Paul McCartney - Biography

Last Editor: wilann				Paul McCartney Biography -   Name : Paul McCartney Date of birth : 18 June 1942 Place of birth : Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK Birth name : James Paul McCartney Nickname : Macca Height : 5' 11

Paul McCartney Trivia -

According to the August 1998 issue of the British rock magazine "Q", McCartney is the richest rock star in the world with an estimated fortune of over £500m. Sang backup on Donovan's "Mellow Yellow"; also played bass on some of his album tracks. Actually only wrote 27 songs in direct collaboration with John Lennon, though nearly all their songs were credited as Lennon & McCartney compositions. (The co-credit was because of a handshake deal the two had made in their teens, to share their songwriting fortunes.) Working title of his own personal favourite composition "Yesterday" was "Scrambled Eggs". He appeared as himself in Tracey Ullman's "They Don't Know" music video. His younger brother, Michael, is better known as Mike McGear of the satirical group 'The Scaffold'. Michael chose to take the name of McGear as his professional name so as not to capitalise on the fame of his brother. During his engagement to Jane Asher, Paul (with John Lennon) wrote several songs for Jane's older brother, Peter, of the singing duo 'Peter and Gordon', including their number one hit "World Without Love". He also wrote the song "Woman" for Peter and Gordon, under the pseudonym of Bernard Webb. Cousin of Kate Robbins and Ted Robbins. Born at 2:00pm-BDST His four children with Linda are James, Stella, Mary and Heather (adopted from her previous marriage). He was married to Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969 at the Marylebone Register Office. Left-handed Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beatles January 20, 1988. Citing business differences, he did not attend the induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City with his former bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Awarded the Polar Music Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award, in 1992. His later musical compositions have included classical works, one of which is the acclaimed "Liverpool Oratorio". Announced his engagement to ex-model/activist Heather Mills. [26 July 2001] Owns the double bass that once belonged to Elvis Presley's bassist Bill Black. Brother of Mike McGear. Father of Mary McCartney. Played all the instruments on two of his solo albums, 'McCartney' (1970) and 'McCartney II' (1980). Originally wanted to call his post-Beatles band the Dazzlers, but came up with the name Wings after his wife Linda gave birth to their daughter Stella. He found 'Wings' to be uplifting, as he did the birth of their second child. Had wanted the Beatles to do a club tour shortly before they broke up. John disagreed, thinking that if they did tour again, it should have been in stadium- sized venues. Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001." Is a vegetarian. Owns the copyrights to Buddy Holly's song catalogue, and also numerous other compositions, including "Ramblin' Wreck From Georgia Tech". Song "Yesterday" is one the most covered songs of all-time, with over 3,000 known versions. Claims his night in a Japanese prison in 1980 was the only time he had been separated from then-wife Linda. Has written several songs about his former bandmate John Lennon, including "Dear Boy", "Too Many People", "Dear Friend", "Let me Roll It", and "Here Today." Has a record 29 number one singles on the American charts with the Beatles, Paul McCartney & Wings, and as a solo artist (including one duet with Michael Jackson): Fined $200 in 1973 for growing marijuana on his Scotland farm. Arrested and jailed briefly in Japan in 1980 for carrying same substance. Jokingly, on occasion, uses the pseudonym of 'Apollo C. Vermouth.' Made an honorary detective by NY Police for the benefit concert he gave for 9/ 11 victims, April 2002. Won last-minute court order preventing Christie's from auctioning his handwritten lyrics to song "Hey Jude." Paper with lyrics scrawled on it had been expected to bring up to $116,000 at auction scheduled for April 30, but England's High Court, ruled for Sir Paul the day before, deciding that the valuable Beatles artifact will remain at auction house until ownership is finally determined by agreement or trial. Won prize for drawing of a church at age 11. In 2002, from May-August, over 70 of his paintings from past 20 years on view at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England. It was announced that fiance Heather Mills' engagement ring, which was lost, had been found among the grass in a golf course. [June 2001] Daughter, Stella McCartney, born on September 13, 1972. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 (as a solo artist). His first guitar was a Zenith archtop f-hole acoustic. He got it at the Rushworth and Drapers Music Store in Liverpool when he was 14, as a gift from his father. (Brother Mike got a banjo at the same time, but broke his arm at Boy Scout camp, a few weeks later.) His song, "When I'm 64" was written for his father Jim on his 64th birthday. He wrote his first song, "I've Lost My Little Girl", when he was 14. His father, Jim, was a musician, and had a band called Jim Mac's Jazz Band. Paul has fond memories of lying on his bedroom floor and listening to his father play piano. Along with writing "Hey Jude" for Julian Lennon the summer his parents broke up, Paul also jokingly proposed to Cynthia Lennon, in the wake of his own breakup with Jane Asher. Cynthia appreciated the laugh they both shared - and the bouquet Paul had brought. Was actually the only Beatle to graduate from Britain's equivalent of high- school; he majored in Art. Usually considered the most "conventional" of the Beatles, but Paul has had his share of far-out ideas, including the germ of the TV-movie Magical Mystery Tour (1967) (TV), and a "self-portrait" published as a Sixties magazine cover, which proved to be a psychedelic painting a la Picasso. Set up John Lennon's "home studio" for him at Kenwood, with its chain of tape decks; Lennon used this setup to make song demos for the Beatles, and later the infamous 'Two Virgins' album with Yoko Ono (which Paul gave its cover quote). A lyric sheet to his song "Yesterday" is featured on the front cover of the Marillion album "Script for a Jester's Tear" (released 1983). In 2002, he changed the writing credits to many of the songs he made with the Beatles to "McCartney & Lennon" to a large public uproar. It is a common misconception, however that this was the first time he had done this. He made the same credit change on his 1976 live album "Wings Over America" to little or no public scrutiny and to no public comment from Lennon (who of course was still alive at the time). Performed "Let It Be" at Live Aid in 1985. During this performance, Bob Geldof, David Bowie, Alison Moyet and Pete Townshend (of The Who) all came on stage towards the end to sing backup vocals. 11 years after the breakup of The Beatles, along with Ringo Starr he played on George Harrison's, "All Those Years Ago", about the death of his singing partner, John Lennon. The last Harrison song he & Starr played on was "When We Was Fab", which takes a look back at The Beatle years. 3 surviving Beatles appeared on 3 separate episodes of "The Simpsons" (1989). Starr appeared in a 1991 episode of "Brush with Greatness," Harrison appeared in a 1993 episode of "Homer's Barbershop Quartet," and McCartney appeared in a 1995 episode of "Lisa The Vegetarian" Contributes "Calico Skies" to the "Warchild Hope" album (released 21 April 2003). Met his first wife Linda in a London nightclub called the Bag O'Nails. 28 Oct 2003: Daughter named Beatrice born to Paul and wife Heather. In 1998, his song "Blackbird" was covered by Marillion for their live album "Unplugged at the Walls". Is half of the techno duo The Fireman. In 1971, he produced (but did not perform on) "Thrillington", an instrumental version of the album "Ram" he recorded with his wife Linda. The songs were presented in orchestral versions, and Paul's work as producer and director was pseudonymously credited to "Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington". The album was not well received by the critics, but is now a much sought-after collectable. First used the pseudonym "Apollo C. Vermouth" when producing an album for the novelty musical group, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (later known as The Bonzos). He used the pseudonym because record contract obligations prevented him from using his real name on a rival record label. The band repaid McCartney's efforts with a composition entitled "Mister Apollo", a song about an impossibly perfect body builder. The only Beatle to ever have been nominated for an Academy Award in his own right. Favorite singers were Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Met George Harrison on a bus to school, and asked him to be in John's group. Born on the same day as film critic Roger Ebert, and two days before fellow musician and composer Brian Wilson. Owned a ranch in Tucson, Arizona; this was where first wife Linda died. Owns a Hollywood Hills manor property purchased from Courtney Love, and Ellen DeGeneres. The Beatles were voted the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artists of all time by Rolling Stone. They also topped a similar list complied by VH1. Played bass on the Band Aid 20 re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?". [November 2004] At 5' 11", he was marginally the tallest Beatle (being about half an inch taller than George Harrison). Several of his solo albums (and those with Wings) featured cover photos by first wife Linda, including "Ram", whose front cover had a picture of him handling a ram at his Scottish farm. (John Lennon parodied this picture in his "Imagine" album, grasping the ears of a pig.) The back cover included a photo of bugs mating; while it was unintentional, several fans thought this illustrated an attitude of "Fuck the Beatles". Is portrayed by Mark J. Richardson in Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story (1995) (TV) As of 2005, has released 32 studio albums, of which 30 feature pop music and 2 feature classical compositions. He has stated that he hopes to compose more classical pieces in the future, as well as a desire to venture into jazz at some point. Showed his paintings at Concert at HP Pavilion in San Jose (November 8th) leading up to his performance as apart of his US Tour One of the guitars he used in his US Tour (2005) was the guitar he used on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s Though a huge fan of his work, turned down "Weird Al" Yankovic's request to parody Paul's James Bond song "Live and Let Die" as "Chicken Pot Pie" for vegetarian reasons.

Paul McCartney Detailed Biography -

James Paul McCartney was born to working-class parents in Liverpool, England, on June 18, 1942. His Irish Catholic mother, Mary, was a nurse and midwife, while his British father, Jim, was a cotton salesman and amateur jazz pianist. He had a happy childhood with one younger brother, Michael, until his mother's sudden death from breast cancer when he was 14. Shortly afterward, he wrote his first song, and a few months later he met John Lennon during the latter's performance at a local church fete (festival). McCartney sooned joined Lennon's band, The Quarrymen, and with the eventual addition of George Harrison and Pete Best, the band morphed into The Beatles. After a long stint playing in Hamburg, Germany, the band returned to Liverpool and soon became a top local act. They were approached by Brian Epstein, a record-store owner, who became their manager and secured them a record deal with EMI. After replacing drummer Best with Ringo Starr, and under the tutelage of producer George Martin , The Beatles soon became an international hit-making phenomenon, influencing everything from fashion to politics. Yet it wouldn't last: internal strife and disagreement over management issues following Epstein's 1968 death tore the band apart. In April 1970, McCartney announced the band's breakup. He was 27 years old. His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergeen ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed", yet critical reaction was mixed. This was a continuing motif in McCartney's career, as he continued to release music, with new band Wings, that was a hit commercially but ignored by critics (the exception being "Band on the Run"). In 1980 McCartney was arrested in Tokyo, Japan, for marijuana possession. After a ten-day stint in jail, he was released to a media firestorm. The jail stint aborted his worldwide tour and put the final nail in the coffin of Wings. He retreated into seclusion after the arrest, and had only recently started recording a new album when his ex-bandmate, John Lennon, was shot dead by a crazed fan in New York City on December 8, 1980. After almost a year of absence from the music scene, McCartney returned in 1982 with the album "Tug of War," which enjoyed great critical acclaim. He was a solo artist from then onward, except for occasional collaborations with wife Linda McCartney and writers such as Elvis Costello. After two successful world tours and the somewhat disappointing album "Off the Ground" (1992), McCartney concentrated on composing the classical work "The Liverpool Oratorio". In 1995 he was working on a new pop album, "Flaming Pie," when his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. The album was eventually released in 1997 to both critical and commerical success, debuting at #2 on both the UK and US pop charts. It was also the year McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, but caring for his wife during her illness meant only sporadic public appearances during this time. In April 1998, Linda died of breast cancer, and he spent much of the next year away from the public eye, emerging only to campaign on behalf of his late wife for animal rights and vegetarian causes. He eventually returned to the studio, releasing an album of rock n'roll covers in 1999. "Run Devil Run" made both Entertainment Weekly and USA Today's year-end top ten lists. McCartney also slowly returned to the public spotlight, embarking on a romantic relationship with ex-model and disabled rights activist Heather Mills (who lost a leg in a road accident). His new relationship was reflected in the songs on his 2001 album, "Driving Rain," and the couple became engaged that same year. Yet there was also sadness, as George Harrison died of cancer in late November, 2001. The next year, however, brought McCartney an Oscar nomination (for the title song to the movie Vanilla Sky (2001)) and saw him embark on his first tour in ten years. He and Heather married in June, 2000.