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December 2008

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December 31, 2008 -- Gigwise

BBC Deny Pulling Paul McCartney's Michael Jackson Impression: Exclusive

The BBC has tonight (December 31st) denied pulling an interview in which Sir Paul McCartney apparently made "unsuitable" comments about Michael Jackson.

A BBC spokesman told Gigwise that only "the most relevant quotes" had been selected from a press conference last November "due to time constraints".

Extracts from the interview with the former Beatle were broadcast solely on BBC radio, the spokesman added.

A report in today's Daily Mail newspaper claimed the former Beatle had made a "trans-racial impression" of Jackson's voice when asked question about the singer.

The newspaper quoted a corporation source as saying the BBC had sent an internal memo to prevent Sir Paul's impersonation from being broadcast.

BBC bosses were "deeply nervous, perhaps because of the Jonathan Ross-Russell Brand affair", the source claimed.

However, speaking exclusively to Gigwise, a BBC spokesman said: "We are not aware of any memos deeming his comments unsuitable."

Sir Paul appeared on Jackson's 1982 single 'The Girls Is Mine', but the pair fell out when Jackson bought the rights to part of the Beatles' music library.

As previously reported on Gigwise, Sir Paul dubbed Jackson "awfully good" during the press conference.

You can read Gigwise's transcript from McCartney's interview here.

Paul McCartney's refusal to appear on any of Simon Cowell's television shows is said to be frustrating the music mogul.

The former Beatle has turned down invitations to take part in American Idol but appeared in Peter Kay's Britain's Got The Pop Factor... talent show spoof.

"We try every year to get Paul McCartney on American Idol. For whatever reason, he won't come on," the Daily Star quotes Cowell as saying.

A source told the newspaper that McCartney's reluctance has "really frustrated" Cowell.

The BBC will no longer show an interview in which Sir Paul McCartney impersonates Michael Jackson's voice, it's been reported.

The corporation is said to have feared the former Beatle's "trans-racial impression" could have proved controversial.

Sir Paul is understood to have replied in the voice when asked to comment on the singer, according to the Telegraph.

"McCartney started to reply in this high-pitched Jacko voice, and apparently it was very funny. But the BBC - deeply nervous, perhaps because of the Jonathan Ross-Russell Brand affair - has declined to broadcast the interview," a BBC source told the Daily Mail.

Asked to explained why the interview was deemed to have been potentially offensive, the source replied: "They say it's a 'trans-racial impression' - that's what they say in a memo - and even by Macca that is beyond the pale."

Sir Paul appeared on Jackson's 1982 single 'The Girls Is Mine', but the pair fell out when Jackson bought the rights to part of the Beatles' music library.

The BBC has yet to reply to a Gigwise request for comment about the interview.

As previously reported on Gigwise, Sir Paul dubbed Jackson "awfully good" at a recent press conference in London.

WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Paul has been doing his 'Michael Jackson imitation' in interviews since the 1980s. Apparently, Michael Jackson has had no problem with it.

Interview: Sir Paul McCartney

If you were panicking about getting everything done before Christmas, it might offer some comfort to find out that Sir Paul McCartney felt exactly the same.

When we meet a few days before December 25, he's come "into town" from his country pile to get a few gifts, among other things.

"I'm going back at the office in London's Soho Square for a few little things, going shopping, then I'm popping in to talk to Chris Evans on his Radio Two show," he says.

If dashing around this close to Christmas is good enough for a knighted Beatle, it's certainly good enough for the rest of us.

The 66-year-old has had a busy year, all things considered. There were a number of concerts, including the celebratory show at Anfield to mark Liverpool's status as European Capital Of Culture, and another, more controversial one in Tel Aviv, not to mention that nasty divorce business. The less said about that the better.

More recently, he and long-time collaborator Youth ­ or Martin Glover, to give him his less glamorous name ­ released Electric Arguments under their Fireman moniker.

It's no wonder he's looking forward to some time off.

"I get to a certain point, round about when the kids break up from school, and I think I should break up too," he says in his Liverpudlian lilt.

"I don't like the idea of keeping going while they've all stopped," he jokes.

"We should all stop and have a break."

Electric Arguments is the third album released by Sir Paul and Youth, although it's the first to feature vocals from the former Beatle and Wings frontman. Their previous two offerings, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest and Rushes, were albums full of ambient instrumental music, with Sir Paul's involvement only confirmed by then-label EMI after some time had passed.

Their latest work was written and recorded in "about 13 days," or so Sir Paul is told.

"We don't count the days, we don't bother with that," he explains.

"We just go in the studio, my studio in Sussex, then if I've got a week spare I might do something, or we might leave it a week and then go in another day. It's really when we've got time to work on it."

The title of the album comes from an Allen Ginsberg poem Kansas City To St Louis. Ginsberg and other Beat poets provided inspiration elsewhere on the album too.

It was Youth who first suggested the idea of having vocals on the album this time around, but Sir Paul, unprepared and without any lyrics written, wasn't so sure.

"He knows me well enough now that if he coaxes me a little bit, or just keeps quiet long enough that I'll say 'Go on then, I'll try something' once the idea is in my head," he says of his musical partner and former Killing Joke bassist.

"So I excused myself to everyone in the studio, and explained that it could be a highly embarrassing moment for everyone, but got up and started singing some melodies.

"Then we started looking in poetry books," he continues.

"We just wanted to find good-looking words, so that's what I went for, inspirational words from people like American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg."

The first song on the album to take shape was what became Travelling Light.

"I'd been listening to a CD of sea shanties, and Youth runs a folk label called Butterfly," he begins.

"They put out these compilations called What The Folk, so he'd sent me them. As a result, Travelling Light is a folky sea shanty, and we took it from there."

Next up was raucous opener Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight, which sounds like an updated version of Helter Skelter from The Beatles 'White' album.

"It was something an old friend of mine in the 60s, Jimmy Scott, used to say," Sir Paul says.

"People were always saying things like 'It's too much, man, too much,' and Jimmy would come back with 'Nothing too much just out of sight'. I told that to Youth, and he said 'Great, let's have it'."

It's not the first song Jimmy sparked off, either.

"I'd meet Jimmy and say hi, and he'd say 'Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, man, life goes on,' so he was the inspiration for that song too," he says, referring to The Beatles' 1968 track.

But why The Fireman? Why not just Sir Paul McCartney and Youth? It seems that surname can be something of mixed blessing.

"It can get in the way sometimes," he says.

"Your reputation walks ahead of you.

"Think of Sgt Pepper, that was the idea behind that album, too"

Sir Paul has a habit of doing this. Just as you've gotten over the fact you're talking to a quarter of The Beatles, and, as the Guinness Book Of Records states, the most successful musician and composer of all time, he throws in a reference to knock you off your feet. We talk about Get Back being "just a jam" and says "It's like I used to say to John," once or twice too. That'll be John Lennon, then.

It also happens when the conversation might not be going as he wants, or there's a lull in the chat. Whatever, it's an effective tool to have in the arsenal.

"When we made that album, we became those characters," he continues.

"I mean, you're not stupid, so you're not really fooling yourself, but it's enough of a trick to make you look at things differently.

"With Electric Arguments, I wasn't stepping up to the microphone thinking 'This is a Paul McCartney vocal, this must be a certain way' ­ I was thinking 'This can go any way, because this is The Fireman, and he can do anything he wants'."

Despite having passed the 64 years he once mused upon in a Beatles song, Sir Paul has no intention of slowing down.

Next year, he plans to start work on a feature-length animation of High In The Clouds, the children's tale he wrote with Rupert/Frog Song collaborator Geoff Dunbar and is currently in talks with an American studio to see that happen.

He's also got a guitar concerto on the back burner, and of course, there's always the issue of getting The Beatles catalogue onto iTunes.

The Fab Four's work isn't available online due to legal wrangling between the two companies concerned ­ Apple Inc, those behind iTunes and the iPod, and Apple Corps, the company Sir Paul set up with the rest of The Beatles in 1968 to look after their affairs and recordings.

"I hope it happens," he says.

"It's out of our hands, really. It's a business thing and there's some gridlock somewhere.

"It's the usual thing, when it's a Beatles deal, it's a big deal ­ it's not like we're just some new act.

"And when you're talking about iTunes, obviously we've got to get a great deal," he continues.

"I think we're right, because we're The Beatles!

"It's being held up, but I definitely hope it comes through because a lot of people are interested and it's about time it happened. We've been goofing around enough, so if you're reading this, whoever's holding it up, stop it!"

The 66-year-old star was at the band's Royal Albert Hall gig last month and then met them backstage.

And he told the Las Vegas band he'd love to work with them on some tracks.

A source close to Macca said: "Paul had a great time at the gig.

"He loves their music and their great attitude.

"He was as pleased to meet them as they were to meet him but they were gobsmacked when he said he'd love to do something with them music-wise."

I got to shake the hand of Paul McCartney.

NPR's Linda Wertheimer and I went to New York City to meet the guy who made and influenced so much of the music that I love. The story we were doing was about his new project The Fireman, an inspired collaboration between McCartney and musician Martin Glover, a.k.a Youth. The CD they've put out, Electric Arguments, is worth hearing: It's 13 songs recorded in 13 days over the course of a year.

I'm not usually eager to meet the musicians I love; the music is fine enough for me. My gut attitude is not to be intrusive, but that sort of goes against the fact that I'm also a music journalist. Also, the prospect of putting together a story about this record for Morning Edition -- a story that would hopefully have Paul McCartney describing the process of putting The Fireman's record together -- had me overlooking my more considerate side.

Linda was going to do the interview and I was the producer/engineer, which means that I came up with ideas for the conversation and later would cut that interview and mix it with the music. You can hear the results here. As a producer, I'm very comfortable -- I did that for 19 years at All Things Considered -- and as an engineer, I'm somewhat at ease, having played around in studios long before my radio days. I've had my own home studio for plenty of years.

This was different, however: It's one thing to accidentally forget to record that guitar part on a song, but you don't want to forget to hit the record button when you're sitting with Paul McCartney.

We were to meet McCartney at Radio City Music Hall sometime early Saturday evening. He was in New York City for the holidays to see family, and to see a show at Radio City Music Hall, but he was also squeezing in three interviews between the show and his dinner plans. Linda and I arrived at Radio City, went in the back entrance and rode up a freight elevator filled with Rockettes and little people and other theater mavens.

We were escorted to a room to wait, since we were the last of three interviews; Stephen Colbert and ABC News were ahead of us. The room we had was something like a big boardroom, with fluorescent lights, a brown table and unremarkable furniture -- not the atmosphere I'd have chosen, but it would do.

As a producer, it's important that I make Linda as informed and comfortable as possible. Not that she couldn't do that on her own, but you just do your best to make everything work. Unfortunately, I wasn't really happy with the room: The refrigerator hummed and the string quartet in the next room was distracting, so I began to scout for other spaces. And, with the help of a gracious Radio City escort, I found the Roxy Room. The atmosphere was a knockout, with great lighting, Christmas decorations and original Art Deco decor. It was perfect.

I found a few comfy chairs and set them up by the Christmas tree, and hooked up my Flash recorder. Once the microphones were set up, Linda and I were ready. Linda had been sick with a cough now settling nicely in her chest; she only hoped to curb the cough long enough to do the interview.

I wondered what McCartney would be like. With four gazillion interviews behind him, how could this possibly be fresh? Just before he walked in, I found out that he was running late for dinner plans and that we needed to be quick -- maybe 15 minutes tops. Hardly time to make friends.

McCartney walked into the the flatteringly lit room looking great for a 66-year-old guy. When introduced to Linda, he offered his hand and a friendly smile. Linda turned his hand away, telling him that she had a disease he wouldn't want; he said not to worry and extended his hand a second time. She refused, at which point he put out his paw as a compromise.

"Gracious," is how I'd describe Paul McCartney; as for me, I was a bit scared of mucking up the recording. I held a fish-pole (a pole with a microphone at one end) in my hands, my recorder around my neck. I must have looked down at the digital display a dozen times to make sure it was counting up; in the land of digital, that's your only reassurance.

The conversation was going well: Paul was telling good stories about working with his collaborator, about digging into poetry books for lyrics, about coming to the studio with a blank slate and walking out at the end of the day with a song. Then, somewhere about 12 minutes into the conversation, Steve Martin (the publicist who arranged this meeting) pointed to his wrist. I signaled to Linda as best I could -- using gestures with my head, since my hands were full -- that we were short on time. Then, I signaled to Steve that I had a camera on my bag behind me on the floor, and to get a shot of all this. (My sister told me that if I didn't get a picture with McCartney, she'd disown me.)

When the interview was done, despite his time crunch, Paul McCartney gathered for the picture you see here.

Bob Boilen, Paul McCartney, Linda Wertheimer in the Roxy Room of Radio City Music Hall

We quickly left Radio City for the train home, and in the middle of Rockefeller Center, while the skaters did their thing and the tree sparkled with crystal and lights, I pulled out my Flash recorder. Amid a thousand people trying to relish their Christmas moment in the New York streets, I hit play and heard the interview. Whew! I spent my time on the train home transcribing the interview -- and then, a few days later, cutting 15 minutes to about four minutes of conversation and three minutes of music. It's how we make radio, and an utter pleasure.

Whatever Paul McCartney says or does is news. In September, when he went to give a concert in Israel-making up for the Beatles concert that the Israeli government forbade at the last moment, 43 years ago-he was attacked by some pro-Palestinian critics for "singing to the enemy." No matter the "enemy" audience was perhaps 20 per cent Arab, or that he also used his trip to visit Edward Said's music school on the West Bank. When he sang, he also-in his trademark low-key, non-preachy way-pointed his audience in the direction of compromise and healing.

One of the prices of Paul's fame is to see his honest words and thoughts twisted almost out of recognition. I saw this happen close up last week when my long conversation with him was published in Prospect. It seems that the press has a mindset about the McCartney-John Lennon relationship that demands anything that Paul says be squeezed into a mould-even if the words don't really fit at all.

The story was spun a certain way in the British newspapers, led by the Sunday Times. Then the wire service, Associated Press, carried the story around the world, where it was printed in literally hundreds of papers. One report, and the world is given misleading information by editors too uncaring or unmotivated or just plain lazy to make a call to Prospect to ask for the original wording. Not one journalist called me.

The fact is that the interview carries not a word of rivalry with John Lennon. Nor does it say anything about which Beatle discovered the Vietnam war first, (the main themes of the Sunday Times/AP story). There is no foundation for the allusions the story made to McCartney's (mythical) claim, at Lennon's expense, to have written the best of the Beatles' tunes.

The interview runs to about 5,000 words. The discussion on the Vietnam war is perhaps a dozen lines of that. There is one mention of Lennon-when Paul describes how he returned from a conversation with Bertrand Russell to tell the other three what he had heard from the old philosopher about the evils of the war in Vietnam.

I met Paul at the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys over 50 years ago. We were classmates. We played cricket together and I witnessed the first Beatles' concert when he and George Harrison (in the year behind us) played for our class on the the last day of school. We yelled like groupies!

We have stayed in touch. In May, I sent Paul the column that I wrote on the newspaper hype about the 40th anniversary of the student rebellion in Paris. We decided to meet and discuss our lives and what had made us want to fight racism and war.

We met twice and talked-about school, the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement, right through to the Russian invasion of Georgia. On the way we discussed literature and the impact of FR Leavis on the writing of "Eleanor Rigby" and Paul's feelings on the likelihood that his songs will still be sung in 500 years' time.

Paul is a self-effacing, intelligent man. He may grab the spotlight on the stage. But he has no need to twist history. And neither should the press when reporting on him.

by Jesse DeLeon

Sound Check: Top five albums from 2008

Now that 2008 is in the rear view mirror, the customary deluge of the year's "best-of" lists seems to be everywhere. Some of the listings are based on airplay, sales, artistic merit (or lack thereof).

Not to be outdone, I went back and revisited the monstrous stack of CDs that has amassed on my desk over the last 12 months. In no particular order these are not necessarily the best, most certainly not the worst, but five of my favorites:

'Electronic Arguments' (ATO Records / Red) by The Fireman

The Fireman is Paul McCartney, and that actually isn't the reason this disc made the cut. It's for its edgy experimental spirit and Macca's oblique, variously shaded vocal somersaults. "Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight" and "Is This Love?" may even hint at what the ever affable cute Beatle may be feeling following a nasty divorce. Even so, the sound textures are beautifully built with a little help from producer Youth. This ends up being the most unintentionally adventurous McCartney album in years.

The other four favorites:

'Evolver' (Columbia) by John Legend

'Sunshine Lies' (Shout Factory) by Matthew Sweet

'Sounds Like This' (Warner Bros.) by Eric Hutchinson

'Cadillac Records Soundtrack' (Columbia)

And as much time as you spend watching players and coaches dodge questions - even if many of those questions are lame - you should be well-versed by now at saying the right things.

But as we all know, that's easier said than done.

So here's a look back at 2008 - in the words of athletes, coaches and everyone else who had something to say.

Short but sweet

"Welcome back." - Shea Stadium groundskeeper Pete Flynn to Paul McCartney, who returned to play at Shea in July, 43 years after The Beatles played their famed concert there. Flynn drove the band out of the stadium in 1965 and he drove McCartney to the stage in July.

Paul McCartney makes top 10 Sexiest Musicians over 50 list

Paul has been voted one of "10 Sexiest Musician's Over 50" from wowOwow's (Women On The Web) 50-Over-50 List.

Other musicians on the list include: Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Tyler, Quincy Jones, David Bowie, Harry Belafonte Jr., Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Paul McCartney: a preview
by Jonathan Power

Prospect's interview between Paul McCartney and his old school-friend Jonathan Power has made headlines around the world. Read the first 1,000 words for here.

I went to school with Paul McCartney in Liverpool nearly 50 years ago, and we have remained friends, albeit distant, ever since. I joined the school a few months after most of the boys in my class. Alan Durband, our form master, asked Paul to make me feel at home. And he did just that. It was an act of kindness I remembered long after. I knew how boys could be.

The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was then the city's top state grammar school, drawing some middle class but, in the main, the brightest of the working class and lower middle class-one of our old boys, Charles Glover Barkla, won the Nobel prize for physics. The Institute was the choir school of Liverpool cathedral. Paul auditioned for the choir but didn't get in-apparently the music teacher didn't think he was good enough. Another Beatle, George Harrison, was in the year below Paul. (John Lennon and Ringo Starr were educated elsewhere in the city-at Quarry Bank grammar school and Dingles secondary modern respectively.) The Liverpool Institute closed in 1985. Eleven years later, Paul opened the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a fame academy for aspiring artists, on the site.

Paul is not known for his political views-John was always thought of as the political Beatle. But having been a political journalist for most of my life I wanted to talk to Paul about, among other things, the great political events of our lifetimes. I wanted it to be a casual conversation, like two old men sitting on a bench reminiscing about school days and some of the things that have happened since.

JONATHAN POWER: In different ways, me as a journalist you as a rock star, we have both had a ringside seat on the last 50 years-the 1960s, Vietnam, Nixon, Thatcher, Blair, the end of the cold war, Iraq and so on. But let's start with the second world war. In your classical work of 17 years ago, the Liverpool Oratorio, you included a lot of wartime memories.

PAUL McCARTNEY: Yes. My dad had a hearing defect and couldn't join the army, so he was in the fire service which was pretty hazardous because Liverpool was bombed heavily. He was quite a jovial guy and didn't talk about it much himself. But I did know about incendiary bombs and so on. And I remember sirens; I was born in 1942. I remember there being a kind of gung-ho spirit about the war. Later on during our teenage years, my first reaction was to say I'm a pacifist. But then I also knew that if we had been invaded I would have defended my country, my family-the animal instinct in me would have taken over. I have experienced it in minor ways on my farm when, for example, a ram butted one of the kids and I attacked him back. The animal in me said, "How bloody dare you! Right, mate!" and I had a go at him.

POWER: The second world war is seen by most people as a good war. But the first world war is generally regarded as a stupid mistake-and one that led to most of the horrors of the 20th century. Most wars, with good sense, can be avoided. We all know Iraq could have been avoided

McCARTNEY: There was a very strong feeling after 9/11 that America had to do something. But I always felt that Bush struck out at the wrong boy in the playground It could have been avoided, yes.

POWER: I remember reading that your blood was up after 9/11 and that-because of your father-you identified with the firemen who risked their lives at the World Trade Centre, but looking back, do you think you allowed your passion to overrun?

McCARTNEY: Definitely, yes. I think everyone did. I was in New York at the time. I was just taking off at exactly 8.50am and it was one of those memorable announcements from the captain: "Those of you on the right-hand side of the aircraft will notice there has been an accident and this has delayed our takeoff." I assumed it had been a runaway plane, as happened once before when someone had a heart attack at the controls. I just thought, "Oh God, it's gone into the Twin Towers and they are both on fire."

Being there, the worry then was "When is the next attack coming?" It was not just fear, it was more "How organised are these people? Are they going to poison the water?" There was a mood to be exploited. I have become quite cynical about how some of these recent wars have been started. Georgia is another example: I had been due to play a concert there in September. I had done a concert in Ukraine and afterwards I met the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, at a little lunch party in Kiev given by the promoter. He invited us to go to Georgia to play and I was happy to do that. I like reaching out, particularly to the eastern bloc. They love these concerts; it symbolises freedom for them. I had done Moscow, St Petersburg and, as I say, Kiev. But then I was on holiday in early August and I picked up a New York Times, looked at it and went "my God, what's going on here?" I rang my promoters and they said, "No, the Georgia concert is off."

Then a bit later I was talking to people and I suddenly go click in my mind-I am not normally one for conspiracy theories, but we were in the middle of the presidential election. It was McCain, and Obama, Hillary was out of the running, and I did think "conspiracy theory"-you know the Skull and Bones club that Bush was part of at Yale. What do those guys do in a secret society? What do they cook up? I thought, faced with a situation in which McCain looks as if he is losing they might just say to Saakashvili, "Look you have a couple of regions up there that are playing up, why not do something about this? Why not tick them off and if you need military help we are right behind you, we will help you out."

To read the full version of this 5,000-word interview, buy the latest issue of Prospect from newsagents throughout the UK until the end of January 2009.

Finger on the Pulse: Max Pemberton

Volunteering at Christmas may be as beneficial for you as for those whom you are helping.

'It's... It's" stammered my mother. "Are you OK?" I asked, a little worried. She was sitting bolt upright, wide-eyed, mouth open. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself. "Paul McCartney," she blurted out. "He's standing behind me. I could practically touch him," she continued, before letting out a squeal of delight. I looked at the man standing a few feet away talking to Brendan, her hairdresser.

"I can't believe this. You wait till I tell your Aunt Jeannie," she said before reaching for her mobile. "He looks so young," she said, studying his reflection in the mirror. "Yes, mum, and he's not blind or deaf either, so be quiet," I said, glaring at her.

It was strange to see my mother, usually very sensible and composed, suddenly behaving like a teenager. Brendan turned around and Sir Paul walked off. Mum was speechless. She clearly wanted to mention that she had just been within groping distance of her heart-throb, but knew it was bad form to do so. Instead, she sat silently texting most of the populace of the Home Counties to tell them what had just happened.

Meanwhile, I started talking to Brendan. He is regarded as one of the best hairdressers in London, working in one of the best salons. My mother does not normally inhabit this sort of world. After my parents divorced, she was left with very low self-esteem, so my sister and I insist that, every few months, she take off her wellies and come up to London for a few hours of pampering. It has done her the world of good ­ I wish I could say the same for my bank balance.

I asked Brendan what he was doing for Christmas. "Oh, not much," he began. "I'll see my mum on Christmas morning, and then I go to the hospital near where I live on Christmas afternoon and Boxing Day," he said. "Why?" I asked, puzzled. "I go around the wards doing the ladies' hair. Its such fun, I do it every year," he explained with a smile. I had an image of Brendan milling around a grotty NHS ward, giving old ladies a free makeover that would normally cost them several weeks' pension. But what impressed me most was his selflessness at a time notorious for overindulgence. It embodied the real spirit of Christmas and was done with compassion and humility. "What a wonderful thing to do!" I exclaimed. Brendan looked at me, embarrassed. "Well, it's nothing compared with what you do," he said as he snipped away at my mum's hair. I shook my head.

Certainly, doctors and nurses help people ­ but that is their job. Isn't it worthy of more respect and deference when it is done voluntarily? Everyone has the capacity to help others in need, regardless of their profession. In fact, people can often help in ways that a doctor or nurse cannot. For those unfortunate enough to have to spend Christmas in hospital, no tablet can be prescribed that would help in the way that Brendan does.

Last week, a group of solicitors descended one afternoon on the children's ward where I work. This wasn't to try to sue the medical staff, but to give the children a party. They organised and paid for everything, including a buffet, entertainment and a present for each child. Many of the children are terminally ill, and it will be the last Christmas they see. That day, the solicitors did far more for their wellbeing than any of the doctors or nurses. It would be wrong to think that this was pure altruism. "I've had the best day ever," I overheard someone saying ­ but it was one of the solicitors. The season of goodwill reminds us that we can derive great pleasure from helping others. And should Sir Paul feel like doing any more charitable work this Christmas, I know a 62-year-old woman who can make herself available at short notice.

Paul McCartney Gets Bitten by Brooklyn Songwriter

Paul McCartney Gets Bitten by Brooklyn Songwriter Despite this nipple-freezing, lip-cracking frigid weather, are you feeling love and holiday spirit in the air? If not, this gem is sure to bring a smile to your lovely face, especially those of us who grew up listening Paul McCartney and his band Wings. It certainly made me grin like an idiot, which is not uncommon. I immediately flashed back to Wings pumping lightly over the speakers at my dentist's office as the nitrous oxide kicked in. Those were tender moments. Not because I was sadistic (like Bill Murray's Arthur Denton in Little Shop of Horrors), but because for that one brief shining moment, we thought The Wings were, like, the best band in the world. And for that moment, they were. Anyway, Brooklyn songwriter Charles Gansa is the genius who penned "Love Take Me Down (To the Streets)," the awesomely Wings-like closer track for Role Models. After the jump, the exclusive mp3 via VF.com. Dig it, rip it and love it now, because it won't be commercially available until March.

As writer Jim Windolf points out, Gansa does not ape "Live and Let Die," "Junior's Farm," or "With a Little Luck," but rather makes a melodic tribute pulled from deep within his inner McCarthy. With vocals ably provided by a McCartney sound-alike from a Beatles tribute band, "Gansa's song has all the major Wings elements: the melodic opening that has little to do with what comes next; the "Linda" vocal; a vague, optimistic lyric; a catchy melody that takes a few odd twists and turns; the slightly abrasive guitar work, which recalls Wings guitarist Denny Lane; a bridge that goes to an unexpected musical place; and an ending that (like the outros for "Jet" and "Listen to What the Man Said") seems to come out of nowhere."

Says Gansa: "I was just taking my impression of being a kid and how it felt when 'Band on the Run' came on the radio," says Gansa. "I was trying evoke some of the feelings that those songs did, so it wasn't out of an academic or superfan interest." "I was just taking my impression of being a kid and how it felt when 'Band on the Run' came on the radio," says Gansa, 39. "I was trying evoke some of the feelings that those songs did, so it wasn't out of an academic or superfan interest."

WEBMASTER'S NOTE: If you want to hear an original band (not a cover band with sound-alikes) that has a Macca/Wings/Beatles influenced sound, check out The PondHawks

When The Fireman released its debut in 1993 - an instrumental electronic and dance album called Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest - the band's identity was a mystery. Eventually a U.K. music magazine revealed The Fireman as a duo featuring the bassist and producer known as Youth and, to everyone's surprise, Paul McCartney. The project was praised though many thought it was a strange and unexpected direction for the former Beatle.

Last year, McCartney and Youth returned to work as The Fireman for their third and latest release together,"Electric Arguments". McCartney entered the studio, without any material, and recorded 13 songs in 13 days.

"I would go into the studio with absolutely no idea," McCartney explains, "neither of us had any idea what the song was going to be, what the lyrics or the melody were, which could be said to be kind of a frightening prospect. Our collaboration then just became fun."

McCartney played all the instruments, with Youth at the helm as producer. But unlike the previous works, Electric Arguments features vocals.

"I would pull some words out of a poetry book, do a cut up, stick it with some other words, make some other words up that went with them." says McCartney. "And suddenly we found ourselves on this kind of exciting trail, where 'Whew, it's a song.'"

The excitement McCartney felt came partly from the freedom of working not under his own name, but as The Fireman: "The pseudonym allows you to be anyone you want to be," McCartney says. "We always say, The Fireman can do anything. I think you can get into a bit of a straightjacket; you know, I am 'Paul of The Beatles' or I am 'Paul McCartney' who makes albums a certain way. So it's very liberating."

Listen to the complete interview with Paul McCartney by clicking on the 'listen' link at the top of the page.

At London's flagship HMV store...

Sir Paul McCartney was mobbed by fervent fans at a record signing in London yesterday (December 21).

The Beatle was at the flagship HMV Store on Oxford Street to promote his new album 'Electric Arguments' under his guise The Fireman.

However, when the 66-year-old's car pulled up outside he was besieged by fans eager to get his autograph in a scene reminiscent of The Beatles in the sixties.

Once security bundled him inside McCartney explained why he still enjoys record signings, saying: "The main thing is to actually meet the people who buy your records and you get some amazing stories. You're doing a signing and then someone says 'I have just flown in from New York'. She drove from Philadelphia. That is why I do it."

Speaking about making the album with producer Youth, he admitted that the pair just made things up as the went along.

He told the Press Association: "This one started to have lyrics and vocals and therefore it developed more as an album. It became more like one of my albums so this is why I'm doing a bit of promotion on this. It's great fun to make. We just made it up as we went along.

"We went in with no songs, no words, nothing, and came out later that day with a whole track. It was a buzz to work so fast. We did about 13 tracks in 13 days. There was no time to think, which is kind of nice."

Paul McCartney wants "everything" for Christmas.

The former Beatle - who divorced wife Heather Mills earlier this year - says his wish list to Santa is endless.

"I want everything for Christmas ­ and lots of it," the 66-year-old legend said as he signed autographs for two hours yesterday (for 300 people) at HMV in London's Oxford St.

The former Beatles star - whose late wife Linda McCartney was a famous vegetarian and launched a range of meat-free products and recipe books - revealed how his family coped without turkey for their festive meal when they first stopped meat in the 70s.

He said: "We had all the trimmings but we needed something to simulate the turkey. So Linda made macaroni cheese. It was good, then she let it stand so it went solid and I was able to slice it.

"It kind of worked so we called it the macaroni turkey."

However, the 66-year-old singer - who lost his wife to breast cancer in 1998 - admitted he now opts for a meat-substitute dish from Linda's range.

He added: "Today we've moved on and you can buy the Linda McCartney roast."

Paul is now dating businesswoman Nancy Shevell, 47, following his bitter divorce from Heather Mills in March.

The Fireman album Electric Arguments has just been released and already fans are finding hidden meanings, which reference his bitter divorce.

When final track 'Don't Stop Running' finishes there is a strange vocal noise, which played backwards clearly features a ghostly Paul whispering 'Warmer than the sun, cooler than the air.'

Beatles fans reckon the message is directly aimed at Heather and means: "I have a big, warm loving heart and you are colder than ice."

Also anagrams of the phrase can be read as: 'Heather Wants Rum Liar Cheater Hoot' and 'Human Stern Wrath On Heroical Threat.'

The Fireman is an avant garde project Macca started with dance music producer Youth in the mid-90s, they were originally anonymous, but this latest release features vocals from Sir Paul.

On the previous Fireman album hidden away in one of the tracks is a backwards recording of his beloved late wife Linda reading poetry.

The Beatles and especially Paul widely experimented with tape loops during the late-60s and fans often found hidden messgage after playing their records backwards.

The process became known as Backmasking and The Beatle's song 'Help' contains a backwards message, recorded at around the time they began using drugs. The reversal says. "Now he uses marijuana."

Beatles expert Ian Peel, author of 'The Unknown Paul McCartney: McCartney and the Avant Garde' says the Fab Four legend takes great pleasure from the process.

He said: "Paul has always loved dabling in experimental sounds and music.

"He often includes these backwards statements and they always get people talking.

"During the Beatles era he and John used to take particular pleasure from putting backwards words and phrases in their music.

"And Paul has continued to include this throughout his solo career.

"His last Fireman album Rushes included Paul's recording of beloved late wife Linda reading poetry backwards and this new message will be a continuation of that theme.

"The fact that it comes right at the end of the last track means that he isn't trying to hide it - the statement was meant to be found easily.

"It is there for all to hear and read meaning into."

Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society founder Gene Grimes said the message was a clear dig at Heather.

He said: "Paul has had a hard year with his divorce and has maintained a dignified silence.

"But one place he has always spoken out is through his songs.

"Paul has admitted most of his music is deeply personal and this statement is clearly aimed at Heather.

"He is saying I am warmer and bigger than the Sun and you are below me."

Sir Paul's spokesman Stuart Bell said: "The official stance on this is that there are no hidden messages within The Fireman album.

"People always find messages in his music. If their desire is strong enough, they will be able to find something out of nothing to attach meaning to.

"It has been going on since The Beatles and we always get asked about hidden messages - but there are none."

Macca meets fans at album signing

Sir Paul McCartney described the making of his new album as signed copies in central London, saying: "We just made it up as we went along."

The ex-Beatle was speaking at an autograph signing of Electric Arguments, released under the guise of The Fireman. The project is a collaboration with record producer Youth.

Sir Paul said: "This one started to have lyrics and vocals and therefore it developed more as an album.

"It became more like one of my albums so this is why I'm doing a bit of promotion on this. It's great fun to make. We just made it up as we went along.

"We went in with no songs, no words, nothing, and came out later that day with a whole track. It was a buzz to work so fast. We did about 13 tracks in 13 days. There was no time to think, which is kind of nice."

Sir Paul said the autograph-signing session at HMV's flagship London store on Oxford Street, had made him feel "nostalgic".

He said: "There's not that many record shops - people buying stuff in record shops - anymore, so it's a bit nostalgic.

"The main thing is to actually meet the people who buy your records and you get some amazing stories.

"You're doing a signing and then someone says 'I have just flown in from New York'. She drove from Philadelphia. That is why I do it."

He then joked to reporters: "Being in a record store is lovely. I'm always tempted to shoplift," but he swiftly added: "No I'm not, no I'm not. I wouldn't do that."

Paul signs new album in London

Paul McCartney holds up a copy of his new album 'Electric Arguments', for photographers, at the HMV album signing in London, today.

But when his brother, Mike McCartney, took a fresh look at the family tree he was amazed to find a Caledonian connection to throw into the mix

The former frontman of the 1960s group The Scaffold found that the McCartney family took a long and winding route across the Irish Sea to Scotland before eventually settling in Liverpool.

The discovery has prompted Scottish Government genealogists to invite the McCartneys to head back north of the border to find out more about their Scots forebears.

McCartney made the find while compiling a book of photographic images of the Highlands, which will be exhibited in the Scottish Parliament next month.

He said: "Scotland is an area that has strong links with my family. In fact I have done some research and traced our roots back to the McIntosh clan. It seems my family came over from Ireland to Scotland about 150 years ago or so ­ before travelling down to Liverpool."

It is believed that the McCartneys' great-great-grandfather settled in Scotland in the mid-19th century.

There is evidence from other sources to support the idea that the McCartneys moved from Ireland to Scotland.

American-based family genealogist John McCartney, who specialises in the history of his famous surname, said members of the McCarthy Mor family of Munster left Ireland for Scotland around this time, with many of them starting a new life in Galloway.

Kirkcudbright resident and Beatles fan Sandra McCartney was tickled by the suggestion that she might be distantly related to Sir Paul.

She said: "It's a bit of a coincidence. When people hear my surname they often ask me if I am any relation to Paul McCartney. I usually laugh and tell them he's my uncle, but from what I hear I might not actually be that far off."

The General Register Office for Scotland urged Sir Paul and his brother to return north to investigate their Caledonian heritage further as part of the Homecoming 2009 celebrations.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government body said: "Our Scotland's People Centre staff would be delighted to assist Sir Paul or Mike McCartney in tracing their Scottish ancestors."

Mike McCartney's collection features 31 images of the north Highlands, including the world's shortest street, in Wick, the Dounreay nuclear plant, and a remote chocolate factory in Durness. One of the most rewarding parts of his Highland odyssey came at Castle of Mey in Caithness, where staff revealed that the late Queen Mother was a big fan of his 1967 hit 'Thank U Very Much' and enjoyed belting out the lyrics after evening refreshment.

He said: "Apparently, after dinner, Her Majesty would insist on going solo for the 'Thank U very much for our Gracious Queen' line at the climax of the record. I didn't have the heart to say that the actual words of my song were 'Thank U very much for our gracious team'."

The Merseyside-based photographer became fascinated by Scotland's far north during an earlier visit.

He said: "I was really struck by the place. The climate up there is very different, as are the people. These are folk who don't want to be at the centre of the universe. The things I saw when I was up there were incredible."

Beatles' exclusive Carnival

Lost Beatles song 'Carnival of light' is not for lunch ladies, says Sir Paul McCartney.

The musician admits he was slightly bemused when approached by an attendant at his daughter Beatrice's school asking about the Fab Four track, which is set to be released.

Paul said: "I was like, ' don't think you'd like it.' People are thinking there's another 'Strawberry Fields' somewhere, you know, this is more plinky-plonk. I mean, I like it, but it's not to everyone's taste."

In November, Paul told of his plans to release the 14-minute "happening" which was created by the band - Paul, Ringo Starr, the late John Lennon and George Harrison, who is also deceased - for the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave in 1967.

The track reportedly includes many psychedelic sounds while John and Paul scream random phrases, including "Are you all right?" and "Barcelona!"

Describing the record, Paul said: "We were set up in the studio and would just go in every day and record. I said to the guys, this is a bit indulgent, but would you mind giving me 10 minutes?

"All I want you to do is just wander round all the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. Then we put a bit of echo on it. It's very free."

Earlier plans to release the song on a Beatles anthology album were vetoed by George. Paul must now get permission from the late guitarist's estate if it is to become available to fans.

McCartney On Lost "Carnival" Track: Don't Expect "Strawberry Fields"

Paul McCartney has revealed more about The Beatles' lost song "Carnival of Light," a 14-minute track the band recorded in 1967 but never released. While McCartney wants people to hear the track, which he has described as a "happening," he recommends fans keep their expectations in check. "People are thinking there's another 'Strawberry Fields' somewhere [and] you know, this is more plinky-plonky," McCartney told the Times U.K.. "I mean, I like it, but it's not to everyone's taste."

The song was apparently not for George Harrison's taste either, since the guitarist blocked "Carnival" from appearing on the Fab Four's Anthology 2 collection. The track was recorded for the Million Volt Light And Sound Rave at the Roundhouse and earned a place in Beatles lore over the decades. "The time has come for its moment," McCartney said in November. "I like it because it's like the Beatles free." Still, no plans to release the track how been unveiled, but it's a safe bet that you shouldn't expect the epic-lengthened track to show up anywhere on that Beatles' Rock Band game.

The Fireman's 'Electric Arguments' is crowned Album of the Month in issue 358 of Record Collector magazine, which is out today.

What a great end to 2008!

Thanks to Paul McCartney concert Ukraine's cancer institute has the second scanner

The state cancer institute has launched new scanner, given by Viktor Pinchuk's fund. The device will improve the quality of treatment and will enable the institute to serve up to 2000 patients annually.

Press office of the fund reported.

The device was bought for the means gained from the charitable "Independence Concert" of Paul McCartney, held June 14, 2008.

Paul McCartney holds up the new album from his band 'The Fireman' as he leaves BBC Radio 2 studios
after his interview with Chris Evans LISTEN (one hour into the show

Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon were once so desperate to see their names in print they sent personal ads to a local music magazine.

The songwriting duo - along with guitarist bandmate George Harrison - turned to a small publication in Liverpool, England to help them get their writing published.

But McCartney insists it wasn't always the trio's finest work that was ultimately printed.

He says, "There used to be this paper in Liverpool called Mersey Beat. And in it you had a column where you could put personal ads. And so John and George and I used to put them in. Just so we could see our words in print, you know?

"It'd be like: 'Barry! Meet me behind the station at this time.' And then it would come out and we'd be like, 'Yeah! It got in!' Just seeing it there was a little kick."

I just heard the song Eleanor Rigby and was wondering if she was a real person.

Doesn't it seem like every great song has an official story, and a whole lot of speculation about what the song was really about?

Eleanor Rigby was on the other side of Yellow Submarine, released in 1966. It told a somber story about lonely people and unfulfilled dreams, and also foreshadowed a transition of the Beatles from a light pop group to a more serious, introspective band. Among the lyrics:

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name.

Nobody came.

Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.

No one was saved.

Paul McCartney is credited with writing the song, although he acknowledges assistance from others. In an interview after the song's release, he said: "I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head - Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church. I don't know why.

"Then the name Father McCartney came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie."

Daisy Hawkins also was scuttled. McCartney said Eleanor was taken from actor Eleanor Bron, who appeared in the movie Help! with the band, and Rigby from a store in Bristol, England, Rigby & Evens Ltd. Wine & Spirit Shippers. He liked the combination because it "sounded natural."

But that didn't stop people from looking for other explanations. In the 1980s, a grave of an Eleanor Rigby was found at a church cemetery in Liverpool, where McCartney and John Lennon sunbathed as teenagers. That Eleanor Rigby died in 1939 at the age of 44, but unlike the subject of the song, was married. A few feet away was a grave of a McKenzie. McCartney has denied that's where he got the names, but says he may have been subconsciously influenced by seeing them.

In honor of the song, a statue was built in 1982 on Stanley Street in Liverpool. It depicts a woman sitting alone on a bench (see it at www.sjsfiles.btinternet.co.uk/img0075.htm).

It's not unreasonable to presume that every Beatles story that lives in the memory of their two surviving members has been told. So, when Paul McCartney experiences the Proustian rush of a hitherto forgotten one, you can't help but feel it too.

Adjourning from the restored windmill that is his Sussex studio, 66-year-old Macca remembers: "There used to be this paper in Liverpool called Mersey Beat. And in it you had a column where you could put personal ads. And so John and George and I used to put them in. Just so we could see our words in print, you know? It'd be like: 'Barry! Meet me behind the station at this time.' And then it would come out and we'd be like: 'Yeah! It got in!' Just seeing it there was a little kick."

For once, the word "little" means exactly what it's supposed to mean. More commonly in Macca-world, the word "little" serves a carefully designed purpose. The Beatles were a good little band; this year's Anfield show, at which McCartney sang A Day in the Life to 34,000 fellow Liverpudlians, was "a good little show".

Compacting the details of his world to a manageable size has long been crucial in McCartney's lifelong attempt to convince himself and others that his days really aren't too dissimilar to yours and mine. Admittedly, Sunday's "little" signing event in HMV won't tilt the world off its axis. But it shows how McCartney can turn the dimmer switch of Beatlemania up or down as whim dictates.

The primary beneficiary of Sunday's hubbub will be Electric Arguments, the new album that - as the Fireman - he and the famously "cosmic" producer Youth wrote and recorded in just a fortnight. This isn't the first time the two have collaborated, but, unlike the instrumental electronica of their first two albums, something long believed missing in McCartney has re-emerged. By lurching dramatically from a stoned modern sea-shanty (Travelling Light) to a lysergically progtacular Maori spiritual (Is This Love), it's closer to the Beatles at their most casually inventive than anyone could expect. How perverse, then, that McCartney should stop short of putting his name to it.

"Actually, I don't think it is," he protests. "I'm just doing the same thing I did with Sgt Pepper. It's just a trick to fool yourself into thinking you're not you, like a masked ball. There's something liberating about that."

After negotiating the legal fallout from his divorce from Heather Mills, the studio must have felt like a place of catharsis for McCartney. Not for Macca and his tiny attention span the claustrophobic soul-searching so necessary to the creative processes of, say, Radiohead. McCartney thrives on speed - more so in times of stress. In 1969, when the Beatles began to implode, it was McCartney who instigated the Get Back project - conceived as a return to the group's rock'n'roll roots - which eventually became Let It Be. Recording the Run Devil Run covers album in 1999 after his first wife Linda's death, he laid down two tunes a day. In a week, the record was done.

"You don't want to take all afternoon just to get a vocal," he says. I suggest that during his lean 1980s that's precisely what he would have been expected to do. He remembers being in the studio recording the soundtrack to Give My Regards To Broad Street at the same time as the 1980s pop boffins Scritti Politti. "Were they the band that did Absolute? The guy had apparently taken all week to do his lead vocal. And when it came out, it was like, 'Well, all right . . . it's good but . . .' " Having recorded his vocals for Eleanor Rigby in one 1966 spring afternoon (with enough time left over to lay down harmonies for I'm Only Sleeping) his air of amused exasperation isn't hard to fathom.

For all the analysis heaped upon McCartney's avant-garde tendencies (often at his behest) the experimental bent resurgent on Electric Arguments seems really just a function of that desire to ensure he is having fun. He seems especially tickled by the idea that Girls Aloud record their vocals in tiny chunks, often not finding out what songs their work ends up on until the finished album is played back to them. "I like these tricks, you know. You'll hear them on a song like Sing the Changes - that Burroughs cut-and-paste way of putting something together."

Whether we'll hear those techniques as they were used on the last major piece of unreleased Beatles music is a moot point. Recent reports suggest that McCartney is now keen for people to hear Carnival of Light, the 14-minute "happening" created for the Million Volt Light And Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in 1967. Thirteen years after George Harrison vetoed its inclusion on Anthology II, McCartney intimates that resistance to its release persists. Bad news for the dinner lady at his daughter Beatrice's school, who read about the existence of the track and excitedly approached him to find out more. "I was like: 'I don't think you'd like it.' People are thinking there's another Strawberry Fields somewhere [and] you know, this is more plinky-plonky. I mean, I like it, but it's not to everyone's taste."

You get the sense that, at times, McCartney's thumbs-up, let's-do-the-show-right-here tendencies must throw up myriad logistical headaches for his band of fixers. His Tel Aviv show in September was a case in point. Talking about doubts cast upon his safety by Islamic activists such as Omar Bakri Muhammed, McCartney says blithely: "I just got a feeling that it wasn't real. And really, you have to go on feel." Given the manner of John Lennon's passing, there's something remarkable about his almost jocular depiction of the tension between his jittery minders and his desire to roam freely.

McCartney got his wish. "We went through the wall to Ramallah, and we saw Banksy's graffiti on the Palestine side." Once there, McCartney and his "team" hastened to one of the pan-Arabic workshops established by the Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian thinker and activist Edward Said. "They get Palestinian kids off the streets and give them violins. It's the simplest thing, but it's wonderful."

Though inspired by what he saw, a return to the 1980s hits such as Ebony & Ivory and Pipes of Peace - syrupy exhortations for a more a harmonious world - seems unlikely. For his next album McCartney says that he wants to to keep "the Fireman spirit", albeit without scaring the dinner ladies at Beatrice's school. "That's definitely the hobby part of what I do. Hearing it back and working out what it means. I'm constantly finding out things about myself." I point out that the final track on Electric Arguments, Don't Stop Running, seems a case in point. He sings the phrase of the title so many times that it assumes the mantric air of a cosmic note to self.

"I believe that," he concurs. "All of it is there for a reason. Even if it's just to put it out there. Just like we did years ago with those personal ads. After all these years, it's exactly the same thrill - the thrill of going, 'I did that'."

Paul McCartney will be signing copies of Electric Arguments at HMV, 150 Oxford Street, London W1, on Sunday, 10-11am; for admission details visit paulmccartney.co.uk.

December 18, 2008 -- The Sun (UK)

Meet Paul McCartney

What better Christmas present to give yourself than a Diet Coke break with Paul McCartney?

Okay, so we're not promising you a fried brekkie for two - but you can certainly meet The Beatles legend in the flesh this weekend.

Macca will be hitting Oxford Street (London) on Sunday (December 21st) to sign copies of his new record Electric Arguments - his acclaimed album under the guise of The Fireman.

The Grammy-winning legend started the side project with influential record producer Youth back in 1993.

Paul will visit HMV's flagship store on London's busiest high street at 10am.

Access will be by wristband only. For more info visit HMV.

A spokesman of famous musician Paul McCartney, Stuart Bell called a photo where the great musician was depicted with Belarusian singer Polina Smolova "an obvious fake".

"He does not know who this girl is," the media director of the former Beatles musician said in an interview to "Ogonyok".

Recently almost all Belarusian mass media published a picture where singer Polina Smolova who represented the country at Eurovision-2006 contest was portrayed with Paul McCartney. The photo was an illustration to an article where with the reference to the singer's press-service warm relations of Smolova and McCartney were described, and a possible joint music project discussed.

Meanwhile, one of the local journalists found the same picture of Paul McCartney, but without Polina. And bloggers started mockery placing their pictures with McCartney.

"It's not a fake picture," "Ogonyok" was said by Polina Smolova's PR manager Elena Samojlova. "Paul and Polina met this year in Moscow. Then Paul arrived to Moscow to perform at a closed corporate party, but the exact date of his visit slipped my memory. Paul and Polina communicated like old acquaintances, talks a lot, as it wasn't their first meeting: they met for the first time in Britain a year and a half ago. Polina told Paul about her desire to take voice-training classes in his Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Paul met the news amiably, as he likes Polina very much. Now we are holding negotiations about opportunities for joint projects, and in the near future Polina plans to go to Britain for another meeting with him."

"Ogonyok" reached Paul McCartney's assistants on the phone.

"The photo is forged," said Stuart Bell, Paul McCartney's spokesperson. "The original was made at Abbey Road Studios in July 2006. The girl's picture has been simply inserted there. Sir Paul hasn't visited Moscow since 2003. And he hardly knows about this singer. He does not know about the fake photo so far, by the way. And I simply do not want to say what his reaction would be".

As we have informed, Polina left Minsk for Moscow to cooperate with scandalous businessman and producer Viktor Baturin.

Former and present members of Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Yes, Kiss, the Stray Cats, Grand Funk Railroad and Alice Cooper's and Paul McCartney's bands will take part in next year's Hollywood edition of Rock'n'Roll Fantasy Camp, which will take place April 29-May 3.

This year's camp "counselor" lineup includes Duff McKagan (ex-Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver), Mark Farner (ex-Grand Funk Railroad) Bruce Kulick (ex-Kiss), Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), Alan White (Yes), Rusty Anderson (McCartney), Teddy Andreadis (ex-GNR and Alice Cooper) and songwriter/producer Mark Hudson, who's worked with Ringo Starr, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne.

Camp organizer David Fishof promises some "special guests," while celebrity chef Guy Fieri will prepare the opening night meal.

As in previous years, the campers will organize into bands and record an original song at Capitol Studios with Eddie Kramer, as well as play as part of a concert at the Whisky A Go Go. This year's camp will also feature a companion package offering music lessons, dinners and access to the camp activities for plus-ones.

Registration has opened at RockCamp.com, with a $500 discount for those signing up before Dec. 22.

In order that this event runs smoothly we would ask that customers kindly read through and comply with the following requests, which we have been asked to implement, and are designed to enable as many fans as possible to get their copy of 'Electric Arguments' signed by Paul McCartney in the allotted time on the day.

We wish to advise you of these with as much notice as possible to avoid causing disappointment, so that if you feel they are unreasonable, or that you are unable to comply with them, you have the opportunity to decide against joining the queue for a wristband and the subsequent signing.

Due to time constraints we are unable to determine exactly how many fans Paul will be in a position to meet. We are therefore issuing two types of wristband. Only one wristband will be issued per person, on a first-come-first-served basis (unfortunately with no reservations) from 9.00am on Thursday 18th December:

The first RED wristband will place you in a priority queue to meet Paul McCartney - We regret we cannot give any absolute guarantees how many fans he will be able to meet.

The second is a YELLOW wristband that does not offer the same level of priority access to meet Paul McCartney, however in the event that the queue moves quickly, and Paul has some time to spare, those fans with a yellow wristband will be next in line. Again, HMV is unable to guarantee how many fans with a yellow wristband will be able to get an album signed.

In order to obtain a wristband, fans are kindly requested to first purchase a copy of The Fireman - Electric Arguments, which is now available in 200gm limited edition gatefold vinyl or new slipcase featuring new artwork, from HMV 150 Oxford Street on Thursday, December 18th from 9.00am. This is because the PA will take place ahead of trading hours, so HMV will not be in a position to sell any copies of the album for the purpose of getting it signed on the day.

Only one copy of The Fireman - Electric Arguments will be signed per person. No other items, incl. photos, other recordings, memorabilia etc will be signed

Please note that, for security reasons and to speed up the queuing process so more fans can meet Paul, a temporary cloakroom facility, using numbered tickets, will operate. Bags, mobile phones, cameras and albums, merchandise, photos etc, will be requested from you as you enter for the signing, and will be returned to you once you have vacated the signing area. Please understand that we do not wish to intrude on your privacy, but you may also be asked to show the contents of your pockets.

Please note that no filming or photography will be permitted. Fans will be asked to check in devices when entering the store for the signing, which will be returned on departure. Any person seeking to take photos of the PA when approaching the signing may be asked to leave.

Finally, please be aware that the first person in the queue who will meet Paul on the day, and who will also have a photo taken, will be the winner (and a guest) of an HMV promotion. A brief media photocall will also proceed the signing.

Paul McCartney Wants To Get Barenaked

Paul McCartney has had enough of one-legged ladies, but he apparently loves the Barenaked Ladies.

The former Beatle was recently asked by a London session musician who his favourite current bands were, according to Ianundercover.com, and his answer was somewhat surprising.

"A lot of the bands today are much more technical than we were," McCartney said. "But the Barenaked Ladies have to be my favourite.

"Their harmonies are right on. They could outsing us any day of the week. I don't think John and myself ever had the sort of range they do."

The article says that McCartney added that he "wouldn't mind cutting an album" with the Ladies.

HMV are very proud to announce that music legend Sir Paul McCartney will make a personal appearance at their London Oxford Circus flagship store, 150 Oxford Street next Sunday, December 21st, 2008 between 10.00am ­ 11.00am to sign copies of 'Electric Arguments', the new highly critically acclaimed album by Paul's under the guise of The Fireman.

Not all music fans may be aware that the creative force behind the acclaimed music project The Fireman is none other than Paul McCartney, who has collaborated on the concept periodically with influential record producer 'Youth' since 1993. Their latest album Electric Arguments is an eclectic and varied album consisting of thirteen tracks recorded in thirteen days over the period of nearly a year. Each track was written and recorded in the space of one day. The Fireman went into the studio with no plan or clear direction of how they wanted the album to sound. The project took a life of its own and the results will surprise anyone expecting to hear the previous sound of the band.

Paul will visit HMV's flagship store to sign copies of The Fireman's new album 'Electric Arguments', which was released last month to much critical acclaim, and is being re-issued this week with exclusive new artwork.

WHERE: HMV 150 Oxford Street, London W1
WHEN: 10am ­ 11am, Sunday, December 21st, 2008 * wristband access only -- see below
WHO/WHAT: Sir Paul McCartney signing copies of 'Electric Arguments'

Please Note: access to the event will be by wristband only, which will be distributed in advance on a limited basis from HMV 150 Oxford Street at 9.00am on Thursday morning, December 18th.

Only copies of 'Electric Arguments' will be signed.

Sir Paul McCartney reveals this week in Prospect, the political magazine, that he once wrote to the Dalai Lama to criticise him for eating meat after the religious leader stated: "As Buddhists we believe in not causing any suffering to any sentient beings."

Sir Paul, 66, said: "Then I found out he was not a vegetarian, so I wrote to him saying, 'Forgive me for pointing this out, but if you eat animals then there is some suffering somewhere along the line'. "He replied saying that his doctors had told him he needed it, so I wrote back saying they were wrong."

Sir Paul McCartney claims that it was he -- and not John Lennon -- who politicised The Beatles. He has shunned music magazines to give an interview to an intellectual journal in which he describes how he introduced the group to the "very bad" Vietnam war.

It paints a picture at odds with the conventional view of the Beatles, that McCartney was writing pop ditties such as Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da while Lennon was composing overtly political songs such as Revolution.

McCartney says he began his political awakening by meeting Bertrand Russell, then in his nineties, at the latter's home in London in the mid 1960s.

Russell, author of the seminal work A History of Western Philosophy, was one of the world's best known pacifists and had been imprisoned during the first world war for warning British workers about the American army and its role in strike breaking in the United States.

He told McCartney about America's increasing role in the war in Vietnam, which the musician knew little about.

McCartney tells Prospect magazine that he went back to the Abbey Road studios, where the Beatles were recording tracks. He told "the guys, particularly John [Lennon], about this meeting and saying what a bad war this was".

The singer says the Beatles backed the peace movement and constantly spoke out against the war.

McCartney's memory differs from others who were present during these 1960s struggles. Tariq Ali, who was leader of the International Marxist Group and led antiwar demonstrations in London, said: "This is news to me. We never heard of Paul's views at the time.

"It was John Lennon who was concerned about the war. He never mentioned McCartney and I never thought of asking him to join us."

McCartney says he has now handed over the political "megaphone" to younger pop stars including Bob Geldof and Bono, the U2 singer.

America's not been kind to the Outback lately. Looking past the bad box-office mojo, even our pop stars are turning their noses up to Australia. Vanguards like Paul McCartney, Metallica, Madonna, and Green Day have all axed tour dates down under because the value of the Australian dollar has dipped more than 30 percent in the last three months. This in turn made it likelier for said icons to lose money even if they sold out arenas.

It looks like there will be a repeat of the feat that soul sensation Amy Winehouse accomplished last year at the Grammy Awards. And it might be on a bigger scale. This is because the Brits are on top of the list of nominees for the 2009 Grammy Awards. Coldplay is the leader with eight nominations and there are also nods for Leona Lewis, Buffy, Adele and even for the legendary Paul McCartney.

Well, it is already a fact that the Brits know how to create great music and although show of this talent may have faltered a bit in some years past, the guys from the UK are now back in a big way. The results will be known during the 51st Grammy Awards ceremonies that will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2009. I hope we get the show live for a chance to check out the superb entertainment that will be provided by the biggest names in the music industry.

Speaking of legends, take note too of the incredible presence of rock acts from the past who all come out and in great form this past year like Judas Priest, Radiohead, Metallica, AC/DC, Frank Zappa, and others.

Male Pop Vocal:

That Was Me, Paul McCartney; All Summer Long, Kid Rock; Say, John Mayer; I'm Yours, Jason Mraz; Closer, Ne-Yo; Wichita Lineman, James Taylor.

Rock Solo Vocal:

I Saw Her Standing There, Paul McCartney; Gravity, John Mayer; Girls in Their Summer Clothes, Bruce Springsteen; Rise, Eddie Vedder; No Hidden Path, Neil Young

Mike McCartney to unveil Green Flag at Wirral Country Park

Mike McCartney will join the Friends of Wirral Country Park next week to unveil the park's Green Flag.

The photographer and brother of Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney will lead a ceremony on Wednesday (December 17).

Wirral Country Park was given the honour - which recognises top quality parks and open spaces - after further improvements this year to the path and bridleway along the Wirral Way.

Seven other Wirral sites were also awarded Green Flags this year - Thornton Hough Village Green, Birkenhead Park, Vale Park (New Brighton), Ashton Park (West Kirby), Eastham Country Park, Royden Park and Coronation Gardens (West Kirby).

The Green Flag awards are part of the government's drive to improve the standards of management and maintenance of parks.

Winners are judged against stringent assessment criteria and must to be welcoming and well maintained with the support and involvement of the community.

Councillor Bob Moon, cabinet member for culture, tourism and leisure, said: "It is fantastic that the quality and beauty of Wirral's parks and countryside areas have been recognised in this way.

"It is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of those responsible for managing and maintaining these facilities and to the parks friends groups, which play an active role in the development of the parks."

"Any artist manager has to be looking at the economic environment and wondering what they should do or if they should wait to see what happens," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the concert-trade magazine. "Things just seem to be getting progressively worse. You'd have to be a fool to think there's not going to be an impact on everything. . . . Everybody's sitting back going 'What do we do?' "

Music fans are answering that question. Despite $19 tickets and two great bands, this week's Oasis/Ryan Adams show saw a sea of empty seats in Broomfield.

"People are only going to the must-sees, and Oasis doesn't fit that bill. AC/DC and Metallica are not having any problem selling tickets," Bongiovanni says. "But not everybody falls into the must-see category, though they might like to think they do. That's where the marketplace slaps them in the face."

"Big acts that don't tour that often, as in AC/DC, Metallica, Celine Dion, are doing great," said Chuck Morris, vice president of AEG Live in Denver. "Our clubs, the Ogden and the Bluebird, are doing well. The high end and the low end are doing very well. The midlevel ones are definitely getting hurt. . . . People just aren't going to go out to see them. They're going to wait a tour or two." Live Nation, the nation's largest concert promoter, didn't return calls by deadline.

Acts that might go out in '09, like Paul McCartney or U2, will do good business regardless. Others won't. The MUSINK tattoo and music tour with Social Distortion, Motorhead and other bands has been canceled "due to the current economic climate," according to the tour publicist.

"(McCartney) can do $250 tickets," Bongiovanni said. "It's just how (many rows) are they going to make that? It might be half of what it was last time. McCartney's kind of an icon. I can see that doing OK, just like Madonna, and Britney Spears is strong.

"Most of the shows since the economic downturn - the tickets were sold before everything went south. The real question is 'How are the '09 tours going to do?' Price definitely matters, at the club level or arena level."

"We're being very selective about the spring and summer," Morris said. "If we lose bands, so be it. We are definitely realizing the severity of the recession and being much more conscious of that, conscious of how far we can go as far as the money. Bigger-ticket prices in today's economy is a dangerous situation."

Big cities are suffering just as much as anywhere else.

"It's everywhere," Bongiovanni said. "Certainly there are some markets doing better than others, . . . but it's impacting everywhere."

With the meltdown of the record industry, artists who once counted on CD advances or royalties to pay the bills don't have that luxury anymore. And artists like Wilco never had that luxury to begin with.

"An artist can't sit back and not tour, because that's how most of them make their money these days," Bongiovanni said. "Most acts work every year."

Morris has been through two major recessions in his 30-plus years of promoting in Denver and at one point quit booking shows entirely.

"I remember working with Barry Fey and we quit booking for six months. Everything was a loss," he said. "We're not there yet. The live business in general has so far been less affected than a lot of other businesses. You can't replace live music."

Still, "I'm keeping my fingers crossed," he said. "I don't have any false illusions."

Billboard Charts for week ending December 13, 2008

(1) Top Independent Albums

(17) Top Rock Albums

(9) Tastemakers

(12) Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums

(67) Billboard 200

(78) Billboard Comprehensive Albums

Less than one month after the release of his new record, "Electric Arguments", Paul McCartney is showing up with another project from under his shoulder.

As we told you already in October, Paul McCartney will work on the soundtrack of Jacques Perrin next movie, "Océans".

For that, Paul will team up with french composer Brun Coulais (who worked on the very popular "Les Choristes").

Both men met a few days ago in Paul's studio in Sussex. Sessions are going to happen in January.

Recording is to take place in April.

We'll come back soon on this project in our headlines.

Paul and Mary McCartney attend the Marc Quinn Pour Memoire Serpentine Gallery Indian Highway Council Dinner on December 8.

They say dozens of the animals, which weigh up to 900lbs, are "wreaking havoc".

Macca, 66, a vegetarian and animal rights campaigner, will not co-operate with locals who want to control numbers at his 1,500-acre estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.

Government policy gives landowners and communities power to cull the animals if they threaten the environment, farming or human safety.

Macca's neighbours say crops, trees and gardens in the area are suffering because he refuses to act. A source said: "The boar are doing huge damage. They are also dangerous if confronted.

"Locals are up in arms because he won't allow them to be shot. They are breeding like rabbits and his estate is completely over-run."

The source added: "Boar are a huge problem for farmers. As with deer, the Government has a policy to allow humane culling but Sir Paul is having none of it."

West Kent and Sussex has Britain's largest breeding population of wild boar. The official number is 200, but experts believe it may be 400.

Boar can reach the same weight as a horse and are very quick on their feet.

Professional stalker Stewart Venables, 48, said: "Wild boar can be very dangerous. They will attack people to protect their young. They have tusks and teeth like razors.

"A charging boar could kill someone.

"They really are a big problem in the UK now."

Last night a spokesman for Sir Paul refused to comment.

Paul McCartney's band The Fireman have denied accusations that they copied a song by bluesman Blind Willie Johnson without crediting it.

Reports at the weekend claimed that McCartney and collaborator Youth had taken elements of Johnson's 'Let Your Light Shine On Me' and used it on their new song 'Light From Your Lighthouse', despite McCartney acknowledging the older song had "inspired" his in the album's sleevenotes of recent album 'Electric Arguments'.

However, speaking to NME.COM, the duo explained they have done nothing wrong, because Johnson's song is based on a traditional composition and so there was no copyright breach.

"It's true that The Fireman used the Blind Willie Johnson track as inspiration for our own song," they said. "His is a traditional song and this is not the first time an artist has made their own version using such a traditional song."

They split 38 years ago, but The Beatles are still earning more than present day pop stars.

Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia, enjoyed a £35 million ($63.5 million) dividend last year on profits of £56.3 million ($102 million), according to accounts just filed by their business Apple Corps at Companies House.

Big money: Paul McCartney with girlfriend Nancy Shevell last month

The previous year's dividend was nil on profits of £3.8 million ($6.8 million). A dispute with computer firm Apple Inc was settled in February last year while agreement with music company EMI was reached in April.

The bonus was timely for McCartney. He was ordered by a High Court judge to pay £24.3 million ($44 million) to Heather Mills in their divorce settlement in March. He has since been linked with New York heiress Nancy Shevell, 47.

By Greg Kot

As Paul McCartney is at pains to remind the world, it was he-and not his foil John Lennon-who brought the experimental flair to The Beatles psychedelic period, with his fondness for tape loops and collage-style arranging.

The former Beatles bassist recently revived talk that he will release "Carnival of Light," a 14-minute experimental jam the band recorded during its acid-gobbling phase. The track was played at an electronic music festival in 1967, then buried in the archives.

Yet McCartney's embrace of the avant-garde has rarely manifested itself in his "official" post-Beatles solo albums. Instead, he indulges his inner Stockhausen on a side project dubbed the Fireman with Martin Glover, a.k.a. Youth, a former member of Killing Joke and the Orb and a producer who has worked with U2 and the Verve.

The first two Fireman albums ("Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest" in 1993 and "Rushes" in 1998) emerged with little fanfare. They presented McCartney as a largely anonymous studio urchin creating wordless electronic soundscapes for the chill-out phase of a long night at the dance clubs.

The duo's third collaboration, "Electric Arguments" (One Little Indian/ATO), places a greater emphasis on songcraft and introduces vocals to the mix. It's an accomplished combination of melody and experimental mirth notably lacking in the sentimentality and puppy-eyed cuteness that mar some of McCartney's more mainstream efforts. In other words, it's one of the better McCartney albums, even if his name appears only in small type on the inner sleeve.

McCartney and Youth worked quickly: 13 days, 13 songs-not that "Electric Arguments" sounds rushed or unfinished. Most of the tracks blend a small army of instruments-guitars, drums, flutes, tubular bells, mandolin-and studio tomfoolery into arrangements that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" or the B-side of a "Revolver" single. McCartney rarely sings in his normal range; instead, he adopts a variety of personas: growling blues patriarch, mischievous elf, Bono.

He sounds free to be anyone but himself, and that opens up all sorts of possibilities in the music.

"Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight" opens the album in much the same way that McCartney's fine 2007 album, "Memory Almost Full," ended: with a blast of "Helter Skelter" blues-metal, topped off by the sound of the singer audibly inhaling and then barking like a dog. He downshifts into the acoustic "Two Magpies," his upper-register vocals multitracked to create an aura of woozy intimacy. Then "Sing the Changes" bursts through the haze, a major-key verse ushering in an even more exultant major-key chorus. "Traveling Light" drifts into bucolic reverie, the kind of acid-tipped folk McCartney witnessed firsthand among '60s U.K. compatriots such as the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention

None of the remaining songs is as strong as that opening burst, though "Dance 'Til We're High" gamely channels the widescreen blend of atmosphere and grandeur made popular by early U2, and "Light From Your Lighthouse" evokes a madcap hootenanny. The album becomes progressively stranger, a shift telegraphed by song titles such as "Universal Here, Everlasting Now." The songs dissolve in a wash of pan pipes, tribal drums, moaning bass lines and noises from animal-kingdom documentaries. It's McCartney once again primping up his avant-garde bona fides. But not before he has also laid out some satisfying surprises.

51st Grammy Awards Nominees Paul and Ringo!!!

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards' will be held on February 8, 2009, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8 ­ 11:30 pm (ET/PT)

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
"That Was Me"
Paul McCartney
Track from: Amoeba's Secret
[Hear Music/MPL Communications Ltd.]

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

"I Saw Her Standing There"
Paul McCartney
Track from: Amoeba's Secret
[Hear Music/MPL Communications Ltd.]

Best Surround Sound Album
(For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)

Ringo 5.1 The Surround Sound Collection
Bruce Sugar, surround mix engineer; Chris Bellman, surround mastering engineer; Bill Crowley, Ringo Starr & Bruce Sugar, surround producers Ringo Starr [Koch]

Paul sings "Wonderful Christmas" at Stella's store

Sir Paul McCartney surprised everyone outside of daughter Stella's Mayfair store last week in London -- showing up and singing Christmas carols with Geraldine.

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