing as a gargoyle in a doorframe. Mario Testino has taken up residence near a life-sized ice sculpture of a unicorn, which, in the course of the evening, begins to drip on the assembled guests (Stella is obsessed with horses). Sadie Frost is up in the VIP room with Stella, along with so many models that the bowl of luxury chocolates on the coffee table has found an alternative use as an ashtray. Someone, knowing that actual consumption of such things is impossible, has stubbed out her cigarette in it. All over every floor are recognisable people whose common denominator is that they are much thinner in real life. Some guests even appear to have spotted Madonna. She came in, drifted through, and immediately left through the back door. We know this because certain insiders spent the rest of the evening in the security office, playing back the "where's Waldo?" moment on the CCTV tape. Mr. and Mrs. Macca, though on the guest list, are not here.
Somewhere in the crowd are Joanne and Jane, the friends mostly likely to remain when the sheen on the glamour wears off. I slip out of the party just as a state of emergency has been declared upstairs: the triumphant glistening ice sculpture is melting too fast, and threatening to fall through the ceiling. (The Observer)
American fans, Casey McKenna and Tess Reichlin celebrated their 100th Paul McCartney concert Sunday night (May 18) in Munich, Germany. Paul surprised the two by bringing them onstage to dance to "I Saw Her Standing There." Both Casey and Tessa were surprised to be asked by Sir Paul to do a repeat performance--made famous in the "Back in the US" DVD (Which coincidently was videotaped May 18, 2002 at the Ft. Lauderdale concert). Paul introduced them onstage and said, "Can you believe they've been to 100 shows? WOW!! They are on the DVD and in all the films!" Casey and Tessa are veterans of many Paul concert films. (check out the rest of this story on the "Back in the World" page)
British musician Paul McCartney will provide the plane fare home for Toto, a chimpanzee smuggled from Africa 23 years ago and forced to perform in a Chilean circus, the El Mercurio daily reported today.The former Beatle is donating $8,000 through Animal Defenders, a British non-governmental organization, to finance the trip.
The gift will allow Toto to live out his days peacefully in a Zambian wildlife orphanage, under a court order in an animal cruelty case here.
Toto arrived in Chile in 1979, when the Koning circus smuggled him into the country, according to Elba Munoz, who has been caring for Toto at the Primate Recuperation and Rehabilitation Centre of Santiago since late January. The circus billed him as a gorilla, forcing him to smoke, drink alcohol and act like a boxer for its show, Munoz said.
For two decades, Toto - who is 1.5m tall and weighs 70kg - was kept in a cage no larger than one cubic meter with heavy chains around his neck and legs, Munoz said. The tight confinement caused injuries to his body, and he developed serious reactions to being in constant contact with his own waste. The circus also castrated him in a bid to keep him under control.
"They showed him no mercy. They wanted to keep him in constant suffering so that he wouldn't attack anyone," Munoz said.
A spectator at the circus originally brought a complaint against Koning seven years ago, after seeing the conditions Toto was kept in. But Chilean courts were unable to intervene because the circus fled to Bolivia with their chimp.
Earlier this year, authorities discovered that the circus had returned to Chile, and they seized Toto on January 29.
The chimp definitively won his freedom in late April when a court ruled that he should be sent to Zambia's Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage. There, he will live in a free-range space at the refuge, which shelters 80 chimpanzees and other mistreated animals. (Herald Sun)
Paul in Budapest - Before the concert (May 15) Paul took a bike ride on Margitsziget (an island with many parks).
Hungarian photographer Eszter Gordon taught Paul how to speak Hungarian a couple of hours before the show. She translated the requested sentences and wrote it to him phonetically. Gordon said Paul was very nice, even more polite off-stage than onstage, and the crew was very well-organized.
Paul left Budapest at 6:00 PM, May 16th. He took one more bike ride before he left and did some sight-seeing from inside his limo. He said he loved Budapest and commented that the Hungarian audience was the best so far on the tour.
Sir Paul McCartney says he wrote a song for singing great Frank Sinatra - and found it was rejected. "Ole Blue Eyes" rated the former Beatle and his bandmate John Lennon as among the world's greatest songwriters. But Sir Paul said in an interview for Virgin Radio that the late crooner thought the track was done as a joke and gave it the elbow.Sinatra recorded the Beatles song "Something" calling it the greatest love song ever written. He wrongly believed it to be a Lennon and McCartney composition, but it was written by George Harrison.
Sir Paul told the Virgin Radio Superstars show to be aired tomorrow, "I once sent Frank Sinatra a song called Suicide. I thought it was quite a good one - but apparently he thought I was taking the mickey out of him and he rejected it." (Ananova)
UPDATE: (click here to read earlier story)Beatles fans can't buy love from Paul McCartney, but they can try to bargain him into a photo opportunity. This, at least, is the hope of two Italian sisters, who are offering to trade in two of McCartney's shoes stolen two decades ago for a souvenir photo posing with the legendary rocker.
Francesca De Fazi, 34, and her sister Bianca, snuck into McCartney's garden during a stay in London in the early 1980s and made off with two shoes, each from a different pair, as well as the singer's daily planner. Now rockers in their own right, with De Fazi Band, the Rome-based sisters just want a photo with McCartney in exchange for the pilfered goods, fellow band member and pianist Luciano Gargiulo told AFP.
In a goodwill gesture that made international headlines, the De Fazis returned McCartney's daily diary when he came to Rome last week for two concerts. The planner is filled with the personal notes from the time, including his deceased wife Linda's shopping list and professional rendez-vous.
McCartney welcomed its unexpected return, chiding the De Fazis as "you nasty girls!" But the 60-year-old singer, who filled the Colosseum last Sunday with a half a million listeners at a free evening concert, left Rome without posing with them.
"They never thought of selling the planner, although they could have had millions," Gargiulo said. "All they wanted was a photo." He said McCartney's entourage had contacted the sisters, who offered to follow the British pop legend to his next tour stop in Munich, Germany. "They're set on getting a few photos with him because they are still fans," the De Fazi band pianist said.
Tickets for Stella McCartney's shop launch last night (May 15) were like gold dust, and once it began, it was easy to see why. Her bezzy mate Madonna arrived in a flourish of paparazzi flashes and was closely followed by a host of London's most beautiful: Sadie Frost, Marie Helvin, Liberty Ross, Tara Fitzgerald, Leah Wood, Sara Cox and the Mystique trio.
And the men weren't bad looking either. Tom Ford, Dan Macmillan and Mario Testino provided more glamour and the presence of Valentino proved beyond question Stella's reputation as a member of the design elite. Her shop, at 30 Bruton Street, is one of London's most beautiful too. Featuring a stunning glass-house in which her friends and customers can hang out beside a pretty maple tree, it is an experience in itself.
"This is an incredibly proud moment for me, to have my own flagship store in London - it's a dream come true," she said. "It is very important to me that this home represents all that inspires me, each detail has been chosen with love. I do not want the atmosphere to intimidate or alienate anyone. Each room should be an adventure." (Vogue)
British pop legend Sir Paul McCartney tries out a sheperd's flute he received as a present from Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, as Medgyessy's wife Kata and a young Hungarian boy Bence Gyuricska, who showed how to play the instrument shortly before, look on before Sir Paul's concert in the Budapest SportsArena in Budapest on Thursday night, May 15. For more on the concert click here.
Heather Mills has hit back at lurid claims that she only married Sir Paul McCartney for his money saying, "I'd be happy living with Paul in a shed."TV viewers last week saw her ex-husband, ex-sister in law and her mother's former lover accuse her in a Channel 4 program of being a gold-digger and of lying about her troubled past. One even dubbed her a "praying mantis" in her pursuit of wealthy men.
But Heather, 35, puts the record straight in a program from the BBC1 series "Tabloid Tales," to be screened on Tuesday.
She said, "I could live off my husband. I don't and I never will. I don't want any of it. He would offer me anything I wanted, but he admires and respects my independence and I don't want to be somebody that is suddenly relying on somebody else financially. I've seen it too many times, in too many relationships. If you give up your independence you don't feel great about yourself."
The former model turned anti-landmine campaigner has come under fire since marrying Sir Paul, 60, in a low key ceremony at Castle Leslie, County Monaghan, Ireland, last June.
Asked why Sir Paul - who is worth £750 million($1.2 billion)- married her, Heather instantly replied, "Because he fell in love with me." She added, "When people say, 'Heather's a gold-digger', the insult is not to me, that's to Paul because they're saying he's not talented, he's not sexy, he's not good-looking, there's absolutely nothing about him except his bank balance. They're trying to have a go at me, but they're insulting him, saying he's not worthy of me. There is no difference in my lifestyle now than before I met Paul. I've got the same money I had before. I run my house, my own car, I pay my own bills, nothing has changed. We don't live a big lush lifestyle with loads of staff. In my eyes we live such a simple life. We have breakfast and I'll do my work and he'll go off to his work. We'll come back and watch telly. You don't see us at every film premiere unless it is for charity. We're not living that Hollywood lifestyle. I cook my own dinner - he makes the breakfast. He's amazing. He cleans up. He loves it. He's a naturally wonderful guy that offers to help in a modern day relationship where two people are out working and you both come together."
Heather revealed that she asked Sir Paul for a pre-nuptial agreement before their marriage. She said, "I told Paul, 'I want to say that I don't want anything so that you feel really comfortable about it.' But Paul said, 'It's not romantic to sign a pre-nuptial. I'd never want to do that'."
But the most savage attack in Channel 4's "Heather Mills - The Real Mrs McCartney" - were the claims that she had reinvented herself and had exaggerated her traumatic, abusive childhood in Newcastle. In the past Heather, who lost a leg when she was hit by a police motorbike in 1993, has told how her father Mark Mills beat her mother. Then, when her mum left for another man, Heather was forced to shoplift to feed and clothe herself and her sister and brother. Her father was later jailed and Heather was sent to her mother's in London. She ran away and lived in a cardboard box under Waterloo Bridge after her mother's lover told her, "it's Heather or me."
Heather said, "Why would I want to make something like that up? I can only tell what the story is. The point is that I did leave home. I was homeless and I did do a lot of things that teenagers who are rebelling do. I stole from a jewellery shop and I spoke honestly about these things in my book nine years ago, because I thought that would inspire someone to see that you can go on and go past that. My life was crazy and I dealt with it and I was fine, but there is only so much you can take in your life. If all I'm trying to do is survive and make a difference and I'm constantly being knocked, why am I doing what I'm doing? I can handle living on the streets, I've been poor, I've swept the streets, I've done all those things and that's why I've had the public behind me so much because I'm not someone that was born with a silver spoon in my mouth."
She added, "I have fitted up 27,000 people with artificial limbs. How can you find a negative in helping thousands of people? It's like, 'she only does it to make herself look good' - well why doesn't everyone else?"
She dismissed claims on the Channel 4 show that her father denies neglect and violence. Heather said, "First of all my dad can't talk. He's had six strokes. Anything that's come from my dad is totally made-up. Our family don't speak to him. I was the last one to give up because he called me at the hospital on the day I lost my leg and all he wanted was more money. He didn't even say, 'Are you all right?' I had the excuse to go, 'no more'. Eventually you have to accept that if there's somebody really bad in your family, you can't keep sticking your hand in the fire while he constantly keeps abusing the relationship. In my early 20s I had to work to pay off my father's debts. I don't believe he's ever given a proper interview because he can't talk properly. If he could talk properly he probably would because he's very, very into money."
Heather is all too aware that the cynicism of her marriage to Sir Paul comes because she has been married before and engaged three times. But three of her ex-loves - Raffaele Mincione, Marcus Stapleton and Tim Steele - have all defended her, describing her variously as selfless, loving, kind, and fiercely loyal to friends and family. "I can understand people being worried because of the broken engagements and being sceptical that it's not going to work, but it takes two for a relationship not to work, not just one," she said.
"I truly believe at the time when I got engaged to these people that I was very much in love with them, respected them, hoped it would work out. I'm a true romantic and I meet somebody and it's either immediate or nothing, so I've had a few partners in my past - no more than any other woman of 35."
She said of Sir Paul, "When we first met I started thinking, what happens if this doesn't work out? I'm going to be this terrible woman who didn't work it out with this perfect man who was married for 30 years, who never made a mistake. Which is why it was me who wanted to keep it quiet as long as possible. Paul actually said to me, 'How am I going to keep somebody like you' - knowing I'd had these relationships.' I replied, 'Romance, that's all I have ever wanted and needed.'"
She spoke of the pressures of being compared to Sir Paul's first wife, committed vegetarian Linda, who died from breast cancer in 1998. I got offered my own series on Channel 4 to do a vegetarian cookery series and I saw the problems with that and said, 'no way' because it would look like I'm copying," she said.
"I've had to be so protective, watching everything, being careful what I say. I'm not used to being put in a corner and locked up in a golden prison."
But her love for Sir Paul conquers all. "Whenever we see each other we kiss straight away. It's lovely. We're very touchy, feely and that's what happens when you're in love," she said smiling.
"We're just very compatible. He believes that being with someone you learn things from people. He thinks I'm very kind and that I do things that he says he would never do.I feel like I'm the older person. He's like a little boy - he just skips around everywhere."
And he is fiercely protective of her. She revealed Sir Paul's reactions when she first told him of her traumatic childhood. "He was saddened by most of it - my mother and father leaving," she said. "He couldn't comprehend that because he has got such a wonderful family with his brother Mike and his dad was a wonderful guy and his mum died when he was very young, so I think he hadn't known what that kind of life can be. He always says, 'You've had such a difficult time. I just want to look after you and take care of you.' He would be happy if I stayed at home and he just took care of me the whole time."
Heather admits people's criticism of her does get her down.
She said, "I think it's their own fear and their own ignorance of ever having to have gone through what I did. A lot of people go through small things and collapse and they're devastated so they think there is no way anybody could go through all of that and still be together as a person. It's because they can't comprehend how I can lose a leg and go 'OK, it's a leg, I'll get another one.' Yes, it upset me at times, like when I have to crawl to the loo at night, but I get on with it. You can sit and say, 'she's after his money'. I don't worry or complain about that, the thing that gets to me is when long- term damage is done to my charity work."
Heather denies being at war with Paul's fashion designer daughter Stella. She said, "I can't read Stella's mind to think how she feels about me but she's always very, very civil when we're together. We've done projects together like the charity dress that we did and I wear her clothes."
She added, "I lost my mum at the same age as Paul's youngest lost Linda and my dad remarried. Yes, it is very difficult to see a father you adore who was married for so long, get married again. But bottom line is that life moves on and I thank God Paul has overcome his grieving because I went through it with him for over a year. Paul cried every day but nobody gets to see that."
Heather denies any row with Stella about her wedding dress. "Stella had never offered to make the wedding dress. I would totally understand - why would anyone want to make their stepmother's wedding dress? And I had my own designs. But the papers were like 'Stella's a designer, she should make a dress, she doesn't make a dress, she doesn't like her'. That's rubbish!" (The Mirror)
Heather Mills McCartney, internationally acclaimed speaker and former Nobel Prize nominee, will present the keynote address at a statewide disabilities conference set for May 20 in Jackson at the Mississippi Trademark Building. "This is the largest public forum ever held in Mississippi promoting the accomplishments of our citizens with disabilities," said H.S. McMillan, executive director of Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. "With an internationally acclaimed speaker like Heather Mills McCartney, we hope to draw a divers crowd."
McCartney - humanitarian, author, and wife of Sir Paul McCartney - lost her leg in an accident 10 years ago. She faced tremendous adversity even before becoming disabled, including abandonment and homelessness during her childhood and youth. As an adult, she continually overcame obstacles, including living as an amputee, to launch a successful modeling career and most notably, humanitarian efforts that led to a Nobel Prize nomination in 1996. McCartney is also the author of A Single Step , and inspiring story of courage and the will to succeed. She speaks frequently to audiences around the world, sharing motivational insights and celebrating quality of life for those living with disabilities.Registration is by mail, fax or phone. a $50 registration fee can be mailed along with name address and telephone number, to Mississippi Society of Disabilities, P.O. Box 4958, Jackson, Mississippi 39896, or registrants can fax Visa/Mastercard information to 601- 982-1951.
Stella McCartney is not expecting much in the way of family presence at her long-awaited Bruton Street store launch on Thursday night (May 15). While fashion folk were banking on a glimpse of Sir Paul and his new wife Heather Mills at the party, it seems that they both have prior engagements.
Paul, who is currently performing his "Back In The World" tour, will be playing in Hungary that night, while Heather, with whom Stella is rumored not to get on, is in America all week.
"Heather won't be at either Paul's concert or Stella's shop opening," a spokesman for the McCartneys told the Evening Standard. "She's booked to go to California for a couple of days where she has some speaking engagements."
Since leaving Gucci to set up her own, Gucci-owned label, staunch animal-rights campaigner Stella, who caused a stir when she decided to open up shop next door to the Mayfair branch of renowned gun manufacturer and hunting specialist Holland & Holland, has at last managed to shrug off the rock star daughter's mantle by designing sexy, unique pieces that are worn by the likes of Liv Tyler, Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow.(Vogue)
Anti-landmine crusader, Heather Mills-McCartney, will be the keynote speaker for the third annual Red Cross Power of Humanity Awards dinner to be held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver on May 28th, 2003.The awards event, which celebrates "ordinary people doing extraordinary things," was particularly appealing to Mills-McCartney who has demonstrated perseverance over personal tragedy. She has overcome poverty, abuse, homelessness and a tragic accident that left her without a limb and changed the course of her life forever. These personal experiences have strengthened her conviction to bring the issue of the effects of landmines to world-wide attention.
Mills-McCartney has been making headlines for years and her relationship with one very well-known musician, Paul McCartney, has recently brought her anti-landmines cause to center stage. By presenting at the event in Vancouver, Mills-McCartney will lend support to Red Cross' efforts in building awareness locally about the effects of landmines and how people can help. The Power of Humanity Awards were established by Red Cross in 2001 to recognize individuals, groups and corporations in the Lower Mainland who demonstrate their humanity by responding to a local social need. Ian Pike says the award recognizes such things as exceptional acts of volunteerism, implementing a much-needed social program or motivating others to take action to improve the circumstances of others. For information about award nominations, tickets and sponsorships, contact the Red Cross at (604)709-6616 or go to www.redcross.ca/poh. Nominations close on March 15th. (story)
After that TV hatchet job on his wife, Sir Paul McCartney could be forgiven for thinking the only genuine thing about Heather Mills is her artificial limb."Heather Mills: The Real Mrs McCartney" promised us the low down on a life of greed, ambition and sex. But, of course, it all depends how you look at it. Her early life was impoverished, her parents divorced, her mother married a guy she didn't like (and who dutifully confirmed her instincts by turning up on the program to give evidence against her.)
Yes, she had also told a few porkies - but just the sort of exaggerations people often make when trying to get their name in the papers. And her modest career as a C-list model followed a predictable path - being ogled by Lebanese businessmen at parties and brushes with dodgy photographers.
But ironically her big opportunity came when she lost her leg after being knocked down. When reporters arrived at her hospital bed she asked them what they were prepared to pay for her story. Amusingly, the tabloid hacks were outraged at such exploitation. And somehow the program-makers wanted us to feel outraged, too.
But, really, from Mills' point-of-view, what's the difference between taking her top off or taking her artificial leg off for the titillation of Sun readers? Apart from being paid a lot more cash...
What the program couldn't take away from Mills was her initiative in getting artificial limb technology out to poorer countries. Nor could they deny the huge impact her irrepressible personality has had on many people who have lost limbs, such as those injured in the Omagh bombing.
So what if Mills has a slightly flakey past? When the cards were down, she showed courage, determination and ingenuity.
The muck the show threw at Mills became increasingly ludicrous - charge 16 on the sheet, M'lud, is that Ms. Mills has been dragging poor, lonely old Sir Paul out of his veggie burger nightmare and out to the sort of showbiz events he hasn't been to in years (accompanied by shots of Macca grinning like a hysterically happy man as he's led into another party by his beautiful young wife).
So, who really hit the jackpot when Heather Mills met Paul McCartney? (Belfast Telegraph)
A 1970s diary of Sir Paul McCartney has been returned to him by the two Italian sisters who stole it.
Sir Paul was given the diary after his concert in Rome' by sisters Bianca and Francesca De Fazi, waited for him in the hotel where he was staying. The sisters said they had found the red diary in 1983, when they were 11 and 12, in a house in London's St. John's Wood where Sir Paul used to live with his former girlfriend Jane Asher.
They told Italian media, "We were obsessed with The Beatles, so we recognized the house. It had been abandoned with the door open. So, we just went in and found the diary."
McCartney said, "Naughty girls," after finding out it was the sisters who had taken the diary and kept it for the past 20 years, reported Italian daily Corriere della Sera. But he added that he was glad to have got the diary back. "This diary means a lot to me," he said.
The De Fazi sisters said the diary had records of conversations between Sir Paul and John Lennon. In the April 8, 1970, entry he had written that he told John, "I'm not a Beatle anymore" to which John had responded, "Good, so we've split up."
The diary also contained the first version of "Another Day" from the "Wildlife" album of 1971, which was the first of McCartney's work with Wings. The sisters said, "We are really pleased because it helped us to fulfil our dream of the past 20 years - we were standing just centimeters away from our idol Paul McCartney." (Ananova)
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The treasured red-covered book contains poignant entries about the break-up of The Beatles. Macca's late wife Linda had written on April 8, 1970, "Paul tells John, 'I'm not a Beatle either'." Beneath it John Lennon had added, "Good, that's two of us." Two days later, Linda wrote, "Paul leaves Beatles."The diary is also believed to contain details of McCartney's arrest at Tokyo airport in January 1980 for possessing marijuana - which led to him being imprisoned for ten days.
It was nicked by Italian schoolgirl fans Francesca De Fazi and her sister Bianka when they were on holiday in London in 1980. The lawyer's daughters, aged ten and 11 at the time, went to Macca's home in St John's Wood, near the Abbey Road studios, and noticed that workmen had left the gate open.
Francesca, now 35, said last night, "In the garden behind the house there was a gazebo with glass doors. And in the middle of it there was a table where the diary was. "How could two young girls resist that temptation? Over the years people have told us it would be worth millions."
The pages of the diary are filled with personal thoughts of Sir Paul and Linda. There are also psychedelic doodles, including pictures of cannabis joints. A record of a conversation with George Harrison reads, "It's you who misunderstands not me.
" A shopping list written by Linda lists, "Six tins of tomato soup and a salmon."
(Click photo to enlarge)The girls gave the diary back to Sir Paul after his sell-out concert in Rome on Sunday. Fans Bianca and Francesca said, "We showed a bodyguard photos from the pages and he took them to Paul's room. Minutes later he said Paul would see us. We gave him the diary and he said we had been naughty girls. But then he said he was very grateful. He said it was an important sentimental diary for him. Paul was really friendly, smiling and joking, and signed autographs for us."
Francesca also revealed that she and her sister had taken a pair of Macca's boots - but had not returned those because they wanted them as a souvenir.
Sir Paul's aide Geoff Baker said last night, "He's delighted to have the diary back. "He thanked them for taking the trouble to return it." (The Sun)
May 12 the day after the outdoor concert in Rome, Paul went for a bike ride along the "Lungo Tevere" river in the city. He was alone and only two people recognized him. He told them he enjoyed Rome very much and said that the concert on the Via dei Fori Imperiali was more beautiful than the concert inside the Colosseum.A group of Duma deputies has urged Sir Paul McCartney and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov to move the ex-Beatle's concert, due on Moscow's Red Square on May 24, in a different place.
"We find it absolutely senseless and blasphemous to hold rock concerts in a graveyard of a special kind where Stalin, Lenin, Brezhnev, Gagarin and other prominent personalities are buried," says a message obtained by Interfax on Tuesday and signed by Alexei Mitrofanov, Nikolai Bezborodov, Sergei Reshulsky, Tatyana Astrakhankina, Yuri Nikiforenko and others."A rock concert on Red Square has a covert political meaning and would require the use of a significant number of police and security forces," the message says. "You may find yourself in the very center of a serious political scandal," the deputies warned McCartney.
In a separate message to Luzhkov, they reminded him that at a Duma session on April 18 this year, 181 deputies protested against the decision to hold the concert in Red Square and suggested considering holding it in a different place in Moscow. (Interfax)
Sir Paul McCartney has said he was "blown away" after playing the biggest gig of his career - to half a million fans.
His free concert outside Rome's historic Colosseum proved to be an unprecedented crowd-puller with fans jamming the streets around the ancient site.
Estimates by city officials put the figure at around 500,000 - ten times more than would have gathered inside the building to watch gladiatorial battles during the days of the Roman Empire.
Even in the Beatles' heyday, their largest show pulled a more modest - but at the time colossal - 56,000 fans for their famed Shea Stadium performance.
Sir Paul said this morning, after the Rome show, "I'm completely blown away - it was one of the most fantastic evenings of my life and I'm so chuffed that at my stage in the game this was the biggest show of my entire career. I can't wait to bring this gig home to Liverpool - the emotion will be running very high."
Sir Paul is to play an open air concert in his home city next month.
The huge concert in Rome followed a more modestly sized show in front of paying guests the previous night inside the Colosseum.
Flushed with success as he enters the final stages of a sell-out world tour, Paul McCartney is still in love with his job -- though he has a plan ready for when the punishing schedule finally takes its toll."I've always said since I was about 20 that I would be getting wheeled on when I was 90 and do a very slow version of 'Yesterday'," the 60-year-old ex-Beatle told Reuters Television in Rome on Sunday. I'll have a big holiday after this. But I like what I do... It's not really work for me, it's a job and hobby. It's a hobby! I like it so much that if I retired I'd still want to do music."
And making music, this time in a studio rather than on stage, is precisely what McCartney has in mind for when his world tour is over.
"I've enjoyed playing with (this band) so much and... I'm always writing songs," he said. The next logical move for a normal band is to get in the studio to make some new music. So we'll probably do that toward the end of the year."
The ex-Beatle's most recent album, "Driving Rain," was released in November 2001. He had not previously announced another one was already on the agenda.
McCartney began his "Back in the World" tour in April 2002. He played 58 concerts in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan last year, and is in the middle of the 32-show European leg of the tour, which includes stops in 12 countries.
In Rome, he played a benefit concert inside the Colosseum -- only the second rock 'n' roll gig in the arena where gladiators fought to the death some 2,000 years ago.
"You just kept getting flashes of Nero with his thumbs up or thumbs down, and lions," McCartney joked, referring to the brutal Roman Emperor Nero and the sign that emperors would make to indicate whether a gladiator should be slain or spared. "Just looking around and that sense of history fills the whole evening. We were playing our music in some way trying to exorcise the ghosts of some of the evil that happened."
The following night, organizers said up to 500,000 people filled the center of Rome for a second McCartney concert -- this one a free-for-all outside the ancient monument.
The tour will end on June 1 in Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles. By that time, nearly two million people will have paid to see McCartney play.
He has been performing 22 Beatles songs at each of his world tour dates, almost twice as many as the pioneering 1960s-era band ever played during its own British shows.
Memories of the 1960s do not come out only in the choice of songs though. The world tour has offered McCartney opportunities to get some satisfaction in the old rivalry with the Rolling Stones and their frontman Mick Jagger.
"If you're lucky you might break house records. So it's nice when you arrive somewhere and they say 'the Rolling Stones used to have the house record and now you've got it.' And we say 'Oh, sorry Mick."' (Reuters)
Over 500,000 people lined the Via dei Fori Imperiali in front of the Roman Colosseum Sunday night to see Paul perform free. McCartney did his usual set list added "Volare" which he said was "special for Rome." For more details on this concert go to the "Back in the World" page.
Paul McCartney will give a second concert in Rome tonight (Sunday May 11) but this time just outside the Colosseum, using its arches as a backdrop. The concert will be free, and organizers have said they expect some 200,000 people to turn up. Proceeds from the sale of television rights for both concerts will go to an Italian archaeological mission in Iraq that aims to help the looted Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad get back in operation.
Click to download news video of Paul at the Colosseum.
Click to see a video news report of the show with concert footage. (56K) (DSL) You will need RealPlayer.
For more details on this concert go to the "Back in the World" page.
CNN Headline News and CNN have been showing footage from Paul's concert inside the Colosseum.
Ringed by the crumbled walls of the Colosseum, Paul McCartney strummed his acoustic guitar and belted out Beatles tunes Saturday night during a rare concert of old hits such as "Yesterday'' and "Hey Jude'' at one veritably old venue.
The exclusive charity show took place before a few hundred people who paid up to $1,490 each to listen up-close to McCartney inside Rome's ancient gladiatorial stage - bathed in multicolored lights and covered in wafting smoke for the occasion.
"As you can imagine, this is a magnificent occasion for us,'' McCartney said, apparently awed by the setting. "I keep wanting to look around.''
Tickets for Saturday's show were auctioned online, with profits going to Rome's archaeological offices and to Adopt-a-Minefield, the anti-landmines charity backed by the singer and his wife.
The event brought in just over $287,000. The largely acoustic 100-minute show included many of the Beatles best-known hits, including a solo guitar performance of "Blackbird,'' a raucous "All My Loving'' - and even a blunder that briefly halted "Eleanor Rigby.'' "I've done it again!'' McCartney exclaimed. "I wrote this song and I always forget the words.''
A bizarre solo ukulele performance of George Harrison's "Something'' was also an oddity, as was an Italian tribute: "Volare.''
The show came during McCartney's "Back in the World'' tour - his first in Europe for a decade. McCartney was also playing a free concert Sunday on a stage outside the Colosseum, with hundreds of thousands expected to fill the Via dei Fori Imperiali that leads toward the aged arena and is lined with Ancient Roman relics.
McCartney's promoters said earlier that he might drop some loud rock numbers Sunday, so the outdoor concert would not disturb 82-year-old Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. The performance inside the Colosseum on Saturday was rare but not the first. A year ago, another benefit featuring Ray Charles was billed as the first concert there. (AP)
A multi-millionaire Arab businessman says he was the secret former lover of Sir Paul McCartney's wife Heather Mills. George Kazan - at 61 a year older than Sir Paul - has spoken for the first time of how 35-year-old Heather broke his heart when she left him to go back to an ex-boyfriend. But Lebanese-born George, who has a glass left eye, also claims the former glamour model was always determined to marry a very rich man.
For nearly two years, he rented her a luxurious Parisian apartment, paid some of her bills and helped to fund a fabulous jet-set lifestyle. "She had everything she could have wanted," says George. "I could never deny her anything she asked for. And she knew it. She twisted me around her little finger. Heather is a very beautiful girl, with an outstanding figure. But more than that, she is very clever and she always knew exactly what she wanted - she wanted to be famous and she wanted money. And now Mr. McCartney has provided her with everything that she ever wanted.
He met Heather when she was 19 and he was 47 in the glittering Cote D'Azur resort of Cannes. Then a diplomatic representative of the ruler of Qatar, he first met her through a modelling agency.
"When I met Heather I found her a very attractive and good-looking girl - I wanted to keep her as a lover," he says. But after nearly two years together, the affair went sour - and at one point, George says Heather rang his wife to tell her of the relationship.
He has decided to speak out now after the Channel 4 documentary, "Heather Mills: The Real Mrs. McCartney," last week explored her background. In the program, former friends and Heather's ex-husband Alfie Karmal branded her a liar and a cheat. They spoke of how she has drawn a veil over seven lost years when she was a "party girl" with rich Arabs in London and Paris. But it is George's story which offers a fascinating insight as to how she has captivated rich and powerful men.
Their relationship is a time of her life which she chose not to mention in her autobiography "A Single Step" But it is a time which says a great deal about how she has long craved the finer things in life. Heather says she moved to Paris after landing a top modelling contract for a cosmetics company. But George dismisses the claim, saying, "Heather did do some modelling when I knew her in Paris but it didn't bring in the kind of money she was after. She was a minor model. She needed something else. And that something was me."
Despite being married with two children, he gave her the use of an apartment in central Paris not far from where he lived with his wife and family. He provided her with the keys to his cars, including a top-of-the-range Jaguar, and took her out to fine restaurants.
He regularly gave her an allowance of up to $4,000 a day to spend on herself. And they sometimes met at his house in Cannes. It was a long way from her deprived childhood on Tyneside, but Heather developed a taste for the lifestyle of the super-rich and swiftly became accustomed to a world of private yachts, jets and champagne parties. George watched with almost paternal pride as she blossomed from an unsophisticated youngster into a woman of the world.
"Heather is a totally different person today to when we first met, and I would like to think that a lot of that is down to me," he says. "I taught her to appreciate the finer things in life. We used to move constantly between Paris to Cannes to Geneva to London, always staying in the best places. It was an amazing lifestyle for her - another world from what she was used to. But she was a very quick learner. Before meeting me, she was living with her boyfriend Alfie. But when she met me, she changed completely. He was calling her all day long in Paris and she didn't answer him. She didn't want him any more because she saw the difference between his way of living and my way of living. Putting it frankly, he was not a wealthy man - I was."
While Heather's ambition was certainly still as strong as ever - she used to talk longingly to George about opening her own modeling agency - she enjoyed the wealthy lifestyle to its fullest.
"She had a very nice time with me," he says. "She would get up in the morning and spend some time looking after herself, doing her hair and makeup before getting dressed. Then she would go shopping - she loved all the big designer names and I gave her enough money to buy whatever she wanted. Then she would usually meet me at lunchtime. In the afternoon, she would shop some more and maybe go to the gym before meeting me again in the evening to dine in an expensive restaurant. Many times we would go to the Plaza Athenee which is my favorite hotel with a very good restaurant. Every three to four days, she would be on the move to the Cote D'Azur, to Paris or to London. Did I pay? What do you think? First class? Definitely. For the lovely lady, always first class. I am an Arab and I don't like to talk too much about these things but I bought her many presents - expensive jewellery, dresses, anything she wanted. She was a very lucky girl. I spent a lot of money on her but when you meet somebody and you love them, you don't count how much you are spending. Even if you're spending too much, you don't feel as if you're doing something wrong. And besides, Heather was very clever. She was never too extravagant - she would only ask for something that she knew she would get."
But no matter how happy they were, George always had an uneasy suspicion that Heather would drop him if a better prospect came along. "I had to be a little careful because I am a married man. I couldn't go out alone with a woman all of the time. I had to have friends with me from time to time. So she met two or three of my male friends but that is all. I didn't introduce Heather to many people - certainly not rich and influential people - because I didn't want her to go out with someone else. I wanted her for myself. With Arab men, when you have a girl, a lover, you don't like it if she sees other people."
But after a while cracks began to develop. Heather repeatedly said how she would like to marry George. But he said he could not leave his wife for her. Ros Ashley - a former girlfriend of other rich Arabs - recalls Heather confidently telling her she was going to marry George. Ros says, "On a trip to Paris I was in a gym and bumped into Heather. She told me, 'I live here now, George and I are going to marry'."
George tells a very different story. "I was very much in love with Heather but wanted her as my mistress not as my wife," he says. "She wanted me to get a divorce and marry her. She used to call my house and speak to my wife, telling her about our affair. But it wasn't at all in my mind to get married to her," says George, sounding shocked at the very thought that he might marry a woman like Heather. "Then there was Alfie, who was still around. I think she enjoyed having us both wanting her. In the end, I felt she wasn't being honest enough. I felt she had to choose. I was not offering her marriage, so she chose Alfie. IT broke my heart when she left. I haven't spoken to her since that day, from my own choice. It took me two or three years to forget her - she left a large gap in my life."
In December 1988, Heather left Paris and returned to Alfie. They married in 1989 but he claims they split in 1991 when she fell for her skiing instructor while on holiday recuperating after suffering an ectopic pregnancy. Then in 1993, came the road accident in which Heather lost part of her leg after she was run down by a royal policeman - the incident which first propelled her to international fame.
"When I heard about her terrible accident, it hurt me very much. I called a mutual friend to tell her to call if she needed anything. But I never heard from her," said George.
In 1999, Heather began dating Paul after meeting him at The Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards. Last year they married in Ireland. "I'm not surprised," says George. "I would think that she was determined to have him. What she wants, she gets. But do you think they will stay together? I don't. I have met many very good-looking girls in my life but Heather was special. She had both beauty and brains. She is a super woman. She knows how to give affection, how to give everything to a man, to make him feel special. She is very intelligent, very nice looking and a very, very good lover. Paul McCartney is a very lucky man - but she's a very lucky and clever woman." (Mirror)
Paul and Heather arrived at Ciampino airport in Rome the day (May 10) of the concert 'inside' the Colosseum.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney will become the first rock musician to play a concert inside the ancient arena on Saturday night when he performs a benefit gig before a select high-paying audience of just 300. On Sunday, he follows up with a free bash outside the arena which is expected to draw more than a quarter of a million people -- in a way, a peculiar throwback to the Roman Empire when events at the Colosseum were put on to placate the masses.
It's a long way from the 1965 concert at the Hollywood Bowl when the Beatles were almost drowned out by the hysterical screams of American teenagers, to the mother of all arenas, and McCartney was suitably humble in a message to Romans on Friday.
"As we say in Liverpool, I'm chuffed to be able to perform for you," the 60-year-old singer wrote in local daily Il Messaggero. "These next two days of music in Rome will be really special for me. Italy is a unique place, but these two concerts will make it even more unique. We all know that the Amphitheatre Flavio has a long and important history. The fact of being able to bring my music there and to be able to touch something of its celebrated history with these two events, makes me feel really fortunate."
Rare though it may be, McCartney's will not be the first concert inside the wall of the arched amphitheatre built in 80 AD for the Flavian emperor Vespasian. Jazz singer Ray Charles, Israeli star Noa and Algerian Rai singer Khaled were among several musicians to perform at a special concert for Middle East peace hosted by Rome city hall last year. And there have been a number of opera recitals in recent years.
McCartney will perform an acoustic set for the event, sparing the ancient stone walls, badly rattled by severe earthquakes in 847 and 1231, further damage from thumping modern amplification. When the Colosseum opened in 80 AD, it was marked with 100 days of games that featured hundreds of gladiator fights in which around 2,000 gladiators were slain on the ground which will be dominated on Saturday by McCartney's modern stage. Professional gladiators, mostly condemned criminals or prisoners or war, and slaves, fought either animals or each other, generally until death. Their weapons were swords, spears, firebrands or tridents. But contrary to popular belief there is no evidence to suggest Christians were thrown to the lions for entertainment during the 300 years the games thrived.
The atmosphere on Saturday will be less cut-and-thrust. "They told me that only 300 people will be inside the Colosseum. Which means this will be the smallest concert of this world tour," said McCartney. "However, on Sunday, we'll be outside the Colosseum and not only will it be our biggest concert, but potentialy, the biggest in my career. My team tells me it could reach 300,000 people. I can't deny that it's exciting."Proceeds from the paying event will go to the Adopt-A-Minefield charity, as well as towards the upkeep of Rome's architectural heritage. Tickets sold via a special Internet auction last week fetched up to 2,900 euros ($3,350 dollars). Eventually, gladiator fights were halted by Emperor Honorius in 404 when newly-Christian Rome lost its appetite for gore.
He may well have given the former Beatle the thumbs up for Saturday's concert. (AFP)
Paul McCartney's wife is being sued by a pal over claims they were both subjected to a vile sex attack as kids. Heather Mills-McCartney said in a book that she and a pal were abducted and abused for three days by a sports teacher.
But ex-pal Margaret Ambler, 37, has come forward to say it was she alone who suffered the ordeal, which was quickly over. And she claims raking up the past has left her traumatized and in need of counseling.
Margaret told Channel 4's Heather Mills: The Real Mrs. McCartney, "The man made a grab for me and I freaked. He tried to drag me into his bedroom. I kicked out and fell down a flight of stairs. I picked myself up and ran like hell."
The mum of three, who lives near Carlisle, grew up with Heather, 35, in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Margaret added, "She has capitalized on this attack." Yesterday her dad Fred confirmed, "Margaret is suing."
Paul McCartney's spokesman refused to comment last night. (The Sun)
Although he is approaching 61 and his hair-roots speak of experience, Sir Paul McCartney has regained his place as a true rocker with gruelling tours of the USA and UK.There were years of stodgy, middle of the road, ballads which peaked with the 1984 number 3 chart hit "The Frog Chorus: We All Stand Together." But Sir Paul is enjoying a renaissance today, with everyone from teenagers to pensioners clamoring for tickets for his Kings Dock gig.
But wait a moment. Doesn't Sir Paul give thumbs up every five minutes? When he sings "Jet" it's impossible to put Alan Partridge's interpretation of the song out of your mind. Yet despite all this Sir Paul manages to pull off the near impossible: He is cool. But how does he manage it?
NME writer Paul McNamee reviewed Sir Paul's Birmingham concert for the music magazine. He thinks the enduring appeal of the Beatles and the band's extensive back catalog has resulted in some die-hard fans, with new ones discovering McCartney all the time.
"The truth is that Sir Paul is still cool with our readers because of The Beatles. These songs are still great now and Macca has the skill to be able to pull it off. I think that it might have been a little different if John Lennon was alive today. I'm not saying that Macca is grateful that he's dead just that the fans want to see these songs performed and this will probably be your final chance. "Helter Skelter" and "Hello Goodbye" have just stood the test of time. He might not look much like a rock star any more but when he sings "Can't Buy Me Love" it is just as it was 30 years ago - incredible."
Sir Paul's look while on stage is an unusual one. He has been seen wearing the classic early 60's Beatles cut suit but yet underneath there is bright red long sleeve t-shirt. In Birmingham the suit jacket was a radiant rouge coupled with black trousers. It's a distinctive look but not one that is conventionally stylish.
Nick Smith knows about making pop stars look cool. He is a fashion designer who has styled Geri Halliwell and So Solid Crew.
"Paul is a star because of where he came from and what he has achieved. His style was never very revolutionary - even in the 60s," he explains. He doesn't really dress his age - which would be woolly jumpers and slippers. He is a middle of the road dresser in a sort of reaction to all his markets. He tries to appeal to as many people as possible. His music isn't cutting edge now and neither is his image. But people don't care - he is an icon and doesn't need to brand himself like the one hit wonders that come out today. They don't really know who they are and so have to build up an image and cling to it. Paul has already shown people what he can do and doesn't need to worry about what he wears or looks like. At the end of the day it comes down to his music and people will think he's cool as long as they still like his tunes."
But what would the designer do to change Sir Paul's look?
"If I had him in front of me," Nick adds. "I don't think I would change much about him. I'd maybe make him a bit more hip with a trilby hat or subtle designer jewellery. I'd dress him with accessories."
The McCartney legacy still reverberates around the city. Business, tourists and locals all feel proud that he came from Liverpool. Every year 250,000 people arrive for the Mathew Street Festival to celebrate what he and three of his friends managed to achieve thirty years ago.
Jonh MacCarfray, uses The Beatles in corporate training. Workers answer a questionnaire to find out which one of the Fab Four they most resemble and how that links to the office environment. Needless to say he has got his tickets for the King's Dock show.
"I think that his coolness comes from how natural he is," he explains. Despite everything that he has achieved he comes across as being just a really normal person. People connect to that. His music is still very relevant to people from all walks of life. In our course Paul is the person who is able to read the situation the best. When you listen to his most recent stuff it still applies to everyday life."
Whether you think it is only because of The Beatles, Sir Paul's humanistic touch or the fact that he is cool simply because he is Macca appears to be irrelevant.
For 30,000 people in a big tent in Liverpool next month this will be one of the most important nights of their lives. The rest of the world will just have to huff enviously and say, "I didn't want to go anyway." (Daily Post)
Sir Paul McCartney has called for the crowd capacity for his sold-out hometown concert to be increased. Sir Paul hopes promoters of the show in Liverpool on 1 June will agree to open the door to 5,000 more fans.
His call comes after thousands were left disappointed when city council staff got tickets a day before they went on public sale. An inquiry has been called for after 4,000 out of 5,000 tickets, earmarked for a Liverpool City Council booking hotline, were reserved by staff before the line opened. The concert at the city's Kings Dock will be the ex-Beatle's 90th and final show of his world tour.
Sir Paul's publicist Geoff Baker said on Thursday said the star "was ecstatic his home town concert sold out so fast. If the gate was to be increased it would be good for those fans who've been unable to get tickets," Baker told BBC Radio Merseyside.
City council leader Mike Storey has voiced his anger over how the authority's staff were able to reserve the tickets 24-hours before they went on general sale. Mr Storey apologized to fans and described the way the tickets were handed out as "a lack of judgement."
Councillor Richard Kemp, a member of the ruling Liberal Democrat group, has also said he was "appalled" and has called for a full inquiry. The proposal for increasing the crowd capacity was being discussed on Thursday by the council and London-based promoters Marshall Arts. (BBC)
Paul McCartney will give a benefit concert at Rome's ancient Colosseum May 10, before a high-paying audience of around 400 Saturday, launching the Italian capital's open air summer music season in style.The 60-year-old former Beatle will follow his charity event with a free concert the following night outside the Colosseum.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to throng the Fori Imperiali linking the central Piazza Venezia with the Colosseum for the free concert on Sunday, May 11, according to Rome city hall which is organising the event.
An Internet auction for tickets to the exclusive first concert within the ancient walls of the Colosseum drew 10,000 bidders, with tickets fetching up to a record 2,900 euros ($3,300 dollars).
The auction raised hundreds of thousands of euros for Adopt-a-Minefield, a non-governmental organization working for the elimination of mines around the world, and Rome's Superintendenza Archeologica, which maintains Rome's ancient buildings.
Italy's Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani said part of the money raised will help finance an Italian archaeological mission to Iraq to help salvage cultural artifacts damaged by the US-led war to oust President Saddam Hussein. (AFP)
Mike McCartney's Liverpool Life -- Sixties Black and White -- which opens at the Museum of Liverpool Life May 29, 2003, will be on view for the first time in the US at the Smithsonian Institution, Arts & Industries Building from Jan. - June, 2004.
The exhibition portrays Mike's personal perspective on the origins of the British Invasion -- an intimate, dramatic tale of the city he loves and the era that changed music history.
Mike McCartney has recorded a total of nine albums; he has played with such names as Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, Spencer Davis, Graham Nash, and brother Paul's group, Wings. He has exhibited his photography throughout Europe, Japan and toured extensively, presenting his experiences and thoughts on his much-beloved Liverpool from the '60s, up to the present day.
Channel 4's decision to defy pressure from Sir Paul McCartney's lawyers and broadcast its warts-and-all documentary on his wife, Heather Mills, paid ratings dividends last night with nearly 4 million viewers tuning in.
The heavily promoted "Heather Mills: the Real Mrs. McCartney," billed as a "fair and balanced" account of the former model's life, included interviews with her ex-husband and other family members and was watched by 3.7 million viewers between 10pm and 11:05pm, according to unofficial overnights.
The biographical documentary attracted one in five TV viewers during that period - a good audience share for Channel 4.
"The Real Mrs. McCartney" proved more popular than BBC2 documentary "Headhunting the Homeless," which was watched by 1.4 million viewers, and Channel Five war movie repeat "Too Late the Hero," which attracted 1.5 million. But it lost out to the 10pm news bulletins on BBC1 and ITV1, which both attracted 5 million viewers. (Media Guardian)
The May 17, TV Guide says that Paul is being considered for a judge on "American Idol" in January 2004.
American Idol "is in discussions" with Sir Paul McCartney to be a guest judge next January on Idol 3. "He would've been here this year, "says AI's music supervisor, Susan Slamer, "but his European tour got in the way."Paul's spokesman says there is no truth to this rumor.
Paul was on Entertainment Tonight, Wednesday May 7 talking about the "In-Laws" movie he contributed music to.
"I love to see my stuff in films. You know, I'm a ham," says Paul. "I was asked if they could use one of my songs that I had lying around for quite a long time. I wasn't going to do anything with it, and I said, 'Yeah, sure. Let me freshen it up a bit and check it and make sure I like it.'"The song in question is "A Love for You," an unreleased ditty that dates back to Paul's Ram album from the early '70s. "I just managed to never get it on an album," explains Paul. "So [the filmmakers] said it would fit perfectly at the end of the film. We remixed it and I saw it on the film and I think it works great."
The filmmakers felt the same way, and asked Paul for two more songs to weave through the movie's soundtrack: "I'm Carrying," and a live version of "Live and Let Die" from the James Bond film starring Roger Moore.
"I think it's nice that they chose a slightly different version," says Paul. "It's a bit more interesting because of that. But it sounds enough like the original for it to work in the film for the kind of spoof CIA agent sequence."
A remake of the 1979 comedy starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, the new 'In-Laws' is about two mismatched fathers-in-law -- Douglas is a daredevil CIA agent, Brooks is mild-mannered podiatrist -- who become entangled in a series of perilous adventures just before the big wedding.
"It's a very funny film, actually. We were in hoots watching it," says Paul. "Michael's great as the super spy and Albert's really good as the worried [doctor]. I think they work very well together. And just the idea of having someone like that at a family wedding is a funny idea. They make the most of it."
The "In-Laws" hits theaters May 23.
Heather Mills declined to be interviewed for the program, "Heather Mills, The Real Mrs. McCartney", despite several requests. Friends who had originally agreed to take part pulled out, according to producer Janice Sutherland, but Ms Sutherland promised a "fair and balanced" account of Mills' life.
A Channel 4 spokesman confirmed there had been some communication with Mills and Sir Paul's lawyers, but said the show would be going ahead as planned tonight. "There has been posturing and threats to sue from the very first moment this program became public knowledge," a Channel 4 insider added. "We've been in receipt of a certain level of correspondence from her lawyers, but we would expect that," the source said.
Mills, who is known for her campaigning work on behalf of the victims of landmines and people who have lost limbs, has had an often fraught relationship with the British media. She lost her left leg in a road accident in 1993 when she was hit by a police motorcycle. She later received £200,000 ($314,000) in damages.
When she first began seeing Sir Paul, most newspapers charted her extraordinary life with admiration. However, media attitudes towards her changed last year, around the time of her marriage to Sir Paul in a lavish £2m ($3.1m) ceremony at a 17th century Irish castle in June.
Reports of a trip to America to publicize her updated autobiography fuelled plenty of sniping in the press, and there were countless stories about her poor relationship with stepdaughter Stella McCartney, who is said to have opposed the marriage.
In October last year Ms Mills accepted £50,000 ($78,000) in damages from the Sunday Mirror after the paper wrongly claimed the charity commission was investigating her over money collected in an appeal for the victims of an earthquake in India in 2001.
Sir Paul has also branded the British press "the naughtiest in the world" and accused newspapers of lowering standards.
Ms Mills continues to campaign for landmine victims, and made headlines across the globe when she whipped off her tailor-made false leg on US talk show Larry King Live to demonstrate how lifelike prosthetic limbs can be. (Media Guardian)
Sir Paul McCartney was poised last night to launch legal action over a TV documentary which portrays his wife as a lying fantasist who had long planned to ensnare a rich husband. The program depicts former glamour model Heather Mills as a calculating gold-digger with a murky past.Sir Paul, 60, who is on tour in Europe, declined to comment yesterday. But he is understood to be so infuriated by the program that he has instructed his lawyers to speak to Channel 4, which is due to screen it tonight. (Ch. 4 10:00pm GMT)
A spokesman for the Beatle said, "I've no idea what he'll decide to do."
The documentary - "Heather Mills, The Real Mrs McCartney" - parades a selection of friends, relatives and former lovers to cast aspersions on her character.
Channel 4 said last night that negotiations with Mills's lawyers were "ongoing." A spokesman added, however, "The program has been carefully edited and will be shown." (full story)
Liverpool Council staff will face disciplinary action if they try to sell their Paul McCartney tickets. An inquiry has been launched to find out who decided to allow 19,500 council employees to reserve tickets for the ex-Beatle's Liverpool concert 24 hours before they went on sale to the public.
A council statement says, "If evidence is produced, and proven that a council employee has sold their tickets, we will take disciplinary action."
All council staff have been warned to keep their tickets for the concert at the Kings Dock and not to try to make a profit on their good luck. This will be the 90th and final gig of the former Beatle's world tour and the black market is already thriving after tickets sold out in less than four hours. Hundreds are available on the internet, with £60 ($94) tickets selling for up to £560 ($880) a pair.
Council leader Mike Storey said the decision to give council workers priority treatment showed "a lack of judgment." He said, "I am extremely annoyed that someone approved this. I met the promoter of the concert and was heavily involved in getting Sir Paul to come and play this show. I am not involved in the day-to-day decisions and was seriously annoyed when this was brought to my attention."
Labour Group leader, Coun Joe Anderson, said he warned a thorough investigation should be launched to find out who allowed this to happen. He said, "I am a Paul McCartney fan, but I wouldn't buy my tickets like this." (Daily Post)
Heather Mills found fame and riches beyond belief when she became Mrs. Paul McCartney. But tomorrow (May 7) an explosive TV documentary will reveal all. To read more (The Sun) click here. (warning photos may be unsuitable for children)
Paul and Heather had lunch in London Saturday, May 3 at the National Portrait Gallery restaurant and surprised patrons by walking through the restaurant to their table where they nibbled on lettuce and chips. After a table by the window became vacant the couple moved over so they could enjoy the view of Trafalgar Square. (Express)
Paul was interviewed (in English) before his show in Sweden. Click here to see the interview. You will need RealPlayer.
Video interview backstage with Paul from Danish TV 2 television. The interview is in English with Danish subtitles. Click here.
An interesting McCartney interview excerpt from the "Music Zone." (a free magazine in the UK)
Q: So I'm guessing that on your 2006 tour, you'll be singing "When I'm 64?"
PAUL: You know what? I may well be doing that. There's a pretty good chance of that, I think, That's if I'm touring. You know, I might be "When I'm 64"-ing on a Hawaiian Island. There's always that chance. But yeah, if I'm touring. I think there's a pretty good chance that one might just work its way into the soundcheck.
The promoters of Sir Paul McCartney's concert wanted to ensure 'ordinary Liverpool people' got the chance to see the superstar performing in his home city. So they allocated 5,000 tickets to the local council, believing that was the best way to ensure fair distribution. Instead, the council seized on the tickets as a perk for its employees - and offered staff the chance to buy them 24 hours before sales to the public opened. Two thousand tickets were snapped up by the authority's workforce - who were allowed to buy as many as they liked - before the rest went on general sale. The move infuriated McCartney fans, many of whom queued overnight in the rain to buy tickets when they became available to the public at 9am yesterday.
Last night, tickets - costing £30 ($47) and £60 ($95) - were changing hands at up to £200 ($314) each. Gene Grimes, president of the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society, demanded that council staff return their tickets and then queue up for them with everyone else. "It is an absolute disgrace that they should get preference," he said. "It is a fiasco and there will be a riot if it is not put right."
In all, 30,000 tickets were available for the June 1 concert at the King's Dock, which ends Sir Paul's European tour - and by last night (May1), all were sold out.
Sir Paul's spokesman, Geoff Baker, said, "Liverpool City Council bought tickets to make sure that all their workforce and the people of the city would have access to tickets. They assured us that they weren't being put aside for executives and would go to general workers." He added that the former Beatle was 'very touched' that there had been such a huge demand for tickets in the city where he was born. "It is incredible," he said.
Opposition leaders today (Friday, May 2) demanded an investigation into the Paul McCartney ticket scandal at Liverpool town hall. Council employees were given the chance to reserve tickets 24 hours before the box offices opened. The council's allocation of 5,000 tickets was supposed to be sold to the general public through Liverpool Direct. But all 19,500 council employees were given the early chance to reserve as many as they wanted.
Today, Labour leader Joe Anderson demanded an inquiry to find out who made the decision to give priority treatment to the town hall workers. Cllr Anderson said, "We are trying to find out who made the decision and let this happen - we will continue looking until we find out."
Liverpool council's director of finance, Phil Halsall, said the council is the biggest employer in the city. By giving its workers the chance to buy tickets first, Liverpool people could get as many of the tickets as possible
But stories were emerging today of council workers snapping up tickets and giving them to family and friends from outside the city. Yesterday 30,000 tickets for the June 1 concert, the last date of Macca's tour, were snapped up in less than four hours. At first a council spokesman said 3,800 of their 5,000 ticket allocation had been reserved by their staff in advance. Some 2,000 took up their option and bought tickets.
Cllr Joe Anderson said the council's decision to jump the gun was atrocious. He said, "I was appalled the council would give its workforce and councillors privileged opportunities. We are all public servants and that doesn't mean we should be privileged above everybody else - it's that attitude that gives local government a bad name. I heard stories of council officers buying four to six tickets and giving them to people outside Liverpool so the idea that this was to give Liverpool people an opportunity to buy tickets backfired."
Mike Storey, leader of Liverpool's Liberal Democrat group, was unavailable for comment. Hopes for a second Macca date in Liverpool, to cope with the unprecedented demand for tickets, faded as his spokesman, Geoff Baker, said it could not be done. He said, "Paul would love to do another gig in his home city but it's just not possible. The rescheduled Sheffield gig is on May 29 and we have to pack up and move the stage to Liverpool. The Liverpool gig is officially the end of the tour so half our crew are off to other jobs the following day." (Echo)
Liz Hurley to present charity fashion show Liz Hurley is reportedly set to host the Fashion Rocks charity show in London this October.The model has signed up to front the show at the Royal Albert Hall, for broadcast in 40 countries around the world. The event will help raise funds for the Prince's Trust.
Tickets will set guests back £40 ($63) to £1,000 ($1,550). It will feature mini-catwalk presentations by 18 of the world's best designers - including Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Christian Dior Each set will be accompanied by music from a different live band.
A spokesman for the British Fashion Council told Vogue magazine, "There is a huge synergy between fashion and music and Fashion Rocks is a celebration of that. It is hugely ambitious and star-studded and should raise a huge amount of money for the Prince's Trust." (Ananova)
Tickets for the Paul McCartney's Moscow concert went on sale on Thursday (May 1), an official from SavEntertainment company, the organizer of the singer's tour, told Interfax. Tickets for the concert, scheduled for May 24 on Moscow's Red Square, are available in city theater box-offices and via the Internet. Their price ranges from 1,000 rubles ($32.15) to 6,000 rubles ($192.93) and 10,000 rubles ($321.54) in the VIP zone.
The tour organizers said these prices "are quite democratic," recalling that tickets for Moscow concerts of less prominent singers traditionally carry a much higher price tag.
A total of 50,000 people are expected at the show. McCartney will come to Moscow with his new group, including guitarist Rusty Anderson, drummer Abe Laboriel, keyboardist Paul Wickens and bassist Brian Ray.
A total of 20 trucks will deliver equipment and eight huge TV screens that will be installed in the middle of Red Square. McCartney's Moscow concert will come as part of his "Back in the World" 2003 world tour, which began in Paris on March 25. It includes performances in Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Ireland.
McCartney has been looking for a chance to stage his show in Moscow since 1980, when he sent an official request to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, asking for permission to give a concert during the Moscow Olympic Games. (Interfax)
The reason why the £60 seated tickets sold out in less than 15 minutes for McCartney's only Liverpool show (June 1) is because the Liverpool council employees were given first crack the day before the tickets went onsale. The offer had no limitation on the number of seats to be bought as long as the seats were not resold. The council employees snapped up 4,000 seats leaving only 1,000 for the general public. The council is requesting a second show at the Kings Dock.
A VIP package (from fanasylum), including two tickets for the Liverpool gig, are being offered today on eBay for $3,656 (£2,437).MORE:
Fury broke out in Liverpool today (May 1) over the early sale of tickets for Paul McCartney's concert. The main target of anger was Liverpool council which offered tickets yesterday to nearly 20,000 of their workers.
Some city outlets also jumped the gun by accepting reservations for the Kings Dock gig in advance of today's 9am deadline. One fan, who queued all night to get a seat for the June 1 show, said the situation "stank."
Cavern City Tours accepted early ticket reservations and others were sold through Liverpool council's public telephone helpline Liverpool Direct. The council decided to offer its own staff the chance to reserve tickets throughout yesterday and pay for them after 9am today (May 1).
A council spokesman said it gave employees the chance to check their bank accounts had enough to pay for the tickets. Staff, who were able to order as many tickets as they wanted for the 30,000 capacity gig, reserved 4,000 of the 5,000 tickets the council had obtained.
Ernie Herd, 49, from Bootle, who had slept overnight outside the Radio City tower to make sure he got a ticket, said he was stunned at Liverpool council's behavior. He said, "It stinks quite frankly. I've been queuing all night and all these people had to do was sit in their nice offices and pick up the phone. It is completely out of order and I think the council should be made to give the tickets back to the people who have queued for hours to buy them. People are going to be very angry about this. The council have got it very wrong."
John James-Chambers, from the Beatles Appreciation Society, said the council's actions were "outrageous." He said, "This is absolutely disgraceful and a real abuse of power by the council. Our volunteers have worked hard for years at the Beatles Appreciation Society and are all real fans - if anyone should get priority it should be us. But that's not what this concert is about, it is about the ordinary working-class people of the city getting a chance to see Sir Paul. This is totally wrong."
Bill Heckle, boss of Cavern City Tours, said they had been inundated with calls from all over the world. He said, "We have been manning six phone lines throughout the night to take people's details so we could process ticket sales when it officially opened at 9am today. We had calls from Japan, America and all European cities. The response has been 10 times more than it was when he last played a major gig in 1990." (Echo)
MORE:Thousands of council staff have been able to buy tickets for Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool show ahead of the public, it has emerged. The tickets officially went on sale on Thursday, but 4,000 of the 5,000 tickets earmarked for a council-run hotline had been reserved by staff.
BBC Radio Merseyside has revealed an e-mail about tickets was distributed to council staff on Wednesday - Liverpool City Council's designated "no e-mail day" - for the 1 June show. The council was allocated 5,000 tickets for the 40,000-seat show to ensure local people had a chance to get in to the show at Kings Dock.
A further 5,000 tickets were also issued to city outlet Cavern City Tours, for the same purpose.
It is understood the e-mail to council staff offered them the opportunity to order tickets for themselves, friends and family, in advance. It also stated there was "no limit" to the number staff could order, but it was stipulated that they could not be then offered for re-sale.
An hour after the tickets went on sale at 9am BST on Thursday, it is understood all had been sold.
Callers to the main ticket line, which is selling the other 30,000 tickets, were also reportedly being told Sir Paul's UK tour is a complete sellout. Sir Paul's spokesman Geoff Baker said he was surprised that all the tickets for the concert had gone so quickly.
A city council spokesperson confirmed 4,000 of the tickets their hotline was allocated had been reserved. He said that "taking names ahead of general sale is normal practice among ticket distributors." (story)
June 2003
Here's two photos from Paul's 61st birthday party (June 20) at his house in St. Johns Wood, London.
(left) Mike McCartney is taking a photo of Barbara Bach taking a photo of Paul and Ringo!
(right) Elvis Costello and Ringo.
Heather Mills spent £25,000 ($42,000) on a surprise 61st birthday party, June 20 for husband Sir Paul McCartney - with an Indian theme.
Guests including ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Jools Holland, Elvis Costello, George Martin and Olivia Harrison - all sworn to secrecy - had exotic garlands placed round their necks as they arrived and were daubed with face paints.
Buddha statues adorned the garden and a sitar band played for the crowd in St. John's Wood, North London.
Paul fell in love with India after being introduced to the country by ex-bandmate George Harrison. A guest said, "It was a great night."
Paul's children were absent. When asked why Stella had not attended, Sir Paul's agent told London's Daily Mail, "I've no idea. Why don't you ask her?" Stella couldn't be reached for comment.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is considering holding a concert in Cuba next year, and is sending his agents to the island in July to work out the details, the "Juventud Rebelde" newspaper has reported.Cuban authorities, including Culture Minister Abel Prieto, have already approved the concert, the paper said, quoting writer Ernesto Juan Castellanos, who attended McCartney's June 1, concert in Liverpool.
"I know for sure that he wants to come. His representatives have asked me about many things," he told the paper.
McCartney travelled to Cuba with his children in January 2000, to find out more about the island's traditional music.
Castellanos took the opportunity to grab a quick word with McCartney at the end of his concert in Liverpool, and asked him when he would go back to Cuba.
McCartney jokingly replied, "Next week." (ABC News)
Fashion designer Stella McCartney is to wed on the Scots beach her mother called her favorite place on earth. Paul McCartney's daughter will marry lover Alasdhair Willis, dubbed Mr Gucci, on idyllic Saddell beach in Kintyre next month.
A flotilla of yachts will be anchored nearby with the A-list celebrity guests being ferried by motor cruiser to the beach for the ceremony. A helicopter landing strip is to be carved out in a nearby field for stars who have to fly in for the big day. Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and partner Chris Martin from Coldplay are among the guests expected on the yachts. Other big names tipped to attend are models Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss and Lord Of The Rings beauty Liv Tyler.
Local caterers have been warned they will get just two days' notice ahead of the big day.
It's not clear if Sir Paul's pregnant wife Heather will be at the wedding. Stella, 31, who was very close to her late mum Linda, is said to tolerate her step- mum rather than acknowledge or accept her. And it is thought she may be wary of making an appearance on the beach that was Linda's private heaven.
Saddell beach is where the video for the hit song "Mull of Kintyre" was shot. It was also a favored spot for Linda to ride her horses. The beach is crowned by a 16th century fort which provides a breath-taking backdrop to the natural beauty of the long, curving white pebble sands and crystal clear waters in the bay.
Yesterday locals were staying tight-lipped over the wedding, Scotland's biggest since Madonna married Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle two years ago. But one told the Sunday Mail, "We have been told we will be contacted by an agent who will give us just two day's notice before it happens. They called it a major event and asked about our fridge capacity and storage space. It is going to happen in the next month and it will be at Saddell beach. We are being told to keep it tight. It is all being handled through an agent and their names are being kept well away from it. If Stella gets the weather, she would be hard pushed to find a prettier place in the world. The beach and the cove are spectacular. It's almost impossible to get to without a boat. There's only one road and if they control access down it then they effectively have the beach to themselves. Everyone is so excited because people here have such a lot of time for Sir Paul and his family."
A spokeswoman for the Landmark Trust, which owns the historic fort on the beach and a gatehouse at the entrance, said they had no knowledge of the wedding plans. And Kintyre florist, Ivor Maciver, said, "We have been delivering flowers to Sir Paul for years. He gives all his staff flowers at Christmas. He hasn't been here for over a year though and we haven't heard any plans for the wedding. But we'd only need a couple of days' notice to get it all sorted out. I'm not surprised it's at Saddell beach, that was Linda's favorite place on this earth.
Stella and Alasdhair - who, like his bride, has Irish roots - are bringing their own minister and are expected to write their own vows. As yet no wedding banns have been posted at the nearest register office in Campbeltown. A spokesman for Stella McCartney declined to comment on the plans.
Alasdhair, 31, a former advertising executive with a passion for the Gucci label, met Stella at a fashion party in June 2001 and they have been close ever since. Stella had previously been linked with singer Lenny Kravitz. She said recently, "I have never felt like this in a relationship before... it's just a dream."
Although the couple initially tried to keep their relationship secret they have been looking increasingly besotted over the last few months.
Stella first hit the headlines in 1995 when she graduated from London's Central St Martin's College of Art & Design. Her graduation show, attended by her proud parents, featured pals Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss modelling her clothes. Later that year, Stella launched her own label and in March 1997 she was appointed chief designer at the French fashion house Chloe .
Following the death of her mother from cancer in April 1998, Stella stepped up her fight against the maltreatment of animals, a cause Linda had always held dear. Her design career has gone from strength to strength. In 2000 she designed Madonna's wedding dress and was one of Madge's bridesmaids when she tied the knot with Guy Ritchie.
Last week, Saddell beach basked in glorious sunshine as holiday-makerspaddled in the waters and beachcombed along it. It will be a different venue next month when the world's biggest stars gather there for the wedding of the year. (Sunday Mail-Scotland)
Guitarist extraordinaire, Rusty Anderson has been working on a new album called, "Undressing Underwater," that will be released later this summer. The album includes a song called "Hurt Myself" recorded last November at Sunset Studios in Los Angeles and features bandmates, Paul McCartney, Abe Laboriel, Jr., Paul "Wix" Wickens and Brian Ray. Stewart Copeland, former Police drummer, is also an album contributor. Visit Rusty Anderson's Web page for more info.
Bridget and Joseph Hooker wrote a touching tribute song to Linda McCartney with an accompanying video. It's called "Waiting at Heaven's Door - A McCartney Rose." Click here for the link.
"The biggest inspiration for the perfume and my own personal goal was to create a perfume I would want to wear," announced Stella McCartney this week as she attended the New York launch of her new eponymously named fragrance."I wanted a smell that reflected my English side, something very traditional," she says. With this in mind she has selected rose essence as the perfume's top notes, a tribute also to her late beloved mother Linda, who always kept a vase of freshly cut roses in the family home. "It's just the smell I grew up with," recalls Stella. "When I was 11 or 12, I dislocated my knee and my dad got me a bottle of Giorgio Beverly Hills. I thought Giorgio was the greatest thing in the world. How intense is that perfume!"
The scent, which also combines seductive notes of amber, comes in a smoky plum colored flask reminiscent of Lalique, of which Stella is a big fan, and is the third in of Yves Saint Laurent's new fragrance brands. Eschewing the traditional spray format in favor of a classic applicator, the 31-year-old explained, "It's much sexier than spraying. There is something dangerous about it."
There's nothing dangerous about the other upcoming products in her line, however. In line with the designer's well-known politically correct and environmentally friendly beliefs the body milk and body cleanser are 95 per cent natural as well as 15 per cent organic.
The ad for the perfume features a topless Stella? artistically blurred, however the designer denies the photo is of her. "It's a body double - nothing to do with me whatsoever." (Hello Magazine)
A good friend of the British band, Steadman, managed to catch the ear of Paul McCartney with a Steadman CD. Macca was so impressed with what he heard, that he showed up in the front row at one of the band's gigs. Later Paul penned a note to the band. The CD will be released in August. It's the band's first album.
They are photos that capture an era, taken by someone who was in the middle of it. Linda McCartney, the late wife of Paul McCartney, shot her husband's band and other music figures of the day, from Janis Joplin to Jim Morrison to the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones.Now, 51 of the photos are included in the traveling collection "Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era," which runs through Sept. 14 at Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan. The show, much of which is drawn from McCartney's 1992 book of the same name, is on a five-year museum odyssey that started in Greenwich, Conn., in 1999 and will end in 2004 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"Something this deep in pop culture is new to us," said Heather Price, vice president for public programs at the museum.
A Sir Paul McCartney sketch fetched more than £10,000 ($16,800) at a charity auction June 23. A female American fan from Colorado bought the ex-Beatle's drawing - a bog orchid with a loo seat surrounding it. In total, 275 celebrity drawings raised £30,000 ($50,400) for the Dorset Wildlife Trust. To see a photo of the print, click here.
Jools Holland is working on a new album called "And Friends." Ringo Starr has contributed a new version of "Boys" for the album and Paul is considering recording "The New York Song," first heard on the Parkinson show, but never recorded.
Heather Mills received an honorary doctorate degree from Open University in Portsmouth, England on June 21. Heather wore the traditional cap and gown and made a short speech when she received the degree in recognition for her humanitarian work. A proud Paul McCartney observed from the back of the balcony where he slipped in virtually unnoticed and told onlookers that it was Heather's day and he didn't want any attention. (story)
Following our very own "A President For Europe Campaign" which we ran throughout May 2003, www.50connect.co.uk is pleased to announce that the winner from the twelve celebrities nominated is Sir Paul McCartney.Over 21,000 people voted the father-to-be, Sir Paul McCartney as the best man for the job. He received 4,524 votes, or 21.5%, beating Terry Wogan into second place with 3,400 [16%]. Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlem came third with 2,711 [12.9%].
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who, it is rumored, would quite like the job himself, was twelfth in the poll with just 563 votes or 2.5%, having been beaten by Anne Robinson, Sir Richard Branson, Billy Connolly, Alan Titchmarsh, Joanna Lumley, David Attenborough, Anthony Hopkins and John Simpson.
"Tony Blair was never really in the running," says Dale Lovell Features Editor of 50 Connect. "The votes just weren't there for him while Sir Paul received a sudden boost when he announced the forthcoming birth of another child at the age of 60+. Perhaps if Cherie were to do the same thing, Mr. Blair might be more on track for public support. It certainly seemed to up his popularity last time." (story)
Heather Mills is expecting her baby in mid-November according to her husband, Sir Paul who inadvertently let the news slip while celebrating the couple's first anniversary in Ireland.
Paul will start recording a new studio album in September and plans to tour in late summer 2004. Rumors are that he will perform in countries missed on this tour and the tour will open in Liverpool next August.
YOUNG AT HEART? WHY NOTHING AGES AN OLDER MAN AS MUCH AS HIS YOUNGER WOMAN.Didn't you just love that photograph of Ringo Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, hugging each other among the blooms at the Chelsea Flower Show? Married to the point of no return, they looked so sweet, so right. Here was an evenly matched couple whose individual attractiveness was enhanced by the presence of their better half. A two-part living jigsaw glued together seamlessly by the years. Compare and contrast with those increasingly grotesque pictures of Rod Stewart being dragged about town like an ill dog at the end of a lead by his strapping, much younger girlfriend Penny Lancaster. Forget the music; rock stars exist primarily to inspire sexual envy among other males - that is their mojo; vicarious living their bread and butter. And yet looking at Rod, these days, you can't imagine him inspiring much more than sorrow and pity, at best an offer to take over from the late Thora Hird in the stair-lift adverts. The poor guy looks exhausted, drained of his very marrow by the grinning Amazon beside him. Do ya think Rod's sexy? I'm not even sure he's still alive.
The much younger woman has long been a status symbol for the older male. Cheaper than a Porsche, less upkeep than a yacht, the mere presence of arm candy provided physical proof of a man's wealth, power and continuing virility. And sometimes it seems to have worked rather well. Nothing is ever going to stop the ripples of hilarity when one spies Bernie Eccleston with his statuesque young wife - it looks like one of the dwarves got off with Snow White. However, Anna-Nicole Smith's marriage to her billionaire near-cadaver looked sound enough. She brought cleavage, fun and moxie to the table, while he provided money, dribble and imminent death (always attractive in a man).
Then there are those women who just prefer older men. It's no secret that nice older men have horrible young men to thank for any success they have with young women. That said, do older men realise that, for some minxes, they are secretly considered the 'fat girls' of the dating scene? As one friend put it: 'Why waste your time being mucked about by a young guy who thinks he's doing you a favor when older men are so much more accommodating and grateful?'
Basically, though, the idea has remained the same over the years. Mature, rich, powerful men would appear younger, richer, more virile, if they managed to snag themselves some nubile flesh. In return, the women, these playmates for middle age, these Gucci geishas, were supposed to be as passive as they were desirable, as silent as they were beautiful. And this seems to be the deal-breaker with Rod and Penny, and Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. If anything, the new breed of high-profile 'younger women' seem to have an ageing effect on their men. There's Rod, of course. No one could say that the old dog hasn't stuck to his guns over the years with this 'leggy blonde' thing. It's just that as he gets older the girls stay young and Rod seems to have this permanent pleading look on his face. Similarly, when McCartney was with Linda, she made him seem his own man. Now running around after Mills, in his 'young-guy clothes' he looks old, foolish, diminished. And has Douglas ever looked his age so much as when he was photographed drooling over Zeta-Jones, his hair a sad spray of 'funky' auburn highlights?
Sri Aurobindo, the Indian guru, once said, 'A woman is more dangerous than a sharp sword.' And certainly, just like footballers warned to abstain from sex before a big match, you can see how re-asserting their virility is taking it out of these guys. Indeed, the sight of older men with younger women seems to inspire less 'Phwoar!' than fear these days. 'She's put decades on him,' said one man, sadly, of a photo of Penny and Rod where she appears to be operating him with her hand up his back. As it happens, Stewart, Douglas and McCartney probably haven't changed so much - they'd probably prefer the same deal older men used to get, but no one's offering. It's the women who have changed. There's a warped kind of feminism in the way this new breed of 'younger women' have gone from being passive objects of desire to the ones doing the desiring, and it's clear that they want a lot more out of life than the man they are with. That's why these days older men look like they are accessorising their younger women's lifestyles, not the other way around. Which one supposes is progress of sorts. Just put him to bed a bit earlier, Penny, have a heart. (The Observer)
Macca has found that having a younger wife has, curbed his use of cannabis. In an interview about the relaxing of the cannabis laws, the 61-year-old expectant father agreed that it was a good thing, although he personally doesn't indulge as much as he used to, "I don't want to be sitting there at a restaurant and say, 'Hey, baby, I just have to run to the bog and smoke a joint.' It just doesn't occur." (People News)
Liam Lynch, MTV-versed video director and the first notable graduate of Paul McCartney's LIPA fame school, makes goofy two-minute singalongs for the Jackass generation.Eclipsing Weird Al Yankovic's 1980s pop pastiche, he leaves no genre unpilfered in mocking the likes of Talking Heads and Bjork with affectionate sarcasm, saving snidey smiles for the White Stripes. Whether it's the sleazy chic of "United States of Whatever," or classic disco in "Sugar Walkin'," Lynch re-creates the mood to a tee, even inviting Ringo Starr to drum on the sneering Double Fantasy-era Lennon funk of "Cuz You Do."
He's a bit Yoko Ono on "Fake Bjork Song," but successfully mimics Ziggy Stardust's spacey whine on "Fake David Bowie Song." Aside from impressions and imitations, Lynch's lyrics are carefully observed enough to be almost believable, playing with the idiosyncrasies of each style, stitching together a seamless satirical sketch show. (The Guardian)
Paul and Heather spend their first wedding anniversary in Ireland. They arrived in Glaslough the evening of June 10th, and went down to the local pub in the Village of Glaslough with Samantha Leslie, owner of Castle Leslie where the couple were married last year on June 11. Paul had two pints of Heineken beer and Heather had a bottle of ballygowan (mineral water). Paul didn't sign any autographs or pay for any rounds for pub patrons but he did shake hands with all the locals.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SENDS LETTER TO PAUL McCARTNEY'S WIFERussian President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter to Heather Mills-McCartney, the wife of Sir Paul McCartney, the presidential press service reported.
In his letter, Vladimir Putin laid out Russia's position on the problem of the Ottawa Convention Banning Landmines, recently discussed in the Kremlin.
In late May, Vladimir Putin had a Kremlin meeting with the legendary ex-Beatles Paul McCartney who gave a concert in Red Square. McCartney's wife who also attended the meeting wondered if the Russian president knew about the campaign for banning landmines that her husband and she were waging, and whether Russia could join this campaign.
Vladimir Putin called this effort very useful. Its consideration at the state level requires diplomatic and military expert co-ordination, said Vladimir Putin. (Pravda)
GLASTONBURY SAID NO TO McCARTNEY
Glastonbury organizer Michael Eavis says he had to turn down an offer from Sir Paul McCartney to headline the festival. Eavis said the former Beatle approached him about playing the legendary music event. But he said he had to refuse as the line-up, with Radiohead in the headline slot, had already been confirmed.McCartney's official spokesman said early plans to play the festival had to be shelved when it did not tie in with his tour schedule.
And a Glastonbury spokeswoman said it was hoped Sir Paul could appear at next year's event instead.
Michael Eavis said, "We tried to work it out with Paul - I offered him the headline on Friday and Sunday but it was Saturday or nothing. "I told him Radiohead were already booked but it was no good, so I had to say no to him."
But the festival spokeswoman said, "We were in discussions with Paul McCartney, but it never got to a point where we were talking about slot times. He may play at the festival next year though."
Sir Paul's spokesman Geoff Baker said, "There was some talk about playing Glastonbury very early on, but it did not fit into the tour. (BBC NEWS)
MACCA'S NOT FIT TO CLEAN MY SHOES ... SAYS COLDPLAY'S CHRIS MARTIN
It could have been a rush of blood to the head, but Coldplay singer Chris Martin often thinks Paul McCartney isn't fit to clean his shoes.The shocking admission comes as Chris takes Britain's hottest band into rehearsals for their forthcoming headlining appearance at this year's 10th birthday T in the Park.
And he says he isn't the only member of Coldplay - who have enjoyed two chart-topping albums - to rate themselves and their achievements above The Beatles.
At least Chris is quick to point out he only thinks Macca should be his boot boy half the time.
Chris, who rarely agrees to interviews, says, "It's a weird mix being in our band. One half of us thinks we're better than The Beatles, the other half thinks we don't deserve to have two people come to our shows, let alone two million. But, while part of me does think Paul McCartney should clean my boots, I must admit the other half thinks I should clean his. That keeps you kind of grounded."
Chris, bassist Guy Berryman, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion have enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame since the release of their 2000 album, "Parachutes."
The band's follow-up, "A Rush Of Blood To The Head," has made huge inroads on both sides of the Atlantic. "Singles Trouble," "In My Place," "The Scientist" and runaway debut "Yellow" have all been hits. But the band are still some way off matching the credentials of Macca's old band - and that's putting it mildly.
The Beatles had 17 No.1 singles, including 11 consecutive No.1's and were responsible for heavyweight classic albums "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club," "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver."
Coldplay are yet to generate the kind of hysteria Macca and his bandmates once did, but their crowd-pulling power will definitely put smug smiles on the faces of T in the Park organizers.
CHRIS MARTIN VS SIR PAUL McCARTNEY
CHRIS - Coldplay albums "Parachutes" and "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" have been hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Singles include "Trouble," "Yellow," "In My Place" and "The Scientist."
PAUL - Co-wrote 17 No.1 singles for The Beatles, including 11 consecutive chart-toppers such as "She Loves You" and "Hey Jude." Albums such as "Sgt. Pepper" and "Revolver" are all-time classics. (Daily Record)
MILLS ON THE FLOSSFirst there was Yoko Ono. The Beatles woman, who allegedly split the quartet and aroused the collective bile of a generation. Now there is Heather Mills, the second Lady McCartney, who has taken an institution - Sir Paul - and re-invented him, not as the grand-daddy of pop, but as spaniel-eyed sugar-daddy husband and father-to-be.
Only no one is spitting blood. It just doesn't seem to matter much any more. The Beatles are over. Their music is alive. Let it be.
So why should anyone care about Heather Mills McCartney, luscious, blonde, 35-year-old column-inch queen with a tabloid tale or two to tell? Three reasons. For a start, she has a lot of good in her. Giving 27,000 amputees around the world the chance to walk again has got to take some spunk. Second, she is sassy, determined and has lived life on the wild side. Last but not least, Mills is married to the 29th richest man in the United Kingdom, with a CV (resumé) so spotted with encomiums there is little room for personal trivia.
With Mills in the Beatles' photograph album, the big picture has altered. Sir Paul is back on the tour circuit, wowing hundreds of thousands around the world, strapping on his hallmark Hofner violin bass, the one that caught his teenaged eye in a Liverpool shop.
It may be trite to credit the little woman at home for Paul's sudden return to puppy-like enthusiasm for live performance. But Mills, says one of Paul's oldest friends, has obviously made the sexagenarian very very happy. And you can't beat a happy old rocker with an illustrious and vast back catalog to choose from.
So Mills may actually be good for Paul. But is he good for her? He is uber famous, uber rich, one half of a legendary song-writing credit line and a kind family man into the bargain.
Strange then that Mills doesn't actually look very happy, now that she's a titled lady wife with money to burn. Instead, she just looks satisfied, curiously feline, the cat that got all the cream. And then some.
This may square with her own story of her life. From the streets to stardom. A dysfunctional broken home, early responsibility for her younger siblings, teenage rebellion ending in homelessness, theft, an arrest and later, a series of risqué modelling assignments.
Then she lost a leg in a car accident and set up a charity to give limbs, life and meaning back to thousands. At the turn of the century, she was on her way to becoming a Beatles woman.
That is Mills, her story, as she tells it. Other, more ugly, conflicting accounts depict her as a serial fantasist, chronic liar, gold-digger, pleasure-wife to rich Arabs, devouring demon woman of the tabloid publicity machine.
No one ever said being Lady McCartney was easy. According to Mills it's not a "big lush lifestyle" either. "I cook my own dinner - he (Paul) makes the breakfast. He cleans up. He loves it. He's a naturally wonderful guy who offers to help in a modern-day relationship where two people are out working and you both come together," she recently told prime-time British television.
That bit, an attempt to re-build the McCartney myth, may be at odds with her public image as a scarlet-suited sharp-dresser who routinely shakes hands with heads of state. And never mind her northern twang and dangly jewellery, she is not Britain's sweaty working class wifey.
Just recently, Mills publicly asked to be seen as a spangly but still uni-dimensional extension of her charity work. Indeed, some of those who survived the Gujarat (India) earthquake will remember her as just that. For the rest of the world, that may be a dream too far now that a Beatle has actually dedicated one of his songs to her. (Times of India)
This week's Enquirer is shaping up into an extravaganza of Brit power. And following the story of the Princess and the actor, we hear of Paul McCartney and his new wife Heather Mills.
The magazine says that the 60-year-old former Beatle is "deeply hurt" that none of his four adult children bothered to congratulate new wife Heather on her pregnancy.A picture of Paul hugging Heather's tummy and doing his open-mouthed pop face, while she pouts to the camera, accompanies the news.
Amazingly, that failed to impress his children, and so too did Paul's apparent attempts to patch things up by suggesting that daughter Stella organize a baby shower for Heather.
Once more we are stunned to report that the ice has not been broken. An insider even says that Paul's children "made a point of snubbing" the honest and down-to-earth Heather.
But not to worry because once he's got his new child, he can lavish all his attention on it. And the ungrateful foursome can disappear - forever. (Anorak News UK)
Who puts on the greatest live show? The editors at Rolling Stone came up with a list of 100 great live performers who are currently touring or have toured within the last two years. It's your job to select the ONE act who puts on the best live show. The results will be featured in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.
Vote for Paul McCartney as the best live act on Rolling Stone.com! Click to vote
Check out the new "People Magazine," June 23 for another article on Paul and Heather. The new "MOJO" magazine (in the UK) has a review of Paul's first Sheffield concert.
The 60-year-old Beatle legend Paul McCartney and the 34-year-old former fashion model Heather Mills-McCartney have been staying at the $4,200-a-night Grand Hotel in Saint-Jean-Cap on the French Riviera to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. (NY Post)
Victor Logvinov, a friend here in Huntsville who is of Russian descent, e-mailed me with a tidbit about former Beatle Paul McCartney's recent history-making concert in Moscow. He said a friend of his in Moscow told him some front-row tickets were sold for the equivalent of approximately $10,000 American money.That makes me feel better about the hundred and something bucks apiece I dished out for tickets to see McCartney in Raleigh, N.C., last year. But those weren't front row seats either, though they offered an excellent view of the stage.
If you had bought one of those front-row seats in Moscow, you'd have been rubbing elbows with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government big-wigs. Reportedly, some 20,000 people attended the concert, which is not bad, considering that Beatlemania was officially taboo in the old Soviet Union during the 1960s. It was a Western conspiracy. Remember?
Well, maybe it worked, even if it did take a long time. The Beatles broke up in 1970 and more than two decades passed before the Soviet Union fell apart. (Huntsville Times)
The McCartney rose was named for Paul McCartney in honor of his 50th birthday in 1992.The world of roses is naturally glamorous, but by no means snobbish. If you just have a sunny garden, you can invite Queen Elizabeth, Cary Grant, Christian Dior, Michelangelo and dozens of other famous and historic blooms to put on a show.
In the rose business, it's something of a tradition to name flowers after celebrities, artists, statesmen and legendary men and women from around the world. Like their namesakes, these roses tend to have rather flashy blooms, distinguishing the garden company they keep, but capable of stealing the spotlight from the hollyhocks, the lilies and the bright-eyed daisies.
Every good garden ought to have at least a few roses. If you happen to be a fan of Dolly Parton, you can plant her in your back yard. She's a voluptuous hybrid tea rose withlarge lipstick-red petals.
"Roses are the queen of flowers, and it brings the attention of celebrities," says Jacques Ferare, a rosarian and director of research for Conard-Pyle's Star Roses. The company has been growing and introducing new plants and roses since 1897.
Sometimes movie stars or artists will ask to have roses named after them, Ferare says. Just as often, a rose hybridizer will ask the celebrity to lend his or her name to a particularly promising rose.
Many celebrity roses are hybrid teas, which produce a single flower on the end of a long, straight stem. Rosie O'Donnell, Lucille Ball and Chris Evert are all hybrid teas.
Gracie Allen is a blush-pink floribunda, which produces flowers in clusters. Queen Elizabeth, introduced in 1954, was the first grandiflora, a long-blooming rose with many flowers on each stem.
Celebrity roses are usually brought to the retail market with a certain amount of fanfare, Ferare says.
"First you get the hype," he says. "Then five to 10 years later you know when you really have a good rose. People still love it."
The McCartney rose, a hybrid tea named after Sir Paul in honor of his 50th birthday in 1992, shows all the signs of endurance, Ferare says. In rose competitions among breeders around the world, the McCartney rose has won 22 awards and gold medals. It has received more international awards than any other rose hybridized by the famous House of Meilland, which also introduced the Peace rose.McCartney seems to enjoy his namesake rose. When it was introduced, he ordered 100 bushes for his friends. Last summer, when he and Heather Mills were married in Ireland, she carried McCartney roses in her bouquet. (Universal Press Syndicate)
Sir Paul McCartney's MPL Communications, Inc., home to music penned by famed composers such as Harold Arlen, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Frank Loesser, Bessie Smith and of course, Paul McCartney has added NY Yankees All-Star Bernie Williams to its line-up. Williams, a talented guitarist and composer, is the first Latin and jazz artist signed to MPL, continuing the company's recent addition of contemporary songwriters to its roster. Williams' debut recording, "The Journey Within" (GRP/Verve), will be released July 15, preceded by his performance at Chicago's House of Blues on July 13 during Major League Baseball's All-Star Week.MPL represents seven of Williams' compositions for placement in film, television, advertising and alternative media. His signing was announced jointly today by Bill Porricelli, Sr. VP Promotion and New Product Development, and Allan J. Tepper, VP Creative Services.
McCartney learned of Williams' musical gifts while attending his first Yankees game. "I was intrigued to hear his music, so when I heard his CD I was blown away by his talent," says McCartney. "Go Bernie, it's a home run!"
"We recognize just how exceptional Bernie's material is and we will promote the mass appeal of his songs and bring more awareness of Bernie as artist and songwriter," says Porricelli. "We fell in love with his music."
"It's great to work with a double-threat," adds Tepper. "Bernie is already a superstar in his field and people will be blown away by his musical prowess. This is a really exciting time for us!"
A native of Puerto Rico, Williams studied music on scholarship beginning at age 13, and had envisioned a musical career before turning to Major League Baseball. He has won four World Series Championships with the New York Yankees; four Gold Gloves; a Batting Title, and is a five-time All-Star and lifetime 300 hitter.
Williams says, "It's an honor to have one of the greatest songwriters in music history supporting my project. I've always been a big Beatles fan, and working with Paul McCartney and MPL Communications is a dream come true. It brings the whole album project full circle." Williams' first radio single, "Just Because," features pianist David Benoit; "The Journey Within's" all-star line-up also includes GRAMMY(R) winners Bela Fleck and Ruben Blades, as well as Gilberto Santa Rosa and top session players Leland Sklar, Kenny Aronoff, David Sancious and Luis Conte.
McCartney founded MPL Communications, headquartered in New York and London, upon the breakup of the 20th century's greatest musical force, The Beatles. MPL Communications is among the largest privately owned music publishing companies in the world with diverse musical copyrights and holdings representing the best of modern popular music. For more information please visit www.mplcommunications.com or www.berniewilliams.com. (PRNewswire)
Fashion designer Stella McCartney was forced to dismantle a shower she had built on her roof after complaints from her Notting Hill neighbors.McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul, put up the seven-foot-high, wooden shower last summer.
Outraged neighbors called it an eyesore, out of keeping with the area, and complained to Westminster Council who told her to take it down.
McCartney appealed to the Government Planning Inspectorate but she was turned down.
"She did not have the appropriate planning permission and the construction broke planning regulations so she was forced to remove it," a council spokeswoman said.
The rich neighborhood of Notting Hill, whose Bohemian essence was captured in the film of the same name, is a conservation area with strict planning regulations.
The father of Heather Mills has consulted lawyers in a bid to gain access to his future grandchild.
Mark Mills found out his daughter was expecting a baby with husband Sir Paul McCartney after it was revealed in the media last month. He fears a five-year rift between them means he will be shut out of his grandchild's life and he is now trying to secure access through the courts.
Mr. Mills, a former physics lecturer, is on invalidity benefit and could be eligible for public funds to fight his case. "To be able to see, hold and play with a grandchild would mean so much to me," he said. "It will be my first grandchild, as none of Heather's two sisters or brother has children. And it will be very special to me because I became an orphan the year after I was born, when my mother died. I am obviously very pleased for Heather and Paul. I intend to visit the child, but they may try to deny me access. If I am denied access I will go to court. I am determined to succeed. There is no excuse for me not to be allowed to see my grandchild. My solicitor advised me that I have a good case and I will go the whole way."
Heather Mills-McCartney has had a turbulent relationship with her father. She accused him of beating her mother, Beatrice, claims which he strongly denies. And she failed to acknowledge his wedding present to the couple when they were married last June.
Mr. Mills, who lives in Washington, Tyne and Wear, also believes his one-year spell in prison for insurance fraud two decades ago has added to their problems. He is now on invalidity benefit after suffering a series of strokes which have left him with speech problems and bouts of forgetfulness. He added, "I expect it's because of my jail sentence that she didn't want me in the picture. But she has made up things about me which aren't true. It's a lie to say I beat her mother. Beatrice and I were married for 20 years and I loved her very much. She was a very good woman. I hope they will let me see the baby without having to take action. I just want to have a place in the child's life and buy little Christmas and birthday presents. Nothing more than that. I don't get a penny from Heather and I don't want any money off her. I just want to be included in the family, that's all."
The couple's baby is due in October. Any legal action would be dealt with through the county court. A spokeswoman for Heather Mills refused to comment last night. (Liverpool Echo)
The 60-year-old former Beatle watched lovingly as his missus sipped from a bottle of water between relaxing dips in the glistening Mediterranean off Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera. The lovestruck pair swam contentedly in the surf before finally emerging to dry off together on the baking sand.
At one point, pop legend Sir Paul tenderly wrapped a striped towel around ex-model Heather before planting a kiss on her lips. Heather, 35, responded by entwining her arms around his waist and passionately kissing him back. The heart-warming display came at the end of Macca's world tour - and just ten days after the couple confirmed they are expecting their first child later this year. It also followed almost exactly a year after the pair were married at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, Co Monaghan, Ireland, last June.
Heather and Macca - who had three children with first wife Linda, who died in 1998 - slipped away to the South of France to stay at the £2,500 ($4,200)-a-night Grand Hotel in Cap Ferrat, a famed showbiz hotspot. Yesterday, they walked on to a public beach used by dog-walkers and joggers and jumped from rocks into the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean.
One local said, "It was very romantic - just the two of them. They had no bodyguards and spent time cooling off in the water. Heather seemed very relaxed and dived in wearing goggles. They then clambered out of the water via a ladder which had been lowered into the sea. Before returning to the hotel they dried off with matching hotel towels and then kissed by the water's edge." (The Sun - photos)
Here is a very 'off the wall' Italian video from a group of actors called "Trio Medusa" who are famous for annoying people. They have been stalking Paul during his visits to Italy trying to get him to sing with them. Their latest quest was to get Paul to sing the Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction." There's footage of Paul in Venice on a boat with the band tailing him in a 'yellow submarine' canoe and footage from Paul's recent visit in Rome which is quite funny. See what Paul does when he sees the Italian moptops. (all in Italian) 56K DSL/Broadband You will need Windows Media Player.
Sir Paul McCartney surprised 19 year-old fan Laura Andrew with a gift of a new Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet, just before the final concert in Liverpool of his "Back to the World" tour on 1 June 2003.
The famous musician presented her with the New Beetle Cabriolet, as she was the two millionth audience member of his concert tour. McCartney climbed into the Beetle with Laura and would probably have taken his overwhelmed fan for a drive around the dockyards, if he didn't have to prepare for his concert immediately afterwards.
Laura's example was in Sundown Orange, an exact match of a color used for much earlier Beetles. "Just the right color it was also a hit in the Sixties," said Sir Paul.
Volkswagen UK faced a problem when it was requested to supply a right-hand drive Beetle Cabriolet as it has sold its allocation of the popular model for the next five months. The solution was to make available a new example of one of its own demonstrators.
Laura, who reads tourism and leisure at Liverpool University, wants to keep the cabriolet for the rest of her life. Paul had signed the inside panel of the right door: "For Laura. Well done. 2 Millionth. Love Paul McCartney." She received offers for the car immediately after receiving the keys but promised, "I'll never give this car away." (see videos)
Paul and Heather visited Mike McCartney's photo exhibit at the Liverpool Museum of Liverpool Life today (June 2) around 5:00 pm. They were very chatty and friendly staying close to 20 minutes. Other visitors were shocked and delighted at their luck!
Today the "News of the World" can reveal for the first time the heartwarming truth behind Paul and Heather McCartney's bid for a baby.
The couple travelled all the way to Mexico so Heather could have crucial fertility treatment. And later Sir Paul and his Lady snuggled up in Iceland where they conceived their longed-for child.
Last night it emerged that the baby could well be a boy-and if it is the ex-Beatle already plans to call him Joseph after a beloved uncle.
On Friday night (May 30) the proud parents-to-be threw a bash for 180 friends at Liverpool's Cavern Club-close to the site of the basement which launched The Beatles in the early Sixties.
Paul sang the seventies Sister Sledge hit "We Are Family" and his own "Let It Be" in what friends took to be a signal to his daughter Stella, 31-thought still to be cool towards her new stepmum.
A partygoer said, "He leapt on stage when the band started "We Are Family" and took over. "It seemed a clear message to Stella that now Heather's pregnant he wants the McCartneys to be one big family."
The couple announced last week that ex-model Heather, 35 is four months pregnant. But "News of the World" Showbiz Editor Rav Singh had been delighted to reveal their happy event to the world on March 23-althought the couple coyly denied it.
Now we can disclose that Heather and Paul 61, in two weeks -stayed at the £3,000 ($5,000)-a-night Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, earlier this year.
Heather had suffered two ectopic pregnancies and cancer of the uterus and was desperate to have a child. A close friend said, "She made no secret of her problems and Heather had fertility treatment in Mexico. Obviously it worked wonders."
Paul, who married Heather almost a year ago in Ireland, was spotted shelling out hundreds of dollars on sexy lingerie for her in Beverly Hills, California. The couple were seen kissing and cuddling before they jetted off to a romantic riverside Icelandic retreat in the town of Asum in February. There were no posh restaurants or designer shops -and just themselves for company.
Macca rented an idyllic £2,500 ($4,100) a-day pad so the pair could snuggle up in front of a log fire. Only days before the trip Lady McCartney revealed to BBC's Michael Parkinson that she would not be able to give her beloved husband a baby.
At Friday's Cavern party the mum-to-be's joy was clear for all to see. Heather took to the dance-floor while her husband belted out a 20-minute set.
Club owner Bill Heckle said last night, "We were approached a couple of months ago and told if it got out the gig would be cancelled immediately. "Paul said he had enjoyed performing so much at the Cavern in 1999 that he wanted to return to mark the end of his world tour. He was on great form all night. He got Heather up on the dance floor. At the end he said, 'That's what we are-one big, happy family on this tour.'"
Sir Paul had three children with his first wife Linda who died of cancer five years ago, aged 56. They are fashion designer Stella, Mary, 33, and James, 25. He also adopted Linda's daughter from a previous relationship, Heather, now 40.
Macca's children have refused to comment on Lady McCartney's pregnancy-sparking rumors of a new rift. Stella in particular, is believed to have been unhappy that her father could remarry. And friends fear news of the baby may have woken some of her old doubts. But Sir Paul and Lady McCartney are over the moon.
A friend said last night, "Sir Paul told friends that if the baby is a boy they'll call him Joseph, after his father's brother. A girl's name hasn't been mentioned. It could be that they haven't picked one but everybody now thinks they must know the baby's sex."
The only members of the McCartney family at Friday's gig were Paul's brother Mike McGear-the ex-Scaffold poet-who still lives in Liverpool.
The ex-Beatle held a four-hour workshop at Liverpool's 'Fame' college-the Institute of Performing Arts he helped fund (May 31). Later wife Heather emerged beaming from the college hand-in-hand with her husband. Sir Paul gave her a cheeky pat on the bottom before they sped off in a limo. The dad-to-be is clearly ready for all those Hard Days Nights to come. (News of the World)
As emotional occasions go, they don't come much bigger than this. Sir Paul McCartney's first concert in his home town for 13 years, the end of a mammoth 15-month world tour and, to top it all, news that he was about to become a Dad for the fourth time. No wonder ticket s were exchanging hands for more than £100 before the start of the gig. It's the sort of thing those who were lucky enough to be there will be talking about to friends, family, in fact anyone who cares to listen, many years from now.The last time Paul performed some of these songs, nearly 40 years ago, they would have been drowned out by the screams and mass hysteria that became synonymous with Beatlemania. Now, with the benefits of modern technology and sound systems the size of small houses, they could be heard in all their glory.
Indeed, many people who didn't have a ticket took up vantage points in some of the luxury flats that surrounded the arena, and their figures could be seen silhouetted in the lighted windows as darkness fell.
Framed by the tower of the permanent Anglican Cathedral on one side of the 70ft stage, and the temporary Summer Pops marquee (tent) on the other, Paul and his band took to the stage to tumultuous applause.
They have played everywhere from Rome's Colosseum to Moscow's Red Square - but surely nothing could compare to Liverpool Kings Dock last night.
Backed by a massive bank of video screens, the songs ranged from Paul's first - "I Lost My Little Girl," written when he was 14 - to his most recent from the "Driving Rain" album.
But, of course, what everybody had come to hear, and where he didn't disappoint, were the songs from the Beatles' back catalog which made up the majority of the show. And they came thick and fast - "Hello Goodbye," "All My Loving," "We Can Work It Out," "Eleanor Rigby," "Back in the USSR" . . .
Neither did Paul forget his three former band-mates, with a moving tribute to John Lennon in the song "Here Today," a ukulele rendition of "Something" for George Harrison, and a chorus from "Yellow Submarine" to remind us of Ringo.
Two songs were also dedicated to his two wives - "My Love" for Linda, and "Your Loving Flame" for Heather, who was sitting in the pit directly in front of the stage.
To remind everybody that he was back home, Paul referred to many local landmarks between songs - the flat in Gambier Terrace which John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe shared as students, Walton Hospital where Paul was born, and his house in Forthlin Road, Allerton.
He also performed "Maggie May," containing an A to Z of famous Liverpool locations, all of which were flashed up on the screens behind him.
At the end of the three hour-plus marathon, Paul and his band were clearly overcome with emotion and appeared reluctant to leave the stage. The mass outpouring of love and affection coming from the huge crowd must have been very difficult to leave behind - even for someone like Paul McCartney who had seen it all already with the Beatles.
For those of us in the audience, it was the experience of a lifetime, and a privilege to be there. (Liverpool Echo)
Paul sang "Maggie Mae" right after "Two of Us" on the banks of the river Mersey at Kings Dock in Liverpool. He also sang "I Lost My Little Girl," "Honey Hush" and the entire "Baby Face." (fakeout to "Hey Jude")
Ringo did not show up.
Details of the show are posted on the "Back in the World" page.
Before the show Paul presented the two millionth fan (to buy a ticket), 19-year-old Laura Andrew from Bebbington, England a red Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet.
An Australian documentary has been selected by Heather Mills-McCartney to show at a Los Angeles fundraising event in September. "Dogs of Peace," made by South Perth's Storyteller Productions, is a documentary about dogs that sniff out land mines.The film was shot by director Mike Searle and cameraman Steve Saunders both from Perth in Afghanistan last year.
Mills-McCartney presents and narrates the documentary and will use it at the Los Angeles soiree to raise money for her charity Adopt-a-Minefield.
Serle, the CEO of Storyteller, said he was excited about the success of the documentary. "Heather is an amazing woman and we are very pleased to be part of her battle against landmines," he said. "It is an honor that she wants to use this program in September to raise money at the major fund-raising event at which she says there will be a large number of A-list celebrities. "I am really looking forward to going." (Sunday Times)
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