The Beatles icon Paul McCartney announced LGBT Pride month at a recent show in Indiana. McCartney also recently revealed a funny but brutal remark he made to John Lennon before his death. Forbes reports:
Kicking off LGBT Pride month, McCartney and his band returned to the stage carrying the Union Jack, American, state of Indiana and Pride flags, beginning the encore with “Birthday.”
At the end of any Paul McCartney concert, what he didn’t play is almost as striking as what he did. Even after almost forty songs, it’s stunning just how many gigantic hits went unplayed.
It’s a tribute to how influential the music of The Beatles remains and the strength of songwriting that characterizes a recording career which lasted only about seven years.
It makes McCartney’s place in the annals of pop music unparalleled, leaving him with the unenviable task of figuring out how to present his legacy each night on stage without settling wholly for nostalgia.
With the help of his stellar band, he’s managed to hit on the right balance, always finding new ways to present that music and push it forward on stage during each tour, freshening it up.
“There’s only one thing left to say,” said McCartney Monday, two weeks before his 77th birthday as streamers and confetti rained down upon the Fort Wayne crowd following the “The End.” See you next time!”
Madison.com wrote in a review:
McCartney didn’t stray too far from his classic recordings but he added a hard edge to “Let Me Roll It” and “I’ve Got a Feeling” with extended instrumental endings, the latter featuring a rare electric guitar solo from the famous bassist.
Between classic songs, he told stories from his famous past, such as Jimi Hendrix playing the title track of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” on a London stage only two days after the record came out in 1967 and then having to call up Eric Clapton from the audience to help re-tune his guitar. He also recounted how nervous he was singing “Love Me Do” in the recording studio at the last minute because John Lennon had to play a harmonica at the same time.
Paul McCartney recently announced on his website:
Wide Prairie, a posthumous 1998 compilation of Linda McCartney recordings spanning the early 1970s through the late 1990s, will be re-released August 2 via MPL / Capitol / UMe having been remastered at Abbey Road Studios under Paul’s supervision.
The only album to be released solely under Linda’s name, Wide Prairie features Linda on vocals and various instruments on songs she wrote or co-composed and recorded with Wings between 1972 and 1980, the single-only ‘Seaside Woman’/‘B-Side to Seaside’ released under the pseudonym of Suzy and the Red Stripes, cover versions of classics by the McGuire Sisters, The Coasters and more, and solo work from the ‘80s and ‘90s including her final recording, ‘The Light Comes from Within’ (co-authored by and featuring Paul McCartney, as well as their son James on electric and acoustic guitar).
The album was recorded in various locations including Jamaica, Paris, Nashville and Sussex with contributors including husband Paul; son James; Wings members Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, Jimmy McCulloch, Joe English and Laurence Juber; writer Carla Lane who also co-wrote ’The White Coated Man’ and ‘Cow’; Lee “Scratch” Perry and members of the Black Ark studio band Boris Gardiner, Winston Writer and Mikey Boo.
Two tracks from the release also highlight Linda’s interest in other art forms outside photography and music. ‘Seaside Woman’ featured in the Palme d’Or winning short film by Oscar Grillo at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. ‘Oriental Night Fish’ also appeared in a short film of the same title created by Linda and Ian Emes.
