Paul McCartney Biography |
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Out of all the former Beatles, Paul McCartney by far had the most successful solo career, maintaining a constant presence in the British and American charts during the `70s and `80s. In America alone, he had nine number one singles and seven number one albums during the first 12 years of his solo career. Although he sold records, McCartney never attained much critical respect, especially when compared to his former partner John Lennon. Then again, he pursued a different path than Lennon, deciding early on that he wanted to be in a rock band. Little more than a year after the Beatles` breakup, McCartney had formed Wings with his wife, Linda, and the group remained active for the next ten years, racking up a string of hit albums, singles, and tours in the meantime. By the late `70s, many critics were taking potshots at McCartney`s effortlessly melodic songcraft, but that didn`t stop the public from buying his records. His sales didn`t slow considerably until the late `80s, and he retaliated with his first full-scale tour since the `70s, which was a considerable success. During the `90s, McCartney recorded less frequently, concentrating on projects like his first classical recording, a techno album, and the Beatles` Anthology.
Like Lennon and George Harrison, Paul McCartney began exploring creative avenues outside the Beatles during the late `60s, but where his bandmates released their own experimental records, McCartney confined himself to writing and production for other artists, with the exception of his 1966 soundtrack to The Family Way. Following his marriage to Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969, McCartney began working at his home studio on his first solo album. He released the record, McCartney, in April 1970, two weeks before the Beatles` Let It Be was scheduled to hit the stores. Prior to the album`s release, he announced that the Beatles were breaking up, which was against the wishes of the other members. As a result, the tensions between him and the other three members, particularly Harrison and Lennon, increased and he earned the ill will of many critics. Nevertheless, McCartney became a hit, spending three weeks at the top of the American charts. Early in 1971, he returned with "Another Day," which became his first hit single as a solo artist. It was followed several months later by Ram, another homemade collection, this time featuring the contributions of his wife, Linda. By the end of 1971, the McCartneys had formed Wings, which was intended to be a full-fledged recording and touring band. Former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell became the group`s other members, and Wings released their first album, Wild Life, in December 1971. Wild Life was greeted with poor reviews and was a relative flop. McCartney and Wings, which now featured former Grease Band guitarist Henry McCullough, spent 1972 as a working band, releasing three singles -- the protest "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," the reggae-fied "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and the rocking "Hi Hi Hi." Red Rose Speedway followed in the spring of 1973, and while it received weak reviews, it became his second American number one album. Later in 1973, Wings embarked on their first British tour, at the conclusion of which McCullough and Seiwell left the band. Prior to their departure, McCartney`s theme to the James Bond movie Live and Let Die became a Top Ten hit in the U.S. and U.K. That summer, the remaining Wings proceeded to record a new al Biography Credit: www.starpulse.com |
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Trivia |
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BiographyFriends and FamilyMichael [Brother] :: Ruth McCartney [Step Sister] :: Mary McCartney [Mother] :: Jim McCartney [Father]PetsMartha Dog :: Thisby CatTrivia and QuotesQuotes
The medical argument for animal testing doesn`t stand up. Even if it did, I don`t think we should kill other species. We think we`re so much better; I`m not sure we are. I tell people, We`ve beaten into submission every animal on the face of the Earth, so we are the clear winners of whatever battle is going on between the species. Couldn`t we be generous? I really do think it`s time to get nice. No need to keep beating up on them. I think we`ve got to show that we`re kind.
We stopped eating meat many years ago. During the course of a Sunday lunch we happened to look out of the kitchen window at our young lambs playing happily in the fields. Glancing down at our plates, we suddenly realised we were eating the leg of an animal who had until recently been playing in a field herself. We looked at each other and said: "Wait a minute, we love these sheep-they`re such gentle creatures. So why are we eating them?" It was the last time we ever did. "No one is musically educated until they have heard The Beach Boys` `Pet Sounds`". "You try to concentrate on the lyrics, the music, the melody, and putting it all together, and there`s a sign . . . and half of you is saying, `Ignore it`, but the other half is saying, `Read it, go ahead.` `My grandmother saw you at Candlestick.` That says it all." [referring to a sign in the audience] (Recalling raising his children in the 1970s)There was one moment where they were riding their little ponies in Scotland, and Stella [Stella McCartney] said to me: `Dad! You`re Paul McCartney, aren`t you?` `Yes darling, but I`m Daddy really`. I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird. If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. Maybe our government went in too fast with the Americans. It would have been better if the UN had been together. Now it`s become very bloody with Iraq, it`s very difficult. If someone came to my house and blew it up, I wouldn`t just want to sit there and say thank you. I`d be angry like I think anyone would be, so I could see America and Britain being angry. To look for [Osama Bin Laden] seemed reasonable to go against terrorism, but the war has become very difficult. We didn`t all get into music for a job! We got into music to avoid a job, in truth - and get lots of girls. When we were kids, George [George Harrison] and I used to hang out and we had, we had one little party piece which was to show that we weren`t stupid, so we used to do this thing by Bach that was our own little version of it, and we got it wrong, [About dealing with the memory of Linda McCartney today] "She`s all around me, you know. And everybody I know knows her and remembers her. And so I talk a lot about her." [on making movies] "It`s not a bad way to get through an afternoon".Trivia Wasn`t the youngest or the oldest member of the Beatles, who both was one of th 2 of the members of the Beatles that were in between the youngest , and the oldest, and only made himself younger to make both older, and younger females both have him as a fantasy dream man, when he was a member of the band the Beatles. 28 October 2003: A daughter named Beatrice Milly was born to Paul and wife Heather Mills. She was named after Heather`s late mother Beatrice and Paul`s Aunt Milly. Although he was clearly The Beatles` vocalist and bass player, he was also an accomplished lead guitarist whose vibrato-laced solos can be heard on "Taxman," "Drive My Car," "Ticket to Ride," "Another Girl," and other Beatles` hits. Announced he and his wife are to split up. Because of his pending divorce, he will now become the fourth and final member of The Beatles to get a divorce. Among the four, McCartney had the longest marriage (to Linda Eastman), although Ringo Starr is still married to his second wife (and has been since 1981). [May 2006] Created a collection of oil paintings, and had a one man art show in London. In 2006, he donated $2 million to Adopt-a-Minefield. Inducted with John Lennon into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987. Named "Man of the Year" at the GQ awards ceremony. (6 September 2006) Recovering after undergoing a secret heart operation during the fall of 2007. The Beatles were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture. [11 November 2004] [Sunday 13 November 2005] Became the very first musician to perform live music for an audience in space. This music milestone occurred during his concert in Anaheim, California, when he sang "Good Day Sunshine" and "English Tea" for NASA Astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev who were orbiting some 220 miles above earth in their Space Shuttle Discovery. | ||
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