Paul McCartney

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Paul McCartney: Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
Review by Tom Graves, Rock & Roll Disc, July 1991
I HAVE A MENTAL image of Paul McCartney that I carry in my heart like a mother's locket. It's one of those moody black ...
Audio interviews
Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, May 1980
John Tobler and others ask Paul about his new solo album, McCartney II: how he played all the instruments and did all the engineering; how he came up with the songs, and chose those that ended up on the record; his surprise at 'Coming Up' being a hit; the situation with Wings, and his defense of the title 'Frozen Jap'.
File format: mp3; total file size: 27mb, total interview length: 14' 03" sound quality: ****
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages Audio, 14 March 2003
A long, free-flowing conversation, during which Paul talks about Phil Spector and Let It Be, on his relationship with Yoko and the "whose name first" saga, and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, plus much more.
File format: mp3; file size: 75.8mb, total interview length: 1h 22' 44" sound quality: ****
List of articles in the library
Close-Up on Paul McCartney, a Beatle
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 9 August 1963
I WENT roof-climbing with the Beatles – up a rickety wooden ladder, over drainpipes, and past the huge chimney-pots of London's plush Washington Hotel. The ...
Beginning a new study of our four Beatles, M.B.E. First, this month — Profile on Paul
Profile and Interview by Dawn James, Rave, August 1965
PAUL McCARTNEY sat astride an antique chair, the gold of it touching his well-styled suit. He looked at home, relaxed and confident. His neat face ...
Now Only Beatle Left — What Will Happen To Paul?
Comment by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 12 March 1966
AND NOW there is only one — unmarried Beatle, that is. What will become of Paul McCartney now that he is the sole eligible (?) ...
How A Beatle Lives, No. 4: Paul All Alone: Running Hard To Catch Up With The Music
Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 25 March 1966
THE SCENE SHIFTS FROM WEYBRIDGE TO LONDON ...
Paul McCartney did write 'Woman', but DON'T BLAME US, PLEASE! say PETER and GORDON
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 25 March 1966
LAST WEEK NME revealed that Bernard Webb, writer of Peter and Gordon's latest hit, 'Woman', was no less than Paul McCartney. The reason for the ...
A Conversation with Paul McCartney
Interview by Miles, International Times, November 1966
THIS WAS recorded at Paul's house in Cavendish Avenue, Saint John's Wood in November 1966 for International Times, known as IT, the London Underground newspaper. ...
A Hard Day's Surfin' Safari: When Brian Met Macca
Memoir by Derek Taylor, World Countdown News, 1967
When Beatles press officer Derek Taylor swapped Swinging Britain for LA's Sunset Strip in 1965, he played a pivotal part in bringing the worlds of ...
Beatle Blind Date: Paul McCartney reviews the new pop singles
Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 25 February 1967
LEE DORSEY: 'Rain Rain Go Away' (Stateside) Lee Dorsey. It's in the same old vein and it'll be a hit. Sometimes I wonder if he ...
Paul McCartney: 'If You'll Shut Up About It I Will'
Report by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 15 July 1967
ON THE evening of Monday June 19, thirty six hours after the British press had reported and examined Paul McCartney's statement regarding LSD (originally contained ...
Beatles by Barrow: Paul — the Cute Beatle Boy
Profile by Tony Barrow, Melody Maker, 10 February 1968
PROBING NEW BEATLES SERIES BY THE MAN WHO'S KEPT SILENT FOR FIVE YEARS ...
Review by John Mendelsohn, Rolling Stone, 17 May 1969
POSTCARD IS AS much Paul McCartney's as it is Mary Hopkin's, which is to say that it is one of those albums on which the ...
Overview by Lenny Kaye, Fusion, 19 September 1969
THE ELECTRIC revolution that helped to spawn rock and roll also helped to popularize a whole new set of instruments to take along on its ...
Are We Burying McCartney Before He Is Dead?
Report by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 17 October 1969
What's the Meaning of Beatle Death Symbolism? ...
Paul McCartney: McCartney (APPLE PCS 7102).
Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 18 April 1970
'The Lovely Linda'; 'That Would Be Something'; 'Valentine Day'; 'Every Night'; 'Hot As Sun'; 'Glasses'; 'Junk'; 'Man We Was Lonely'; 'Oo You'; 'Momma Miss America'; ...
Paul McCartney: McCartney (Apple)
Review and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 18 April 1970
McCartney is a warm pleasure PAUL TALKS ABOUT LP TRACK BY TRACK ...
Interview by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 18 April 1970
Your own dossier on The McCartney Affair: Paul replies ...
Paul McCartney: Your Friendly Press Agent Knew That The Day Would Not Be Easy
Report by Derek Taylor, Record Mirror, 18 April 1970
DEREK TAYLOR, THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE McCARTNEY AFFAIR (AND WHAT BETTER PLACE TO BE?) TELLS THE INSIDE STORY ...
Ringo Stars: Geoffrey Cannon on the Beatles' Solo Albums
Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 19 December 1970
Ringo Starr: Beaucoups of Blues; Paul McCartney: McCartney; John Lennon: John Lennon Plastic Ono Band; George Harrison: All Things Must Pass ...
The Paul Perplex: A British Commentary
Book Excerpt by Richard Williams, Giants of Rock Music, 1971
And heres another clue for you allThe Walrus was Paul. ...
The Beatles: It's Open Warfare
Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 6 March 1971
Why Beatles ended in a sordid mudbath.It isn't coincidence that these solo singles have just been released, says Alan Smith ...
Albums from Paul McCartney, Little Richard and Carole King
Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 21 May 1971
THERE IS NO way to make great rock music from retirement. Paul McCartney may have been seduced — by reading that he's equalled Schubert — ...
Paul And Linda McCartney: Ram (Apple)
Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 May 1971
Alan Smith assesses the McCartney Ram album and sums up with... PAUL, WHAT A MESS YOU'VE MADE OF IT! ...
Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971
Mutton dressed as Ram? ...
At Home With The Lennons, Part 2
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 7 August 1971
In which John burns down the Beatles 'cause he loves 'em ...
At home with the Lennons, Part 2: "Ringo's Sellers is my Paul"
Interview by Val Mabbs, Record Mirror, 14 August 1971
"THESE PAST two years have been very heavy," Yoko told me earnestly. "We've been having the Paul thing and the Kyoko thing going on for ...
The Producers: Glyn Johns — Why I'm working on Paul's album
Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 26 February 1972
"IT'S ALL BULL. Having offices and secretaries and all the moodies and the phones. It's just crap. It's nothing to do with making records. Making ...
Paul McCartney: Spilling the beans...
Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 14 April 1973
Paul McCartney on Wings, Klein and the chances of a Beatles get-together. Andrew Tyler reports ...
Paul McCartney: Red Rose Speedway
Review by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 5 July 1973
WHEN PAUL MCCARTNEY's television special was aired several weeks ago, one of the ostensible aims was to provide a semi-biographical glimpse of the inner man, ...
John Lennon: The Beatle in exile
Interview by Ivor Davis, Daily Express, 17 November 1973
PHOTONEWS with the full version of John Lennon's blues... and his song of love ...
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973
WHEN THE Prime Minister, Royalty or a Rear Admiral makes a tour of inspection of a naval establishment, there is a flurry of activity among ...
The Rolling Stone Interview: Paul McCartney
Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 31 January 1974
THIS JANUARY marks the tenth anniversary of the Beatles' appearance on the American charts. Last month Rolling Stone conducted its first full-scale interview with Paul ...
Linda McCartney: Silly Love Songs
Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 3 April 1976
ON A GREY and overcast winter afternoon, two men stand in the foyer of EMI Abbey Road Studios discussing plans for renovation. They are surrounded ...
Paul McCartney: The Yellow Perils Of Paulie
Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980
The Nips nabbed Big Macca last week as he allegedly lugged half-a-pound of marijuana through the Japanese customs. Is the naughty 'former Beatle' set for ...
Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, May 1980
This is a transcript of John's audio interview with McCartney. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Paul McCartney: McCartney II (Parlophone)****
Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 17 May 1980
MUCH AS I bless and honour the name of Paul McCartney, I haven't wholly enjoyed an album he's been involved with since McCartney and Ram ...
Paul McCartney: Once Nipped, Twice Shy
Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Record Mirror, 12 July 1980
PAUL McCARTNEY tells PAUL GAMBACCINI how he avoided going to pot in a Jap jail ...
The Times Profile: Paul McCartney
Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, The Times, 4 January 1982
In the year of his 40th birthday Paul McCartney, the world's most successful pop musician, adjusts the record ...
Paul McCartney: Tug of War (EMI)
Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 1 May 1982
MACCA MAKES GOOD ALBUM — WELL, ALMOST ...
The Tube: Ready... Steady... Um...
Report by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983
Helen FitzGerald has a nightmare... and finds herself at the first night of THE TUBE. ...
Paul McCartney: Pipes Of Peace (Parlophone)
Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 5 November 1983
CONTRARY TO current feeling here at the NME and elsewhere, I personally nurture no antagonism towards Paul McCartney, nor regard him with any of my ...
Paul McCartney: Pipes Of Peace (Columbia)
Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, January 1984
JUST WHEN you thought it was safe to like Paul McCartney again, along comes an album that makes Ram look like Abbey Road. It isn't ...
Paul McCartney: Pipes of Peace (Columbia QC 39149)
Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, February 1984
PAUL McCARTNEY just wants everyone to play nice. When he addresses any topic pertaining to the outside world, he takes on the wheedling tone of ...
Paul McCartney: "Once There Was Away To Get Back Homeward..."
Interview by Deborah Frost, Record, September 1984
LONDON. IN A city where nearly every kid on the street looks like he's rushing off to audition for Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, dressed for ...
Paul McCartney: An Innocent Man?
Interview by Chris Salewicz, Q, October 1986
Paul McCartney curls up on the couch and relives the Beatles story for the first time since the death of John Lennon. "He was one ...
Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, March 1989
THERE'S A deceptive balm in the air, a bright December afternoon curdled by icy darts of breeze, as Elvis Costello and Cait O'Riordan stride along ...
Paul McCartney: Flowers In The Dirt
Review by Mark Cooper, Q, July 1989
Spiked by Costello, Paul McCartney is back in the pink ...
Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Maclean's, 2 October 1989
ENGLAND WAS basking in an unseasonably warm and bright afternoon one day last week. Paul McCartney, however, was spending it enveloped by darkness and fog, ...
Paul McCartney: The Support Group
Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, February 1990
They are a bona fide rock'n'roll family unit, in the magnanimous — if somewhat fanciful — view of their proprietor. And his band back him ...
Report by Adrian Deevoy, Q, July 1990
Indeed you do... for the guitar Hendrix played at Woodstock. But it's considerably less for a life-size oil painting of Ozzy Osbourne. Adrian Deevoy examines ...
Knebworth 90: The Billion Dollar Buskers
Live Review by Mat Snow, Q, August 1990
IN DAYS OF yore, the elders tell, the grassy slopes of Knebworth would resound to the pagan strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers and ...
Paul McCartney: Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool
Live Review by Debbie Kruger, Vogue Australia, November 1991
THE CRITICS WERE cool, the public baffled, but for Paul McCartney his first "church gig" could only be seen as a success. Now the public ...
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
Comment by Tim Page, Newsday, 20 November 1991
THERE'S NOTHING particularly mysterious about writing a piece of "classical music," especially when one commands the power and influence of a Paul McCartney. ...
Paul McCartney: "It was my role to be a bit more the cheerful chap than the others"
Memoir by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 15 October 1992
PAUL McCARTNEY changed my life when I heard 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' for the first time, on WINS in New York in late ...
Paul McCartney: Docklands Arena, London
Live Review by Jon Young, Musician, April 1993
"THE WEEKEND starts here," beamed a well-preserved Paul McCartney, surveying the friendly crowd at London's Docklands Arena one dank Friday night in February. Say what ...
Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest and Come Together: Motown Sings The Beatles
Review by Gillian G. Gaar, Rolling Stone, 30 June 1994
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, Paul McCartney has occasionally ventured into atypical musical genres anonymously or under an assumed name. In 1974, under the guise of the ...
Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 3 June 1995
Fifteen years of experience has carried producer JOHN LECKIE from a-song-a-day sessions with John Lennon, to hours spent pouring over the endless noodlings of The ...
Interview by Mat Snow, MOJO, November 1995
WHATEVER PAUL McCARTNEY is on in 1995, they should dump it in the water supply. Talcum-pink of complexion and trim of figure, only a curious ...
...And The Arrest is History: Great Rock'n'Roll Drug Busts Through the Ages
Retrospective by Stuart Bailie, New Musical Express, 25 January 1997
Liam Gallagher's caution for possession of cocaine is the latest in a long line of rock'n'roll drug busts. STUART BAILIE remembers those other pop stars ...
He May Be Sir Paul, But He's Still a Beatle
Interview by Bob Spitz, The New York Times, 25 May 1997
ON A RECENT afternoon in the kitchen of a quaint 17th-century mill house overlooking the English Channel, there was a sense of eventfulness. The room ...
Review and Interview by Chris Ingham, MOJO, June 1997
According to the man himself, Paul can bash out a song in the time it takes Linda to whip up a soyasome supper. But is ...
Review by Carol Clerk, Uncut, June 1997
PERHAPS Anthology holds the key. Not just the CDs and the videos, but the whole hullabaloo surrounding the project and the full-scale reassessment of The ...
Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs Of Noel Coward
Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, May 1998
PAN-GENERATIONAL tribute to The Other Noel, benefiting International AIDS-prevention projects ...
Obituary by Miles, MOJO, June 1998
Rock photographer turned legendary other half ...
Overview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 15 June 1998
They maybe rock icons, mad, bad and dangerous to know. But somewhere, some long-suffering woman remembers them in nappies. Caroline Sullivan on that great institution, ...
Linda McCartney: How Rock 'n' Roll Saved Our Lives
Retrospective by David Dalton, Gadfly, August 1998
I FIRST MET Linda McCartney at the Scene on West 46th Street. A hip little grotto in a cellar, it was run by the cool ...
Interview by Jim Irvin, MOJO, October 1999
THE LURE had been the chance of a lengthy one-on-one with Paul McCartney discussing all his solo albums. "You could turn it into a book," ...
Paul McCartney: The Cavern, Liverpool
Live Review by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 20 January 2000
IN ITS OWN downbeat English way, Mathew Street in Liverpool is as much a shrine to the Beatles as Graceland is to Elvis. Walk up ...
Retrospective by David Dalton, Gadfly, 2001
"DADDY, tell us how it all began, how the walls of Pepperland crumbled, how the Blue Meanies with their lawyers and chartered accounts came and ...
The Man Who Killed Paul McCartney
Retrospective by Jim Yoakum, unpublished, 2001
The incredible, never-before-revealed true-life event that sparked the greatest rock n roll rumor of all time. ...
Comment by David Dalton, Gadfly, 14 May 2001
"DADDY, TELL US how it all began, how the walls of Pepperland crumbled, how the Blue Meanies with their lawyers and chartered accounts came and ...
Paul McCartney: Wingspan (EMI)***
Review by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, July 2001
MACCA'S FIRST post-Fabs decade. ...
Paul McCartney: He Loves Her Yeah Yeah Yeah
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, The Observer, 29 July 2001
PAUL McCARTNEY has always been known for his broad, boyish smile, but the ear-splitting grin he sported last week while announcing his engagement to Heather ...
Interview by Gavin Martin, The Independent, 15 November 2001
SIR PAUL had been up in the city to promote his Driving Rain album and 'Freedom' single, a song which has prompted some to suggest ...
Paul McCartney: Driving Rain (Parlophone)
Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, January 2002
ROCKIN' MACCA goes for live spontaneity. ...
Paul McCartney: Back In The World, Earls Court, London April 21st
Live Review by Richard English, Rock's Backpages, April 2003
ALL MY LIFE Id wanted to see the Beatles. My sister saw them at Hammersmith in the 60s and screamed. This was my ...
Paul McCartney: American Airlines Stadium, Miami
Live Review by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 19 September 2005
Mirror Music Critic GAVIN MARTIN's verdict on Sir Paul's dire US tour. ...
Interview by Graeme Thomson, The Word, October 2005
JUST WHAT do you do if you are Paul McCartney? You could bathe in liquid gold and shine your shoes with royalty cheques, of course, ...
Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard
Review by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 17 November 2005
SOMETIMES EVEN royalty needs a kick in the ass. That's what Sir Paul McCartney got for himself by pegging Beck/Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich to helm ...
Macca Has Strength To Beat His Blues
Comment by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 18 May 2006
THE INNER STRENGTH that has helped Paul McCartney triumph over adversity and career setbacks will help him cope with his separation from Heather Mills. ...
Profile and Interview by Richie Unterberger, Record Collector, June 2006
BESIDES GEORGE Martin, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, Geoff Emerick worked on more Beatles sessions than any other individual. ...
Lady Madonna: In defence of Heather Mills-McCartney
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 15 June 2006
IN THE WEEK in which Lady McCartney has been accused of being, quite literally, a lying whore, I hope it is of some small comfort ...
Paul McCartney: Memory Almost Full
Review by Alfred Soto, Stylus, 8 June 2007
SINCE I'VE DUTIFULLY AVOIDED the half dozen studio albums released since he scored his last Top 40 hit in 1989, I'm in no position to ...
Paul McCartney: Electric Ballroom, London
Live Review by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 8 June 2007
IT WAS SUPPOSED to be a "secret" gig; but the cat was out of the bag – and all over the internet and the papers ...
The Time I Was Not Invisible In Front Of Paul McCartney
Retrospective and Interview by Steven Rosen, Player, October 2007
IN 1973, I SAW myself disappearing. I was a grammar ghost, a sentence-writing cipher with barely a byline to hang my rent on. ...
Paul McCartney: Electric Arguments
Review by Pete Paphides, Uncut, December 2008
YES, HE MAY HAVE HAMMERED the point home a little gracelessly at times. But nevertheless, Many Tears From Now — the 1997 biography virtually dictated ...
Bassists: Let's Stick Together
Overview by James Medd, The Word, February 2012
They are "the glue" that cements the music, the mysterious put-upon souls plying their crucial trade in a cloud of dry ice by the drum-riser. ...
Macca's Ration Book Romance: 'We Three'
Comment by Fred Dellar, Rock's Backpages, February 2012
PAUL MCCARTNEY'S latest album, Kisses On The Bottom, is, to a great extent, based around a number of songs his father once loved: age-old standards ...
12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief: Madison Square Garden, New York
Live Review by Alan Light, MSN.com, December 2012
IT MIGHT HAVE been the single greatest gathering of talent for a rock show – or it might just have been, as Mick Jagger put ...
Paul McCartney Live: Still Transcendent At 73
Live Review by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, 15 July 2015
Macca magic touches every stage he steps on – as evidenced at this year’s Roskilde Festival. ...
Vinyl Icon: Paul McCartney & Wings' Band On The Run
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, August 2015
KNIFE-WIELDING ATTACKERS, primitive recording facilities, medical emergencies – for sheer unadulterated behind-the-scenes drama and bizarre shenanigans, no other Paul McCartney album comes even remotely close ...
Paul McCartney: Tug Of War/Pipes Of Peace
Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, October 2015
WITH THE 1980 release of McCartney II, Paul McCartney was in his rudest creative health for some time. Though the following two years would see ...
Philip Norman: Paul McCartney – The Biography
Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, June 2016
WHAT MUST IT be like to be Paul McCartney? Deluged by gargantuan levels of fame since the age of 21, he has remained squarely in ...
Rolling Stone founder falls out with biographer over candid life story
Report and Interview by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 22 October 2017
Jann Wenner, whose magazine charted pop music and culture since the '60s, gave Joe Hagan full access but is unhappy with the result, especially "the ...
The Untold Stories of Paul McCartney
Interview by Chris Heath, GQ, 11 September 2018
He's as famous and accomplished as a man can be. He could just stay home, relax, and count his money. But Paul McCartney is as ...
Paul McCartney: Flaming Pie (Paul McCartney Archive Collection 2020)
Review by Steve Matteo, It's Psychedelic Baby!, 31 August 2020
PAUL MCCARTNEY'S post-Beatles career can be divided up in many ways. He has worked solo, with his band Wings, collaborated with other artists on brief ...
see also Beatles, The
see also Wings
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