31/05/2012

Paul McCartney Visits John Lennon's Old Art College



Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has stepped back in time to visit bandmate John Lennon's old art college after it was recently bought by the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (Lipa).
The Liverpool College of Art building is steeped in Beatles history - it was where Lennon, his future wife Cynthia and The Beatles' original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe all studied in the 1950s.
The purchase by Lipa brings together two old haunts of former Beatles - the main Lipa building is housed in Sir Paul and George Harrison's old grammar school, The Liverpool Institute for Boys.


Sir Paul and former Lipa student Liz White, who recently starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe in the film The Woman In Black, were shown around the newly-acquired building by Lipa chief executive and co-founder Mark Featherstone-Witty.
Sir Paul said: "As well as reuniting two landmark Liverpool buildings, I'm glad that this also brings back together George, John and myself.
"Aside from being a building we brought back from the brink, Lipa is now contributing as Mark and I dreamed all those years ago."
Sir Paul and Featherstone-Witty co-founded Lipa, which opened in 1995 to train performers and others in the showbusiness industry.
Featherstone-Witty said: "There are sound business reasons why we are buying the building next door, but there's no denying the romance of bringing together two buildings where three Beatles once did their learning.
"I'm glad that this historic building will not become yet another boutique hotel or, yet again, turned into flats. It'll be used for what it was intended - learning."
Sir Paul, who mentors graduating singer-songwriters from Lipa, also answered questions from students at the institute during his visit.

From: huffingtonpost.co.uk

Live Review: James Mccartney At Coach House




Live review: James McCartney at the Coach House

May 30th, 2012, 12:45 pm 

posted by


There was an understandable curiosity that attracted many to James McCartney‘s first-ever Orange County performance Tuesday night at the Coach House. The good news is that the son of Sir Paul was up to the challenge, showcasing his freewheeling style and winning low-key personality across a rewarding 16-song set.
Decidedly reserved compared to his famous dad, there is no doubt McCartney shares the same enthusiasm for crafting songs that defy genre pigeonholing and thus demand serious listeners be prepared for a fascinating ride.
Backed by a strong four-man outfit, McCartney opened things with a slow blues-rock solo on electric guitar before the song “New York Times” kicked into high gear. It was the first of many times throughout the show that McCartney exhibited his top-tier talents on six strings, but ultimately it was his songs and far-reaching tenor (which draws no natural comparisons to Paul’s) that really impressed.
Between numbers he was personable and often gave straightforward details on the origins of specific tunes. His sly arrangements of them thankfully revealed much more. “I Only Want to Be Alone” unfolded with his stirring voice positioned amid an infectious drum beat and layers of guitars. Even more ambitious and affecting songcraft followed, particularly the huge soundscape that defined “Glisten” and the folk rock-to-symphonic surge unveiled in “My Friend.”
There were times where the experimental approach wasn’t needed: On the piano-anchored “Fallen Angel” and an emotive, largely faithful version of Neil Young’s “Old Man,” McCartney and company wisely used the power of the songs and instrumentation to carry the moment.
Fans eager to see where McCartney’s sound comes closest to mining his father’s may have heard a bit of Wings in the rollicking rocker “Spirit Guides.” But his overall feel is admittedly closer to sonic heroes like Robert Smith (note the neo-goth-rock of “Denial” and the haunting “Cherry Blossom Hailstorm”) and Radiohead (as on “Else and Else But Dead,” with McCartney’s use of shimmering guitar harmonics enriching the song).
The show ended with another surprise: Rather than indulge a rocking finale, McCartney came back for the encore to perform the poignant “Wings of a Lightest Weight,” a beautiful acoustic song he wrote for his late mother Linda that displays the tenderness and warmth that marks so many of his father’s finest material.


Setlist: James McCartney at the Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, May 29, 2012
Main set: New York Times / Moonstar / I Only Want to Be Alone / Glisten / The Sound of My Voice / My Friend / Fallen Angel / Spirit Guides / Denial / Mix / Erratic Pulses / Old Man (Neil Young cover) / Cherry Blossom Hailstorm / Angel / Else and Else But Dead
Encore: Wings of a Lightest Weight

From: soundcheck.ocregister.com

29/05/2012

Poll:New Homepage Photo













Voting ends on June 5th.

Nordoff Robbins


                                        Paul with children from the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy                                         

                                      
Exclusive : Sir Paul Mccartney Signed Guitar Is Up For Auction
Posted on 28th May 2012

We are thrilled that Sir Paul McCartney, a long-time supporter of Nordoff Robbins, has kindly donated an exclusive signed Hofner bass violin guitar for auction.


Whilst performing with The Beatles, the Hofner bass became Sir Paul McCartney's signature instrument. This exceptionally rare piece of music memorabilia is a unique piece and has been generously donated by Sir Paul for auction at the charity's annual Silver Clef Awards, the aim being to raise vital funds for our work transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults through music.






Sir Paul McCartney Signed Guitar                                          
We are thrilled that Sir Paul McCartney, a long-time supporter of Nordoff Robbins, has kindly donated an exclusive signed Hofner bass violin guitar for auction.
The guitar can be viewed between 8th  - 12th June at Christie's Auction House in South Kensington and will be auctioned at the star-studded awards ceremony on Friday 29th June 2012, at the London Hilton, Park Lane. Bidding can be made on the day by telephone or in-person. 
If you are interested in bidding please contact Rachel Walker by email or on 020 7428 2753.



















28/05/2012

Mary McCartney signs her book 'Food: Vegetarian Home Cooking' at Selfridges London, England









The Coolest Beatle


The Coolest Beatle
At 70, more than half the man he used to be.
By Alan Light | From the June 1 & 8, 2012, issue.

When the Beatles went to India in 1968 for a meditation retreat with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the folk-rock star Donovan was part of their traveling party. The musicians had all brought their acoustic guitars, and Donovan wandered around the grounds of the Maharishi’s compound in Rishikesh, playing in a traditional folk-bluegrass style known as fingerpicking.

After a few days, Donovan recently recalled, John Lennon stopped him and said, “How do you do that? That finger style, that picking, will you teach me?” He demonstrated the technique to Lennon, but he also noticed Paul McCartney occasionally hovering in the background. “Paul would stand around, he’d steal a look, and then he’d walk away into the woods. He was listening.”

Too proud or too impatient to sit for instruction, McCartney eavesdropped enough to figure out the method on his own. Then he went off and used the style as the basis for “Blackbird,” “I Will,” and “Mother Nature’s Son,” three of the acoustic masterpieces on the Beatles epic double-LP set generally known as the White Album. With just a glimpse of a new direction, he instantly began blazing a musical trail.

This capacity for constant, lightning-quick creative revelation has characterized McCartney’s music for 50 years. When he turns 70 years old on June 18, perhaps the only thing more remarkable than the idea of this eternally youthful icon reaching that landmark is the fact that he has gotten there without having lost the boundless inventiveness and creative curiosity that redefined the very possibilities of rock and roll. Though McCartney is often overshadowed in the public imagination by John Lennon’s hard-edged cool, and frequently taken for granted after so many years in the pop spotlight, there is simply no other figure in pop who can claim a track record so deep.

The Guinness Book of World Records identifies McCartney as “the most successful musician and composer in popular music history.” He’s had 15 top 10 albums and 21 top 10 singles—and that’s not including his work with the biggest band of all time. His tours still sell out stadiums around the world. His solo compositions have been covered by artists from Michael Jackson to Guns N’ Roses. And his marriage last year to Nancy Shevell, the daughter of a U.S. trucking magnate, helped take his estimated worth from £495 to £665 million, making him the wealthiest performer in British music.

But this ongoing commercial juggernaut exists in tandem with an impressive eagerness to challenge himself and expand musically. At an age when most rockers have long eased into life as oldies acts, McCartney has undergone a startling creative renaissance. His most recent release, Kisses on the Bottom, is a smoothly orche­strated set of such Great American Songbook standards as “Bye Bye Blackbird” and ­“Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” while (entirely unverified) rumors have buzzed that his next album will be a straight-up rock-and-roll record, produced with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters.

Not surprising for someone who came of age as half of the most celebrated songwriting duo in history, McCartney has often sought out worthy collaborators, both writers (like Stevie Wonder and Elvis Costello) and producers (including Youth, with whom he has released a series of ambient-inspired projects under the name The Fireman, and Nigel Godrich, who has worked with the likes of Radiohead and Beck). McCartney has also composed several extended classical works: two oratorios, a “symphonic poem” called “Standing Stone,” and an album of shorter pieces, Working Classical. Last year he worked with the New York City Ballet to create a new narrative piece titled Ocean’s Kingdom—but he didn’t just write a score and send it in. He developed the storyline, made paintings to suggest the backdrops, and offered suggestions to his megastar designer daughter, Stella, about the costumes.

Prompted perhaps by the death of his beloved first wife, Linda, and a tumultuous second marriage to Heather Mills, ­McCartney’s recent records—Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Memory Almost Full, and the vastly under­rated Fireman release Electric ­Arguments—have included a surprising degree of introspection in their lyrics. It feels as if he has finally allowed himself to stop competing with Lennon’s shadow and take on some of the themes that arise later in life, territory that John never got the chance to face.

Contrary to widespread belief that John was the bitter and Paul was the sweet in the Beatles incomparable blend of talents, the fact is that as the group progressed and began to experiment in the recording studio in radical new ways, McCartney not only took more chances musically than Lennon did, he also became more of the band’s driving force. After the other Beatles had all married and moved to the suburbs, he was still living in London with girlfriend Jane Asher’s family, going to art galleries and avant-garde music events, absorbing the city’s youthquake and bringing new ideas back to the records (a point made repeatedly in his 1997 quasi-autobiography, Many Years From Now, which is almost painfully defensive in its endless pleading “Hey, I was cool, too!”)

“I lived a very urbane life in London,” McCartney once said. “John used to come in from Weybridge ... and I’d tell him what I’d been doing: ‘Last night I saw a Bertolucci film and I went down to the Open Space, they’re doing a new play there.’” Paul said that John would reply, “God, man, I really envy you.”

It was Lennon who said that he wanted Revolver’s droning, psychedelic “Tomorrow Never Knows” (recently featured to great effect on an episode of Mad Men) to sound like “thousands of monks chanting.” But it was McCartney, immersed in the experimental work of composers like John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, who altered the heads on his tape machine to create the loops of layered noise that ultimately defined the song’s shockingly futuristic sound.

From the Brazilian-influenced chords of “Here, There and Everywhere” to the concept that shaped the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, McCartney spearheaded many of the Beatles’s musical breakthroughs. He had the idea for the extended medley that concluded Abbey Road: “I wanted to get John and Paul to think more seriously about their music,” said producer George Martin of the eight-song suite. “Paul was all for experimenting like that.” (For his part, Lennon later dismissed the medley as “junk.”)

After the death of manager Brian Epstein in 1967, and as Lennon drifted further into a drug haze, the artistic leadership of the Beatles shifted from John to Paul, sometimes to the chagrin of the other band members. “I’d play in a band with John Lennon any day, but I wouldn’t join a band with Paul McCartney,” said George Harrison in 1973.

To be sure, McCartney’s more sentimental tendencies could also result in the “granny music” that Lennon ridiculed, songs like “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” that have not aged well. Nor have McCartney’s lyric-writing tendencies ever allowed for the kind of personal and intimate confessions that defined Lennon’s songs, from “Help!” all the way through to “(Just Like) Starting Over.”

Yet the impact of Paul McCartney’s musical range and ambitions (along with his incomparable bass playing) meant a shift in the tectonic plates of rock and roll. “Paul has a gift of melody and his lyrics are so inspiring,” says Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, one of McCartney’s own songwriting favorites. “‘Michelle’ from Rubber Soulwas partially my inspiration for creating the Pet Sounds record.”

McCartney has now been an ex-Beatle about four times longer than he was actually in the band. But unlike John, George, or even Ringo, he has never expressed any ambivalence about his time or his legacy in the greatest show on earth—maybe because he has never stopped making new music, reaching such heights as 1973’s first-rate smash Band on the Run and 1982’s eclectic Tug of War, and recharging his batteries with side projects like the cover albums Back in the USSR and Run Devil Run.

If McCartney isn’t as critically revered as idiosyncratic visionaries like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, it’s presumably because he has never made a secret of his desire to please an audience, cranking out accessible singles and love songs, silly and otherwise, aimed straight for a populist bull’s-eye. That approach is most evident on stage, where his irresistible, marathon parade of hits—backed by a stellar band and with just enough surprises to hold the interest of the hard-core fans and the star himself—has charmed audiences from the hipsterati at the 2009 Coachella festival to the crowd of 200,000-plus that attended a free concert in Mexico City a few weeks ago.

McCartney isn’t the first member of the rock-and-roll pantheon to hit the big seven-oh; Dylan, Paul Simon, and Ringo all got there first. But his degree of engagement and activity surpasses not only his peers, but also rockers half—hell, a third—his age.

Sometimes, he recently told the English music magazine Mojo, “I think, ‘That boy was a good writer.’  I’m singing it, my mind wanders, and I’m going, ‘How old was I when I wrote this? Not bad.’ Like in ‘Yesterday’—‘I’m not half the man I used to be.’ I was writing that at 24?”

From : http://newsweekpakistan.com/culture/1236

26/05/2012

Old Photo Of Jim In Forthlin Road


A Day At The Beach





James McCartney makes O.C. debut next week


James McCartney makes O.C. debut next week

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James McCartney, son of Paul and Linda, plays next week at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.
Because the Beatles remain the single most significant force in the history of popular music, it’s no wonder that all things related to the Fab Four continue to fascinate music fans more than four decades after the quartet called it quits.
One of the most intriguing things about that is the reaction when children of John, Paul, George and Ringo perform. The world has long heard from the offspring of Lennon (half-brothers Julian and Sean), Harrison (whose son Dhani records as Thenewno2) and Starr (Zak Starkey, who has drummed for the Who since 1996).
Now comes the steady rise of James McCartney. The only son of Paul and Linda, he had previously been featured on solo albums from his parents (his dad’s 2001 disc Driving Rain, his late mom’s 1998 effort Wide Prairie). But his ambitious two-disc set The Complete EP Collection (from Engine Company Records) marks a proper introduction for the 34-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in London.
Pulling together previously digital-only efforts Available Light (2010) and Close At Hand (2011), plus five new songs, the combined EP package is an exciting, wide-ranging effort the spans rousing power-pop, experimental material in the tradition of Radiohead, even authentic ’50s rockabilly, yet it all somehow works as a cohesive set. While his music rarely mirrors that of the Beatles — a smart move toward establishing a separate identity — James nonetheless has the same adventuresome spirit still recognized as key to his forebears’ magical imprint.
We caught up with McCartney last week, shortly before his first-ever appearance in Orange County, May 29 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, followed by a May 31 gig at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.


Soundcheck: I love your songs — you mix melodic pop-rock, indie, expressive ballads, experimental rock. Could you talk a bit about the diverse approach you take to songwriting, and how that connects with the lyrics or emotions of a specific song?


James McCartney: It’s whatever comes naturally at first, but it’s usually music first, then lyrics. I try different approaches, though, because sometimes you can find something for a song in a way you wouldn’t have thought. Even by singing nonsense words over a melody until things begin to take shape. But in the end it’s about having as much emotion as possible for me, musically and lyrically. Heartfelt and true, cathartic. Natural.


Even a driving romantic song like “Angel” begins very upbeat, then takes a great turn with a confessional undertone (“I have faced some hard times in my life”). How did that one come together? How much do your producers (including his father) help you get what you’re after?

Well, basically, I was writing about meeting my true love, and trying to prove my love to her. I wrote that song sitting at the top of my stairs in my flat in North London. I wanted to try to write a really good pop song that also had some depth to it, too. On the recording front, (producer) David Kahne and my dad were both really helpful in being able to bounce ideas off of, and helping me to realize the vision I had for each song.


Your version of Neil Young’s “Old Man” is particularly interesting, especially its haunting ending. How did you decide to revisit that song?

I was in Tucson, Ariz., actually. There was this night I stayed up all night and learned the song, just playing it over and over again. Tuscon is a special place for me because of my mum, and I was thinking of her that night. (Linda passed away in Tucson, where the McCartneys had a ranch, in April 1998.) It’s a great song, and this particular version just sort of came out of me. So we recorded it for the first EP, Available Light.


Your range runs from the ’50s (the bonus track “Your True Love”) to modern day (see “Glisten” and “Denial”). What were some of your biggest influences growing up?

Well, let’s see … I have so many influences, really. And it’s true, they do vary … from Kurt Cobain to Woodie Guthrie. Radiohead, PJ Harvey, the Cure, Jimi Hendrix, Hank Williams — great singers and guitar players, all in different ways.


I know your U.S. tour just started, but are you enjoying it? And how was it performing on American television programs like Late Show with David Letterman and The Rachael Ray Show. I loved your expressive guitar playing on “Wings of a Lightest Weight” on the latter.

Oh, thanks … I’m enjoying it so much. I love America. I want to continue doing it — it’s so great to be able to connect with the fans in each city we go to. It’s a great experience, and I have a great group of guys in the band. Yeah, I loved doing television … both Letterman and the Rachael Ray show. Great fun.

James McCartney plays May 29 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, 33157 Camino Capistrano. Tickets are $15. Also see him May 31 at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, 9009 W. Sunset Blvd., $12.

25/05/2012

Cute Little Mary

Looking Good


Cousin Bert

Albert "Bert" Dahner is Paul's paternal cousin,he is the son of Anne Mccartney and Albert Dahner Snr.
He compiled crosswords for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and The Times newspapers ,he credited Jim Paul's dad as the one who inspired him to become interested in making crosswords for a living.
He died in 2002,and Paul sent a thank you note to the Daily Telegraph,thanking them for their beautiful obituary.

Exclusive Interview with James McCartney



Exclusive Interview with James McCartney

THE ROXY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JAMES McCARTNEY
By: @brentXmendoza

Thursday, May 31, rock n’ roll royalty returns to the fabled Sunset Strip with Beatle progeny James McCartney. Having painstakingly crafted his own critically acclaimed and unique pop sound, McCartney has for years been patiently stowing away musical gems, until he felt both the music, and a career as a solo artist, were ready to stand on their own merits.
Retrace this road to solo stardom, as the humble and heartfelt scion of Sir Paul speaks about the personal stories behind his songs, his off-duty hobbies and embracing his legendary lineage.
You didn’t release your first solo material until 2010? Why wait so long?
Well honestly, I just wanted to wait until I had the strongest possible collection of songs before introducing them to everyone. And I wanted to do this in the right way; so I waited until I felt both the music and myself were ready.
I would imagine you would be pretty stressed/apprehensive about releasing your own solo material given your lineage? Do you worry or care much about “expectations?”
I’m not really… I mostly want to enjoy letting it all happen as much as possible, and then just be who I am. I like to embrace the connections to my family and my lineage, without either running towards it, or running away from it.
Tell us about the track “I Love You Dad.” Is there a particular story behind it?
Well my dad had just written “Dance Tonight,” and he’d been playing a lot of mandolin. He gave me a mandolin for Christmas, and I loved it and started playing it a lot. I was walking around my kitchen and playing this riff––quite like he’s doing in the video for that song in fact––and I was thinking of my dad. That riff became the basis for the song. In some ways, it’s a bit like my own version of his song “Here Today” in that I was trying to say something very heartfelt to him, in the same way he does to John in his song.
When you’re not playing music, what do you like to do in your spare time? What are your non-music related hobbies?
Meditation is a big part of my life, and I often do work with the David Lynch Foundation. I also love painting, sculpture and reading. Recently I did something really fun… I did some voice-over work for a cool animated feature called The Beach Chronicles, which was an official selection at the Miami Film Festival this year. That was great!
This is your second show on The Sunset Strip. Does this area hold any significance for you personally?
Oh, just great memories mostly… hanging out with my family, Jeff Lynne (ELO), Dave Grohl. Yeah, I love L.A.
What are you most proud of in your life?
Of being a songwriter, of writing songs. I really love this new song I just wrote in fact…

From :theroxyonsunset.com

NSPCC charity ball in London co-hosted by Stella McCartney and Natalia Vodianova














Agyness Deyn, Natalia Vodianova: Stella McCartney Style

May 25, 2012 12:40 AM EDT
It looked like a presentation of Stella McCartney's Evening 2012 Collection at Banqueting House on May 24. Models Agyness Deyn and Natalia Vodianova, and the designer herself attended the Pop Art Ball in London, all wearing Stella McCartney dresses.
The Naked Heart Foundation's Natalia Vodianova looked beautiful. Natalia picked a royal blue, strapless lace dress with a belted, peplum waist. The model channeled a Hollywood goddess with her chic, curled hairstyle, red lips, and stunning jewelry.
Stella McCartney did a great job of promoting her designs as she looked good in one of her eye-catching Evening 2012 pieces. Stella's marble print dress in bright orange stole the spotlight. Strappy, black sandals completed her attire.
As usual, Agyness Deyn went for an out-of-the-ordinary red carpet look. She picked a demurely cut, short-sleeved cream dress. She paired the gold-embroidered number with chunky, beige wedges.
Other guests at the Pop Art Ball included actresses Naomi Watts and Rashida Jones.
From :celebs.gather.com

Notr from the Admin:
The Ball has raised 1,1 million Pound to the charity,way to go Stella!

23/05/2012

HRH Queen Elizabeth II meets Sir Paul McCartney at a special 'Celebration of the Arts' event at the Royal Academy of Arts In London








Bono, Joan Collins and Sir Paul McCartney have led the praise for the Queen as she attended a Diamond Jubilee celebration of the arts.
Hundreds of celebrities from the worlds of music, dance and art gathered to pay tribute to the Queen at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London.
Sir Paul declared that he was a “huge fan” of the Queen.
Irish musician Bono made a room full of celebrities cheer when he praised the Queen for her trip to Ireland last year.
Addressing the Queen, Bono said: “I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the extraordinary magic that you made on your trip to Ireland last year.”
He joked: “And the Queen spoke Gaelic, I can’t even speak Gaelic.”
She met Sir Paul and his wife Nancy Shevell as she toured the galleries of the Academy.
The former Beatle said: “It is always wonderful meeting her, she’s great.
“It is always a great pleasure meeting her, I’m a big fan.”
In another room the Queen met Dame Shirley Bassey and Joan Collins. “I’m such a great admirer of her,” said Collins.


Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/showbiz-news/2012/05/23/sir-paul-leads-praise-for-the-queen/#ixzz1vjFssj00