Paul McCartney '
the Beatles are finally finished ... "
It's over. Paul
McCartney is with his new band, Wings. An ex-Beatle is always good for a crowd
of visitors, who might not even come for Wings but more out of nostalgic
considerations
Soon, Wings turned out to be a moderate part of what once
the great Beatles were. Paul's wife Linda stood up to the podium and was
musically a farce. With the emphasis on
her own composition, "Seaside Woman" it was the bottom line of the performance. Occasionally, McCartney reached old heights.
The number '882' for the new LP was a splendid example of that.
Paul still appeared to have a particularly impressive voice.
The band has not played together for very long. That was seen by the example of
Henry McCullough's "Henry's Blues" composition where Henry was a God-fearing
one.
Also the singing was often not so great. Overall, it was
hard for me to digest that there was a quarter of what once was and that cannot
be calmed down. The world's best songwriters were a duo. What Paul McCartney
wants is not clear. Is this group a kind of hobby? It's hopeful. It will be a
matter of waiting. That patience must be bought and Paul can always stand on a
big backdrop from his Beatle past.
We tried to have an interview with Paul. Attempts to reach him in his temporary Dutch
residence in Oud Wassenaar Castle did not matter. Paul was behaving like a bad
child in his room.
Our English correspondent did it and he sent us his
conversation with Paul in South France:
Q: Paul why did you
start your tour in such a small town as Château Vallon?
Paul: We were supposed to start somewhere in a tiny place
and Chateau Vallon was excellent. It is small, quiet and is not on the Grande
Route.
Q: Linda, were you
nervous for the performance?
Linda: Just for the
first half though. The second half was better.
The first half I was rather nervous because we had no sound control, but
we did not repeat that.
Q : How do you feel
working with someone like Paul?
Linda: I learn a lot. It's nice too and it's a bit
different.
Q: During the
performance, you played a few songs from your new album. When is that expected
to be released?
Paul: We have now recorded about half and it's supposed to
be ready by winter, so it will hopefully come out by the end of the year.
Q: Did anyone tell
you that 10 years ago the first Beatle record came on the hit parade?
Paul: How do you mean?
Q: Do you still think
about that time?
Paul: Of course. I
also have good memories of my school time. I found it all great, but it does
not bother me anymore. It's over. Life goes on. You have to continue, you know.
Q: The big question
Paul: Well. It's about the Beatles. About John as a
companion. Now I have Linda as my other writing half. Many people were afraid when we broke up.
There were a few lawsuits and now it's over.
Q Paul, do you have a
hangover to the past?
Paul: I always have that. I think most people do. I mean
this. You have a party where everyone has a bit of a shot, like a New Year
party or party we had in Liverpool where the whole family is together. This
year we had a great New Year's party. My uncle Joe was there with his
son-in-law. Both put on a nice suit.
They were arm in arm and singing.
I like such scenes.
Q: Would you ever
play a Beatle number?
Paul: I do not know. Maybe.
It is nice for the public; because they can sing the songs. For the first time,
I recently played "Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar. I then played more
old songs.
Q: What do you think
is the best song you ever wrote?
Paul: "Yesterday." I think that is a complete
song. Not because it just happens to be a big hit. It is one of those songs I
wrote when I got up one morning. I do not know if you know, but there are
people who dream of complete symphonies and when they wake up, they cannot
write it down. I had that with "yesterday." I could just write down
the melody. It stayed with me in my dreams and when I woke up, I scraped
everything and wrote it.
Q: Do you feel today
that people expect that type of a performance from you again?
Paul: Yes. But the only thing to live with is ignoring it.
It's not a good idea to sit down and get depressed by the pressure of others.
It is normal to be affected by those feelings. Everybody has.
Q: What would you
like to do besides Wings?
Paul: I do not know. I would like to make an animated film.
Movies like those that Walt Disney made are so good and I would like to do
something like that.
Q Does that interest
you because of the "Yellow submarine?"
Paul: No. It is
because I have to deal with children. You read to them and think, ‘hey that's
good’ and ‘say that happened to me’. To be precise, it was because I was
reading something with Heather.
Q: Some have
suggested that you have lost your sense of musical direction.
Paul: Maybe. Maybe not. If you stop a band and you continue
with another, you will lose that time. But if you want to know the truth: let my contract expire! Just like the other
three. However, that does not mean Allan Klein and the others are against me.
It's not fun, but once again it's okay.
Q: Are you against
the other three?
Paul: No. They are OK. I have a new band that I'm interested in . That’s just how it is.
Q: Do you still
musically do what they do? Do you listen to their music a lot?
Paul: I following it but rarely listen to it.
Q: What do you think
of John's last album?
Paul: Oh, it’s fine.
If that's what he wants to do then it's OK.
Q: Do you not share his
political and social ideas?
Paul: Actually…
Q: But you do it your
own way?
Paul: Yes. It isn’t effective. I don’t think what he is saying it wrong. It's reasonable. Much of what he says is
true.
Q: Have you been
invited to the Bangla Desh concert in New York?
Paul: Yes, I'm invited. But that's a long story. I want to
say this. If I had done it -and maybe this sounds ridiculous- but many people
would have said –‘Hey, the Beatles are together again’ - even if it was an
evening. It is over. Definitely. If you're going to play together again, people
will come and say, "Well, boys will do this a year later." A kind of
'In Memoriam' album will be available. Well for something like that, I am
thankful that I’m not dead yet. When I
am, they can make one, but not now.
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