The touching letter signed by Sir Paul PA www.aol.co.uk Hello, goodbye note from Sir Paul McCartney cheers Beatles fan on retirement By PA 31 Mar 2017 A popular school caretaker and lifelong Beatles fan has described his amazement after receiving a signed letter from Sir Paul McCartney to wish him well in his retirement. Janitor Andy Cairns was presented with the note at a surprise special assembly on his last day at the Edinburgh school where he has worked for the last four years. Sir Paul sent the note - in which he urges the caretaker to "keep rockin'" - after all of the children at the city's St Cuthbert's RC Primary School wrote to the star. Speaking after the presentation, Mr Cairns, who turned 65 this week, told Press Association Scotland: "I'm a big Beatles fan. The kids had sent letters to his office and he responded, which was amazing. "I'm just overwhelmed. I thought I was in a dream at first. Words can't describe it, I'm such a fan, it's just amazing." Mr Cairns is retiring after 50 years of work, primarily as a mechanic and more recently as janitor at the school. The typed and hand-signed letter from the Beatles star reads: "The children of St Cuthbert's have sent me lots of letters to tell me how much they like you so I reckon you must be quite a good guy. "I want to wish you all the very best on your retirement and remember keep rockin'!" The school assembly held for Mr Cairns on Thursday also included a This is your Life event for him, to which his family and friends were invited. Class teacher Jennifer Lawrie explained why she came up with the idea of having the pupils contact Sir Paul about the janitor. "I thought, 'why don't we just give it a go?' Andy sings The Beatles from the minute he gets in the door to the minute he leaves." She said staff were amazed to receive the letter from the star and had to keep it secret from the caretaker for several days. He was "absolutely thrilled" when they were finally able to hand over the paperwork, she said. Ms Lawrie added: "Sir Paul McCartney is one of the most famous people in the world and the fact he's taken time out of his very busy schedule to write a letter means the world to Andy." The Beatles legend told janitor Andy Cairns to ‘keep rockin’
www.hotpress.com Unreleased collection of Paul McCartney demos available this spring The collection of Flowers in the Dirt demos from McCartney and Elvis Costello will be released to commemorate Record Store Day on April 22. The Hot Press Newsdesk Music/News 30 Mar 2017 In honour of Record Store Day this year, Capitol Records has opened the archives and dug up three demo tracks from Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. This will be the first time these three songs: "I Don’t Want To Confess", "Shallow Grave" and "Mistress And Maid" will be available in their raw format, as they were when McCartney and Costello cut them to tape themselves. As McCartney says about the demos himself, “The demos are red hot off the skillet and that’s why we wanted to include them on this boxed set. What’s great about these songs is that they’ve just been written. So there’s nothing more hot off the skillet as I say. So that was the kind of great instant thing about them. I hadn’t listened to them in ages but when I did I knew we had to put them out. We made a little tape of them and sent them to Elvis, who loved them too. We said we should put out an EP or something, and now the moment’s finally arrived.” The songs will be available in old-school cassette form at local record stores participating in Record Store Day. They will also be available in digital format, but only along with a purchase of the Deluxe Edition of Flowers in the Dirt, which will be the tenth release in the Grammy-winning Paul McCartney Archive Collection. Watch a preview video for the release below.
www.hollywoodreporter.com Paul McCartney Claims Sony Is Devaluing His Beatles Rights by Eriq Gardner MARCH 29, 2017 Paul McCartney
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
His lawyer also tells a judge that without resolution to his attempt to reclaim rights, McCartney would be exposing himself — and others — to liability.
"You say stop and I say go go go, oh no" — Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
On Wednesday, Paul McCartney responded to Sony/ATV's suggestion that he brought an "unripe" lawsuit seeking confirmation he'll reclaim rights to Beatles songs next year. In a letter to the judge, his lawyer Michael Jacobs writes, "Delay would not simplify the parties' dispute, but it would prejudice McCartney. As long as Sony/ATV refuses to disavow any right to sue for breach of contract, McCartney has a cloud over the title to his works, which devalues his rights."
McCartney sued in January and looked for assurance that under §304(c) of the U.S. Copyright Act, he has the ability to grab back rights to works by serving a notice of termination. The legendary musician expects to do so in 2018, but he's worried, due to a case involving a Sony affiliate over in the U.K. There, an English court ruled that Duran Duran's contractual promise to not transfer its interest in copyrights foreclosed the band's ability to terminate a grant of rights. The British justice believes it isn't necessary to heed an aspect of American copyright law that states that termination of a grant "may be effected notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary."
In reaction to the lawsuit, Sony sent its own letter to the judge in anticipation of a conference that would lay out a forthcoming motion to dismiss.
Sony's lawyer wrote that the publisher had made no statement challenging the validity of McCartney's termination notices, that the Duran Duran case was still pending on appeal and that without an outcome, McCartney "impermissibly seeks an advisory opinion on a hypothetical claim."
On behalf of McCartney, Jacobs retorts, "By seeking to dismiss this lawsuit, Sony/ATV intends to leave McCartney in suspense. Is he exposed to claims for damages if he relies on his undisputed rights under U.S. copyright law or not? Will it sue him for breach of contract or not? Can he license his copyrights as his termination notices become effective, or does that present legal risks? Will third parties be willing to negotiate with McCartney, and at what reduction in price, concerned that they may ultimately face a Sony/ATV lawsuit for interference with contractual relations?"
It's suggested that Sony/ATV could sign an unconditional covenant not to sue and eliminate the threat (both to McCartney and third parties who might wish to make deals with him). Absent that, the New York federal judge is told to exercise jurisdiction and resolve the situation.
Sony is also arguing that U.K. law applies, and so it makes sense that a U.K. judge would tackle any case.
Specifically, its lawyer Donald Zakarin wrote, "Here, Plaintiff is a U.K. citizen and the Grants were negotiated and entered into in the U.K. with U.K. companies with respect to songs presumably written in the U.K. in return for payment in the U.K."
McCartney is holding up the American flag.
Jacobs responds, "Because McCartney’s termination notices apply only to his rights arising under U.S. copyright law, the Court need not undertake a traditional conflicts of laws analysis."
www.smh.com.au Why it's not yet time to say Goodnight Tonight to Paul McCartney The 74-year-old former Beatle just announced he's set to release a new album with Adele producer Greg Kurstin. Let the ridicule begin. Bernard Zuel MARCH 28 2017 Of course it invited ridicule when Paul McCartney revealed he is working on a new album, with high level pop producer Greg "yep, that's me behind Adele's 25" Kurstin, no less. Not because it's likely to be embarrassingly bad or because a retirement-age musician making music is unusual, or because the thought of the former Beatle pulling the Adele power ballad out makes no sense. It's not even because for a few years the 74-year-old McCartney sported one of those late-in-life hair colour changes – one of those shades of red favoured by other second and third marriage types like Rupert Murdoch – that are like a "hit me now" sign. Actually, it is a little because of that: everyone's father or grandfather has gone there, but that doesn't make it right and certainly doesn't make it any less side-splittingly funny. Still kicking and writing and recording. Paul McCartney Photo: AP Mostly though it's because McCartney has been mocked for so long that it is almost the default setting. He was the cheery, thumbs-in-the-air rocker, the Mawkish R Us lyricist, the one who carried his own stash into Japan and got jailed, the one who wasn't sharp and bitter John, sweet and dry George or mellow yellow Ringo. And of course he was the one who wrote songs that grew on you like lichen and had about as much appeal as cold moss after a while. There was Obla-di Obla-da, Wonderful Christmas Time and the interminable Mull Of Kintyre, which seemingly lasts longer than it takes to walk to that corner of Scotland, and hurts twice as much. Producer Greg Kurstin won three Grammys this year for his work with Adele, including Album of the Year for 25 and Song of the Year for Hello. Photo: Tonya Wise There was the irritating Beatle-goes-techno Temporary Secretary, the muddle-headed Say Say Say and The Girl Is Mine, with friend-turned-bete noir Michael Jackson, and finally the truly execrable, unforgivable, abomination before any musical god, Ebony And Ivory, with the equally culpable Stevie Wonder. But as with Wonder, who has written some of the best music to ever grace a record player, McCartney can lay claim to some of the greatest pieces of pop penned yet. And some of the boldest adventures, too. To list the gems here would take as long as it does to walk to every mull on or near bleedin' Kintyre but they run from I Saw Her Standing There and She's Leaving Home to Goodnight Tonight and Band On The Run, from Maybe I'm Amazed and Jet to Helter Skelter and (co-written with Elvis Costello) Veronica.
And despite a decade or so of often dull, sometimes sad and occasionally awful albums through the 1980s and 1990s, McCartney's post-Beatles output has in recent times been given a more sober and appreciative evaluation. That can be partly put down to reissues of early efforts such as the self-titled solo debut and, soon, 1989's Flowers In The Dirt; several well sourced, considered biographies; and the continuing revelations of his work funding music and education centres in home town Liverpool. Even into his 70s McCartney had been taking risks as he did when he brought backward tapes and musique concrete to the Beatles in the mid-'60s. He's made several albums of experimental electronica under the name The Fireman (the last one in 2008), a challenging record as Twin Freaks with musician/producer The Freelance Hellraiser, and even as part of both Liverpool Sound Collage and the unlikely grouping of Rihanna, McCartney and Kanye West which released FourFiveSeconds in 2015.
So what's wrong with an album with a noted producer of clean, bright and catchy pop like Kurstin, whose other credits include names such as Sia, Lily Allen, Pink and even the musical Annie? Absolutely nothing. In any case, he's Sir Paul McCartney who can do what he wants, laugh all you like.
ultimateclassicrock.com Ringo Starr Announces Fall 2017 Tour Dates By Michael Gallucci March 27, 2017 Ethan Miller, Getty Images Ringo Starr is heading back on the road with his All-Starr Band this fall. The former Beatles drummer and his star-studded group have announced almost 20 dates starting on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas and winding down nearly a month later with a show in Newark. In between, they’ll play concerts in Austin, Atlanta and New York City, among other U.S. dates. Almost half of the concerts will take place as part of a limited engagement at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Starr and his band — which includes Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette — will then head to Texas for a trio of shows. You can see the entire run of shows below. This All-Starr Band lineup has been around since 2012 and have been Starr’s touring band ever since. “The dream is still unfolding,” Starr said in a press release announcing the new shows. “I love to play, and I love to play with this band. I can’t say that enough, and we’re on the road again.” Starr was most recently in the studio with his old bandmate Paul McCartney to record a song reportedly for Starr’s next album. His last solo album, Postcards From Paradise, was released in 2015. Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Tour Dates Oct. 13-14, 17, 20-21, 24, 27-28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Oct. 30 – El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre Oct. 31 – Austin TX @ Moody Theater Nov. 2 – Sugarland, TX @ Smart Sugarland Civic Center Nov. 4 – Thackerville, OK @ Global Events Center at Winstar Nov. 7-8 – Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse Nov. 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theater Nov. 12 – Norfolk, VA @ ODU Pavilion Nov. 14 – Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center Nov. 15 – New York City, NY @ Beacon Theater Nov. 16 – Newark, NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center Ringo Starr's 10 Most Historic Moments July 7, 1940: Ringo Starr is Born
Born Richard Starkey, Starr became interested in music after a lengthy period of illnesses – including bouts of appendicitis and pleurisy – which began at the age of 13. Into his teen years, Ringo (then known as Ritchie) started playing skiffle before switching to rock 'n' roll as it swept through England in the '50s. (See more of Ringo's photographs here.)
March 25, 1959: Rises to Local Fame
After a series of groups, including the Eddie Miles Band, Starr debuted with the Raving Texans, a backing band for local singer Rory Storm that evolved into the Hurricanes. During this period, Starkey became known as Ringo Starr (in honor of both his rings and his emerging star power), eventually drawing the notice of his future bandmates in the Beatles.
Aug. 14, 1962: Joins the Beatles
Starr first met the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany, in 1960, while still performing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. As time went on, they asked him to sit in during sets when original drummer Pete Best was unavailable. By the summer of 1962, producer George Martin had become certain the Beatles needed to replace Best. The Beatles knew just whom to call.
Feb. 11, 1963: His First Vocal
"Boys" was written for the Shirelles but had become such a familiar set list item by the time the Beatles convened for this session that they nailed the final take in just one try. "Boys" actually predates Starr's time in the band: It was originally used as Pete Best's spotlight moment. Starr had also performed the song with Rory Storm.
July 6, 1964: A Starr Turn in 'Hard Day's Night' Released to capitalize on Beatlemania, which was sweeping the globe, 'A Hard Day's Night' did more than fictionalize a day in the life of the group. It made Starr, who was featured in a memorable solo stroll in the movie, a star in his own right. The film arrived amid a flurry of achievements, including the Beatles' celebrated performance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and a record six No. 1 singles in one calendar year. March 27, 1970: Starr's Solo Career Begins
Starr got off to a prolific start as the Beatles began disintegrating. 'Sentimental Journey,' a nostalgic take on mid-century standards, arrived first – followed later in 1970 by 'Beaucoups of Blues,' which showcased Starr's love of country music. He follow that with the Top 5 single "It Don't Come Easy," recorded with George Harrison.
Nov. 2, 1973: His Biggest Album Ever
Starr, the ultimate glue guy, orchestrated the closest thing we ever got to a Beatles reunion – and together they created his bestselling album. Home to a pair of chart-topping songs, 'Ringo' featured pals George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and a cover that brought to mind their classic collaboration 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.'
April 17, 1981: A Second Career, A Lasting Love Starr leveraged his Beatles-era movie triumphs into a second career in film and, as fate would have it, into a life-long marriage. Starr met actress Barbara Bach on-set during the 1980 filming of 'Caveman,' five years after divorcing first wife Maureen Cox. Starr and Bach were married weeks following 'Caveman''s premiere. July 23, 1989: Forms the All-Starr Band Starr's concert supergroup, featuring shifting personnel who share the stage and set lists, began with a lineup that included future brother-in-law Joe Walsh, the E Street Band's Nils Lofgren and Clarence Clemons, Billy Preston (pictured) and the Band's Rick Danko and Levon Helm, Dr. John and Jim Keltner. Typical sets include Starr-sung Beatles and solo favorites, mixed with hits from his famous guests. April 18, 2015: A Belated Hall of Fame Honor Though he scored several solo hits during the early days of the Beatles breakup, Starr was the last major figure associated with the group to be separately honored. John Lennon entered in 1994, Paul McCartney in 1999 and George Harrison in 2004. Producer George Martin was recognized in 1999; their late manager Brian Epstein was honored in 2014. The Beatles went in as a group in 1988.
www.dailymail.co.uk ‘I wrote my best hits in my bedroom’: Paul McCartney says he and John Lennon penned their best Beatles hits while sat ‘opposite each other on twin beds’ ° The Beatles star said he and Lennon would 'spin off each other' ° It felt like he was 'looking in a mirror' when Lennon was sitting opposite ° Sir Paul and Lennon formed one of the most successful collaborations in history ° Sir Paul said he could ‘never have a better collaborator’ then Lennon By Laura Lambert Tv And Radio Reporter For The Daily Mail PUBLISHED: 25 March 2017 Sir Paul McCartney has revealed that he and John Lennon wrote their best tracks while sitting ‘opposite each other on twin beds’. The Beatles star recalled moments where the two of them would ‘spin off each other’ as they came up with new melodies. Asked about his experience of writing music, the 74-year-old, who formed the Beatles in 1960 with Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, said: ‘There’s a million ways to write, but the way I always used to write was with John and it would be across from each other, either in a hotel bedroom on the twin beds, with an acoustic guitar and we’re just looking at each other. Sir Paul (left) said it was 'always my big memory' seeing John Lennon (right) come up with melodies in front of him ‘He’d make up something, I’d make up something and we’d just spin off each other. ‘It’s always my big memory, is seeing John there, him being right-handed, me being left-handed, it felt to me like I was looking in a mirror.’ He said that the reason they worked so well together was because they had grown up together, and therefore had ‘developed a way of working’. Such was his fondness for that method that when it came to writing his final album of the 80s, Flowers In The Dirt, with Elvis Costello, he did the same. Speaking to DJ Matt Everitt on BBC Radio 6 Music, he said: ‘But it was a great way to work and because we were kids together, and we’d known each other since our teenage years, we’d developed a way of working that would be one of us would start an idea, and the other one would spin off it. Sir Paul was so fond of his method that he replicated it writing his final 80s album with Elvis Costello ‘Obviously, it was very successful. So that was a way I had learned to write and it was the way I liked to write and Elvis was very happy to work like that. So it was like a repeat of that process, and so he was John, basically, and I was Paul.’ The songwriting partnership between Lennon and Sir Paul is one of the most successful collaborations in history. The partnership was different to most others in that both Lennon and Sir Paul wrote words and music. The Beatles released 12 albums between 1963 and 1970 and have more number one albums then any other British group The Beatles released 12 albums between 1963 and 1970 and have had more British number one albums and singles than any other group. Speaking of working alongside Lennon, Sir Paul said he could ‘never have a better collaborator’. ‘That is just a fact’, he added. ‘So I don’t try and escape it. I just know there’s no way I can find someone now who’s going to write better stuff with me than I wrote with John.’ Sir Paul is worried his new album is going to be 'the flavour of the month' Sir Paul went on to discuss the new album he has been working on with Adele’s producer Greg Kurstin, but said he is concerned people will think he is ‘going with the flavour of the month’. He said: ‘I’m making a new album which is great fun. I’m working with a producer I first worked with two years ago on a piece of music I’m doing for an animated film. Since then, he went on to work with Beck and got album of the year with Beck. ‘Then he went on to work with Adele and has just got song of the year, record of the year, with Adele, and just got producer of the year. So my only worry is, people are going to go, “Oh, there’s Paul going with the flavour of the month”.’
THE 2017 REISSUE OF PAUL'S 1989 INTERNATIONAL #1 ALBUM - FLOWERS IN THE DIRT - IS OUT NOW!
The Paul McCartney Archive Collection release of Flowers In The Dirt was, as always, personally supervised by Paul himself and is available in the following formats: 3CD+DVD Deluxe Edition, 2CD Special Edition, 2LP Vinyl and Digital.
If you purchased Flowers In The Dirt with a download card (Deluxe Edition and Vinyl), you can download the album HERE!To get your download simply enter the redemption code printed on the card.
Directions for digital download:
A) Please enter the unique code on your card in the 'enter code here' box and click 'Submit' B) Please select the download button icon next to each item. Hi-Res download from Deluxe Edition: Due to the size of the music files all tracks should be downloaded individually. Attempting to download more than one file at a time could cause your download to fail C) Once downloaded, save your files to the location on your computer where you keep your music and enjoy!
PLEASE NOTE: Music download will only work on a desktop / laptop computer.
www.list.co.uk Paul McCartney working on new LP with Greg Kurstin Sir Paul McCartney has confirmed he's working on his next record with legendary producer Greg Kurstin Source: Bang Showbiz Date: 24 March 2017 Paul McCartney Sir Paul McCartney is working with Adele's producer Greg Kurstin on his new album. The 74-year-old Beatles legend is currently halfway through his first record since 2013's 'New' and while he is thrilled to be working with Kurstin - who worked on Adele's '25' and Beck's 'Morning Phase' - he's worried that will people will think he's chosen Greg because he is the "flavour of the month". Speaking BBC 6 Music, he revealed: "I'm making a new album which is great fun. I'm in the middle of that. I'm working with a producer I first worked with two years ago on a piece of music I'm doing for an animated film. Since then, he went on to work with Beck and got Best Album of the Year with Beck. Then he went on to work with Adele and has just got Song of the Year, Record of the Year, with Adele, of course and just got Producer of the Year. So my only worry is, people are going to go, 'Oh there's Paul going with the flavour of the month'. But he's a great guy called Greg Kurstin and he's very musical and he's great to work with. So I'm in the middle of that and then shortly, in a couple of weeks, I go off to Japan to do some concerts there in Tokyo which should be great fun. So yeah, I'm at it. Beavering away doing what I love to do. As Ringo says,'It's what we do.'" Though the 'Let It Be' hitmaker didn't divulge whether there are any collaborations on the new album, McCartney said that despite duetting with Kanye West, Rihanna, Michael Jackson and many more, none of them will be better than his late bandmate John Lennon. He said: "My thing with collaboration, I know I can never have a better collaborator than John. That is just a fact. It's inescapable. So I don't try and escape it. I just know there's no way I can find someone now who's going to write better stuff with me than I wrote with John. But having said that, I'm interested in working with other people because they bring their own particular thing to it and, it's interesting. It's educational for me to see how they want to work." www.bbc.co.uk Sir Paul McCartney talks to 6 Music about collaborations, Chuck Berry, his new album and his own musical legacy. McCartney’s final album of the ‘80s ‘Flowers In The Dirt’ is regarded as one of his best of the decade. He teamed up with new musicians, new producers, a new song-writing partner in the form of Elvis Costello, it inspired his first world tour in ten years. Now, as the record is re-released (complete with previously unheard demos) he’s spoken to BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt about the record, the similarities between writing with Costello and John Lennon, and his experiences collaboration with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Kayne West. He also discusses, for the first time, his own new album, the impact of Chuck Berry and his own feelings about how his work will down in history. Release date: 23 March 2017 Duration: 22 minutes
Sir Paul McCartney on Lennon, Kanye and his own musical legacy
By Matt EverittBBC 6 Music NewsMarch 23 2017
Sir Paul McCartney's final album of the '80s, Flowers in the Dirt, is regarded as one of his best of the decade.
He teamed up with new musicians, new producers and a new songwriting partner in the form of Elvis Costello and it inspired his first world tour in 10 years.
Now, as the record is re-released, complete with previously unheard demos, Sir Paul speaks to BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt about collaborating with Costello, Kanye West and Michael Jackson - but why he'll never work with anyone better than John Lennon.
Sir Paul also reveals he's working on a new album with Adele's producer, and what he thinks his musical legacy will be.
Do you learn something from every person that you collaborate with?
My thing with collaboration, I know I can never have a better collaborator than John. That is just a fact. So I don't try and escape it. I just know there's no way I can find someone now who's going to write better stuff with me than I wrote with John. But having said that, I'm interested in working with other people because they bring their own particular thing to it.
If you're thinking of someone like Stevie (Wonder), he works by just making something up on his keyboards. You invite him to dinner, he shows up 10 hours later because he was fiddling around on his keyboard. He's such a musical monster and such a genius, that's what you learn from him.
Michael Jackson, we just sat upstairs in this office and I tinkled on the piano and we just made up a song there. Now with Kanye, I had no idea what was going to happen because I knew it wasn't going to be two acoustic guitars opposite each other. So I thought, 'Well, here goes nothing'.
The one provision I said to everyone, I said, 'Look, if I feel this doesn't work out, then we just won't tell anyone. Kanye who? I didn't work with him!'
Image copyright Image captionKanye West, Rihanna and Sir Paul collaborated on 2015's FourFiveSeconds
I just was myself and I told Kanye various stories that had inspired me musically. One of them was how the song Let It Be arrived, which was through a dream I'd had in which I'd seen my mother, who had died 10 years previously.
But I was so inspired by that that I wrote the song. I told Kanye that, because he'd lost his mother. So then he wrote a song called Only One when I was just noodling around on the electronic piano. So he got the melody, I put the chords in and the style and that's how it happened.
Did you go into Flowers In The Dirt feeling like it was kind of a bit of a reset?
I think so. I'm just bringing up my family, and then a point will arrive where I just think, 'OK, I've got some songs. I should get busy, I should record these. We should go out on tour. It's time'.
And that's what happened round about that time. It was suggested to me that I work with Elvis Costello as a partnership and it seemed like a good idea. I thought, 'Well, he's from Liverpool, he's good' - which helps - and we have a lot of things in common and so I thought, 'Well that could work'.
Image captionSir Paul said he worked with Elvis Costello in a similar way to how he had worked with John Lennon
Was it writing nose-to-nose? Two acoustics, strumming at each other?
There's a million ways to write, but the way I always used to write was with John and it would be across from each other, either in a hotel bedroom on the twin beds, with an acoustic guitar and we're just looking at each other. He'd make up something, I'd make up something and we'd just spin off each other. The nice thing for me is seeing John there, him being right-handed, me being left-handed, it felt to me like I was looking in a mirror.
Obviously, it was very successful. So that was a way I had learned to write and it was the way I liked to write and Elvis was very happy to work like that. So it was like a repeat of that process, and so he was John, basically, and I was Paul.
I have to ask you about Chuck Berry. Obviously a massive musical hero of yours. What was he like? Did you work with him much?
I didn't work with Chuck. I met him. He came to one of our concerts when we were playing in St. Louis, his home town, and he came round backstage. It was great to meet him and just be able to tell him what a fan I was.
When I think back to being in Liverpool pre-Beatles, when we were all just kids learning the guitar with the dreams of the future, we suddenly heard this little thing, Sweet Little Sixteen. We never heard anything like that, and then when Johnny B. Goode came along, all of his fantastic songs, Maybellene. All these songs about cars, teenagers, rock 'n roll music, was just so thrilling.
Image captionPaul McCartney with BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt
Looking at the wave of tributes that followed Chuck Berry's death, do you ever wonder how are you going to be remembered?
I think you do and you put it out your mind. I don't get into it, really. I remember John once, saying to me, 'I wonder how I'll be remembered. Will they remember me well?'. And I had to reassure him. I said, 'Look at me. You are going to be so remembered, you've done so much great stuff'. But it was funny - you wouldn't think John would even have a remote bit of insecurity about it. But I think people do. Luckily, it won't matter because I won't be here.
On a more positive note, what's next?
I'm making a new album which is great fun. I'm working with a producer I first worked with two years ago on a piece of music I'm doing for an animated film. Since then, he went on to work with Beck and got album of the year with Beck. Then he went on to work with Adele and has just got song of the year, record of the year, with Adele, and just got producer of the year.
So my only worry is, people are going to go, 'Oh, there's Paul going with the flavour of the month'. But he's a great guy called Greg Kurstin and he's great to work with. So yeah, I'm at it. Beavering away, doing what I love to do. As Ringo says, 'It's what we do'.
