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Daytrippin' Magazine & Fan Club
Beatles News/Resources
Travel and Merchandise For Paul McCartney's official website, visit www.paulmccartney.com Five-story banner outside of Madison Square Garden, NYC, to promote Paul's four-night concert stay in Oct. 2005
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DVD: Paul McCartney: Live in Red Square  |
• Paul
McCartney Art Exclusive
with SUPERSUPER Magazine (April 2008)
Paul McCartney Art Exclusive with SUPERSUPER Magazine (April 14, 2008) SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY collaborates with SUPERSUPER Magazine (Issue 11) on a special one-off 6 page feature of original drawings especially created for the magazine, giving a rare insight into the artistic and creative mind of one of the greatest musical masterminds of the 21st century.
Paul McCartney's
Ecce
Cor Meum (Behold My Heart)
THE McCARTNEY YEARS: New McCartney Video Compilation Set for Release Press release & tracklisting
Spanning four decades, 'THE McCARTNEY YEARS' is a three volume DVD collection, featuring some of the world's best-loved music that has become the soundtrack to all our lives. VOLUME ONE and VOLUME TWO contain the definitive collection of McCartney music videos. Starting in the 1970s with Paul McCartney's first solo single "Maybe I'm Amazed," the DVD includes the Wings promo video for "Band On The Run" as well as hits from the 1980s such as "Say Say Say," and the 1990s with "The World Tonight." It finishes with 2005's "Fine Line." The films can be viewed either in chronological order or as play-lists that have been personally arranged by Paul featuring his exclusive voiceover commentaries. VOLUME THREE includes live performances taken from three classic McCartney live shows; "ROCKSHOW" filmed on Wings' 1976 World Tour, new edits of Paul's seminal "UNPLUGGED" in 1991 and Paul's now legendary headlining performance at 2004's GLASTONBURY Festival. 'THE McCARTNEY YEARS' is also packed with bonus features and extra never before seen footage and performances, including "Let It Be" from LIVE AID, archive interviews with Melvyn Bragg and Michael Parkinson, alternative versions of music videos and the full-length 2005 documentary "Creating Chaos at Abbey Road." Paul has recorded exclusive commentary and personal introductions for each promo video and each live concert. This collection has been meticulously restored and all films polished, re-graded and given a new lease on life in Widescreen format with re-mastered stereo audio and for the first time the original recordings re-mixed into 5.1 surround sound. 'THE McCARTNEY YEARS' includes over 40 promo videos and over two hours of live performances. DISC/TRACK LISTING DISC 1 1. Tug Of War 2. Say Say Say 3. Silly Love Songs 4. Band On The Run 5. Maybe I'm Amazed 6. Heart Of The Country 7. Mamunia 8. With A Little Luck 9. Goodnight Tonight 10. Waterfalls 11. My Love 12. C-Moon 13. Baby's Request 14. Hi Hi Hi 15. Ebony And Ivory 16. Take It Away 17. Mull Of Kintyre 18. Helen Wheels 19. I've Had Enough 20. Coming Up 21. Wonderful Christmastime Extras 1. Juniors Farm 2. Band On The Run 3. London Town 4. Mull Of Kintyre 2 5. The Southbank Show DISC 2 1. Pipes Of Peace 2. My Brave Face 3. Beautiful Night 4. Fine Line 5. No More Lonely Nights 6. This One 7. Little Willow 8. Pretty Little Head 9. Birthday 10. Hope Of Deliverance 11. Once Upon A Long Ago 12. All My Trials 13. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man 14. Press 15. No Other Baby 16. Off The Ground 17. Biker Like An Icon 18. Spies Like Us 19. Put It There 20. Figure Of Eight 21. C'Mon People Extras 1. Parkinson 2. So Bad 3. Creating Chaos At Abbey Road DISC 3 Rock Show 1. Venus And Mars 2. Rock Show 3. Jet 4. Maybe I'm Amazed 5. Lady Madonna 6. Listen To What The Man Said 7. Bluebird MTV Unplugged 8. I Lost My Little Girl 9. Every Night 10. And I Love Her 11. That Would Be Something Glastonbury 12. Jet 13. Flaming Pie 14. Let Me Roll It 15. Blackbird 16. Band On The Run 17. Back In The USSR 18. Live And Let Die 19. Hey Jude 20. Yesterday 21. Helter Skelter 22. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Extras 1. Live Aid 2. The Superbowl XXIV
Watch the "Dance Tonight" video on YouTube Paul McCartney's Official You Tube Channel Paul McCartney - Dance Tonight - Apple iPod + iTunes TV Ad
Starbucks Macca Birthday Video
(filmed June 5, 2007)
Watch
YouTube video for Paul McCartney's 65th Birthday from Fans
at Starbucks
IN HIS OWN WORDS: Song by Song
This was the last track I recorded for the album. I was on my way into a meeting, but before I actually got there, I had a bit of a walk to experience life for a minute. There's a guitar shop that I always drop in on and I was chatting to the guy in there. He mentioned that he had a left-handed mandolin that he wanted to show me. I ended up getting it. The great thing about it was that I didn't know how to play. It's tuned like a violin, so I had no idea what the chords were. It took me back to when I was a teenager being presented with an instrument. I had to figure out how to play it. I found one chord, then another, then a real strange chord. I still don't know what it is, but it sounded great. With this little instrument at home over the holiday, I started stomping in the kitchen, just enjoying myself, trying to find chords. I start singing "everybody gonna dance tonight." Every time my little girl would come running in and start dancing, so I fell in love with this song and with the mandolin. The song kind of wrote itself. I thought I'm just gonna keep it simple. I liked it so much I ran into the studio to record it and stuck it on the album. It seemed like a good atmospheric opening. Ever Present Past: Sometimes I just sit down and try and write a pop song. I've done it throughout my life and it's an interesting thing to do, to make something kind of catchy that might be attractive. It starts off, "I've got too much on my plate." The way I write I just follow that thought and think, "what did I mean by that? Explain yourself." So I think "well what I meant was..." After I'd got the verse this idea of my past, my "Ever Present Past" came about. No deep meaning in it. I think what happens with me is I just write a thing and people read into it. I like that because I think often you do things in a subliminal way you don't actually realize what you are doing. So something that I might think is a simple statement, somebody might go, "yeah but it means that." I like multiple meanings to these things even though I often start it off as a phrase that's really to help me write the song, to get me to the next bit. See Your Sunshine: I'd already recorded most of the songs, but when it came to put the bass on it I did it fairly straightforward. Then just for my own pleasure I started goofing around, playing way too much, going over the top and I joked with the producer at the end of the take, "whoa that was way over the top!" He said, "no that's great, do another take like that. I think that's exactly what the song needs." That was dangerous because I pulled out every lick in the book and just had fun playing. But when I listened back it all seemed to make sense. I was going where I wouldn't normally go, throwing in notes, but somehow it fit. I think I only did two takes, it's mad like that, but those were the ones that we used. Only Mama Knows: "Only Mama Knows" really is like a short story. I've done that in the past, not always writing from a personal perspective. So it's kind of nice because you get more into your imagination and that's something I enjoy. Writing about Eleanor Rigby; I don't know a woman who picks up rice in a church, nor do I know anyone who was stranded in the transit lounge of an airport, as in "Only mama knows," but I like to get into those imaginary stories and then just follow them through and become that character. So the lead character who's singing is someone who was left by his mother, doesn't know why she left him and doesn't know if he'll ever see his father's face. It's interesting because it gets you out of yourself. You can become an alter ego. It doesn't have to be me singing it. It can be this other guy singing. It's good to do, it let's you have another vocal and emotional approach. You Tell Me: I started off just remembering summers. "Were we really there? Was it real?" Sometimes for a lot of people your memories, particularly childhood memories, seem so golden and you think "did it really never rain all summer or am I just imagining the sunny bits? And then the phrase, "you tell me," began to be the theme of the song. I wrote it out in Long Island, during one of those summers. I was just looking at red cardinal. For someone English it's magical, seeing a bright red bird coming out of a tree, so he appeared in the lyric. A lot of it was actually just there as I was writing. It became a tribute to golden summers. Mr. Bellamy: Who is Mr Bellamy? I never know who these people are. Who are Chuck and Dave from "When I'm 64." Who is Eleanor Rigby? Who's Desmond and Molly? I don't know. I make them up. I like giving characters names, just making them up and trying to make them fit. I had a little piano riff that is behind the verse. I wanted some lyrics that would poke in and poke out of this piano riff so I began with "I'm not coming down, no matter what you say. I like it up here." Sometimes I don't actually know where I'm going, so then I look at just what that verse is and in this case I got a picture of a guy sitting on top of a skyscraper and all the people in the street, the rescue team, the psychiatrist, the man with the megaphone shouting "Don't jump" and the people shouting "Jump." So I fished around for a name and came up with Bellamy, which just sounded like someone who might want to jump. And I just followed the story through. The end is like a pull back on a camera, there he is, little Bellamy sitting on the ledge, enjoying it up in the clouds. And that's how we recorded it, as a sort of film. Gratitude: I've always had a couple of voices. Originally you're just a kid at home, like everyone else and then you start to dream this dream of maybe being a singer. My heroes then were Elvis Presley, so my ballad voice I think was based on Elvis and the screamy voice was me trying to be Little Richard. I loved him so much. When I got in the Beatles, John used to like that and it's remained with me as something I enjoy doing, that sort of gritty souly voice. So on this track I was just thinking of how much there is to be grateful for in life and I wanted to put that into song and use this voice to do it with.
For me Vintage Clothes is about my clothes from the 60s and the fact that what's out comes back, fashion going round in circles. I meet quite a few guys in young bands and a question they always ask is "Did you keep the clothes?" As a matter of fact I have. The Beatles' tailor Dougie Millings is in a scene in A Hard Day's Night. Instead of just going to get a suit as you used to before that, for a job interview or whatever, suddenly you were going to get epaulettes and fancy buttons, materials and linings. To me, that is where Vintage Clothes comes from. It's sort of saying don't hold onto the past. The message of; vintage clothes are great but don't live in the past. It's ("Vintage Clothes") is the opening of a medley. The next four songs are designed, with this as the opener. I hadn't done since Abbey Road and I thought it would be quite nice to flirt with that idea again. It just means it's a slightly longer form, you've got to think "what came before", "what statement are you going to make now", "how's this going to lead on?" It's not that different from just sequencing an album but you suddenly think of them as a suite of songs and it becomes interesting to write them in that way. That Was Me: One of those things that I hear people say often is that they can remember more from their childhood than they can from a month ago. I think that is a fact of life, I don't know why. So all I had to do for this song was to think back. And immediately I go back to Liverpool where there was a little place we could escape to, beautiful little woods. Come spring time there would be these carpets of bluebells. It was a magical place. There's something about me at the bus stop that's a big part of my memory, going to school, coming home from school, going to the pictures, going to your friend's house. So all of these things got in there, in the cellar, which is the Cavern; Royal Iris, which is a ferry boat they used to have, they'd call them River Boat Shuffles, and some of our earliest gigs were on these. So these are just exciting memories of mine. And when I connected them, "on a blanket, in the bluebells, at the bus stop" and then eventually get into the Beatles "that was me, on TV, sweating cobwebs in a cellar." It was great to revisit it. Feet In The Clouds: Because of the retrospective look of this medley, it then goes back to school and teachers. I had a real motley bunch of teachers at the Liverpool Institute High School For Boys. Some of them were complete maniacs. School was very dark and gloomy, the building itself wasn't the lightest of buildings, it was an 1825 building. This seemed to affect the attitude of the teachers. They were quite a dark bunch of people. So the song is like a therapy session for me. I wanted to go robotic on some harmonies, to do a vocoder type thing because it's kind of a nostalgic sound and yet it's robotic. It could be from the future but in fact it's from the past so I liked that. House of Wax: There's something about chords in a song that can take you to a place. In this song they are not complex but there's something in the tonality of them that takes you to what the vocal becomes. And I like the lyrics. "Lightning hits the house of wax, poets spill out on the streets, to set alight the incomplete remainders of the future." It's quite surreal lyrically. So I enjoyed singing them because of those chords and the mixture of the melody and the lyrics. I think this will be good to do live. It's another one that the band was on. In fact the medley was conceived early on in this album and the band is featured on a lot of it. The End of The End: I'd read something somebody had written where they were talking about dying and I thought, "that's kind of brave." It seemed a brave subject to deal with rather than just shying away from it. So I fancied looking at this as a subject of myself. And then I thought, well I like the Irish approach of a wake, where it's celebratory. I remember once an Irish woman wished me well by saying "I wish you a good death" and I was like, "Say what!?" I thought about it and thought actually it's a great thing to wish someone. It was quite a brave subject for me. I thought, "well what would I like?" Jokes, wake, music, rather than everyone sitting around glum saying "he was a great guy," though they can do a bit of that. So that led into the verse "on the day that I die I'd like jokes to be told and stories of old to be rolled out like carpets." I have played it to my family and they find it very moving because, you know, it's dad. It's a strange combination because you're talking about a very serious subject. But I'm dealing with it lightly. Nod Your Head: Well that "End of The End" brought the party down didn't it? End of The End was going to be the last track on the album but then we thought we can't leave everyone going "oh god, I'm not going to listen to that again." So we had a little stompy rocker called "Nod Your Head" and we thought, we've just got to let them off the hook. So it goes into this much more abrasive rocking thing. I think it's good to talk about difficult subjects and then to get off it and just rock out. So that was the feel of making the album. Get some personal thoughts out ("Gratitude"); ("End of the End"), talk about that subject; ("Vintage Clothes" and the medley) talk about my childhood, talk about love, about beautiful memories. Try and get it all said, but at the same time with a feeling of optimism and enthusiasm. I thought if I could accomplish that then that would be a good thing to do.
First McCartney digital release with Memory Almost Full Paul McCartney's "Memory
Almost Full" to be released on June 5 will be downloadable
from Starbucks Hear Music label through ITunes, marking the
first time an entire album by Macca will be available
legally online. First single: "Ever Present
Past" available NOW on Itunes There will be two CD
versions available: Also available: a deluxe limited edition of Memory Almost Full featuring three bonus tracks, audio commentary by Paul McCartney, six foldout color postcard-sized photos, and full lyrics. Letter from Paul The following letter from Paul McCartney was released relating to his new album "Memory Almost Full," due June 5 on Hear Music, the first release by the Starbucks and Concord Music Group-owned label. BY PAUL McCARTNEY I actually started this album, Memory Almost Full, before my last album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (released September 2005). The first recording session was back in the autumn of 2003 at Abbey Road with my touring band and producer David Kahne. I was right in the middle of it when I began talking with Nigel Godrich about a brand new project (which became Chaos And Creation In The Backyard). When I was just finishing up everything concerned with Chaos and had just got the Grammy nominations (2006) I realised I had this album to go back to and finish off. So I got it out to listen to it again, wondering if I would enjoy it, but actually I really loved it. All I did at first was just listen to a couple of things and then I began to think, 'OK, I like that track - now, what is wrong with it?' And it might be something like a drum sound, so then I would re-drum and see where we would get to. I took it from there and built it up. I went through, track by track, making changes as I went along. I fixed things I wasn't too keen on and it just evolved from there. Without me knowing, or really trying, it started to get its own theme, a sort of thread that holds it all together. So I suppose it's about half new stuff and half old stuff from 2003. In places it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence. There is a medley of 5 songs towards the end and that was purposefully retrospective. I thought this might be because I'm at this point in my life, but then I think about the times I was writing with John and a lot of that was also looking back. It's like me with 'Penny Lane' and 'Eleanor Rigby' - I'm still up to the same tricks! I know people are going to look at some of the songs and interpret them in different ways but this has always been the case. The thing is that I love writing songs, so I just write and write. I never really get to a point where I start thinking I'm going to write about specific subjects. Inevitably though, what I am thinking is going to find its way into what I'm doing The opening track of the album is 'Dance Tonight'. I recently got myself a mandolin and I was just playing about with it and came up with the basis of this track. A couple of weeks ago we made the video, which was great fun. It's directed by Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind") and stars Natalie Portman and Mackenzie Crook. I'm not going to give the plot away. You'll have to go and watch it for yourself, but we had a good time doing it. The album title came after I had finished everything. For me, that's when they normally come, with the exception of maybe Sgt. Peppers, otherwise I don't think I have ever made an album with The Beatles, Wings or solo where I have thought of a title and a concept. I was thinking about what would sum the whole thing up and 'Memory Almost Full' sprung to mind. It's a phrase that seemed to embrace modern life; in modern life our brains can get a bit overloaded. I realised I had also seen it come up on my phone a few times. When I started bouncing the idea round with some friends they nearly all got different meanings out of it, but they all said they loved it. So the feedback helped solidify the title. After completing the album I then started thinking about the album artwork and how I'd want it to look. I really wanted to make the CD a desirable object. Something that I know I'd want to pick up from the shelf, something that would make people curious. I hope our final concept has done that. The album sleeve itself includes an etching by a friend of mine, Humphrey Ocean. As with the album lyrics, I'm looking forward to seeing how people might interpret the artwork. Currently I'm just starting out on the promo trail and beginning to get the first bits of feedback about the album and so far so good! It's interesting now as I'm getting to hear what other people are making of the songs and what their feelings are. I'm also talking about the album myself and I'm really enjoying the discovery process. I really enjoyed making this album with David Kahne and I'm proud of all the songs. We had a great time. I hope that the fun we had will communicate itself to the people who are going to listen to it. All the best, Paul McCartney, April 2007
Full Track Listing 1. Dance Tonight Official websites for album: http://www.memoryalmostfull.com
Story by Jan Owen On November 14, 2006, Wendy and I attended the performance of Paul McCartney's classical work, "Ecce Cor Meum" ("Behold My Heart") at NY's Carnegie Hall . Paul's music and the performances of the orchestra, choir and soloists were nothing short of stunning! Another amazing surprise for me was that I talked to Paul -TWICE!!!! But we'll get to that later.
The 1st half of the evening started with a string sextet and two soloists (one of them, the angelic Kate Royal) doing lovely versions of songs Paul wrote specifically for Linda. Paul looked like a million bucks, like "a free man in Paris", as the song goes! and we could look down and see that he was very moved, as we all were. They did: My Love, Warm and Beautiful (always one of my absolute McCartney faves), Calico Skies, Golden Earth Girl, Some Days, and Junk. Paul, and all of us were practically in tears. You could almost feel Linda in the hall, right next to Paul, as if holding his hand. It was so very - I hate to use this overused word, but, - poignant. Then the full orchestra came out and did some excerpts from Liverpool Oratorio and Standing Stone, which were also wonderfully performed. Also in Paul's Box was Elvis Costello, two seats behind him! Paul and Elvis would often lean toward each other and make happy comments about the progress of the concert. In the other Boxes adjacent to Paul's, we could see Neil Aspinall, SNL's Lorne Michaels, Conan O'Brien, Glenn Close, Jerry Seinfeld and movie/TV actor Steven Busceme (from "Fargo", "The Sopranos", etc). Apparently Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were also there, but we didn't see them.
Right afterwards I went into the Mens Room. While washing my hands, I said to a fellow who I'd just met up in the row behind us, "Hey, guess what? I just got to talk with Elvis Costello a second ago! What a cool guy, what an honor to meet him, he's a fu*kin' genius!", at which point the other guy put his finger to his lips, gave a quiet "shhh" and pointed towards the stall that had been next to mine. I mouthed a silent, knowing "Oh!". Just then, Elvis Costello comes out of his stall and is washing his hands in the sink next to mine! The first words out of his lips to me were, "Why, thank you", and smiled. I was a bit tongue-tied this time around, and all I could lamely think to say was, "Hey, you're here in the Men's Room!" He laughed and replied, "Well, when a guy's gotta go, a guy's gotta go". As we laughed again and dried our hands, we got into conversation again. I told him I admired his musical daring, seriously delving into different styles and always succeeding in them. I said "I only know of three who have consistently tried to change and grow, possibly walking the tightrope each time - The Beatles, Neil Young... and you - that takes guts! So don't ever change, OK? - and by that I mean, keep changing!" Then Elvis signed my concert ticket, and off we went our separate ways again, and he headed back to his Box, as the chimes rang to notify us that the second half was about to start. Through all this, Wendy preferred to stay in her seat. She's not as nutty/star-struck as me. She smiled contentedly and said "Go meet your friends, I know you will" - and she's always right! I did just that.
The second half of the concert was the entire Ecce Cor Meum. It was great McCartney melodies expanded to opulent classical renderings. Heavenly music. There is simply nothing Paul can't write. It was a marvel to listen to and watch. A full boys choir was brought out to sing with the orchestra. It was all very moving. We looked down and could see Paul was loving the concert, sitting stone still, hands in lap, for the quieter, gentler passages; grinning, and even playing air drums on his lap to some of the more up-tempo moments, etc. You could tell he was very proud of "his baby", thoroughly enjoying it. Having the CD's lyric book in my hand, I could tell just when the concert would be ending. Wendy agreed with me, that I should go downstairs just before the end, and she'd meet me in the lobby (we had our cells with us) later. So.....
Then Paul walked out from the "wings", and the place went nuts - cheering, throwing flowers to him, etc. He was up there, no more than 6 feet from me! I got a bunch of great photos (mine are the two close up shots below of him standing next to soloist Kate Royal)! He took a mic and thanked the conductor, soloists, everyone in the audience, and the crowd went nuts again. Paul was soooo cool and relaxed - and he looked more content than he's looked in over 5 years, y'know what I mean? He simply looked - happy. As he walked off, little paper white hearts fluttered down from the ceiling, showering everybody with LOVE. Nice touch.
After Paul left the stage, I left the auditorium and found myself inside the same little stage-door foyer area where a bunch of people had been waiting earlier in the day to see Paul come in and out of Carnegie Hall. There were just a few of us. The lovely May Pang was there, too, and she was very sweet. We knew Paul was going to walk out to his limo this way, so we stuck around as long as we could. A lot of the orchestra players went out that way, and we all said stuff like "Bravo" as they passed and smiled. Then Conan O'Brien walked into the foyer - he is amazingly tall, maybe 6'4" - and I got a photo with him (with me standing on my toes). Eventually, security told us we all had to leave the foyer and go outside, which we reluctantly did. I'm surprised they didn't make an exception for May, though - she is Paul's friend, and very much a part of the Beatle's story. So, unfortunately, she had to leave the area, too.
Everybody had to stay on the other side of the street as Paul eventually came out. He was nice enough to sign a few album covers for those people who had been corralled in a tiny, fenced in area by the stage door, probably all afternoon and evening (who didn't get to see the show). I thought that was pretty cool of him. He waved to the crowd, got in the limo, and off he went.
As for Paul, combined with our trip to the "LOVE" Premiere last June in Vegas, I actually met and talked with Paul McCartney SIX TIMES in this year alone!! To say that I am a very lucky guy is an understatement! So, Wendy and I drove home, with beautiful memories of a lovely concert, and meeting a few of our heroes - and we smiled at the fact that we just had yet another of our Magical Mystical Adventures!!
McCartney Signing at Virgin Megastore in New York Photos by Trina Yannicos On November 13, 2006, Paul McCartney signed copies of his DVD Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us and CD Ecce Cor Meum for approximately 300 fans at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, New York City. He made a "grand" entrance by coming down the escalator in the center of the store down to the bottom level where the signing was. Fans who had been waiting in line for several days were allowed to wait inside before the signing was about to start. Paul signed for about two hours.
Sir Paul at LIPA's 2006 Graduation Photos and story by Steve Barnes Just several months after celebrating LIPA's 10th birthday Sir Paul McCartney arrived back to present the class of 2006 with their graduation certificates. I missed his arrival but made sure that I was there for his exit. This was as far as I know his first public appearance in Liverpool since the announcement of the break up of his marriage. He was in top form exiting the hall as though he was walking on stage, finishing a biscuit and striking a defiant pose. He turned to his right to the dismay of the fans to his left ' don't forget us ' they shouted, but he did. He was happy and conversational and even accepted a document from Jane Enenko containing over 100 messages of goodwill from fans thorought Russia. Then in next to no time he was gone. Till the next time Paul, thanks.
Paul McCartney book-signing event in Seattle Photos and Story By
Shelley Germeaux On an otherwise dreary Seattle morning, the day after Paul's show at the Key Arena, Paul McCartney's presidential arrival at Third Place Books on November 4, 2005 electrified the spirits of over a thousand Seattle fans. These devoted fans had stood in line at the bookstore in Lake Forest Park, north of Seattle, on Tuesday morning, the 1st of November, to get their tickets to ride, hoping they had gotten a low enough number to be able to meet him at the book signing on Friday. Lucky for us, it was announced at the last minute, which gave my husband Ron a running start that morning, getting number 22. I got there later and got number 89. At noon we paid just $19.99 for a signed children's book by Paul, called "High in the Clouds." We discovered that each ticket bought one book, but admitted two people. That meant we would not only have two signed books, but we could invite two more people to actually meet Paul!
The next morning, still on a high from the show, I arrived early at the bookstore for the press event. Things were already buzzing. The news stations were setting up equipment. We found out Paul would be reading from his book to some elementary school students, and photographers would be allowed a few minutes to take some shots, after which the news teams would have sole access for taping the event, to be aired on the evening news. The store was closed at 12:30 pm, and ticket holders began lining up in order outside in the pouring rain. There was security and police everywhere. Everyone was told that no items were to be brought into the store. Cameras, purses and packages of any kind were to be left in the car. Because of the rain, they said they would allow umbrellas. The store manager even told us privately that if anyone so much as reaches into their pocket, they would be escorted out the store. By the looks of the security team, I didn't doubt it. As 1:00 approached, we noticed the motorcycle police lining up outside the store and getting ready, then three black cars in succession pulling into the parking lot as though the President were arriving. The hair stood up on my arms. "Here comes Paul!" I said. The excitement was incredible. The police slowly escorted the entourage in, and the mob began to surge as the police shouted and held everyone back. Paul got out of the car, waving and smiling, and it seemed the whole parking lot was screaming in a giant roar. My god, I thought, I finally get to experience Beatlemania. This is what it was like in '64. Camera in hand, trying to get a good shot, I was pushed out of the way rapidly but I fought around the side and finally got a good shot of Paul saying hello to my friends at the front of the line. Suddenly I got shoved by a baton and a shouting policeman to get back. But at least I got a photo. I realized the guy couldn't have known I was with the press. The Press Event -- Paul reads his book to 2nd graders
From there I ran down around the building to get to the press event, my hands freezing and feet soaked. The umbrellas were now lined up around the entire shopping center. There must have been over 1200 people there. I heard they had sold 700 books, so if most people brought a friend the number made sense. After being marked off the list, I was able to wiggle my way to the front of the riser behind the students, right in front of the chair Paul would be sitting in. The kids were from Briarcrest Elementary School in Shoreline and were 2nd graders. It turned out that the little toddler that was running around was the daughter of Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Keeping the kids quiet while they waited for Paul was amusing. "Now let's all sit on our hands and be very quiet when Sir Paul comes into the room!" We were saying that the kids don't appreciate this the way the parents do. But then we got the same orders: none of us were to call out to Paul, motion to him, or do anything to get his attention for a camera. This event was for the kids, not a paparazzi (or Papa Ratsi, if you've read his book) event. And if any of us were disruptive we would be escorted out. Paul came in and sat down and the cameras clicked away. He was very quiet, calm and sweet to the kids. He explained what the book was about and began to read from the first chapter. Every time he looked up from the book, all the flashbulbs went off. At times he displayed animated expressions. His people eventually began to motion to him, that it was time to wrap it up, and he said "No, this is ok. Let's keep going. This is nice, we're enjoying ourselves. Tell you what. Let's forget about the show tonight (Portland), and we'll just stay here and read, how's that?" Everyone chuckled. His low-key demeanor really impressed me. Besides reading to the kids, he was well aware that the press was there and tried to look up at our cameras as much as possible without posing. He looked up at me directly several times and I was very appreciative of that! Kids, not press, get to
ask questions: After reading the first chapter, he took questions from the children before leaving. One asked "Why did you write a story about a squirrel?" His answer: "Well because the story about the mouse was taken, right?" Continuing, he explained, "Also, squirrel rhymes with "Wirral" which is the name of a town close to where I grew up in Liverpool. So it makes sense, doesn't it?" Another little boy asked, "Have you ever written a book before?" He said, "I've written one, it was a poetry book. Have you ever written one?" The boy shook his head and Paul made a "zero" sign with his fingers. "Big zero, eh? Well you still have lots of time." Finally I felt that tap on my shoulder signifying that it was time for us photographers to leave. We were there much longer than the originally promised ten minutes, and I was grateful for such a great opportunity to photograph my idol. Meeting Paul After dropping everything off at the car, I jumped into line where my husband and friends were waiting. I had very little time to decide once and for all what to say to Paul. I was a bit overwhelmed and soon we were ushered in. I know I had two days to think about it, but every time I tried to come up with something brilliant to say, I kept fearing I would sound like the hilarious Chris Farley routine on Saturday Night Live when he interviewed Paul. I thought about saying that I wrote for Daytrippin, or that I had waited forty-one years to meet him, or something, but nothing sounded appropriate. Then again saying something like "I love your music" sounded a bit cliché! There was so much pressure because they kept saying you'd have like five seconds with him, so keep it brief. I just prayed that I would say the right thing.
I giddily said, "We've been to all your concerts! We went last night, too, it was a great show." Ron jumped in to rescue me and said "It's a pleasure finally getting to meet you Paul." Paul shook his hand and said "it's a pleasure meeting you too!" Ron said, "we really loved your show, and your new album is great!" Paul said, "Thanks, man!" and gave a thumbs up. At some point he gave us our book but I don't remember that. As I began to walk away I looked at him one more time to see his eyes and said "thanks for doing this, Paul, this is great." He looked up at me, gave me that famous "McCartney wink", (you know the one I mean. The one that makes women pass out) with a nod, and said "Alright, thanks." I whispered "Thank you." He smiled. We walked away and my knees literally gave way. There was laughter every time someone walked away from Paul, because people were so blown away. Women and men alike were beaming with euphoria. The things people said to Paul were varied and some were more lucid than others, but everyone wondered if they said the right thing. Scott from KBSG had had the presence of mind to tell Paul that "paraventure" was now in his vocabulary (from "English Tea") and this amused Paul a good deal. Another friend, Steve, said "I loved the Bacccchhhh you played last night" (referring to Paul's comments during the show about the melodic background of "Blackbird"), which also got a laugh from Paul. And Linda told him how special it was that this was the 31st anniversary of George Harrison's show at the same venue. The expression on Paul's surprised face showed how moving this was for him to hear. Others went immediately "out of body", and stood in shock as he shook their hands, gave them their books, said thanks, and were nudged onward. My daughter Kristen, who had
the number 89 ticket, said later, "I can't believe I just
shook Paul McCartney's hand. I'm in shock. I'm amazed. My
hand is still buzzing an hour later. I'm listening to the
Beatles and I'm saying 'I just MET him.' Finally my daughter
"gets it." Now she's listening to his music all the time.
Paul heads out We waited in the cold rain for Paul to come out and got my cameras again. If he was only meeting fans for a half hour or so, he'd be out soon, because he had to get on the plane to get to his Portland venue. After giving away 202 signed books, he came out a different door than the front door everyone was waiting at. I ran for it and this time got right by his car and took several photos, one of which you will see here, waving from the car. One apology: Just after this photo was taken, Paul looked straight over at me and grinned and waved. I put the camera down to return the favor. It was so amazing. I jumped up and down and shouted, "thank you Paul!!" I doubt he heard me but he waved and gave me a thumbs up, then got in the car. Some things you just want to take in for yourself. Eye contact with Paul is one of those things, even if it means you don't get the prized photo. The car pulled away amidst the screaming mob surrounding the car, and the driver laid on the horn non-stop as the entourage was lead out of the parking lot. What an amazing experience. Meeting Paul McCartney has been on my "life's wish list" for so many years. I'm equally glad that I get to share the experience with you.
Paul McCartney book signing in NYC On Monday, October 3, 2005 at 2:00pm, Barnes & Noble located in Rockefeller Center at 600 Fifth Ave hosted a book signing with PAUL MCCARTNEY, who was promoting his first children's book HIGH IN THE CLOUDS.
Only 125 people were granted access to meet Paul. People waited in line up to 24 hours before the signing in order to get a wristband that confirmed access to the book signing. Photos copyright Daytrippin'
Nearly 10 years in the making, Paul McCartney's High in the Clouds was inspired by his love of literature and the animated film "Tropic Island Hum" on which Paul collaborated with animator Geoff Dunbar and features characters from the book. In addition to the award-winning "Tropic Island Hum", he has also worked with Geoff to create the animated award-winning "Rupert And The Frog Song," and "Tuesday", based on the book by David Wiesner.
Forced to leave his woodland home, destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch, Wirral the squirrel vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Aided and abetted by Froggo the hot-air-ballooning frog, Wilhamina the plucky red squirrel, and Ratsy the streetwise rodent, Wirral's personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals everywhere -- a plan that is fraught with danger.
 Paul
McCartney speaks song by song about his new
album:
THE SONGS: IN HIS WORDS FINE LINE 'There's a fine line between recklessness and courage.' You know, some people just go and you'll think, 'that's the way you do it,' but sometimes it's just foolish and just reckless, but they think they're being courageous. That thought really was what started me off and I just followed the idea that you've got to choose which of the two you're going to be - reckless or courageous. The lyrics are based on that. Then I sat down at the piano and started that kind of chuggy thing, keeping it very simple and then the hook. So I brought it into the studio and when I played it I made a mistake. I went to a wrong bass note and Nigel said, 'that's great. That's it.' I said, 'well actually it's a wrong note.' He said, 'No, no, check it out. Listen to it.' I said, 'Ooh, I see what you mean.' It just didn't go where you expected. It was supposed to be an F-sharp and I went to an F. It was like, 'Ah, O.K. that's good. That's got a little signature originality to it." HOW KIND OF YOU It's something I've done for a long time, but I've started to notice more recently perhaps how people talk, what phrases they use. I've got a couple of older posh English friends who instead of saying, 'That's very nice of you,' or 'Thanks a lot,' they might say, 'How kind of you.' So I just started with the phrase, 'How kind of you to think of me when I was out of sorts,' instead of, 'Thanks very much for thinking of me when I wasn't feeling so good.' I liked this sort of elegant language. I was imagining it from the point of view of somebody like that, writing a thank you letter. JENNY WREN I love to play acoustic guitar and so I've done things like Blackbird, Mother Nature's Son and Calico Skies more recently, just because I love playing acoustic guitar. I was in Los Angeles and I was in one of those moods. I wanted to go and play my guitar in the great outdoors. So I went into a spot in one of the canyons there, lovely nature spot, getting away from all the traffic and sat down and started playing. It's just that kind of genre that I love and I just had a lot of fun, wrote the basis of it there outdoors in the canyon, lovely day, went back home that night to where we were staying and sat around while dinner was getting made and made it up. But it's funny actually I was talking to someone about how much I love Dickens. And this person said 'Ah, Jenny Wren, our mutual friend,' which is this character in the Dickens book Our Mutual Friend. She is this really cool little girl who's sort of magical, who sees the good in things and I think subconsciously that reminded me that's where I got it from. But to me it was just something to do with Blackbird. A Wren is one of my favorite birds &endash; a little English bird, the smallest English bird and I always feel very privileged to see a wren. So it's a combination of all of that.
I wrote on a day off in LA. Sometimes when you get into recording an album, you start to sort of get a feel of what you and the producer are going for and what kind of a new song might fit with what you've already recorded. So I was just sort of messing around on the piano and I got a couple of chords that I liked, slightly darker chords than I might normally have. And this phrase just kept coming, 'At the Mercy, At the Mercy,' at the mercy of what? At the mercy of a busy road. I didn't really attach any significance to that and one of the things that I like about my songs is that you can attach very specific significances to them. I was talking to Heather about that particular one and she said 'Whoa! For me at the mercy of a busy road.' Remember she lost her leg in an accident. You know that's very appropriate. How life can throw you a curveball, when suddenly you're going along and then suddenly 'Oh no!' It's a similar scene to Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I took it in to Nigel next day (after writing it) and he said 'Oh great, great.' It became his favourite. FRIENDS TO GO Funny thing about some songs is when you're writing them you can think you're someone else. I mean when I was doing Long and Winding Road I thought I was Ray Charles. On Friends to Go I realized that I was playing George Harrison. So I was writing with that in the back of my mind. 'I've been waiting on the other side for your friends to leave so I don't have to hide,' that whole sequence I can see George doing. You know I just sat down to write and the feeling of George came over me. I just kept imagining that I was over by some sort of housing estate, where these people lived, in a block of flats and I was over the other side just watching them and waiting for them to go so I could go in. I don't know why, but a psychiatrist could probably have a whale of a time with that one. ENGLISH TEA The lyric says, 'Very twee, very me' and I think it is very me that stuff. It's this fascination with sort of how people speak, how some English people speak. And then there's one particular older English person I'm thinking of who instead of saying 'Do you want a cup of tea?' might say 'Would you care for a cup of tea?' It's just the way they say it, and I love that. 'Would you care?' and in this case 'Would you care to sit with me, for a cup of English tea?' So I really went to town on that whole fruity way of talking. It's very endearing, very English. I even managed to work in the word 'peradventure' which I was very proud of because I read Dickens quite a bit. I thought there is a word 'peradventure' (you get these old usages of words in Dickens) and I thought 'I do hope I'm right because I've put it in the song'. I looked it up in the dictionary: 'peradventure &endash; perhaps, maybe.' 'Yes!' I thought 'I'm sure not many people work that into a song.' TOO MUCH RAIN The actual inspiration was Charlie Chaplin's song Smile, which he wrote. Not many people know he wrote it, you normally think of him as a comedian, but I was always amazed to hear he'd written that beautiful song. I think it was for a film. The idea to 'smile even though your heart is breaking.' So it was really hints for feeling horrible, you know when you're really down this song could get you up. It reminds you to just sort of push through it, feel good, because it'll be alright. A CERTAIN SOFTNESS It's just a straightforward love song, to me. I like Brazilian music. I think it's sexy, very romantic, and I was actually on a holiday, where I do a lot of writing because it's where I've got a lot of time. Here's me, I go on holiday to work! I was in Greece, actually, on a boat trip, and this sort of Latiny moment came upon me. I just found some nice chords and this idea of a certain softness in her eyes and a certain sadness haunts me. It's just sort of all the love songs that I've heard. So sometimes all that just floods in and becomes a new song. I like the way we recorded it - very simple. It was just me playing guitar, the bongo player was sitting on the floor and another guitar player was just sitting there. It's got a very intimate sound on the record. RIDING TO VANITY FAIR I originally had it as an up tempo sort of thing. This was particularly the one that Nigel didn't like. It was all these little short phrases so he encouraged me to try and go somewhere else. I kept the meaning about you're approaching someone for friendship and they just kind of don't want to know. They're just kind of rejecting you. It's not about any particular person - it's about anybody who's like that. It was nice and dark and quite moody. We re-worked it in the studio and kept working at it until we liked all the words and tune because it was getting blown off the album. By the time we'd finished working it made its way back onto the album. It was worth all that work. FOLLOW ME It's one of those songs that kind of wrote itself. You know, sometimes you're feeling great about your life, not always but you've been lucky. You're feeling great. I actually had done something where I had sung Let It Be and I was thinking, it's nice having a song like that because it's kind of quasi religious, but it's very uplifting. What is it? It's just somebody very important in your life or is it spirits of goodness, something kind of great - 'You lift up my spirits, you shine on my song, whenever I'm empty, you make me feel whole, I can rely on you to guide me through any situation, hold up the sign that reads, follow me.' It was one of those songs, it just inspired. PROMISE TO YOU GIRL It started as a piano thing. The right hand is doing the melody a bit and then the bass has got a definite part instead of just vamping away so it was just like a little mathematical problem trying to work out how I could do this and I just started singing it. 'Gave my promise to you, girl. I don't wanna take it back.' And it kind of went like a Motown thing for me, I could hear tambourines and chooka, chooka, chooka, I could hear the Motown guys, the Funk Brothers putting a backing track to that. Anyway, so it just developed, went through that little Motowny thing. It's really two little songs put together. When we came to do it in the studio it was multi-layered because it was just me playing. I think I started off with the piano, put a bass on it, a bit of drums and then Nigel started encouraging me to play some guitar licks - that was quite complicated. So it's all a lot of little bits, but I think it sounds like a band in the end. THIS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE It's a straight love song. I think that's such an important thing in the world and it gets spoken of, sung about a lot but what's wrong with that message? It's always a big help if you get a nice little chord sequence and the opening chords to the verse so they settle you down with your melody and you feel like you're going somewhere. It was one of the very first things that I did with Nigel - one of the things to see if we could sort of get on and I thought, 'This is good. This Never Happened Before and Follow Me were really the first two that Nigel and I did together. I was in America and I was actually getting a massage and I happened to play it and the girl who was doing the massage said, 'Oh, I love that song, it's magnificent.' She happened to tell me she was getting married so very quietly I just sort of sent her, a few weeks later, she told me when and where she was getting married and I sent her a little letter saying, 'Look, if you love it that much, why don't you play this at your wedding?' I said, 'but this is highly bootleggable, so just play it and send it back. You can't keep it, but, I'll send you the proper record when we're done with it. They got married to it and it was their first dance. Highly romantic stuff, but it was very nice. She wrote me a letter of thanks and told me about the wedding, about her husband. But she put this one little line in (the note) - 'we had a great time, we laughed, we cried,' and I thought that sums up that song for me. ANYWAY It was quite straightforward and for some reason I was getting this feeling again, why do you get these feelings? I don't know, but I was getting this feeling as if it was the deep south of America, like Charlestown, Savannah, something about the chords, I think. Then I got these other chords that sort of happen half way through the verse which were started to inspire me. So then it was written and I took it to Los Angeles and got our string arranger out there. That kind of sewed it all up. HIDDEN TRACK We were almost finished and we just thought how about opening the album with a little jam thing, a noise, just something to get your attention, then we'll go into the first song. I always like that where you sort of throw away the rulebook. So Nigel said, 'just go and do two things and while you're doing one, do two, so I thought I'll do three just to show him. The piano was set up and I started. We recorded the piano bit first. It was like as if the grown-ups had gone away and left us the studios. So then I got on the drum kit and I thrashed that out and we recorded in the space of like about ten minutes, well, maybe an hour. In the end, instead of choosing one of them for the beginning we stuck three of them all together and put them at the end. Sir Paul Mc Cartney at The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, Friday July 29th 2005 The Presentation of the
Graduation Awards to L.I.P.A Photos and story by Steve Barnes, Daytrippin' Liverpool Correspondent
LIPA is now ten years old and was Paul's old school The Liverpool Institute. "I am very proud of what we managed to do. The original Liverpool Institute was in danger of collapse. It was going to be pulled down, " he said. "I find it very moving. One of the guys who came up on stage said, 'you've done a great thing here,' and I said, 'It's my pleasure' and that's the truth. " Earlier Robin Gibb arrived
to receive his lifetime achievements award and seemed
reluctant enter the hall spending almost ten
minutes
This year Paul couldn't get enough and almost twenty lucky people were rewarded. After my first six shots as he left , I was able to move from my position to let another photographer have a go. He looked happy, relaxed and finished by throwing the marker pen across the street. A friend of mine who was one of the lucky ones later sat on the sidewalk to recover only to find the pen at her feet………. spooky . So what a difference a year makes. Thanks, Paul , it was much appreciated.
Steve Barnes http://www.beatles64.co.uk 'FINE LINE' RELEASED ON AUGUST 29TH / CHAOS AND CREATION PINBOARD
'Fine Line' is the first single to be released from Paul McCartney's forthcoming brand new studio album 'Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard'. 'Fine Line' will be released on the 29th of August. You can listen to the whole track in full right now at http://www.paulmccartney.com/chaoscreation/ . The track is part of a special section that has been created to hold all the information and content that you could possibly need on Paul's forthcoming album. The Chaos and Creation Pinboard‚ will include album clips, promo video clips, photos and artwork, interview clips, video footage, exclusive competitions and many more interactive tools. To gain access to the Pinboard section you need to be signed up to the www.paulmccartney.com mailing list . 'Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard' is released on September 12th
"CHAOS AND CREATION IN THE BACK YARD" IN RECORD STORES SEPTEMBER 12TH
"Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard," Paul McCartney's 20th studio recording since The Beatles, marks an end to a nearly four-year hiatus since his last studio recording, 2001's platinum certified "Driving Rain." The new 13-track album is co-produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis and Beck) and McCartney, and was recorded in London and Los Angeles over the course of the past two years. Its release coincides with the September 16th launch of McCartney's all new 37-city "US" Tour, his fastest selling concert tour ever. "Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard" is a return to the basics for McCartney. The album successfully fuses his undeniable song writing talents with his unparalleled musicianship. In fact, McCartney is credited with playing the majority of the instruments on the album, which is somewhat reminiscent of "McCartney" (1970) when he was credited with playing all of the instruments. They include the drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, as well as many of the less traditional instruments such as block flute, harmonium and flugelhorn. "Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard" is a mix of up-tempo piano driven McCartney instant classics such as 'Fine Line' and 'Promise To You Girl' and more introspective darker tracks such as 'At The Mercy,' 'Too Much Rain' and 'Riding To Vanity Fair.' One of the many highlights is a track entitled, 'Jenny Wren,' which Paul describes as "daughter of Blackbird," as well as 'Follow Me,' which McCartney debuted at The Glastonbury Festival, while on his '04 Summer European Tour. But "Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard" would not have been either if not for the suggestion of now legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin. Familiar with Nigel's credentials and with his published desire to work with an established artist, Paul made the call that finally put the two together in the studio. The collaboration seemed an unlikely one and thus the rumors began. What type of album was McCartney making? "I did not want to rush this album," said McCartney, who despite repeated inquiries, touring commitments and pressure from his record label, managed to maintain his focus. "I think it was worth the wait though. The music became more interesting over time and I'm really proud of what we did." The results are evident throughout. The songs are sonically robust, the instrumentation and orchestration first rate and the chemistry between Paul and Nigel apparent. The album has an organic feel reminiscent of Paul's first solo release, "McCartney," (1970) and some of The Beatles later recordings. "We really made a lot of it up as we went along," added McCartney. "I'd try something and if it didn't work I'd try something else until it did. It was like making a go-cart in the backyard." "When Paul and I got together we had a common goal," said Godrich. "We wanted to make a great album that was true to Paul. I think that's exactly what we did." Fine Line 3:05
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Paul McCartney performed at Free Live
8 Concert on July 2 in Hyde Park,
London
To see exclusive photos from
the Live 8 press conference, |
Dance
Tonight:
Vintage
Clothes:
Outside
on the sidewalk in front of Carnegie Hall, a few things
happened that were good omens. We met Albert Maysles
(pictured here on the right), who with his brother, made the
legendary documentary film "The Beatles' First U.S. Visit",
amongst others. That was an unexpected treat (he seemed to
be surprised that I recognized him). Then Wendy and I saw
our old friend Sid Bernstein (pictured below). He's such a
sweet guy, and it was good to see him again. We helped walk
him into Carnegie Hall and to his Orchestra Section door.
And I had to stop and let it all soak in: here, this shy,
soft-spoken, self-effacing gentleman was the man who brought
The Beatles to Carnegie Hall and Shea Stadium back in the
mid sixties. He was a very important cog in the group's
success. And here, tonight, over 4 decades later, here would
be Sid and Paul in the same Carnegie Hall, together again -
and Wendy and I and all the other BeatleManiacs were here,
too! Pretty cool!
Inside,
we had great 2nd Tier balcony seats, which had a perfect
view of not only the stage down to our left, but also of of
Paul McCartney's Box Seats, down a bit to our right, sitting
in the 1st Tier balcony center Box, directly opposite the
stage. It looked like daughter Mary was sitting to his left.
When he walked into the Box for the first time, the crowd
went nuts - it was pure Beatlemania all over again! No
matter how "cool" anyone thought they were, Paul's entrance
immediately turned everyone of us into drooling, teenage
Beatards, ha ha! What a moment. And during a lull, I yelled
out "God Bless ya, Paul - you're the BEST!!" Paul's eyes
locked right with mine, he gave me the Macca Thumbs-up and
yelled back, directly to me, "Thanks, mate", and the crowd
roared!! That was a moment I'll never forget (among many
others to come, tonight!).
During
Intermission, I slipped out early, and got to their Box on
the 1st Tier, at least hoping to catch Paul as he was coming
out, but someone said Paul left for a bit. So, as I stuck my
head into the Box's little foyer, who do I walk face to face
with but...Elvis Costello himself (another MAJOR influence
and hero of mine!) (pictured here on the left) !! We
immediately got into a remarkably casual and relaxed
conversation about the concert and musical "shop talk" for a
few minutes. I mentioned that I was a musician and singer,
and I thanked him for inspiring me to strive for greatness,
by his amazing example, to which he seemed quite touched. He
replied, "Well, thanks for saying that". I asked if we could
get a few photos together, and he gladly said "Why not." I
asked someone in the hall to get a couple of pix of us. So
then, Elvis walked out in one direction in the hall, and and
I went to the bar for a drink. 
Anyway,
before the end of the Intermission, I stopped by the door to
Paul's and Elvis's Box, before returning to my seat. When
Paul walked back down the hall to the Box, there were tons
of people mobbed to see him, pushed away by his security, so
I only got to pat him on the back, say a quick "Great
concert!", and he quickly said thanks, and was whisked back
in his heavily-guarded Box.
......
just moments before the last movement was about to end,
there I was down in the 1st Tier hallway, sitting on a
little red sofa directly opposite Paul's door. Nobody else
around, except security guys and a couple of ushers, sitting
next to me. As soon as Paul came out, I went over to him,
shook his hand, and said "Paul, I just wanted to tell you
how wonderful your music was tonight, and congratulations on
the success of this concert!" He shook my hand and said
"Thanks, man!" and was hustled off by his bodyguards and
security. No pics or autographs, though. I had to talk with
him in the hall, on the run, as it were. His people move him
around quickly, and as far as I saw he didn't take pictures
with anybody from the audience. He was very nice to
everybody, though. But, I did follow a bit (with the
ever-present White Album CD cover and magic marker in one
hand, my camera in the other), to see where they were all
going. They went down to the ground floor and down the hall,
in the direction of the side stage entrance. His
guitar-handling-in-concert guy (forgot his name at the
moment) told me that Paul was going to go on stage for some
bows with the soloists, conductor and orchestra. So as Paul
went in his door, I slipped into a door that led to the very
seats in front of the stage! Everyone was standing at this
time, and I just walked right by them, to front and center.
I
walked back around towards the front entrance to Carnegie
Hall, to find Wendy. Elvis Costello passed me by on the
street, our eyes met and we smiled, and I faux-furrowed my
eyebrows and "scolded" Elvis with, "You again! Say, you're
not stalking me, are ya?, ha, ha", to which he replied (in
faux shock), "Who, me? Why I'd never do such a thing!" We
shook hands and parted for the 3rd time that night, going
our separate ways. Then Wendy and I linked up a moment later
(she had gotten to meet him, too, around front, just a few
minutes earlier).
His
show at Key Arena (what used to be the Seattle Coliseum,
where the Beatles played in 1964 and 66, as well as George
Harrison on the Dark Horse tour) was two days later, on Nov.
3rd, to a packed audience. It was intimate in comparison, as
his previous shows were at the gigantic stadiums, the
Kingdome and Tacoma Dome. 
Before
I knew it I was standing right in front of Paul, who
graciously smiled at me with those deep brown eyes. I
extended my hand and said "Hi, Paul!" He shook my hand and I
couldn't believe how soft and nice his hand was. Before I
could tell him I'd been in love with him my whole life and
that if he and Heather ever broke up I'd be available, he
said, "Hey, I like your pins! You love Macca, eh?" Taken
off-guard, I nearly fainted dead away. He was referring to
my big rhinestone pin that said "I love Macca" on my Beatle
coat. He smiled as his eyes cruised around my coat, looking
at all the pins from his prior concerts. "Ah," he said, "Oh
there's that one…oh, and I haven't seen THAT one in
awhile. Cool!"
Sir
Paul arrived accompanied only by his driver at the side
entrance of Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall to perform his
annual presentation to graduates of L.I.P.A. Later than
usual and with a worried look on his face he quickly made
his way to the doorway as almost one hundred fans closed
in.
posing with fans and signing autographs. He didn't say much
but appeared to be enjoying himself. If you're reading this,
Robin, thanks very much. It really was a big talking point
amongst the fans during the three hour wait that lay
ahead.
Brother
Mike Mc Cartney was next in and as usual spent time with he
crowd. Now then, this might explain something. Last year
Paul and Heather entered the building at the speed of light
and left it almost faster-- just checkout last year's mug
shot to see for yourself. Paul even said to the crowd then "
I can't sign them all " (autographs ) so he signed
none.
