Named: James Paul McCartney Born: 18th of June, 1942 Parents: Jim and Mary Patricia Siblings: Michael-born in 1944
James Paul McCartney was the son of working-class Irish parents. His father was a cotton salesman and an ex-jazz trumpeter and piano man, his mother a mid-wife. As a child, Paul was a Boy Scout and a bird watcher. When he was 13, he moved to Forthlin Road in Allerton, a little over a mile away from where John lived with his Aunt Mimi. When Paul was 14, his mother died of cancer when he and Michael were away at boot camp. He has brown eyes and dark brown hair. He attended the Liverpool Institute. Paul likes the colour black, steak and chips. As far as clothes are concerned, he favors black polo necked sweaters, suits, leather and suede. He also plays "a bit of piano, drums, guitar and banjo," he enjoys music, reading and writing songs. He dislikes false people, and shaving. He also likes television, drums and cars. His real type of instrument was a Zenith six-string, which he played left-handed. In 1960 he was just one of four teen- agers performing in the squaloe of Liverpool's underground Cavern Club. By 1965, the Beatles had stormed America, met the Queen and had been hailed as pop-prophets. By 1971-before any of the four had hit 30, it was over, ruined by a bitter business fight. McCartney's critics forgot that he was the prime force behind such songs as Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby, and Let It Be. Post-Beatles, he was the most successful survivor, with 17 gold albums and his hits like Band on The Run, Ebony and Ivory, Say Say Say and the James Bond Theme, Live and Let Die. McCartney shallow? It depends on whether on wants hummable riffs of Lennonesque angst. This is a course Paul has been following since John Lennon initiated thebreakup of the Beatles in 1969 by telling Paul, "I want a divorce." His first few albums, done solo or with Linda or with the constantly metamorphosing Wings, survived uncertian financial prospects and some serious critical dubbing. 1974's Band on The Run got raves, however, and won the first platinum record Paul doesn't have o split four ways. Venus and Mars, released in 1975, was just as successful, and McCartney's current concert tour, which will land him in New York this week for two shows at Madison Square Garden and has sold out in each of the 21 cities it will blitz. In Los Angeles and New York, all tickets were snapped up within four hours. Right now, Paul is backing Elton John as Pop's top gun. He is constantly telling people he's not the big celeb they expect. "Don't you ever feel you've lived a few lives? Well, to me, the Beatles were another life," says Paul. "Certain people when they get rich wear a lot of fun coats and diamond watches. I've gone the other way. I'd rather be remembered as a musician than a celebrity," he says standing up, and snapping his fingers, signaling he wants to get back to work. When he's not working, he says his list of things to do includes finishing the family sports shed, sailing sunfishes and painting, a hobby he took up at age 40. Two hundres abstracts, landscapes and portraits of Linda litter their homes. McCartney laughs about the time the reaction this will elicit: "Bloody hell, look at him. Thinks he's Van Gogh, does he!" Paul likes to stress how ordinary he is. "One thing that can bring you bad luck is when you start to get big-headed," he says. His M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medal from the Queen and most of the gold records are put away in storage. He's into organic and carpentry. He sent the kids off to state schools. Heather, 35, "theirs" although she is from Linda's first marriage. is a potter. Mary, a dark-haired 28-year-old beauty, who works at MPL handling copyrights. Red haired Stella, 26, studiesfashion design. James, 20, is a blond Paul look-alike and a Jimi Hendrix fan who, as a righthander, has to play his dad's left-handed guitar upside down. The whole family is vegetarian;Linda even has a line of frozen veggie dishes. "Imagine seeing your wife's face looking out from the freezer department at you," hoots Paul. Paul is more than a celebrity, because he is part of the poignant, exhaled contem- porary myth of the Beatles. Each member of the group had a persona that was clearly defined. George Harrison was the shy mystic, Ringo the innocent good-timer, John the dark poet, Paul, -well, the one who would make the best impression on a weekend in the country. His bountenous, melodic gift seemed to be reflected in the brightness, and his conciderable charm, always had ironic uncurrent of worldliness and assurance. Even now in performance or in conversation, he has the suprized sophistication of a gremlin who has just been caught under the drawbridge compromising the fairy princess. Up close, Paul can flash his ever ready charm at will. One minute he's open and sincere; the nextm he's closed, in automatic public relations mode. He's a clever lad, practical in business matters yet invariant at heart. He's eager to put you at ease, but he gets miffed if you pry too closely. Just a few friends ever see the McCartney house, set in the forest in Sussex. His Scottish estate is reachable only by foot across a bog of four -wheel drive. Decades of Beatlemania haven't dehumanized him, but he has learned not to be wary. McCartney is a rich man today, worth an estimated $600 million, although he claims not to know the full extent of his assets. He has become of the biggest independent publishing typhoons in the world, holding the copyrights to 3,000 songs, including such musicals as Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease, all the songs of his boyhood hero, Buddy Holley, and many other pop favorites. In addition, his London-based company, MPL Communications, has it's hand in film ventures like the artsy animated short Daumier's Law, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
