Traditionally, superlatives are generously distributed in pop music. In the case of Paul McCartney, however, even the most euphoric attributions fall short. The Brit is a musical genius, and his fans revere him as the Mozart of the 20th century. As a singer, songwriter and bassist for the Beatles, “Macca” shaped modern music history, and he has remained relevant to this day as a solo artist. Tomorrow, Saturday, the creator of such iconic catchy tunes as “Let It Be”, “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” celebrates his 80th birthday. The jubilee is by no means thinking about retirement, on June 25 he will be appearing in front of 200,000 visitors as the headliner at the legendary Glastonbury Festival.
Since the Beatles split, Paul McCartney has continued undeterred: regularly releasing new albums, playing sold-out concerts, dealing with the creative zeitgeist. The fact that he ranks in the pecking order of many experts, colleagues and fans below his friend John Lennon in an eternal love-hate relationship and is labeled as a stuffy pop assembly line worker for nice songs about love and family does Sir Paul no justice.
Photo gallery: Paul McCartney – pop genius for many generations
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Soft spot for the experimental
McCartney, who grew up in a Liverpool working-class family of Irish descent – his father was a cotton merchant, his mother, who died early, a midwife and nurse – not only has a fine hand for complex melodies, but also a soft spot for the experimental. The solo LP “McCartney” (1970), which he recorded entirely on his own, is now regarded as the forerunner of indie pop, his electro project The Fireman released at least three weirdly brilliant records, and he also left behind classical music with works such as “Standing Stone” and “Ecce Cor Meum” traces. Even his band Wings, much reviled in the 70s, has experienced a renaissance that was not thought possible in recent years thanks to lovingly edited new editions of albums such as “Wild Life” or “Band on the Run”.
Last year McCartney finally presented a kind of autobiography with “Lyrics”. A life in 154 songs, enriched with personal texts, stories, private photos and notes. “When people get to a certain age, they tend to use diaries or diaries, reminiscing about past events day by day, but I don’t have any such records,” McCartney said of the project. “What I have are my songs – hundreds – and they basically serve the same purpose.”
Privately, the ex-Beatle seems to have finally found happiness again after the tragic cancer death of his wife Linda in 1998 and the failed marriage to Heather Mills (2002-08). He has been married to New York businesswoman Nancy Shevell (62) since 2011. McCartney has five children from two of the three marriages: Heather, Mary, Stella, James and Beatrice McCartney.
Paul McCartney is not only formative for pop music. His commitment to animal rights and vegetarianism even made him a blackmailer. Only if “Simpsons” boss Matt Groening makes Lisa Simpson a vegetarian will he be available for a guest appearance in the animated series, Paul once said. His wish was granted – and Lisa became an enthusiastic herbivore.
For beginners
CD box: The 2016 Quadruple CD Pure (Universal) is a 67-song retrospective compiled by McCartney himself.
A book: The lovingly curated, two-volume song text collection “Lyrics” (CH Beck Verlag, 2021) is 912 pages long – and no page is too long.
Source: Nachrichten
