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June 2006

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June 30, 2006 -- Las Vegas Review Journal

Lots of 'Love' fans walking red carpet

Headed by Beatles royalty, the red carpet will be a long and winding road at Friday's gala opening of "Love" at The Mirage.

The celebrity list was nearing 80 on Wednesday, with the addition of Prince and Woody Harrelson for the VIP opening of the Cirque du Soleil show featuring music of The Beatles.
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The cavalcade begins at 5:30 p.m.

Surviving Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will be joined by the wives of the late Beatles John Lennon (Yoko Ono) and George Harrison (Olivia Harrison).

Also attending from the Beatles family: music director Sir George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, who co-directs the show's music with his father; Lennon's sons, Julian and Sean Ono Lennon; Harrison's son Dhani; and Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife.

An appearance by Siegfried & Roy will be Roy's first return to the same theater where he was seriously injured by a show tiger on Oct. 3, 2003.

Also on hand: Billy Crystal, Tony Bennett, Eric Idle (Monty Python), Megan Mullally, Eddie Murphy, Busta Rhymes, Virginia Madsen, John Densmore (The Doors), Michael Richards ("Seinfeld"), Beach Boy Brian Wilson, Dylan McDermott, Gina Gershon, Dita Von Teese and Shannon Elizabeth.

The list goes on: Deborah Harry (Blondie), Roberta Flack, Elizabeth Berkley ("Showgirls"), Kevin Nealon, Wayne Brady, Paul Reiser and Carrot Top.

Poker stars Chris Ferguson and Annie Duke will be mingling with Steve Van Zandt, Jeff Lynne (ELO), Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and David Foster.

Heather Mills McCartney is suffering from a touch of Yoko Ono ego, reports the London Sun.

Paul McCartney's estranged wife says her link to the Beatles has her fearing for her life as well as that of her 2-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

"People are pursuing me 'round the country," the animal rights activist said. "I said (to paparazzi) 'Stay away from my baby.' I have a catalog of evidence."

The 38-year-old former model justified her paranoia by asserting "John Lennon was shot and George Harrison was stabbed." Yes, but they were in the band, not with the band!

June 29, 2006 -- Dot Music

UPDATE!

McCartney brother shares gig photos

The brother of Sir Paul McCartney has launched a book of behind-the-scenes photographs from last summer's Live8 concert in London.

Mike McCartney, a photographer and former member of 1960s band The Scaffold, is donating all the proceeds from the book to the Live Aid Trust.

The limited edition Live8 Coolpix book includes candid shots of stars such as Robbie Williams giving an unidentified woman a massage, as well as pictures of Sir Paul's estranged wife, Heather.

Mike, 62, who was cleared earlier this year of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old waitress, said the pictures were "just snaps from a family day out".

He added: "It began as a nice family day out in Hyde Park, but when you find yourself backstage at the greatest show on Earth and bump into Brad Pitt, Madonna, George Michael, U2, Annie Lennox, Bill Gates, the Beckhams, Kofi Annan, Paris Hilton, Robbie Williams, Snoop Dog, Peter Kay, Pink Floyd etc, it would be rude not to take their photo."

Only 1,000 editions of the book, which costs £60 for a signed copy and £30 unsigned, have been printed.

Copies will be available on eBay and from the O8 Place in Whitechapel, Liverpool.

Order book from Amazon.UK CLICK

Nicky Taylor's heart skipped a beat as the sound of the phone ringing roused her from sleep and she realised it was still only 6.30am.

She assumed, like anyone would, that it must be bad news. What other reason could there be for making a call at such an ungodly hour? And on a Sunday morning?

Certainly, she could never have guessed it would be Heather Mills McCartney on the other end of the line.

Nor, for that matter, that the model and estranged wife of former Beatle Paul would be reassuring her that she had never had an affair with her ex-husband Ben Noakes, no matter what the rumourmongers might say.

The 40-year-old television producer had assumed, until then, that Ben and Heather, who have been writing a self-help book together for the past five years, were just good friends. The strange phone call three weeks ago made her think again.

A friend at the BBC in whom she confided said: 'Nicky was quite unsettled by the call. It was such a peculiar thing to do - never mind the fact it was so early in the morning.

'The stupid thing is that Nicky hadn't ever thought they had been anything more than friends - but if nothing happened, why did Heather go to such efforts to deny it? Now Nicky can't help but go back over her and Ben's relationship and question all the times he spent with Heather. It was Nicky who introduced them in the first place.'

They all met in the mid-Nineties when Nicky's production company was asked to screen-test Heather for a presenting slot on the BBC's Good Morning With Anne And Nick. She didn't get the job, but Nicky offered her a desk in her freelance office where Ben also worked. Ben and Heather immediately hit it off - and while his marriage broke up four years ago, Ben's friendship with Heather has strengthened and endured.

Ben, 41, is the only one of Heather's circle to have shown any public support since her break-up from Paul.

While other friends have kept their heads down, Ben rushed to her defence, saying: 'Heather can adapt to anything. That is one of the things I most admire about her. We will hear more of Heather Mills - she's a remarkable woman, capable of great warmth and humanity.'

Amid the damning avalanche of salacious pictures and revelations about Heather's past that have surfaced in recent weeks, her friendship with Ben is the one element that has passed without comment. Yet it is one of the more significant factors in 38-year-old Heather's life. While much has been made of Heather's alleged tantrums and her lack of interest in Paul's career - which he could neither understand nor forgive her for - there is another side to the story. Paul also failed to show any real interest in his wife's consuming passions or in her new book, Life Balance.

It doesn't stand up to critical review but she and her co-author Ben are both clearly proud of the 200-page self-help guide, full of personal anecdotes about the influence they have had on each other's lives.

As she and Ben poured all their energies into finding a publisher, and working and reworking the content, Sir Paul was often occupied elsewhere.

According to friends, what bonds Ben and Heather is that they both suffer from delusions of grandeur and have a considerable amount of personal-baggage. The friend said: 'The fact is that they've both lived these monumentally messed-up lives. The idea that they can impart their knowledge is laughable. Both of them have egos that are so big it makes them believe they are indestructible. They both live in the same world, a world that they construct around themselves that has very little to do with reality.'

On first impressions, Ben and Heather have little in common. He is the son of the acclaimed Royal portrait artist Michael Noakes whose subjects have included the Queen, the Queen Mother, the Prince of Wales and Margaret Thatcher.

He grew up in a fabulous mansion in St John's Wood, North London, and was educated at Eton College.

She was a pushy glamour model from Sunderland who had grown up on the streets and was rough around the edges. But they clicked. A freelancer who used the office said: 'It was obvious from the beginning that Heather and Ben got on very well.

Everyone just went about their own business but as well as doing his own stuff, Ben was always helping Heather with hers.

'She wanted to become a TV presenter so he spent a lot of time ringing around TV producers and trying to get her jobs or appearances on shows. He did tell people that she had a "Beware" sign on her head, that she was dangerous - but he thought she was marvellous. She used to tell these amazing stories about being on the streets and I think he was impressed by her, whereas we found her a bit embarrassing.

'She used to come along with us to this networking group, Soho House Women in Media. She was a nightmare. Even though she was the one with no experience, she always dominated. She talked about herself all the time and would just launch herself at various commissioning editors, saying, "I'm Heather Mills, you know, the model that lost her leg."

At some events I've even seen her take her leg off and say, "Oh, I've dropped my leg."

'After a few times you saw that it was a pattern. She used the leg as a way of attracting attention. It was quite sad in a way. She was incredibly ambitious but she was also like a little girl lost, always desperately trying to get everyone to take notice of her. And she didn't really seem to have any friends. She was quite lonely.' It was to Ben that Heather turned to for companionship and support. She was not the type to go for after-work drinks, so instead they joined the local gym and also used to spend a lot of time together walking their dogs.

And she met Ben's sister, Anya, who also worked in the office as a publicity agent. She would later become Heather's personal publicist and remains so to this day.

The close nature of their friendship was a cause for gossip, even at the time.

The colleague said: 'I don't think they had an affair, although I can't be sure.

They were two peas in a pod.

Sometimes it would seem as if they were copying each other . . . Ben bought a dog so Heather bought a dog soon afterwards. And she would flirt with him even though Ben was married and she was in a number of different relationships. I even saw her flirting with him in front of Nicky.'

Heather got engaged to the television director Chris Terrill. But, often impetuous, she pulled out the day before the ceremony in 1999. What none of the guests realised was that she had already met Paul at a charity event.

The couple started dating shortly afterwards.

For Heather, her relationship with the former Beatle got her name on to the celebrity A-list. But while she dumped her fiance, she became, if anything, even more friendly with Ben.

At the time, Ben had taken over the running of his and Nicky's company, TNTV Productions, while she brought up their three children, Freya, eight, Millie, six, and five-year-old Harry.

What he failed to tell his wife was that the company was losing money hand over fist, and it eventually folded with a six-figure debt.

The couple had to sell their five bedroom Georgian mansion near Hampstead Heath and the Bentley that was Ben's pride and joy. The marriage could not survive the pressure or the deceit, and that same year the couple separated.

Nicky moved to Birmingham with the three children while Ben moved to a North London bedsit.

Nicky has refused to talk about her marriage and both Heather and Ben have denied anything more than friendship.

But in Life Balance he writes: 'When my business collapsed, taking with it the things I had most valued, Heather was the best friend I could have wished for. She even offered to pay my bills until I was back on my feet again.'

One of his London-based friends explained: 'It was an awful time, one of those when you really know who your friends are. And for Ben that meant Heather. I think a lot of Ben's friends thought that he might not see Heather so much once she was married to Paul, but she remained incredibly loyal.

'And I don't know who was more pleased that she'd got together with McCartney, Heather or Ben. He is a bit of a social climber and so he was frightfully impressed. He would brag about knowing the McCartneys and was proud they had chosen him to be a friend. And I think he got a certain kick from visiting their homes.

'I think Heather was always the one in control of their friendship but after she got together with Paul she became even stronger. Just like her marriage, Heather took the leading role in her relationship with Ben. She was quite a domineering influence.

'First she stopped him eating junk food, then she persuaded him to become vegetarian. Next it was yoga and "emotional detoxing". He was the one that insisted on buying the big Bentley when he was married to Nicky, whereas now he thinks people are too bothered about money.'

Ben is now training to become a counsellor. His main priority at the moment, however, is Heather's welfare.

He said recently: 'When my marriage broke up, Heather was kind enough not to give advice. But she offered support and allowed me time to find my feet again. My main role now is to be the best friend I can be. Both Heather and Paul must be hurting at the moment but life will go on.'

In what direction, it is too soon to say.

But one thing seems certain - that whatever the future may hold for Heather Mills McCartney, Ben Noakes will play a part in it somewhere.

Amongst the headline-making aspects of the day, of course, was Roger Waters getting back together with his old Pink Floyd colleagues. The only band which needed - and had - no introduction, their four song set stole the show.

Live8 put the focus on poverty and social deprivation in Africa, and featured a galaxy of stars from the world of music, film, and more, in the shows held across the world. McCartney's new book, "Live8 Cool Pix", is being sold as a special limited edition of 1,500, and all proceeds will be donated to the Live8 project.

The book promises candid shots of the various performers, thanks to Mike having complete access to all areas - more than press photographers had. It is endorsed by the mastermind behind the event, Bob Geldof, and Sir Paul McCartney, both of which have written forewards in the book.

Sir Paul said: "Live8 was one of the greatest days of the year, possibly the decade. Bob Geldof telephoned me, explained the idea of Making Poverty History and aiming the concert at the G8 conference. I was sold. Bob's a great salesman.

"Luckily, my brother Mike was there with his trusty camera to record the day and capture many of the exciting backstage happenings. This book is made from a selection of those pictures and he and I are proud to have been there together and to have been a part of this momentous event."

Mike McCartney said: "Live8 began as a nice family day out in Hyde Park, London, but when you find yourself backstage at the Greatest Show on Earth, and bump into Brad Pitt, Madonna, George Michael, U2, Annie Lennox, Bill Gates, the Beckhams, Kofi Annan, Paris Hilton, Robbie Williams, Snoop Dog, Peter Kay, Pink Floyd, etc, it would be rude NOT to take their photo!

"It was a unique day with the bottom line of everyone trying to prevent starvation round the world. To that end, my publisher Guy and I have produced 1,500 limited edition, hard back books of the great day, with great forewords by my brother Paul and Bob (Geldof), and are donating all profits to raise money for the Band Aid Trust. If all of them sell, we will raise tens of thousands of pounds towards making African and world poverty...history. Please buy one! Thank U Very Much"

The book will be launched tomorrow at Liverpool's Life Museum.

HEATHER'S SPLIT HAIR

It seems as if Heather Mills has treated herself to a traditional break-up remedy - a trip to the hairdresser.

Although she still looked pale leaving her home in Hove, East Sussex, yesterday, she had added a defiant dash of red to her locks.

The 38-year-old is refusing to mope after her break-up with Paul McCartney, 64, and a painful leg operation.

On Sunday, she watched England beat Ecuador and then went to a party in Barnet, North London, before sleeping at the home she once shared with Macca in St John's Wood.

Keep on keeping on, girl...

Cindy Adams

Pamela Anderson, who would rather go naked than wear fur, keeps her word. Stood completely nude, nothing, nada in Stella McCartney's (London) shop doorway for 10 minutes. I, unfortunately, do not know what the weather was.

June 27, 2006 -- Contact Music

ONO DEFENDS MILLS

Yoko Ono has leaped to the defence of Sir Paul McCartney and his estranged wife Heather Mills, telling the media and public to leave them alone in the wake of their recent split.

The former Beatle and Mills announced they were divorcing last month after nearly four years of marriage and a baby daughter Beatrice together.

John Lennon's widow Ono, who has a famously strained history with her late husband's bandmate, admits she sympathises with the couple.

Ono says, "I think that the attacks should stop with me. I have an ideal reason for you guys (the media) to dislike me, for being an Asian and a foreigner and for standing up for myself and my work.

"Whatever it is that made it easier for you to make me a scapegoat is still there so leave them alone. I feel so badly for them.

"I send them Christmas cards and a congratulatory note when their baby was born."

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June 26, 2006 -- The Sun

I fear I'll be shot dead

Shamed Heather Mills points a video camera at people in the street after she revealed she is terrified of being killed like John Lennon.

The estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney said she fears she could be shot or stabbed - just like late Lennon and fellow Beatle George Harrison.

Heather, 38 - reeling from stories about her past life as a porn star - also says she fears kidnappers could target daughter Beatrice, two.

Pals fear for her health after she said she was using filming to gather evidence.

The former model snarled at a bemused photographer in a bizarre outburst: "People are pursuing me round the country. I said stay away from my baby. I have a catalogue of evidence."

She claimed she may be a target for assassination - because of her links to The Beatles.

She snapped: "John Lennon was shot and George Harrison was stabbed and loads of kids are kidnapped."

Heather has been staying in her sister's spare room in Hove, East Sussex, after the split from Beatles legend Sir Paul, 64.

The singer takes turns to look after Beatrice at his estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.

Pals fear Heather is highly stressed.

One said last night: "We are increasingly concerned about her behaviour.

"She had the public break up of her marriage and then there were the pornography claims.

"Naturally Heather is protective of her daughter but she is ever more paranoid about her own safety."

Heather turned to water therapy yesterday to try to relax. She was carrying an aquatherapy attachment for her hour-long session at a Hove therapy centre.

Heather's agent Anya Noakes said: "She is genuinely concerned about being attacked.

"And the kidnap threat goes with all famous children."

It was a headline waiting for a story.

When the news broke of the alleged dubious sexual past of Paul McCartney's estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney, the headline -- The Lady is a Tramp --was gleefully blazed on the front page of my newspaper.

Apart from the obvious wit of the headline writer, I groaned. I'm sure many other women did the same.

Same old double standard -- especially when it comes to women's sexual behaviour as opposed to that of men.

For instance, what would they have written had it been the other way around?

What if Paul McCartney had been the one with the dark past suddenly bursting out like an overflowing toilet? And, let's face it, he must have some dark parts as anyone who is (or has been) a rock or pop star has been in a plenty of wild sex, booze and drug-fuelled situations in their high-flying life.

Would the headline then have been The Lord is a Pervert? Hardly.

Okay, even to someone like me who's had more than their share of wild and woolly times in her life, Mills' alleged escapades do seem to have been rather, er, exotic. On an incredulous note, if it's true (and Mills strongly denies it), getting paid $10,000 for a sexual scenario with some Arab sheik or other is a heck of a lot of money.

Call me different, I feel it indicates she's not only hot, sexy stuff but already knew then the value of what she had to offer. A multitude of women have done far more for far less in everyday relationships.

She did, after all, much later besot and marry one of the richest, most popular and sought-after single men in the world, despite several major drawbacks. And, never mind the strides made in their economic and social independence, many young women still aspire to marrying such fame and wealth. Very few attain such a goal, no matter how beautiful, accomplished or coldly ambitious they are.

Of course, most are only too ready to call such a woman who is so sexually free with her favours plenty of derogatory names. It's always been that way throughout history. Punishment was dealt out to women (often severe) for activities that often brought men applause and admiration.

This is especially true in Hollywood which is littered with famous rakes such as actors Rob Lowe, Charlie Sheen, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Hugh Grant and, in the past, the likes of Errol Flynn and Clark Gable. But women celebrities have never been given the same leeway, respect -- or jobs -- for being publicly promiscuous and devil-may-care.

Like their less famous counterparts in the everyday world, they're called sluts and far worse.

It's not just Hollywood that lives by the double standard -- it's everywhere, with women only too aware that, although they now have the freedom to do so, if they flaunt or openly enjoy their sexuality (especially when older), societal condemnation will still inevitably follow.

Both sexes eagerly stoke such condemnation -- you only have to read the vitriolic and vicious response to the news of Mills' past activities to see that. Yet while women use it as a weapon, it's more devious dishonesty in men. Men may condemn such women, yet it's that sexual openness that they long for and which attracts them when looking for a partner.

And, whether or not men accept it, women hone such sought-after, uninhibited sexual skill by wide and varied experience. In other words, a woman doesn't learn how to fulfil a man's sexual dreams and fantasies by reading books and knitting.

Hugh Hefner, the 80-year-old, Viagra-popping rogue and founder of the Playboy empire claims he helped give women's liberation a push with his magazine by allowing women to be free, sexual beings.

He certainly pays them well to portray themselves as such, but is it true? As soon as they step off the pages into real life, it can be a very different story.

Despite that they believe they've achieved a freedom, they find those who were only too willing to gape at their exposed flesh on the pages, vilify and denigrate their openness in real life.

So how far have we come from the days when a woman's sexual past could be used against her in court if she had been raped, to screaming "tramp" when a woman's wild, sexual youth is exposed?

Obviously not far enough.

MACCA & HEATHER KISS & EMBRACE FOR THEIR LITTLE GIRL'S SAKE.. BUT HE FEARS BITTER WAR OVER CASH

Sir Paul McCartney tenderly kissed estranged wife Heather Mills in an emotional, reunion this week.

Stunned onlookers saw Macca give Heather a warm embrace during their first public meeting since their split five weeks ago.

The smiling pair sat side-by-side for a concert at their two-year-old Beatrice's pre-school nursery in Sussex on Wednesday night.

And afterwards Paul, 64, walked Heather, 38, back to her car. He then flung his arms around the model and gave her a warm kiss before she drove off with Bea.

"It was a little awkward but Paul used the opportunity to stress that Bea's well-being must remain their top priority, despite the looming divorce battle," a source said. "Paul knows it's likely to get very nasty in the next few weeks with both lawyers fighting their clients' corners as hard as possible.

"He tried to explain to her that she shouldn't take it personally, it will just be the legal process taking its course.

"Heather was taken aback by Paul's kindness, although some cynics among her friends believe that he could be just schmoozing her to ensure the divorce goes through more smoothly."

One concert-goer said: "It looked like they were determined to put on a united front for Bea. They sat together throughout the show and both appeared really proud of their daughter."

The couple have been speaking nearly every day by phone but had not seen each other since the split and the exposure of Heather's porn star past and allegation she had been a prostitute.

Their multi-million divorce battle is expected to become increasingly acrimonious in the coming weeks. Initially it was stated that Heather was expected to receive up to £200 million ($364 million) of the Beatle's £1billion ($1.8 billion) fortune.

However, because of the shortness of their marriage - they wed in Ireland in June 2002 - it's likely to be nearer £40 million ($73 million). Friends also believe recent revelations about her sordid past may be used against her. Heather has told friends she doesn't want a large chunk of money and whatever she receives she wants to put to good use and may set up a charitable foundation.

One close friend of the former Beatle told the Sunday Mirror: "Paul and Heather have tried to remain amicable but with lawyers now going through their affairs, he thinks it will turn vicious.

"Paul has been desperate to make the point that, whatever happens between them, Bea's wellbeing and happiness must come first. She is their priority. Heather agrees - and the trip to the nursery underlines that.

"Even so Macca is determined and clear about the divorce case. He will fight to hold on to his money, urged on by his children from his marriage to Linda."

Sir Paul and Heather stunned the showbusiness world last month when their marriage collapsed.

Sir Paul walked out on Heather after a series of bitter rows - and after becoming sick of being treated like a "door mat" by the blonde.

She now suspects she has been the victim of a dirty tricks smear campaign as a string of allegations about her murky past have emerged. Earlier this month Peter Wilson - her co-star in the 1988 German sex manual Die Freuden Der Liebe - told the Sunday Mirror Heather had been "wild, brazen and up for it" during the X-rated studio session.

There have also been allegations Heather was a prostitute - which she has denied and has vowed to sue over.

Macca and Heather - who lost a leg when a police motorcycle hit her in August 1993 - first met at our sister newspaper The Daily Mirror's Pride Of Britain Awards in May 1999.

Bea - full name Beatrice Milly - was born in October 2003. Since their split, Macca has mostly stayed at his sprawling farm in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.

A week ago he threw a birthday party there attended by all his children, including Bea.

Heather was believed to have stayed at the couple's seafront home in Hove, 55 miles away.

Since the separation she has lost 14lbs and is recuperating after an operation in April which left her temporarily in a wheelchair.

The station has also obtained explicit photographs of the former model engaged in a variety of sex acts, believed to be taken from a photo shoot she did for a German sex book in the 80s.

The channel's spokesman said: "It's Heather Mills McCartney. Videos, pictures and dirty fantasies. You just don't want to miss it.

"Never before-broadcast scenes, plus the pictures the papers couldn't print. Heather Mills McCartney really bares all."

This is the latest blow to Heather, 38, whose X-rated past was first exposed earlier this month, when images of her posing for a sex book were uncovered.

More revelations followed, alleging that Heather - who has a two-year-old daughter Beatrice with Sir Paul - once work as a £5,000-a-night ($9,100) prostitute.

Heather has furiously denied the vice girl claims.

Loyal Mike revealed: "Our kid is having a tough time, but he's bearing up and getting on with it. Life goes on."

The former musician - who was this year cleared without a stain on his character of groping a waitress - went on: "The family as a whole have been through a lot this year.

"I have just carried on with my life and our kid is too.

"I don't know if he will try to push the divorce through quicker to get it over and done with.

"That's up to our kid. His children and I are all here for him as we always have been and always will. He's my brother and he has been there for me - now it's my turn."

Mike, 62, also revealed he tried to comfort Macca at his 64th birthday bash - by presenting him with a picture to remind him of happy times before the split.

He said: "I gave him a picture I had taken of him years and years ago.

"It was one of my favourites, he looks great it in. It was just him on his own without the family - it was a very personal gift."

Mike handed over the framed photograph at a private family barbecue on Sunday at Macca's estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.

Sir Paul's daughters Stella, 34, and Mary, 36, sang his Beatles hit When I'm 64 along with his son James, 28.

They were joined at the party by Beatrice, two, his daughter with Heather Mills, 42.

But the ex-porn star respected family wishes and stayed away.

Mike, now a photographer, is trying to take Sir Paul's mind off his multi-million pound divorce by getting him involved in a Live 8 project.

He is publishing a book of pictures from last year's charity event and is hoping Macca and Bob Geldof will help him launch it next month.

Mike added: "Getting our kid and Bob there would be great stuff, but obviously they are busy men.

Here's the latest info on the Cirque du Soleil Beatles 'Love' premiere next Friday in Las Vegas.

We already got Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, his wife Barbara, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison, Sean and Julian Lennon inked in. And no, Heather Mills-McCartney is most definitely not on the list. She's really busy filing suits against publications who printed stories about her early modeling career work in a very helpful German sex instruction manual.

But more interesting Beatle fan's names have just been added to the list: former Beatle producer Sir George Martin, John Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Lennon, Siegfried and Roy, Megan Mullally, Eddie Murphy, Virginia Madsen, Elisha Cuthbert, Brian Wilson, Roberta Flack, Kevin Nealon, Wayne Brady, David LaChapelle, Paul Reiser, Eric Idle, Sheila E, "Soprano's" star and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt, Edgar Winter, Dave Stewart, David Foster, Jason Patric and... Corey Feldman!

C'mon, "The Goonies" in '85? "The Lost Boys in 87?" How could you forget Corey Feldman!??? Man, this is gonna be some amazing night. Corey Feldman. Wow. Somebody pinch me.

That was the age that Paul McCartney says he wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four," the dance-hall ditty that appeared on the 1967 Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Today, the rock icon does turn 64, and he certainly doesn't have to worry about losing his hair, if someone will feed him, need him or send him a birthday greeting.

But it's been a long and winding road since he was a lad in Liverpool, and we figure there are still a lot people who don't know about his storied career. So here are 64 things you may or may not know about the legend.

1. Before they were famous, the Beatles performed "When I'm Sixty- Four" at clubs during crowd fights and power blackouts.

2. In order to satisfy Paul's request to "sound younger -- and be a teenager again," producer George Martin sped up the vocals on "Sixty-Four" when it was recorded.

3. Subject of one of rock's most famous myths: that McCartney died in an auto accident in 1966 and was replaced by look-alike Billy Shears.

4. Credited as Paul Ramon, he played drums and sang harmony on the track "My Dark Hour" from the Steve Miller Band's "Brave New World" album in 1969.

5. Indirectly named the Ramones. Prior to Beatles fame, McCartney used the stage name Paul Ramon -- a rock tidbit that inspired the Ramones to add an "e" and drop the fourth chord.

6. More Ramones -- "Haven't We Met Somewhere Before?" penned by Paul for the film "Heaven Can Wait" but rejected, was used as the opening number of the Ramones' "Rock 'n' Roll High School" -- performed by the Ramones.

7. Was involved in the fastest-released single in history when his July 2, 2005, performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 was issued 45 minutes after the performance took place.

8. Clunker "Ebony and Ivory," sung by Paul and Stevie Wonder, was voted 10th-worst song ever by Blender magazine a couple of years ago. Hey, they can't all be "Eleanor Rigby," OK?

9. Even his old shoes are worth a fortune -- a pair of Paul's used slippers (size 10 1/2) recently grossed more than $3,500 at auction.

10. Reads about himself and gets mad. A half-dozen recent messages from Paul on his Web site (paulmccartney.com) rail against tabloid stories about his breakup with Heather.

11. Hired two guys with nearly sound-alike surnames for various Wings lineups -- guitarists Henry McCullough and (the late) Jimmy McCulloch. Makes roll call a lot easier.

12. Once dug pot so much he spent 10 days behind bars in Japan after he was busted in 1980 with a sleek half-pound for personal use in Tokyo and later deported. Says the song "Got to Get You Into My Life" was directly about the stuff.

13. Made a valiant effort to raise normal kids. He and Linda brought up their children -- James, Stella, Mary and Heather (Linda's child from her first marriage) -- in out-of-the way houses in southern England and Scotland.

14. Made the Hofner violin-shaped electric bass guitar a rock 'n' roll icon -- and made it cool to play left-handed. However, he had wanted to play guitar in the Beatles and got to play lead on the George Harrison song "Taxman."

15. Tried to get the order of the famous "Lennon/McCartney" songwriting credit reversed a few years ago to a huge outcry from Beatles fans.

16. Sang backup on Donovan's "Mellow Yellow."

17. Banned by the BBC in '72 for the political single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," later parodied by National Lampoon.

18. Owns the stand-up bass that once belonged to Elvis Presley's bassist Bill Black.

19. Helped bankroll London's Indica Bookshop/Gallery, where John and Yoko met in 1966.

20. Called his 1965 visit with Elvis Presley, in which he and his mates played Chuck Berry tunes with the King, "one of the great meetings of my life."

21. Originally wrote the first two lines of "I Saw Her Standing There" as "She was just 17 / Never been a beauty queen." When he sang it for John, they both thought the second line was "useless." Finally, they came up with "you know what I mean" -- cheeky with sexual innuendo.

22. When he plays some of his old Beatles hits in America, royalties go to Michael Jackson, who bought the publishing rights for $47.5 million in 1985.

23. Paul's nickname is Macca.

24. One of his worst songs resulted in one of history's worst cover versions -- "Live and Let Die" massacred by Guns N' Roses.

25. In the late '60s, Paul, Linda, the kids and their sheepdog, Martha, would take strolls in London's Regents Park without bodyguards.

26. That family pet was the inspiration for "Martha, My Dear" on the Beatles' "White Album."

27. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful composer in popular music history.

28. Has a record 29 U.S. No. 1 singles, 20 with the Beatles, the rest with Wings and as a solo artist.

29. Has written or has co-writing credit on more than 50 Top 10 hits.

30. His middle name is actually Paul. He was born James Paul McCartney.

31. His first instrument was trumpet, but he gave it up when he realized he couldn't sing and play at the same time.

32. Met John Lennon at a church picnic on July 6, 1957.

33. Working title of one of his own personal fave songs, "Yesterday," was "Scrambled Eggs." (He had written just a melody, which he said came to him in a dream.)

34. "Yesterday" is one of the most-covered songs of all time, with more than 3,000 refried versions.

35. The first Beatle to record an outside project, composing (with George Martin) a score for the 1966 feature film "The Family Way," starring Hayley Mills.

36. In the late 1980s, wrote songs with Elvis Costello; the best- known is "Veronica."

37. Became a vegetarian and animal-rights activist along with late wife Linda after watching lambs frolicking in a field as they ate a meal of lamb.

38. He's a painter, exhibiting his work for the first time in Germany in 1997.

39. Made his first attempt at classical music in 1991, collaborating with Carl Davis to compose the quasi-autobiographical "Liverpool Oratorio."

40. Knighted in 1997 by Queen Elizabeth II.

41. Released a children's book in October 2005, titled "High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tail."

42. In 1967, produced the song "I'm the Urban Spaceman" by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, credited as "Apollo C. Vermouth."

43. Performed before the largest stadium audience in history when 184,000 paid to see him in Rio de Janeiro in April 1990.

44. As of 2005-06, considered the richest rock star in the world, with an estimated personal fortune of more than $1 billion.

45. Has been nominated for Academy Awards for the title songs to the films "Vanilla Sky" and "Live and Let Die."

46. Say he's never read musical notation; writes and plays by ear.

47. A star is born when, upon Paul's recommendation, Jimi Hendrix was brought to California for a show-stealing turn at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, rendering Hendrix an immediate sensation. Jimi returned the favor by covering "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival, Hendrix's second-to- last gig.

48. Penned "Hey Jude," with Lennon's son, Julian, in mind. The original phrase was "Hey Jules."

49. Was the world's first recipient of the 1992 Swedish Polar Music Award, a Nobel Prize for music.

50. Owns one of the world's most valuable records, the first pressing of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day," recorded in 1958 by the Quarry Men, made up of McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, Colin Hanton and John Duff Lowe. It's said to be worth more than $180,000.

51. Strummed guitar to accompany a poetry reading by old pal Allen Ginsberg at the Royal Albert Hall.

52. Broadcast the first concert into space when the International Space Station crew, 220 miles above Earth, heard a live musical wake- up call from Paul last Nov. 12.

53. Posed nude, but semi-obscured, in the bathroom of his house for a picture on the poster accompanying "The White Album."

54. Most evocative post-Beatles commentary: the cover shot on Paul's 1970 solo debut, "McCartney," showing an empty bowl surrounded by cherries.

55. Hired New Orleans r&b piano legend Professor Longhair to play a party on the Queen Mary in 1975, resulting in one of Fess' finest live recordings.

56. In 1995, Paul and Linda taped an episode of "The Simpsons," playing themselves as they help Lisa Simpson's conversion to vegetarianism.

57. Publishing rights to most of Holly's songs are owned by McCartney.

58. His music publishing company MPL Communications also holds the copyrights of other major composers, including Jerry Herman, Frank Loesser, Meredith Willson and Harold Arlen.

59. Sometimes dines at the Good Earth in Studio City, owns a mansion in Pasadena and recorded his latest album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," on Sunset Boulevard.

60. Daughter Stella's fashion collection premiere took place in London in 1995 with a new Paul song, "Stella May," as part of the runway music.

61. Fleetwood Mac's song "Silver Heels" has a line about wanting to "sing like Paul McCartney."

62. "Helter Skelter," from the "White Album," was Paul's attempt to outrock Pete Townshend of the Who. The song was actually about a fairground ride in the U.K., a fact that went over the head of Charles Manson.

63. Inspired by glasnost in 1988, he recorded an album of rock oldies for a Soviet label under a title roughly translated as "Back in the USSR."

64. He was the Walrus, according to Lennon in "Glass Onion," and though some may think he's, pardon the pun, a bit long in the tooth, Paul's still out there making music. So his life isn't just about yesterday.

Denise was an escort girl with Heather Mills. Then she married a millionaire and tried to put her past behind her. Like Lady Mucca, it's come back to haunt her with a vengeance.

Alongside Heather Mills-McCartney, Denise was unmasked by a Sunday newspaper as a former high-class escort (although Heather preferred to use the term 'flower girl') who had entertained a myriad of wealthy Arabs during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

That colourful period was one over which 42-year-old Denise, and Heather, had both drawn a discreet veil, sharing a number of anguished conversations on the topic in recent years.

Finally, however, it has been exposed and, like Heather, Denise is learning that the past always catches up with you in the end. Her reputation in tatters, she has been abandoned by the father of her unborn child, who was horrified when he learned of her past, and forced to take her daughters out of their exclusive boarding school after they were bullied. Friends have deserted her, and even her own grandmother refuses to speak to her.

Some would say it is no more than she deserves. Now facing an uncertain future, her only consolation is the sense of relief that the burden of secrecy has finally been lifted.

"For so long the past has been a millstone around my neck. I had it through my marriage and ever since, and now it is out at least I have nothing to hide any more.

"But I am paying the price for it. I know I am being judged, and I don't blame people for that. But the hardest thing of all is knowing my children are being judged, too. That hurts a lot."

After all, on the surface, she shared all their respectable trappings the smart penthouse apartment, two beautiful children, a Lexus car and a wardrobe full of designer clothes. Unlike them, however, a mere scratch at the surface of Denise's life reveals a lurid history one that in some ways mirrors that of Heather Mills-McCartney, and which perhaps offers an intriguing glimpse into Heather's mindset.

Certainly, both Denise and Heather are typical of the scores of young working-class women who trade on their looks to escape poverty and routine.

Born in a run-down district of Newcastle to a sheet metal worker father and fortune-teller mother, Denise was not academically bright. Sharp-witted, she quickly realised her vocation lay less in her brain than in her burgeoning figure.

By 18 she was commuting regularly between London and Newcastle, making good money from glamour modelling and promotions work.

"A lot of it was swimwear catalogues, lingerie, that sort of thing," she says. "The pay was good, and there was a group of northern lasses who all looked out for each other."

Among them was 18-year-old Heather Mills.

"She was a bundle of energy back then," Denise recalls. "She was such a determined girl. She was doing exactly the same as the rest of us, but she would always claim she was being paid more. She had an 'anything you can do I can do better' attitude. But it was hard to dislike her. She was a bit of a Walter Mitty character, but it was just Heather, and we all used to laugh about it." Like Denise, most of the girls were doing low-grade glamour modelling, but some of them were making money - lots of it - elsewhere.

"It was impossible to avoid what was going on," Denise says. "Some of my friends would disappear for days on end, then come back waving wads of cash and talking about private jets and villas and yachts.

"They all said it wasn't a big deal, but even so, I wasn't sure about it, it seemed to be crossing the line."

Most people, of course, would feel there is no "seemed" about it. And Denise crossed that line after she met Ros Ashley, then a well-known madam who organised parties and "entertainment" for a string of high-profile and wealthy clients.

"I was introduced to her at a party," Denise recalls. "She took one look at me and said Adnan Khashoggi, the billionaire arms dealer, would definitely like me. She said I should try it, and I thought 'Why not?'."

Within a week, Denise was flying from Heathrow to Madrid, from where she was picked up by Khashoggi's private jet.

"Up until this point I honestly saw it as a bit of an adventure, but then I saw this big fur bed on the plane and my knees went to jelly.

"I was scared stiff and said I didn't want to do it, but he was so gentle with me. We took things very slowly and a lot of the time we were just talking. I can honestly say it didn't feel sordid or seedy at all."

Perhaps not, although whatever "Pretty Woman" gloss is placed on matters it is hard to romanticise the cold commerciality of the £5,000 ($9,161) in an envelope that was handed over at the end of the pair's few days together. In fact, it was to be the only time Denise encountered the billionaire Saudi.

Nonetheless, luxuries aside, it was a bizarre, morally vacuous sort of life, one shared, Denise says, by Heather, who regularly attended the same lavish parties around the globe - and with whom, on one occasion, she entertained another Saudi prince in a five-star London hotel suite.

"Heather was very uninhibited and had no embarrassment whatsoever," Denise recalls. "Like many girls, I think she hoped that one of these rich customers would fall in love with her so that she could secure that lifestyle full-time."

For Denise, that "lifestyle" came to an end in August 1990, when she travelled to the South of France for a month-long holiday with girlfriends. It was a hedonistic, indulgent time, during which she spent a night with singer Rod Stewart, who was also holidaying in the region.

As we have seen, however, long-buried skeletons have a habit of rising to the surface in the most unexpected of ways: having lost contact with Heather, Denise was surprised to be invited to her birthday party in a London club in 2001.

"By then she was dating Sir Paul. I was surprised to hear from her, but it was very cordial - although I wonder now if she was just checking that I was still onside, as it were," Denise recalls.

"In the event, after I went to the party, she accused me of rubbing my breasts in Paul's face. I told her not to be so ridiculous and I didn't hear from her again for some time."

What she did hear, however, was that rumours of Heather's dubious past were circulating in advance of her wedding to Sir Paul in June 2002 - rumours that soon landed on Denise's own doorstep.

"Suddenly I was besieged by the Press, offering me six-figure sums to tell my story. I didn't want any part of it. I just wanted to protect my daughters.

"I rang Heather and begged her to do something about it. I told her that if she set the record straight, no one else's name would have to be dragged through the mud and it would be over and done with.

"Instead, every weekend both of us were living with this fear that we were going to be exposed. But all she kept saying was that if neither of us said anything, nothing could come out. She wouldn't listen."

The anguished calls went on for several months, finally ending shortly after the McCartneys' lavish wedding in Ireland. It was to be the last conversation she had with her old friend for three years. Then, last year, Denise got a message on her answering machine.

"It was from Heather, asking me to call her and saying that we needed to meet. She was all 'Hello darling' and I thought: 'You want something.' I called her and took the precaution of taping the conversation.

"Basically, she wanted to make sure I was onside. She said the Press were trying to dig up bulls*** again, but that we didn't need to say anything. I said I wasn't scared any more, that my girls were old enough now for me to tell them about my past. I told her I didn't want to meet, that as far as I was concerned I'd tried to do the right thing three years ago and kept quiet, and in return she'd thrown my friendship to the wolves.

"Heather hung up on me. It was the last I heard from her."

A brass band played a rollicking version of "Amazing Grace" during a service filled with tributes to the prolific songwriter and keyboardist who played with the Beatles so often he was sometimes called the fifth member of the group.

Preston died June 6 in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 59. He battled chronic kidney failure, received a kidney transplant in 2002 and had been in a coma since November.

"He made that piano walk and talk," said Richard, who discovered Preston, then in high school, took him on tour in the early 1960s and introduced the teen prodigy to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

A gospel choir clad in bright red sang throughout the almost three hour service, and at one point, Preston's own sister Rodena Preston accompanied on piano.

The mourners also heard letters written by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and others who toured and recorded with Preston.

"I am deeply saddened to lose such a wonderful friend," McCartney wrote. "I love you Billy."

"We've come not just to be sad but to praise a good life," Bishop Noel Jones said during the eulogy.

Statement from Keith Kelly, Director Adopt-A-Minefield UK

"We are proud that both Heather Mills McCartney and Paul McCartney are our patrons and thank each of them for their past, present and future support on behalf of the millions of people who each day live in fear of landmines.

Heather's commitment to the landmine issue dating back to the early 1990's is well documented. Since 1999 Paul and Heather's considerable passion for and support of Adopt-A-Minefield has helped us clear 21 million square metres of land in over 300 communities, directly assisting over 400,000 people.

We would like to particularly pay tribute to Heather for her leadership and support in building Adopt-A-Minefield's work assisting landmine survivors in mine affected countries. Just as Heather has helped 1,000's of amputees in developed countries she has used her drive, compassion and expertise to ,assist many 1,000's more amputees in mine affected countries through Adopt-A-Minefield."

Pamela Anderson is planning to strip naked in a shop window - for an anti-fur protest.

The former 'Baywatch' babe, famed for her curvy body, is to pose nude in the window of fashion designer Stella McCartney's London clothes shop on behalf of animal rights group PETA.

Pamela, who is renowned for her work with the group, and Stella, the daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, are both hopeful the stunt will draw attention to PETA's campaign to ban the use of fur in fashion.

A source told Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper: "This is a cause that Pamela is very passionate about. She wants to support Stella's fundraising effort for PETA and is in talks to pose naked in her shop window. There will be other models there too, and it should last for about ten minutes."

Beset by tales of her days as a raunchy "party girl" before her marriage to Sir Paul McCartney, Heather Mills has found a champion in Soraya Khashoggi, whose former husband Adnan has been fingered as one of the Middle Eastern gentlemen who paid her for her company.

Mother-of-nine Soraya, who remains on the best of terms with ex-billionaire arms dealer Adnan, is adamant that although Heather was a guest at the lavish parties she held with her husband, she was never a "professional".

Soraya tells me: "I feel someone should actually stick up for Heather ­ and not just because she's a mum and handicapped.

I have had her as a guest many times and she never, ever, slept with Adnan or anyone at our houses.

"The man who flogged the story about Adnan using Heather as a call girl ­ the man who once worked for us ­ is a convicted drug pusher who spent two years in prison in Spain, during which time his wife and baby came to us for money to eat. He's a nasty hanger-on who should be deported." Hope that makes Lady McCartney feel a little better.

I shared that same sensation because I was backstage at that same concert. Sir Paul, despite guards and handlers, was approachable, and I was about to talk to him when a human convoy rattling through at bullet-train speed shoved us all aside, crashing into walls and each other, as someone shouted: "Make way for Heather."

I traveled with Donald Trump when he pocketed $1 million for a lecture in L.A. The giant arena was mobbed. Standees. His wife, Melania, was watched over, but no special safe room. No thugs pushing decent people around. She sat quietly in a seat down front on the aisle. I know because I was there.

And smart savvy Donald when McCartney's split became public: "What a putz not to have a prenup."

I feel sorry for Paul McCartney. As birthdays go this can't have been his best, even though he was surrounded by his family, minus his shortly to be ex wife, Heather. I feel sorry for Paul because that old truism your grandma used to quote at you, that "wealth doesn't make for happiness", seems to apply to him more than most.

I think that Paul, always a controlling force, set himself on a very specific road to happiness and security when he was young and that happiness was based on three things: family, public popularity and money in the bank, and probably in that order. Now and despite all his wealth, he has reached that point where nearly all the dreams of his youth must seem to have disappeared. And the reason I think is that, amidst all the glitter and the success, McCartney has been haunted by loss all his life.

Brought up in the austere city of Liverpool in the nineteen fifties, his mother died when he was only fourteen. Then he lost his band mate Stuart Sutcliffe at the beginning of The Beatles success story. His manager, Brian Epstein killed himself and John Lennon was murdered. Paul, having married Linda, a remarkable woman who was stronger than him and with whom he was deeply in love and trusted completely, lost her to cancer. For a man who longs for certainty and security, it must have seemed as though they were both crumbling. It's easy to say that there's no fool like an old fool.

But fairer to look at a man in his sixties profoundly aware that he was unlikely to have another relationship, certainly not one that would compare with his first marriage, grasping for that one last chance. Who can blame him? And that it all went so sour so quickly and so publicly will be double humiliation for someone who has always been a bit wary of people, a bit of a control freak.

So, I feel desperately sorry for a decent person who I think despite his oddities has always tried to do the right thing. As for Heather McCartney, do I feel sorry for her? Not one bit I'm afraid.

Now that he is, finally, 64, it is unlikely Sir Paul McCartney is bothered about the potential baldness or financial insecurity he sang about in When I'm Sixty-Four.

As the former Beatle celebrated reaching the age he immortalised on the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, he could reflect with satisfaction on a year in which he made an estimated £48.5 million from record sales and a tour of the United States - a welcome addition to an accumulated estimated fortune of £825 million ($1.5 billion). He also, of course, retains a decent head of hair.

A close-knit group of friends attended the party at the singer-songwriter's £4 million ($7.4 million) estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, where he was planning to celebrate with a vegetarian barbecue.

The small list of guests included Olivia Harrison, widow of the former Beatle George, Ringo Starr's wife, Barbara Bach, and Sir Paul's brother Mike.

If the significance of reaching the 64 landmark had escaped him, Sir Paul's grandchildren have offered him a sentimental reminder by recording their own version of the song at Abbey Road studios.

But the celebrations were likely to have been tainted by the musician's recent split from his wife, Heather Mills McCartney. Friends have said Sir Paul is deeply hurt by the break-up, although Heather was reported to be keen to attend the day with their two-year-old daughter, Beatrice Milly.

Sixty-four does not appear to be an age at which Sir Paul will be content with "Doing the garden, digging the weeds," as he predicted in the 1960s. After a year of acclaimed musical success, Sir Paul is already said to be drawing up plans for another tour.

Fans show why they still need Sir Paul, now he's 64

Sir Paul McCartney may have been having a low-key family gathering for his 64th birthday, but at Liverpool's Albert Dock it was a different story.

The Beatles Story exhibition marked the occasion with a weekend-long party, including a karaoke competition to find the best singer of Sir Paul's classic When I'm 64, which was won by a Filipino man on his first visit to the city.

The Beatles Story was the hub of the celebrations for the landmark birthday immortalised in Sir Paul's song, with an American CBS camera crew filming the festivities, which included balloons, birthday cake, and a chance for visitors to have their picture taken on the Cavern stage with the first ever Madame Tussauds waxwork of the former Beatle.

Director Jerry Goldman said: "We were initially uncertain whether to do anything or not, given current circumstances, but we got so many phone calls we realised the fans wanted something to mark the event.

"People have been bringing in birthday cards for Sir Paul, and our Cavern was full all the time, with about 30 people taking part in the karaoke competition over the weekend.

"Joe Flannery, a booking agent who worked for Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, also got up on the stage and told a story about how the boys were in his house before they were famous, and were joking about what they wanted to do when they were 40.

"Apparently, Paul said he would be a window cleaner."

The black, teak wood cabinet has been authenticated by Steven Bailey at the Beatles Shop in Mathew Street, who looks after the popular Fab Four convention sales each year.

He said: " We have had some very strange things arrive year in and year out - but this has to be the most unusual.

"It comes from Paul's family home in Forthlin Road and is accompanied by two letters detailing its origins."

The 50-year-old bookcase has no estimated price as the auction overseers do not have anything else to base its value on.

It will be auctioned in the Paul McCartney Auditorium at LIPA on Saturday, August 26.

When James Paul McCartney first mused in song about what life might be like at 64, Ike was the president, Elvis was the King and McCartney was an unknown 16-year-old from a working-class family in Liverpool, England.

Now he indeed is the grandfather of three, as predicted in his song "When I'm 64," which he wrote at 16 and recorded at 24.

But who could be truly surprised that none of the other predictions he sang of - vacationing in a little cottage on the Isle of Wight, having grandchildren named Vera, Chuck and Dave, being handy and "mending a fuse" - have come true? How many 16-year-olds accurately predict what their lives will be like at 64?

Well, as with most of us, his life has been a mixture of happiness and pain, only with more riches and acclaim than most.

For starters, he lived through the loss of his mother, Mary, who died of breast cancer in 1956.

McCartney's musical accomplishments with the Beatles ranged from pop idol to legitimate songwriting legend. He and John Lennon generally are considered in the same rock pioneering company with Elvis Presley, and he has added to his musical accomplishments since the 1970 break-up of the Beatles with his group Wings and as a solo artist.

He was, by all accounts, happy in his 1969 marriage to heiress Linda Eastman, with whom he had three children and adopted her child from a previous marriage. However, he watched her die of breast cancer in 1998, the same year he was knighted. She was 56.

By that time, he had lived through the murder of his songwriting partner John Lennon, who was gunned down in New York City in 1980. (Fellow Beatle George Harrison survived a stabbing in his mansion in Oxfordshire, England, in 1999, only to die two years later, at 58, of throat cancer. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr turns 66 on July 7.)

McCartney again found love with former model and activist Heather Mills, whom he married in 2002. They had a daughter, Beatrice, in 2003, but last month, they announced that their marriage is over.

Perhaps the best present for Sir Paul, and the many others (John McCain, Aretha Franklin, Harrison Ford and Roger Daltrey, to name a few) who also turn 64 this year is more time:

McCartney may have been seeing 64 as advanced old age the year he wrote "When I'm 64," but nowadays he and many of his peers can look forward to singing that song for many years to come.

The ex-Beatle spent Father's Day at his £4 million ($7.4 milliion) country estate with his close family - but without Heather.

Led by loyal daughters Mary and Stella, they gathered around their dad to celebrate like old times.

But Heather, 38, had already dropped off a special gift that could be direct from the lyrics of his celebrated Beatles song When I'm 64 - "birthday greeting, bottle of wine".

An insider said: "It was a gesture Heather felt she had to make to wish her husband a happy birthday and to tell him to enjoy Father's Day, even if it was impossible for her to be there.

"They're very much separated but Heather chose to drop off something for him, even though some of Paul's family didn't want her presence."

She delivered the gift for Macca on Friday when she handed over their two-year-old daughter Bea for the weekend before he returned from a US trip.

The music legend's family celebrated his special day at Peasmarsh, East Sussex - his favourite home with late wife Linda - with a vegetarian barbecue.

Guests included Stella, Mary, son James, adopted daughter Heather and his brother Mike.

Paul was said to have had a laugh when he heard a special family recording of his hit song When I'm 64. Stella masterminded the fun tribute at Abbey Road studios in London.

Friends said photographer Mary, 36, and fashion designer Stella, 33, wanted to make Macca realise how much they loved him, especially because reaching 64 will be so poignant for him.

Paul wrote When I'm 64 as a 15-year-old, penning lyrics that ask: "When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still need me, will you still feed me..."

It has continually been voted one of music's best records since its release in 1967 on the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

Friends say Paul could never have realised his 64th birthday would be celebrated among such trauma.

Heather had desperately wanted to be at the gathering so she and Macca could put on a united front in the wake of their split, exclusively revealed by the Daily Mirror.

But a close friend said last night: "There was no way Heather was going to be there unless the family all agreed.

"Paul's daughters, especially Stella, had made their feelings clear and Heather didn't want to rock the boat on Father's Day.

"It was hard for her and she was very sorry not to see Bea with her father on his special birthday."

Paul and his second wife split last month after almost four years of marriage. He left the former model, who lost a leg when she was hit by a police motorcycle in 1993, after a series of rows.

He became fed up at his treatment by Heather, who he first met in 1999 at the Daily Mirror's Pride Of Britain Awards, where she was present in her role as an anti-landmines campaigner

The split turned more bitter after it emerged how in 1988 she had posed for a series of soft porn pictures in a German magazine.

Macca was also rocked by allegations she worked as a prostitute before they met although Heather has vowed to sue over the claims.

She is currently negotiating a divorce settlement with Macca, who is reportedly worth £825 million.

John Katsilometes on how the cast of 'Love' made a wise decision to sing 'Happy Birthday to You' for McCartney

The cast of "Love" at the Mirage had big plans for Paul McCartney on Thursday night. Instead of singing "Happy Birthday to You," they rehearsed an ensemble rendition of "When I'm 64."

But in the end the cast opted for "Happy Birthday." Good idea. "When I'm 64" might seem appropriate, given that today McCartney flips the calendar to No. 64. But McCartney has said in recent interviews that his daughter Stella told him he should "get off the planet" - as far away from the media as possible - to avoid questions about the birthday and the song.

She said so in jest (we presume), and before her father separated from Heather Mills McCartney, which makes the line "Will you still need me/Will you still feed me" both poignant and ironic. More avid Beatles fans know he wrote the song at age 16, and that it was the second tune he penned after "Love Me Do." It was also a song the band turned to in their early club days when their amps short-circuited.

McCartney, reportedly in London today to celebrate his 64th, was seated with George Martin and Martin's son, Giles, at Thursday's show. (see fan report about Paul at "Love" preview)

For most of the night I'd been scanning the theater, trying to spot McCartney, and finally located him and the Martins just as the cast finished off the climactic "Hey Jude." The cast tipped off the crowd (much of it, anyway) when they waved peace signs to a particular person in the audience wearing a dark blazer and white shirt, who responded with a smile and a salute.

Those seated (or, standing) in McCartney's section went wild.

As for the show, full-scale reviews will appear after the preview period ends on June 30, but the Cirque performances and show's soundscape are breathtaking. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "Come Together," "Get Back," and "Strawberry Fields Forever," among dozens of other full songs and snippets, have been given new life. And so have the Beatles.

The break-up of his second marriage and allegations about his estranged wife's past are a far cry from the comforting notions of holidays on the Isle of Wight and digging in the garden that he dreamed up aged 15.

So it is little wonder that when his family recorded a new version of When I'm 64, they changed the lyrics.

The former Beatle's four eldest children and his three grandchildren laid down the track at Abbey Road Studios in London to celebrate his birthday yesterday. And friends say the track, which they played to him at a low-key birthday lunch, put a smile on the singer's face for the first time in a while.

'It was such a lovely gesture that Paul couldn't help but be touched,' said a source yesterday. 'He is still pretty low but the terrible singing on the record by his family was enough to have Paul in hysterics.

'It was just what he needed.'

The words were written by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

Sir Paul's four children, Stella McCartney and her son Miller, Mary and her sons Arthur and Elliot, James and step-daughter Heather, made the track in Studio Two - where the Beatles recorded most of their music.

As his 64th birthday approached, Sir Paul will have been aware that comparisons would be drawn between his life and the old age he had mapped out for himself.

But the date could not have arrived at a worse time. His recent split from Heather Mills, to whom he was married for four years, was compounded by a series of allegations about her younger years.

He is still in contact with Miss Mills, 38, mainly to discuss their two-year-old daughter Beatrice. But he is said to be becoming increasingly bitter towards her.

She was not at the family gathering yesterday and friends say she has lost weight worrying about the split and claims that she used to work as a call girl, which she denies.

In recent days Miss Mills has been in talks with her lawyers after two former vice girls said she was paid thousands for having sex with wealthy businessmen.

Former escort girl Petrina Montrose claimed Miss Mills was one of three women hired to take part in an orgy with an Arab prince.

An ex-aide to a Saudi-born arms dealer also claimed to have handed over about £6,400 ($11,800) in cash to Miss Mills after she is said to have taken part in sex sessions with his boss.

She has postponed suing about the stories, saying she wants to wait until her divorce has been finalised.

The vice girl claims came only days after pictures of her posing naked for a pornographic German book called Die Freuden Der Liebe (The Joys of Love) were unearthed.

First there were the "hardcore porn" shots. Then came the "lurid" allegations of her pre-Beatle-wife life as an escort for rich Arabs. Now it is clearly open season to make the ultimate dirt stick to Heather Mills.

To the outside world it looks like mud-slinging between the rival camps in the countdown to divorce. But the reality is more a case of tabloid score-settling, with Heather simply a pawn in a game of one-upmanship.

The Sun's attacks continued yesterday when the paper reproduced further soft porn magazine covers from the US and Australia featuring the ex-glamour model. But the paper's attempt to discredit her seems to be driven by the editor Rebekah Wade's long-standing dislike of Heather, and the close relationship she has built up with the Daily Mirror over the years. It was at the Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards that Paul and Heather were first introduced.

A News International insider said: "The Mirror was being very sympathetic towards her because they thought they were going to get a Heather Mills interview. Rebekah has never liked her, and she said let's nail her. There is a misplaced theory that this is being co-ordinated by Macca's people, but that's not the case."

By a stroke of good fortune it is understood a German soft porn book under the guise of a sex manual was bought on eBay and offered to The Sun, just as the paper was going all out to discredit her. Reproducing the photos a fortnight ago, The Sun placed a shot on its front page with the headline "Lady Macca hardcore porn shame". The pictures did not appear to be quite as "hardcore" as claimed. The paper virtually admitted as much when, three days into its campaign, it claimed Heather had sex with her modelling partner after the shoot - a tacit admission they did not do so on camera.

Last weekend's News of the World claimed Heather had been paid to sleep with wealthy Arab businessmen. She has threatened to sue over the story. But the allegations were not as fresh as they seemed. The newspaper has had the tale in its vaults for several years, seemingly unwilling to print while she was with Paul.

Prior to meeting Paul, Heather had raised money for prosthetic limbs and campaigned against the use of landmines, a cause which Paul adopted. A friend of Paul's said: "I think everyone's gone a bit too far. Whatever people think about her, she has done great things and she has used her position to raise awareness."

Another associate of Paul's said: "He is arguably the world's most famous musician and he is seen to have married a porn star. But you have to feel sorry for the poor woman. She is now seen as someone who has upset a national treasure."

Yet it's obvious from the marital discord between the ex-Beatle, who turns 64 tomorrow, and his estranged bride Heather Mills, 38, that all their troubles no longer seem so far away, especially as the Brit tabs scream about her trampy past.

She resented his fame, thinking it cramped her modelling career. His kids resented her presence, considering her a Yoko Ono without the musical talent.

McCartney, meanwhile, just seemed clueless. Witness his failure to get a prenuptial agreement, which he attributes to an excess of ardour when he and Mills tied the knot four short years ago. That mistake could cost the Beatle billionaire half his personal wealth, making his nose-whittling ex-pal Michael Jackson look like a wise businessman in comparison.

Beatle Paul clearly needs a hand finding an age-appropriate spouse, one that already has enough fame to sustain her, if he doesn't want to head into his musically appropriate 65th year without someone to need him or feed him.

Herewith are a few helpful suggestions for the next Mrs. McCartney:

Catherine Deneuve, 62: Still-sexy French actress, who made her name as the singing beauty of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in 1964, the year the Beatles broke internationally. She's discreet, she's charming and she could help McCartney with the French lyrics to "Michelle" the next time he tours.

Marianne Faithfull, 59: The once-waifish singer has really let herself go in recent decades, combining cigarettes and drugs to produce a face that looks like the "before" ad for a skin-care trauma clinic. But anyone who can survive the 1960s, and a wild affair with Beatle rival Mick Jagger, has more than enough stories to keep McCartney from having any lonely nights.

Joni Mitchell, 62: She can be nuttier than a squirrel's breakfast, and claims to have given up music altogether, but at her best the Canuck artiste is McCartney's superior as a songwriter and singer. They could make an interesting couple both on and off the stage, especially since she's in need of a good bass player.

Tina Turner, 66: What's love got to do with it? She's single, she's hotter than July and she's got legs longer than Penny Lane. She could also add some much-needed soul to Paul's flagging rock 'n' roll, and she definitely wouldn't have to worry about standing in his shadow. She'd dance in it.

Yoko Ono, 73: Okay, so she's long in the tooth, she is the widow of John Lennon, and McCartney reportedly hates her guts - but didn't the Beatles sing "All You Need Is Love"? Now is the time to prove it, pal, and show the world you meant it when you wrote, "We Can Work It Out."

Our section was small and right behind us was a walkway that people took to get to their seats. Before the show started there was a security guy stationed behind us walking back and forth and talking on his radio to other security employees. We about died when he was standing right behind us and we heard him say "He just pulled in. You don't have to worry, you'll just be backstage." We were speculating that if he was talking about Paul, how lucky were we to be hearing this?

It was about 10 minutes or so before the start of the show. We kept looking at the aisle area where the security guy headed but didn't see Paul at all. There was a rail next to that aisle separating it from the next section and before the start of the show there was a semi-shear curtain / partition with a sky/clouds design hanging there (and several others by other sections), making it hard to see people clearly on the other side of it. So we were frustrated trying to figure out where Paul might come in and sit. When the show began, those cloud curtains disappeared, but it was still frustrating in a dark theatre to find our Paul!

I don't want to spoil the show, but I will tell you that the music is absolutely brilliant. If you've seen other Cirque shows you'd notice that although there are lots of acrobats, this show doesn't have all the "Ooh! Ah! How on earth did they do that with their bodies?" type of acrobatics. But instead it has acrobatics and dance with costumes and props and actions that capture the era of the Beatles' '60s. And WOW! What George and Giles Martin did with the Beatles music was fantastic!

Meanwhile, back at the show, it was "getting very near the end" and as my eyes wandered to the section next where that clouds partition had been, a strobe light flashed and it captured a perfect look at Paul's face!!! I about died! I said to my friend, "HE'S THERE!" I kept seeing his face with each flash. He was sitting there just looking at the show and I'll always remember seeing that face in the flashes!

George Martin was sitting with him and at first we thought John Hammel was, too. But it was dark and now we think it wasn't John Hammel, but perhaps Giles Martin instead. Giles was at the question/answer session we attended after the show.

After the strobe ended, the next song was "Hey Jude". We could see Paul nodding his head a little to the song and he even had a brief bit of clapping along. That was cool to see him reacting to his own song as usually it's us reacting to his songs. Ann and I were getting into it like we fans do and he looked our way and we gave him a big wave.

Then the final song came on and my friend Ann and I said, "We have to see this show again because we paid more attention to Paul!" At the end of the show when Paul stood up to leave, the area around him (and us) gave him a nice applause and cheer and he gave a wave of appreciation and then walked up the aisle to leave.

Now, in light of all that he's been though lately, to me he looked really good. Not at all like that photo arriving in NY (but I was thinking, if you just flew across the Atlantic you might not look all that bright and fresh either, if you know what I mean).

Anyway, I wasn't up close so I couldn't see well enough to see if he looked tired or rested or at peace or what, but when I saw him in the strobe light he did look good and he looked like he was enjoying the show. I felt good seeing him looking like he was having a nice time at the show. And I feel for him that he flew in just before the show and had to turn right around and fly back to London that night (as the Las Vegas newspaper said today). Hope he got a good sleep on the plane!

Back to Ann and me at the Mirage, after the show we filled out these nice little forms asking for comments and rating the show (since it was a preview show and they need input) we walked to the question/answer session where Giles Martin, a guy (forget name) from Abbey Road Studios, a Cirque performer, and some Cirque staff were answering questions and listening to comments. Giles gave a good explanation of how they did the music and the others answered some questions about the performers, costumes, etc. Giles and the Abbey Road guy had to leave early.

So off we went to find a bite to eat since we missed having any dinner. As we walked towards the elevators I noticed George Martin walking slowly with a little limp right in front of us! Someone else also spotted him and signed an album for him, and I asked if he'd sign my ticket. He did, and he asked if we'd seen the show. He seemed really pleased and enthusiastic that we said how much we enjoyed it and how fabulous the music was. Then he extended his hand to us to shake! He was a real gentleman, very nice. He then proceeded to the elevator. And we went on to get some food.

About the show:

There were lots of songs that had other songs layered in the background so you'd hear two songs at once. But it was done so well, it was really cool. Some songs you'd hear the familiar guitar or voices and you'd think it would be that song coming on, but instead it would transform into another song, and then you might hear even another song in there, and then it might change again and end up being the first song you were hearing. It was so cool they way they did this. We heard Piggies behind one song.

Here are some of the songs in no correct order: Get Back, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Help (cool inline skating on ramps on this one), Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, Eleanor Rigby, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Something, Here Comes the Sun, Octopuses' Garden (really good props, lighting and acrobats on this one), Goodnight, You Won't See Me, Come Together, I Am the Walrus, Sgt Pepper, Drive My Car (they had an old VW and I think the license was 28 IF), Because (those beautiful harmonies we heard so crystal clear on the Anthology), Back in the U.S.S.R., Revolution, A Day in the Life, Hey Jude, a comedy sketch with Blackbird. The lyrics were done by an actor telling these acrobat black birds who kept falling to "take these broken wings and learn to fly" and the birds kept falling and couldn't fly. This was the only song that was done by someone other than the Beatles in the show. The finale was All You Need is Love. There were more and so many others embedded within and connected to the main ones I could go on and on and on.

What a great little trip we had and I'm still High in the Clouds thinking of seeing Paul and meeting George Martin and spending a great evening surrounded by uplifting Beatles music and show. I hope you get to see it!

-- Barbara Chamberlin Macca Reporter

So Paul McCartney Is 64. Now What?

In 1942, when James Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool, the average life expectancy of a British infant boy was 63 years. Notwithstanding those expectations and the greatly exaggerated rumors of his death decades ago, Mr. McCartney turns 64 on Sunday, Father's Day.

Paul McCartney, during his performance at last year's Super Bowl, once again finds himself standing in for a generation.

He was a teenager when he wrote the tune for "When I'm Sixty-Four," and only 24 when the Beatles recorded it in 1967 for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." But just as George Orwell's "1984" proved to be an abiding prophecy of a dystopic future for so many impressionable readers, Mr. McCartney's lyrics delivered to a self-consciously youthful generation an enduring if satirical definition of what their golden age might be like "many years from now."

Today, many of those who embraced that quaint vision of enduring love, caring, knitting and puttering in retirement - "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?" - couldn't have been more wrong.

And judging by his personal life, Mr. McCartney missed the mark, too. The song's promise of retirement with a longtime partner has proved, at best, bittersweet for him. Last month, he announced his separation from his second wife, Heather Mills, who is 38. "Will you still need me?" indeed. Since 1967, American divorce rates per capita have more than doubled (three-quarters of men married in the late 1950's celebrated their 20th wedding anniversaries with their first wife, compared with about half who married in the early 1970's).

A smaller proportion of Americans older than 65 are poor today, but more delay retirement because they want to, or have to. More of the better-off own their vacation homes outright (never mind renting "a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear"), while the less well-off who own homes have the newly popular option of reverse mortgages.

Americans live longer today (technically, no one has died of old age since 1951, when the government dropped that official cause). They also age more slowly, or so they say. Half the over-65 population define themselves as middle-aged or even young, though a greater proportion today are likely to be perilously overweight.

Yet the song still resonates. Julian Lennon, John's son, sang it in an Allstate Insurance commercial in 2002. When Paul Simon turned 64 last year, Mr. McCartney called and serenaded him with it.

According to most accounts, Mr. McCartney wrote the lyrics for his father (his mother had died of breast cancer when he was 13) and the song was recorded not long after the elder McCartney turned 64.

"While it may have been done tongue in cheek," said Bruce Spizer, a Beatles biographer, "life began to imitate art."

Mr. McCartney's first wife, Linda, died in 1998 at 56, of breast cancer; they had been married 29 years. "The bliss of being with a lifelong partner, as expressed in 'When I'm Sixty-Four,' was shattered by Linda's tragic death," Mr. Spizer said. "The little things expressed in the song, such as working the garden and going for a Sunday morning drive, were part of his life with Linda."

The writer Gail Sheehy, who, at 68, is still guiding readers through life's passages, said today's 64-year-olds have a "360-degree view of life." They may believe in yesterday, but they also can't stop thinking about tomorrow. Thanks to seasoning (and Viagra), males are not necessarily half the men they used to be.

Mr. McCartney, who recently appeared on the cover of AARP magazine, does not appear to be losing his hair yet, despite the song's augury. He has three grandchildren (not the song's "Vera, Chuck and Dave"). He is also the father of a 2-year-old daughter. And while he may not be living his own lyrical vision, Mr. McCartney seems closer to fulfilling Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" than Pete Townshend's "Hope I die before I get old."

Now a billionaire, he has said he has no plans to retire, either as a rock star or as an animal-rights advocate (although, at 65, he will be entitled to a basic pension from the British government, at least $156 a week, and a free transit pass).

This year, the first baby boomers turned 60. About 2.7 million other Americans observe their 64th birthdays in 2006, including Muhammad Ali, Erica Jong, Larry Flynt, Garrison Keillor, Michael Bloomberg, Harrison Ford, Ted Kaczynski and Barbra Streisand. (Ringo Starr, the only other surviving member of the Fab Four, will be 66 next month; John Lennon was murdered at 40 in 1980; George Harrison died of cancer at 58 in 2001.)

"The slogan back then was 'Never trust anyone over 30,' " recalled Jeff Greenfield, the CNN commentator, who is 63. "We thought people would be dead or in a home by their 60's."

Today, on average, 64-year-olds can expect to live more than 16 years, about 4 years longer than 64-year-olds could expect in 1967, according to government statisticians (and, hey, an editor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Jude Rutledge, was named for another of Mr. McCartney's songs).

"The new 64," Ms. Sheehy said, "is more like 84."

SAD HEATHER'S TALE OF RAGS TO BITCHING

Just for the record - and because the girl is mourning the breakdown of her marriage, recovering from a major operation on her amputated leg, and enduring a complete character assassination - I actually admire Heather McCartney.

I've met her several times, and although I wouldn't call her the warmest person I've ever encountered, she has always struck me as a doer, someone who could have been a victim, but became a fighter instead.

I will always remember what Sir Paul McCartney told me when I asked him the secret of his long-lasting marriage to Linda:

"She still interests me," he said. "Every single day she interests me." And the same could surely be said of his second wife.

Heather is ballsy, sometimes disconcertingly direct, and a tad defensive, but then you would be if you'd been kicked out by your parents as a teenager and forced to live on the streets. I like her.

And I like her, not despite, but because of the things she's been accused of recently. She's lied about her past? She only fibbed to drag herself out of her past.

She's used her body for porn pictures and allegedly sold it to wealthy Arabs? If she has, so what? She hasn't harmed anyone.

She's a money-grabber? That'll be why she spends her life working for charity then.

She tried to change Sir Paul? Well, she got him off the wacky baccy if that's what you mean. Oh and she couldn't see what was so special about The Beatles. She's not alone there.

Let's put it another way - she's a gobby, gutsy girl from a rough background who did whatever it took to drag herself away from her past. After making it as a model she tragically lost her leg, but gained the motivation to fight for others who've lost limbs.

In 1996 she received a Nobel Peace prize nomination. And then she bagged a Beatle! And if it had been anyone else we'd all be thinking 'Aah, what a rags-toriches fairytale.'

And they might have lived happily ever after, only no one wanted happiness for Heather.

Will she still need him, will she still feed him, when he's 64?

The answer, sadly, is no.

For Paul McCartney there will be little celebration tomorrow as he turns 64. He faces a nasty divorce from second wife Heather Mills, a possible custody wrangle over their beloved daughter Beatrice, and the prospect of growing old alone.

It is a situation Paul is struggling to come to terms with - and one which he could never have predicted all those years ago when he wrote the romantic homage to enduring love - the sort he had for wife Linda who died aged 56 eight years ago.

When he wrote When I'm 64, he sang about "grandchildren on the knee", "digging the weeds" and renting "a cottage on the Isle of Wight".

Instead, Paul will be relying on his children Stella, 34, Mary, 36, and James, 28, for support as he blows out the candles on his birthday cake at his Peasmarsh estate in Sussex.

He was due to jet back from America last night to share his birthday, and Father's Day, with his children and grandchildren. His estranged 38-year-old wife will have no involvement in what should have been a very special day.

Tensions are now so bad that they are communicating through assistants and lawyers.

What started out as an "amicable" split has now descended into an unpleasant mess, with Paul and Heather at loggerheads.

And there is only really one person to blame - Heather.

When they announced last month that they were separating, Paul hoped she would go away quietly with a respectable lump sum, an agreement to share custody of Beatrice and with both his and her dignity intact.

So convinced was he of his wife's good intentions when she married him that he began posting messages on his website defending Heather against critics who branded her a gold-digger.

But that all changed 12 days ago when The Sun exclusively revealed that Heather had been hiding her past as a porn star from the world.

We uncovered a series of hardcore images of "Lady Mucca" with a man from a German book. The pictures, most of which we could not print because they were too disgusting, sent shockwaves through the Macca camp.

And they brought Paul's world crashing down as he struggled to comprehend that the woman in these sleazy pictures was his wife.

Paul rang Heather to demand an explanation. She insisted that the pictures were simply part of an educational sex guide. But when Paul probed further he was horrified.

A highly-placed source in McCartney's inner sanctum, who does not want to be identified, said: "Paul had no idea at all that Heather had been involved in sleazy porn shoots.

"He knew she had had a colourful past, a traumatic childhood and a difficult upbringing, but this was a whole new ball game as far as he was concerned. What upset him most is that Heather had lied to him - and that she keeps doing so.

"More and more pictures of pornographic shoots she did years ago keep coming to light and Paul is struggling to accept it. Heather is not the woman he thought he had married.

"Put it this way, if she had sat him down and told him about this before they got married, he probably would have accepted it.

"With all his money he could have bought the pictures to spare his wife's blushes and put it behind them as the trials of a young woman struggling to make ends meet in desperate circumstances. The problem was Heather painted an entirely different picture of her past to Paul when they met. Now he's starting to realise that. The day The Sun ran those pictures was the day he decided enough was enough.

"He stopped posting messages on his website supporting Heather - that speaks volumes."

Six days after The Sun printed Heather's porno snaps our sister paper the News of the World exposed the model as a former £5,000-a-night hooker.

While the revelations shocked the world, Paul almost accepted it with a shrug of his shoulders.

The confidante added: "I think Paul has taken the attitude that nothing will now surprise him. He read the story in the News of the World and he hasn't discussed it with anyone really. He is now planning on rebuilding his life without Heather and is throwing himself into his work."

The Sun has uncovered three more porn shoots Heather did before she met Paul - one for an Australian mag and two for American publications.

Problems in the McCartney marriage surfaced a year ago and the couple led mainly separate lives for a few months before they announced their split.

Paul was due to tour Europe at the beginning of this year but he cancelled at Christmas in a bid to save his marriage. Heather hated touring and playing second fiddle to this brilliant man who was worshipped every time he got on stage.

Those who spent time with the couple say she was jealous of his fame and the adoration he got from fans.

One said: "Heather has got all the money she could ever want now, but she hasn't got the one thing she really, really wants, and that is to be loved by the public.

"She craves attention and thought she could become the new Princess Diana with her charity work and that it would make people love her. When Paul was on tour she resented his fame and popularity and made things difficult for him.

"She would often refuse to trail around American cities with the rest of the crew. So Paul would end up having to fly backwards and forwards so he could see her and Beatrice.

"The rows they had were spectacular because Heather doesn't hold back.

"Paul is the opposite, he's a non-confrontational person."

I interviewed Paul in Miami last September when his planned world tour began but it was secretive - he didn't want Heather to know about us [The Sun].

The tour was called off in November. A source said: "Paul had loads of dates across Europe penned in for 2006. He was loving being on the road and was getting some of the best reviews of his music in years.

"He was excited about entering a new chapter in his career, but Heather wasn't as supportive as she could have been. Paul cancelled the European leg because he wanted to try to make things work with Heather.

"He is a very proud man with working class values and he hates the idea of having a failed marriage. But once he realised there was no way back he gave up. He can be quite stubborn. He told Heather he wanted out."

Macca's daughters Stella and Mary are throwing a 64th birthday party for their dad - to remind him of the good old days.

Family friends say it will hark back to the joyous celebrations that were held when their mum Linda was alive.

But last night the big question was: Will Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather be there?

Heather is said to have pleaded with Macca for an invite - but he is thought to be still deciding whether to grant her request.

One family friend said the party was designed to be a family occasion, adding: "When Stella and Mary were growing up they always had a big party at the family house on their dad's birthday and he would do the cooking on the barbie.

"These fizzled out when Paul got together with Heather but it is clearly something they want to rekindle.

"Stella and Mary are hoping that after all the recent turmoil it'll be just like old times.

"His children want him to know they'll always be there for him, whatever happens."

The celebrations at Macca's £4 million ($7.4 million) estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, are reserved for his nearest and dearest. Sir Paul will man a barbecue like he used to - cooking vegetarian treats for Stella, Mary, son James, adopted daughter Heather and his brother Mike.

Close friends Olivia Harrison, widow of Beatle George, and Ringo Starr's wife Barbara will also be there.

The friend said Mary and Stella wanted to make Macca realise how much they loved him - especially because reaching 64 will be so poignant for him.

Paul wrote the Beatles' song When I'm 64 as a 25-year-old - penning lyrics that ask: "When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still need me, will you still feed me.."

The friend added: "The irony of those lyrics hasn't escaped him, particularly as the song is about the fear of facing old age, sad and alone.

"At a time when he should be putting his feet up and enjoying the spoils of his hard work, he's going through one of the most turbulent patches of his life.

"It sounds corny, but he suddenly finds he has no partner who will send him birthday greetings and bottles of wine.

"That's why the girls are determined to throw a cloak of comfort around their dad during this tough time.

"Stella in particular felt that his family and friends had to mark his 64th birthday, not least because he wrote such a famous song about it.

"He knows about the party, but not all the birthday surprises they've got lined up.

"It's going to be a very relaxed and informal affair with children and grandchildren around.

"There will also be a handful of close friends. He doesn't want acquaintances coming up to him and making sympathetic noises about the split with Heather."

Fashion designer Stella, 34, and photographer Mary, 36, are said to be "disappointed" Heather asked for an invite.

Heather insists it is important for her to be there with the couple's two-year-old daughter Bea because the party coincides with Father's Day.

Heather's friends last night said she believed going to the party will show the world Macca supports her in the wake of a series of sordid and damaging claims about her life before they were married.

One said: "The last few weeks have been hellish for Heather. Paul has been privately helping her but now she thinks it is time for him to do so publicly.

"It will prove she has his support if she is seen at the party.

"Bea is the main priority for both of them and Heather feels a show of unity would send out a very powerful message to all her detractors."

Macca, who flies back to Britain today after previewing a Beatles-themed show in Las Vegas, is yet to decide whether to grant her request.

He is said to have been deeply shocked by pornographic pictures from Heather's days as a glamour model and allegations that she was once a highly-paid prostitute - claims she vehemently denies.

Heather, who is now a charity campaigner, travelled to London earlier this week to spend a night at their home in St John's Wood.

She is currently negotiating a divorce settlement with Macca, who is reportedly worth £825 million ($1.5 billion).

Heather, 38, this week vowed to sue over newspaper allegations that she was paid thousands of pounds to bed wealthy Arabs while she was in her 20s.

Sir Paul's spokesman said he did not know what the singer had planned for his birthday. Heather's spokeswoman declined to comment.

Earlier this week ex-Beatle Ringo revealed he had spoken to Macca and offered him his support over the traumatic marriage break-up.

Ringo added: "I just said 'I'm here if you need me'. That's all you can do.

"Break-ups are always hard - but I've let Paul know that if he needs a chat I am here for him."

"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?" sang Paul McCartney in one of his best-loved songs.

But when he wrote those lyrics as a teenager, he had no idea just how prescient they would be nearly half a century on.

The song, "When I'm Sixty-Four," released on the 1967 Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," continues: "You'll be older too. And if you say the word I could stay with you."

Despite hopes of "birthday greetings, bottle of wine," the former Beatle's feelings this Sunday will likely to be bittersweet. Just one month ago, he announced he would separate from Heather Mills, his second wife of four years and the mother of his youngest daughter.

The couple blamed media intrusion for the marriage breakdown, but Mills, a charity campaigner against land mines and seal hunting, now finds herself the target of a barrage of criticism and lurid allegations in Britain's tabloid newspapers.

The 38-year-old is recovering slowly from revision surgery on her leg that was amputated below the knee after a collision with a police motorcycle in 1993.

Mills has launched legal action against one paper that printed allegations she was once a prostitute. She dismissed the claims as "untrue and highly defamatory."

McCartney says he is equally confused by the bad publicity. "One of the worst aspects of going through what Heather and I are currently going through is the malicious spreading of rumors and made-up facts that is happening in some areas of the media," he complained on his official Web site.

Publicist Max Clifford said the pressures on the couple would be immense. "If you're reading these terrible things anyone is going to be absolutely heartbroken," he told CNN.

"The public perception is he's been taken for a fool ... he's been taken for a ride. He obviously loved her and showed that so we feel very sorry for him. So the crueler ones will say there's no fool like an old fool."

And when McCartney first sang, "we shall scrimp and save," he could not have anticipated quite how much the lyrics would ring true.

Although the singer has denied Mills married him for his money, legal experts say if the couple does divorce, Mills could gain as much as a quarter of McCartney's £825 million ($1.5 billion) fortune in a settlement.

Lawyer Ian Caplin commented: "Even in the case when there's been a short marriage -- say, three to five years -- the courts can and still make a substantial award of the husband's assets in favor of the wife."

As media watchers have pointed out, the main problem facing Mills, just as McCartney's first wife Linda found out, is that many fans are simply envious. Linda McCartney died of cancer in 1998.

"He is like a saint to the British and in America," Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology and Culture at London's Brunel University and author of a book on celebrity, told Reuters.

And as McCartney, now a grandfather, prepares for what is said to be a quiet birthday at his country retreat this weekend, one fan outside Abbey Road studios in north-west London -- where the Beatles recorded most of their music -- offered some advice for the future.

Referring to the lyrics of the famous song, he said: "Just change it to 84 ... when I'm 84, yes."

Paul McCartney should be the one showered with presents when he turns 64 tomorrow.

Instead the birthday is an utter gift for the British tabloids and an utter misery for the former Beatle and his estranged wife Heather Mills.

Since the day McCartney penned the lyrics to When I'm 64, headline writers have had his milestone marked in their diaries.

Even the most vicious of hacks are surprised by the circumstances facing Sir Paul as he prepares to blow out the candles.

Lady Heather doesn't need him, won't feed him -- and wants to bleed him of his fortune. His famous lyrics hoped for birthday greetings and bottles of wine, but about the only thing the unhappy couple are exchanging these days are letters between divorce lawyers.

McCartney plans to have a low-key bash at his Sussex mansion tomorrow with his daughters Stella and Mary and son James -- the children of first wife and soul-mate Linda who died of cancer in 1998.

He has made it clear his birthday wish is for the media to let him be to digest the collapse of his four-year marriage.

But the dirt-digging tabloids have other ideas, and are gearing up to deliver the unwanted "gift" of yet more tawdry allegations against his estranged partner Mills, mother of his youngest daughter Beatrice, 2.

Lawyers for Mills, well aware of the impact such explosive allegations might have on her looming divorce settlement as well as her reputation, have branded the claims untrue and defamatory.

I can't help wondering what Paul McCartney's first thoughts will be when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

Almost 40 years after his playful 20-something musings on ageing were recorded, the man who created a pop culture juggernaut akin to George Orwell's 1984 will have his own private day of reckoning as he celebrates his 64th birthday.

In many ways, When I'm 64 was an oddball inclusion on the Beatles' 1967 opus Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and, for me, it is long way from McCartney's finest hour as a songwriter. Yet it's doubtful the sentiment of any song in popular music history has permeated the psyche of so many people, nor cast a contemplative shadow as long.

For better or worse, I can't think of another song that has figured so prominently in the political career of our current Prime Minister, for a start.

Sixty-four has come to represent a life's-work benchmark, a birthday moment of reflective rumination on the point of it all.

Yet despite giving modern history one of its most talked about modern-life concepts, I can't think of a songwriter who has been more unfairly maligned than Paul McCartney.

Dismissed as the romantic balladeer to John Lennon's inspired genius, it is little wonder McCartney has seemed a little churlish in recent years as critics have recast him as the luckiest bass player in Liverpool for bumping into Lennon at a church fete in the late 1950s and landing a gig in the Quarrymen.

Since Lennon's death, it has been very fashionable for music appreciators to talk up Lennon at McCartney's expense, but give me Helter Skelter, Here, There and Everywhere and Let It Be and I'll forgive him Mull of Kintyre and Band on the Run a thousand times over.

And give me the sensual power of Oh Darling!, the obtuse joy Rocky Raccoon, the psychedelics of Sgt Peppers and the majesty of Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End, and try finding another writer who could be all of those things at once.

And it all happened in one golden decade. The Beatles formed in 1960 and their first album came out in 1963. By 1970 it was all over. In just seven years Lennon-McCartney recorded a body of work that was breathtaking for its breadth and originality and is still pitted against the 40-year songwriting partnership of Jagger-Richards.

While the Stones tricked up rhythm and blues and came up with a blistering body of work that married rock'n'roll to country soul, the Beatles, while dipping their lid to all of that and more, went looking for new territories to make their mark.

But much like the Australian comparisons Skyhooks versus Sherbet, Oils versus Chisel, et al, you've got to be in one camp or the other when it comes to the Beatles versus Stones.

And for some reason the cool money always lands with the ultra-sexy Stones.

Somehow the seemingly straitlaced, pop-infused Beatles made them daggy, thanks largely to a comprehensive record company publicity campaign to portray the Fab Four as goody two-shoes at the time.

EMI even convinced John to hide his marriage to Cynthia. (It was so convincing he managed to leave her behind in a whirl of Beatlemania on a London train station as he spirited away to the arms of another woman.)

Sure, the Stones have the distinct advantage of still being able to play live and remain one of the greatest live bands I have ever seen, but it is 25 years since Mick and Keith wrote their last truly great tune together. Maybe there is a reason that the second single the Stones released was the Lennon-McCartney-penned I Wanna Be Your Man.

Perhaps it is the same reason a recent poll in the British music mag NME ranked four Beatles albums in its top 20 all-time best and not a single Stones album made the cut.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney created an astonishing body of work individually and together. Their work with producer George Martin remain some of the most inspired recordings in popular music history. They are owed much by many.

Musical originality is exceptionally hard to achieve these days. The success of Australian bands Jet and Wolfmother on the international stage is testament to the derivative nature of modern music trends.

And perhaps even more significant is the rise and rise of turntabling, formerly known as DJ-ing, which creates new interpretations of other people's recordings.

But I defy anyone to listen to the Beatles catalogue and convince me Paul McCartney is not a musical genius.

It seems to me Paul's greatest crime was to fall in love with Linda Eastman and put her in his band. And to outlive John. It might be time to give him a break.

Troubled Heather Mills McCartney is battling to shield her daughter from claims she was a call girl.

The ex-model is worried the hurtful stories that have emerged since she broke up with Sir Paul may surface again in years to come.

And she fears Beatrice, two, will be confronted with the allegations when she grows up.

A friend close to Heather said: "The last few weeks have been a nightmare for her - the hardest time of her life - and she is fighting just to get through every day.

"But Beatrice is the number one priority and she is trying to protect her.

"Both Paul and Heather are keen for everything to carry on as normal for her despite the fact that it's obviously very painful.

"The stories are everywhere and she's terrified that when Beatrice is older they'll upset her too.

"She doesn't want her to go through more heartache."

Heather, 38, has been a nervous wreck since the claims she was a £5,000-anight call girl emerged.

She denies she worked as a prostitute and has vowed to sue once her divorce from Sir Paul is finalised.

Meanwhile Sir Paul, 63, has been offered a little help from his friends as he tries to get over the marriage split.

Fellow former Beatle Ringo Starr, 65, spoke for the first time yesterday about how his mate Macca has been coping.

He told a US entertainment show: "I've talked to Paul. I am his friend if he needs me. But this is a personal thing that he and his wife are going through and we have to let them get on with it."

Ringo also told of his concerns for Beatrice.

He said: "The one thing I will say is that I wish someone would care for little Beatrice because she will grow up and all of this will always be there."

Sir Paul - who wrote the song When I'm 64 for his dad - is said to be too depressed to celebrate his own 64th birthday on Sunday. He is currently in America.

To Sir, with love.

Sir Paul McCartney received a royal welcome at The Mirage on Thursday from the cast and crew after his first viewing of "Love," the new Cirque du Soleil show featuring the music of The Beatles.

Sixty cast members and more than 120 technicians serenaded the music icon with a chorus of "Happy Birthday." McCartney, who turns 64 on Sunday, flew in shortly before the show.

As he exited the show, admirers shouted "thank you Paul" amid applause.

He was to leave Las Vegas late Thursday en route to London, where he planned to celebrate his birthday with family, a Cirque source said.

Thursday was the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of McCartney and John Lennon. McCartney, then 13, and Lennon, 15, met at a church dinner, where Lennon's rock group, The Quarrymen, were performing.

June 16, 2006 -- USA TODAY

Count down the days, and more, till he's 64

Paul McCartney turns 64 on Sunday. If that doesn't ring a musical bell, rewind your mind to 1967 and a jaunty music-hall ditty about getting a valentine, birthday greetings or a bottle of wine many years from now.

Now is here. Recorded 40 years ago, When I'm Sixty-Four was the second song ever written by McCartney (after Love Me Do) and the second recorded for The Beatles' milestone Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Coincidentally, it's track 2, side 2 on the original vinyl.) More digits to digest about the author of rock's oddest ode to aging:

16. Age when McCartney wrote Sixty-Four, which The Beatles often performed acoustically when their amps failed at The Cavern in Liverpool. "I thought I was writing a song for Sinatra," he says in The Beatles Anthology. "I wrote that ... thinking it would come in handy in a musical comedy."

3. Number of clarinets in the song.

0. Number of psychedelic guitar solos.

12. Number of tunes on Sgt. Pepper that are not whimsical cabaret sore thumbs.

3. Number of grandchildren in the song (Vera, Chuck and Dave) and in real life (Miller, 1; Elliott, 3; and Arthur, 7).

15. Percentage of John Lennon's authorship, according to William J. Dowlding's Beatlesongs. Lennon at one time claimed a small contribution in lyrics but later told Playboy, "I would never even dream of writing a song like that."

19. Weeks that Sgt. Pepper topped the U.S. chart.

4. Grammys Sgt. Pepper won.

6.9. McCartney albums in millions sold in the SoundScan era (since 1991).

51.5. Beatles albums in millions sold in the same period.

545. Beatles albums in millions sold worldwide from 1963 to 1974.

90. Number of shows on McCartney's 2002-03 world tour, attended by roughly 2 million fans.

1.2. McCartney's estimated worth in billions of dollars, according to Britain's Sunday Times.

20. Amount in millions of dollars he earns annually in Beatles royalties.

4. Number of songs McCartney played at the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show, for about $3.5 million.

40. Age when he began painting. Results were unveiled in the 2000 coffee-table book Paintings.

57 McCartney's age when he released Run Devil Run, a set of retro-rock covers.

34. John Lennon's age when he did the same thing in 1975 on Rock 'n' Roll.

59. Age when McCartney wed Heather Mills, who confirmed divorce plans on their fourth anniversary, seven days before he turns 64.

61. His age when their daughter, Beatrice, McCartney's fifth child, was born.

63. His age when he appeared on the cover of AARP magazine.

Ok, friends...

How are we doin'? Summer is ONNNNN! That's right! It has gone all hot and sticky here in sunny LA. We are officially out of the dreaded June Gloom... and not a bloody gloomy day too soon. [Hmmm, I'm a poet and I don't know it!]

I have had a zillion messages from you all, asking me to tell you about my recent trip with Rod Stewart to the Bahamas.. Yep... it was a gig for the books, for sure. We were on a resort beach, rented out by some wealthy Russian Americans for a BIG private B-Day bash. Just us and 100 people on this amazing stretch of turquoise sea and white sands with a little private island just off to the right. We had this gorgeous house on the cliffs, all 12 of us... it was like a new reality show: "The baking of the band"...

Then we were golf carted down to a full rock stage with lights and concert sound, there was white furniture all over the beach with candles, catered to perfection with an open bar and Cuban cigars. Sweeeeeet! It seemed a bit surreal, as the guests were all wearing white... white linen... it was a sight, for sure... They were dancin' around like maniacs and standing in front of Rod on the beach while he was singin' on stage snappin' pics for their friends back home like tourists in front of a statue! Well, they went nuts and were partyin' and screamin'... We rocked 'em good... We had to.

We had sand in places we didn't know we had places after it was all said and done. Rod was in fine form and we had a lot of laughs... oh, except for the Bahamas beetles... yep, these bigass bugs were attracted to the lights onstage and so we were besieged with beetles, and not the singing type, either. Well it was all good fun for most, but let's just say... a few of the women in the band weren't too into the bugs... AT ALL! Hahahaha! Ah, that's why they call it the Ba ha ha hamas... [Thanks, Dante for the evil laugh].

So now, I'm back, none the wiser but much the tanner after some good times on the beach with a fun crowd... It was truly a blast!

So, hey... there will be some news very soon on a few different fronts, so stay real close, ya' hear?

Y'all come back nayw!

XXBrian

Paul's low profile when he's 64

It is the birthday half the world will be celebrating - but the man himself is too down to join the party.

Sir Paul McCartney wrote When I'm 64 as a present for his father.

And this weekend the ex-Beatle reaches the magical age himself.

But the club where he made his name today said Macca was too depressed about his marriage break-up to celebrate the event.

Cavern club managers said they had spoken to Sir Paul's company MPL and were not planning to do anything to mark the day.

Bill Heckle, of Cavern City Tours, said: "Paul is so down, and we feel it would be inappropriate to do something at this very difficult time for him. No doubt when he turns 65 we will."

There is no official news on how Sir Paul will spend his big day on Sunday - which is also Father's Day.

James Paul McCartney was born at Walton hospital on June 18, 1942.

At the Beatles Story, would-be singers will be able to try their hand at a karaoke version of When I'm 64.

Louise Collier, operations manager at the Albert Dock attraction, said: "The competition is being held between 2-3.30pm on Saturday and Sunday in the Beatles Story's Cavern."

The winner on each day will receive a meal for two at the Pan American restaurant.

The Beatles Story is also offering free admission to people bringing proof they were born in 1942, while anyone who brings a birthday card for Paul will be entered into a prize draw to win a £64 gift ($118) voucher to spend in the Beatles Story shop.

Staff will also make sure he receives every card.

Meanwhile, there will be a special gift for anyone taking a booked tour of McCartney's childhood home, 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton, on Sunday.

Simon Osborne, manager of the National Trust's Liverpool properties, said: "All season we've been offering a free place to every 64th person to book.

According to Access Hollywood, Paul is in Las Vegas to tape an interview to promote the new Cirque Du Soleil show.

How desperately must Heather Mills McCartney, be wishing that the world's press would just Let It Be.

This week, the avalanche of bad publicity continued as kiss-and-tell call-girls and porn stars have been falling over themselves to hawk their lurid stories of her allegedly murky past.

One 'former escort' accused Miss Mills of taking part in orgies with Arab princes, while another claimed that she was paid £5,000 ($9,200) to perform a 'girlie scene' for a wealthy Middle-Eastern potentate.

The catalyst for this flood of sensational allegations was the publication last week of pictures of Miss Mills in a sleazy photo-shoot for a German sex manual, entitled Die Freuden Der Liebe (The Joys Of Love).

Rumours about Heather's past have circulated for years, but these sordid pictures signalled open season on the woman that Sir Paul has protected until now.

Abruptly shorn of his power and influence, she has been exposed, in every sense of the word, to the vultures that have hovered ever since she met the former Beatle at a charity event in 1999.

Sympathy

Many have rejoiced in her humiliating fall from grace. She's a woman whose brash, abrasive style has made her few friends. But I'm starting to feel rather sorry for Heather Mills McCartney.

Clearly she has what is quaintly known as 'a past', if only a fraction of the salacious charges against her prove to be true. Never mind cavorting with Arab princes, the pouting photographs in tacky lingerie and bunny-girl bow-ties tell their own sordid story.

But so what? It's not as if she was marrying Prince Charles, back in the days when virginity and lack of history were a job requirement. She was marrying a rock-star, for Heaven's sake.

However embellished it may have been, it's clear her childhood was hard and unfriendly, if not abusive, and the young Heather used whatever was to hand - be that her looks, her body or her native wit - to haul herself out of the gutter.

Like many a Hollywood actress, she posed for a few glamour shots on her way to the top. It's not necessarily something to be proud of, but it's hardly unique. Even Princess Grace, that icon of Royal beauty and respectability, had a past from her film days that didn't bear too much close scrutiny.

Why is Heather now being pilloried for something that is said to have happened years before she even met McCartney, and of which, if true, he must surely have been aware, given the controversy their romance caused right from the very beginning?

With hostility directed at Heather from every side, not least from Sir Paul's designer daughter, Stella, there must surely have been voices whispering in his ear.

Sir Paul apparently chose not to listen, either because he didn't want to believe it, or because he didn't think it mattered. After all, he had a past of his own; before his first wife Linda came on the scene, plenty of girlfriends passed through his hands.

Sir Paul may not have posed for tasteless pictures or partied with Arab princelings, but who knows what went on closed doors with some of thousands of groupies who would have sold their souls for one night with a Beatle.

If Sir Paul wanted a comfy homebody to sit by the fireside with, why didn't he marry a plump, fiftysomething widow who'd be more than happy to knit booties for the grandchildren and knock him up a nice supper of vegetarian lasagne?

No one forced him to bed a vibrant former model nearly years his junior. Nor did she ever pretend to be something she wasn't. By the time she met McCartney, she'd already recovered from the loss of her leg, a tragedy that would have finished most women, never mind one who depended on her looks for her living.

She'd used her experience to campaign for the victims of landmines long before Princess Diana. With guts and determination, she triumphed over disaster. McCartney could hardly have expected her to fade into the background and walk three steps behind him when he married her.

Yes, she's brazen and pushy and, to judge by the testimony of many who have come into contact with her, she puts people's backs up. She also had the effrontery to bag one of the most famous men on the planet, and then declared that she had no time for the Beatles anyway.

No doubt the allegation that she thought John Lennon was the "one with all the talent" while Paul was "just window dressing" has hurt her husband far more than a few dodgy pictures taken 15 years before they even met.

Surely the fact that she wasn't a Beatles groupie should count in her favour. She didn't marry Sir Paul because of who he was - unlike Nicholas Cage, for example, who admitted to an unhealthy obsession with Elvis before marrying his daughter, Lisa-Marie.

Heather wouldn't be human if she hadn't been tempted by McCartney's status and money, if not his musical achievements, but once again, it's not as if she played him for a fool. She even offered him a pre-nuptial agreement, which he declined, a decision he must be regretting today.

Their union was a fair exchange: she became Lady McCartney, a name that opened doors for her across the world, while he got a pretty, glamorous young blonde on his arm and in his bed.

Why is she a villain?

Both parties were apparently very happy with the arrangement, so why is he now written off as foolish, while she is cast as the villain of the piece?

It's a familiar double standard. Marrying for material reasons is vulgar but buying youth and beauty to adorn your wrinkled arm is perfectly acceptable.

Admittedly, McCartney gave Heather access to a lifestyle she could only have dreamed of before her marriage, but it's unlikely it was all wine and roses to be married to an overindulged man worshipped as a pop icon for more than two-thirds of his life.

Heather Mills McCartney is not the sort of woman to be kept down for long, no matter how bruising her current humiliation. No doubt she will rally from this bitter episode as forcefully as she has overcome every setback in her life.

In the meantime, as her husband is so fond of singing, I want to hold her hand.

The former Beatle, who turns 64 on Sunday, looked every inch his age (Webmaster's comment: He looked great on Entertainment Tonight. Not at all looking his age) as he walked the streets of New York on a business trip yesterday.

Macca, whose split from Heather Mills was revealed by the Mirror last month, looked tired and worn with bags under his eyes. Pals said he had found the last few weeks to be "an unbelievable strain" especially allegations about his estranged wife's private life.

One friend said: "Of course Paul looks exhausted.

"His marriage is over and he is having to deal with the fallout from that as well as everything else." The source said Sir Paul "needed time and space" to get on with his life.

The star flew from Heathrow for the four-day trip on Tuesday still wearing his wedding ring.

He spent yesterday at his £10 million ($18.4 million) New York apartment, emerging at 9am with a minder to stroll to a diner for breakfast. Sir Paul refused to talk to waiting reporters and snapped: "I don't want to be bothered. Don't bother me."

He left New York after midday and was expected to fly to Las Vegas for meetings but will return to the UK for his birthday celebrations.

Heather, 38, was bracing herself for more revelations about her past after the Mirror revealed a third set of images had been unearthed.

She was pictured in a red basque and stockings in a top-shelf magazine.

Heather has already vowed to sue over claims she was a high-class hooker paid thousands to bed wealthy Arabs.

It is also thought the 1988 German book Die Freuden Der Liebe featuring Heather in sexy poses will be republished.

Yesterday the charity MAG (Mines Advisory Group) spoke out to offer "unreserved support" to Heather.

Executive director Lou McGrath said: "Her support for the landmine cause has been utterly selfless."

June 15, 2006 -- The Sun

Ringo's support for Paul

Ringo Starr is helping Paul McCartney through his split from wife Heather Mills I can reveal.

The former Beatles drummer was one of the first to lend his life-long friend an ear.

Ringo has told his troubled former bandmate he's ready to offer support whenever it is needed.

Speaking in Toronta, Canada, at the launch of his latest All-Starr band tour, Ringo said:

"I talked to him three weeks ago. I just said 'I'm here if you need me'. That's all you can be."

Paul is said to be devastated after The Sun revealed his estranged wife's secret porn past.

Lady Mucca was snapped in a series of filthy poses for a German sex manual in 1988.

In the same year she was also photographed performing a sex act and indulging in bondage for an X-rated US sex book. And she featured in a top-shelf French mag.

Allegations that Heather was once a high-class hooker emerged at the weekend.

Sir Paul was snapped out and about in New York last night and he was still wearing his wedding ring. He was having dinner with an assistant and looked surprising well, given recent events.

Ringo, who has been in the States since the break-up stories surfaced, said his wife Barbara Bach had been keeping him informed.

He said of the split: "I talk to Barbara in England every day and it's getting ugly. Break-ups are always hard and they have to deal with it, not me."

Though he added: "But I have let Paul know that if he needs a chat I'm here for him."

Ringo and Paul are due to meet in Las Vegas at the end of the month for the launch of a Beatles-themed show by Cirque Du Soleil, entitled Love.

They will be joined by Yoko and Olivia Harrison - the widows of late Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison.

Paul flew to America on Tuesday for work commitments but is due to return for his 64th birthday on Sunday - Fathers' Day - to be with his family at his estate in Sussex.

"I'm just so thrilled that all these contemporary artists want to sing with me," Bennett told Billboard in February from Capitol's Studio A, where he was recording "Rags to Riches" with John. "They're all making me feel so good."

All of the songs were recorded with the guest artist in the same studio with Bennett. The track list includes "The Very Thought of You" with McCartney, "I Wanna Be Around" with Bono, "Smile" with Streisand and "For Once in My Life" with Wonder. Bennett has also revisited his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," accompanied only by pianist Bill Charlap.

"Duets" will be available in an exclusive edition at Target featuring additional duets and a behind-the-scenes DVD. Target is also sponsoring a prime-time special, to air in the fall with guests to be announced.

In addition, Legacy Recordings is at work on a limited-edition boxed set of Bennett's work and is planning to reissue several albums that have never been available on CD. Finally, actor/director Clint Eastwood is executive producing a Bennett documentary, due for completion in 2007.

Here is the track list for "Duets _ An American Classic":

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams," with Sting

"Smile," with Barbra Streisand and Pinchas Zukerman

"Put on a Happy Face," with James Taylor

"The Shadow of Your Smile," with Juanes

"Rags to Riches," with Elton John

"The Very Thought of You," with Paul McCartney

"Lullaby of Broadway," with Dixie Chicks

"Cold, Cold Heart," with Tim McGraw

"The Best Is Yet To Come," with Diana Krall

"For Once in My Life," with Stevie Wonder

"Are You Havin' Any Fun?," with Elvis Costello

"Because of You," with k.d. lang and Chris Botti

"Just in Time," with Michael Buble

"Sing You Sinners," with John Legend

"The Good Life," with Billy Joel

"I Wanna Be Around," with Bono

"How Do You Keep the Music Playing," with George Michael

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" with Bill Charlap

June 14, 2006 -- Macca Report Exclusive

Macca sighting in New York

Paul was seen leaving his Manhattan office this afternoon at 12:30 pm with assistant John Hammel who loaded up the black SUV with luggage.

"Paul was wearing a pink long sleeve button down shirt, camel colored corduroy pants and brown sandals. His hair looked pretty light but was longish and he looked very good," said Macca Reporter Susan Cohen.

A co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize and one of the world's leading charities specialising in humanitarian conflict recovery programmes, MAG has been clearing landmines and other remnants of conflict since 1989. Executive director Lou McGrath said: "Heather's support for the landmine cause has been invaluable and utterly selfless. She was involved with the issues before her marriage to Sir Paul McCartney and continues to be a huge influence for the cause today.

"After the tireless work Heather has put into the landmine cause over many years MAG wishes to show our unreserved support for her and Sir Paul McCartney during a very difficult time."

McGrath added: "In recent years, at a time when many people believe that landmines no longer pose a worldwide threat and the issue is in danger of dropping off the public's radar, Heather has been a most important spokesperson keeping the cause in the public eye."

Heather supports MAG's work both through her charity Adopt-A-Minefield and personally. She has visited minefield clearance operations in 2004 and shared information with amputees and conflict survivors in heavily bombed or mined countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Croatia.

McGrath said: "Heather is a forthright campaigner appearing at MAG's events and seminars without entourage or ceremony and has a genuine grasp of the issues. We're very pleased to work with her and will continue to support her aims in ridding the world of the impact of the landmine."

June 14, 2006 -- Macca Report Exclusive

Ex-Beatles invited to Billy Preston's memorial

Rock stars Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton have been invited to join friends and family of the late Billy Preston for the musician's funeral service on Monday in Los Angeles. Tuesday there will be a Gospel Memorial send off held at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.

---

June 14, 2006 -- Daily Mail

Sir Paul McCartney left Britain yesterday after more damning pornographic photos emerged of his estranged wife Heather Mills.

The troubled former Beatle looked tired and drawn as he flew to New York for a four-day business trip.

As he arrived at the airport his wedding ring was still on his finger as he gave a peace sign.

Asked how he was, he said "OK" before minders whisked him off to his £10 million ($18.4 million) home in New York.

Sir Paul departed Britain after facing fresh misery yesterday as a third set of pornographic pictures of Miss Mills emerged.

She was pictured in a top-shelf magazine in a variety of lewd poses, including a full frontal.

In one double-page magazine spread she wore a risqué red basque and stockings with her hair in a Farrah Fawcett-style flick, and was seen reclining distastefully on a bed with her legs apart.

Heather was also seen yesterday looking pale after spending the night alone at Sir Paul's townhouse in North London.

Sir Paul had already left the house before she arrived. He had been "deeply shocked" by the recent revelations of his ex-wife's past.

However, he plans to return to Britain to celebrate his 64th birthday on Sunday - and Father's Day - with his children at his Sussex estate.

That's if Ringo Starr has anything to do with it.

The one-time Beatles drummer told the Toronto Sun in an exclusive Canadian newspaper chat yesterday that all he can offer is support to his former bandmate.

"I talked to him three weeks ago and I just said, 'I'm here if you need me.' That's all you can be," said Starr.

The media coverage of the split has taken a nasty turn with allegations that Mills, who has admitted posing for pictures for a 1988 sex book, hid from McCartney the fact that she was also a high-class prostitute. She has denied this claim.

"The British press are relentless. You would like them to stay out, but I'm afraid if you want them (initially), then they're going to stay in," said Starr. "I talk to Barbara (Ringo's wife Barbara Bach) in England every day and it's getting ugly.

"Break ups are always hard and they have to deal with it, not me," said Starr earlier at a press conference.

Starr himself will celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary this year, and said the secret to his marriage to Bach is simple.

"I'd like to say it was all down to me -- but that's not true," he said with a chuckle. "Nothing has changed in our life. I fell in love with that woman in 1980 and I was blessed that she loves me and that's why we've got 25 years."

Starr was on side with McCartney's stance against Canada's seal hunt, which brought McCartney to eastern Canada earlier this year with Mills when they were still a couple.

"Yeah, s--t, why are you bashing those poor baby seals on the head for someone to wear a fur coat?" said Starr. "Give me a break. I'm a vegetarian too, so it's easy for me."

In other Beatles-related news, Starr will be at the June 30 opening of Love, the Cirque du Soleil Fab Four show at the Mirage with songs chosen by longtime Beatles producer George Martin. Starr wasn't sure if McCartney would also attend.

"I don't know if we'll both be at the opening, I can only speak for myself," Starr told the Sun. "I'll be at the opening because when we planned this tour, the night before I'm in San Diego, then I have a day off so I can do the Cirque opening and then the next day, I actually play Vegas at the Mandalay Bay.

"Hopefully, I'm just going to see it," he said when asked if he might be brought on stage that night. "I've not seen any of the act around the music but I've always loved Cirque du Soleil."

June 14, 2006 -- The Sun

I'll be Macc! When I'm 64

Sir Paul McCartney jetted out of Britain yesterday - but plans to return for his 64th birthday bash this weekend.

The troubled ex-Beatle flew to New York for a four-day business trip.

Macca has been "deeply shocked" by claims estranged wife Heather, 38, was once a hooker and a hardcore porn star.

Lawyers are sorting out a settlement and it is expected the pair will share custody of daughter Beatrice, two.

Sir Paul jetted to the US from his country pile in Peasmarsh, Sussex. He will spend time in New York and in Las Vegas.

Heather said she will sue over the hooker allegations.

Meanwhile publishers Orion last night announced plans to re-issue Heather's 1988 German sex book.

Heather Mills faced fresh misery yesterday after a third set of pornographic pictures emerged.

Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife was pictured in a top-shelf magazine in a variety of graphic poses, including full frontal, across two double-page magazine spreads.

The 16 images were disclosed as Heather left Macca's London home for what could be the last time.

Wearing a revealing red basque and stockings and with her hair in a Farrah Fawcett-style flick, the ex-model is seen reclining on a bed with her legs akimbo.

She is also pictured topless, sitting on a chair and with her bottom in the air. In words with the pictures she is called "Jenny".

The Mirror has seen the images but has chosen not to publish them. Heather, 38, looked pale yesterday after spending the night alone at Macca's townhouse in St John's Wood, North London. She stayed there after dining out with two female friends.

It was the first time she had visited since last month's split, which was exclusively revealed by the Mirror. Sources said she packed her belongings and had no reason to return.

In a white sleeveless top and sunglasses - despite heavy rain - Heather travelled by train to East Sussex to pick up daughter, Beatrice, two, from Macca's Peasmarsh estate.

By the time she arrived, Sir Paul, 63, was already flying to the US on business. After landing in New York he was driven to his home on 54th Street but made no comment.

As Heather left London her lawyer Stephen Taylor said she would sue a downmarket Sunday newspaper over claims she was a high-class hooker. He said allegations she was paid thousands to bed wealthy Arabs were "untrue and highly defamatory".

Legal proceedings would begin as soon as her divorce was finalised but the interests of her daughter were "of paramount concern".

Mr Taylor's statement added that Heather was "very distressed" and had suffered weight loss, anxiety and sleeping problems.

Heather will be horrified to discover more pornographic pictures of her have been unearthed.

The photos follow revelations that she posed naked in a German book called Die Freuden Der Liebe, which she called a "lovers' guide".

It has also been claimed Heather appeared in an X-rated US booklet called Sexual Secrets.

A friend said last night: "She is in a terrible state and it seems to be getting worse every day. It's like there's no end to it. She isn't sure how much more she can take."

The couple are negotiating their divorce settlement, including custody of Beatrice.

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