McCartney biography. Paul McCartney biography short

31.03.2019

British musician, singer, songwriter and composer, frontman of legendary bands The Beatles And wings, MBE and five-time Grammy Award winner. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musician and composer in the history of popular music.

Sir James Paul McCartney(Sir James Paul McCartney) was born in the summer of 1942 in Liverpool, in an Irish family of a maternity ward nurse, Maria Moan, and an arms factory worker, James McCartney. Paul also has a brother, Michael, who is two years younger than him.

Future musician graduated primary school Joseph Williams, after which he became a student at the Liverpool Institute. In 1956 he survived terrible tragedy His mother died suddenly of breast cancer.

His first guitar was acoustic instrument Framus Zenith is a gift from his father, a former trumpeter and pianist who played in the Jim Mac's Jazz Ban orchestra. Thanks to his passion for music, Paul was able to quickly cope with grief after the death of his mother: he began to write songs. His first composition was "I Lost My Little Girl".

Paul McCartney and The Beatles

In the summer of 1957, McCartney met John Lennon when he happened to be at his band's rehearsal. The Quarrymen. Everyone young musicians I liked Paul's impromptu performance with the song "Twenty Flight Rock", and it was the first step towards creating legendary The Beatles. John Lennon taught a left-handed friend how to tune the guitar properly, and Paul helped him write songs.

George Harrison had known McCartney since his school days - in 1954 he met him by chance on a bus

stop. When Harrison joined them creative union, The Beatles officially appeared in Hamburg. For many years it was not clear who invented title The Beatles. George and I clearly remember that it was like this: John and some friends from art school rented an apartment. We all clustered there on old mattresses - it was so much fun. Listened to Johnny Barnett's records, raged until the morning, as teenagers do. And then one day John, Stu, George and I were walking down the street, suddenly John and Stu say: “Hey, we have an idea how to name the group - The Beatles, through the letter “a” (if you follow the rules of grammar, it was supposed write The Beetles - "Beetles"). George and I are surprised, and John says, “Yeah, Stu and I figured that out.”

In the winter of 1960 they began performing in Liverpool. In a year Paul McCartney changed bass player Stuart Sutcliffe after a loud scandal that broke out between them right during the performance. Soon drummer Ringo Starr appeared in the group.

In the fall of 1962, Paul wrote the song "Love Me Do", which became exactly the single, thanks to which the whole world learned about The Beatles.

Their debut album was called "The Beatles Please Please Me". During his recording, Paul met the sound engineer Jeff Emerick, who later made a huge contribution to the work of the musician. Basically, the authors of all the songs on the disc were John Lennon And Paul McCartney.

November 1963 The Beatles released their second album. By this time, they were already drawing crowds of millions at their concerts. The best compositions of the time, written by McCartney, were "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "Another Girl". His most famous hits came precisely in the mid-1960s.

Later Ray Coleman wrote in his autobiographical book McCartney Yesterday and Today:

“Paul McCartney was…the main songwriter at the Beatles. None of the other three could or would want to write "Yesterday". Whatever their underlying talents, it is doubtful that Lennon or Harrison would have had the patience to nurture a song born in the fall of 1963 and carry it through to studio incarnation in the summer of 1965. The extraordinary determination and discipline of the 22-year-old McCartney allowed him to complete this work.

In the spring of 1965, he bought a mansion in St. John's Wood and became a true connoisseur of art: the musician visited London jazz clubs, art galleries and listened to experimental music. The main person who pushed him to go to new level musical style, more outrageous and avant-garde, was his girlfriend Jane Asher.

When the wave of the new art form reached the public masses, Paul had already parted ways with Jane, and the favorites of journalists turned out to be John Lennon And Yoko Ono. Unfortunately, at that time few people knew that Paul McCartney became interested in avant-garde culture much earlier than his stage colleague.

- Strange, but the public knew me as a "pretty Beatle", a master of love ballads, and John was known as a "wise Beatle", a cynic-intellectual. In fact, the situation was exactly the opposite.

In August 1968 Paul McCartney wrote the song "Hey Jude", dedicated to Julian, John Lennon's son from his first marriage. Soon the first step towards the breakup of the group was taken - John offered to take on the position of manager Alan Klein known for its financial fraud. Paul was the only musician who was categorically against his candidacy. And he was right - in 1973 the frontmen The Beatles sued the manager.

In May 1970, the band released their last album, Let It Be.

Solo career of Paul McCartney

After the collapse of the legendary band, the musician and his family moved to the west coast of Scotland. The feeling of devastation did not leave him for a long time, but thanks to the support of his wife Linda, Paul McCartney was able to overcome depression.

My guitar sounds heavier than before. It's all because of Linda. When we first met, she told me: “I didn’t know that you could play the guitar so hard, I like it.” And she made me play in this style at home. And I played. I have a slightly naive style of performance. There is no special technique, a bit like Neil Young. I saw him last year at the festival and realized that we like one thing - he is also a big fan of Hendrix.

In April 1970, he released his first solo album, which went double platinum. A year later he founded a group Wings, which included Linda, guitarist Denny Lane and Danny Saywell. Compositions Paul McCartney became more emotional, sometimes censored with difficulty. For example, the single "Hi Hi Hi" had the line, "I want you to get into bed and get ready for my body gun." In August, the musicians were arrested for drug possession in Scotland.

IN total group Wings released seven albums and Paul McCartney in the late 1970s, he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of sixty gold discs. His first solo compilation was McCartney II, released in May 1980.

Paul McCartney before last moment tried to establish a relationship with a person without whom there would be no The BeatlesJohn Lennon. However, they never got to meet. As a result, the musician found out about the death of his former stage colleague, which led to the end of his concert activity. Wings“Paul was simply unable to perform. In the spring of 1981, the group finally broke up.

- When I turned 40, everyone said that it was at this age that life began. I looked around - nothing seems to start. Then I myself decided to start doing something new. I started running a little, because I had never done it before. It was pretty funny. Then I thought that I would like painting as I have always loved to draw. By the age of 40, I decided it was time to go to an art salon. Bought canvas, paints, brushes. I began to draw and felt that it gives me pleasure. What painting gives me is akin to what music gives: if the day doesn’t work out, you need to go into the room with a guitar and with the help of music make the day work out and feel this magic. Painting is about the same. When I'm on tour, sometimes in the middle of all this fuss I take a day off and just draw. It's kind of like therapy.

In the spring of 1982, McCartney's Tug of War album was released. One of the singles called "Here Today" was dedicated to John Lennon.

The musician was actively engaged in solo work, collaborated with Michael Jackson and in 1987 he released a collection of his hits "All the Best!". Ten years later, he presented the disc "Flaming Pie", which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2000, he dedicated the album "Driving Rain" to his second wife. Heather Mills. Two years later he went on tour around the world. Winter 2008 Paul McCartney was awarded the BRIT Award for his historical contribution to the development of music.

Paul McCartney's personal life

On April 18, 1963, during one of the photo shoots, the musician met a seventeen-year-old Jane Asher, co-host of Juke Box Jury. Five years later, the lovers announced their engagement, but a year later they broke up. It was Jane who addicted Paul McCartney to art and avant-garde rock and roll.

On May 15, 1967, Paul met a photographer Linda Eastman. They soon got married. It was one of the happiest long marriages musician - they had three children: photographer Mary (August 28, 1969), known today fashion designer clothes Stella (September 13, 1971) and guitarist James (September 12, 1977). The family was actively involved in charity, declared the benefits of vegetarianism. In 1998, Linda died of breast cancer.

In the summer of 2002, McCartney married a second time - his chosen one was a model Heather Mills. On October 28, 2003, their daughter Beatrice Milli was born. However, in 2008 the couple broke up.

November 2007 Paul McCartney began to appear in public with an American Nancy Shevell. On October 9, 2011, the legendary musician married for the third time.

Paul McCartney discography
  • Good Evening New York City (2009)
  • Memory Almost Full (2007)
  • Ecce Cor Meum (2006)
  • Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)
  • back in The World (2003)
  • Back In The U.S. (2002)
  • Driving Rain (2001)
  • Wingspan: Hits and History (2001)
  • Liverpool Sound Collage (2000)
  • Paul McCartney's Working Classical (1999)
  • Run Devil Run (1999)
  • Paul McCartney's Standing Stone (1997)
  • Flaming Pie (1997)
  • Paul Is Live (1993)
  • Off the Ground (1993)
  • Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (1991)
  • Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) (1991)
  • Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
  • Back in the USSR (1988)
  • All the Best! (1987)
  • Press to Play (1986)
  • Pipes of Peace (1983)
  • Tug of War (1982)
  • McCartney II (1980)
  • Thrillington (1977)
  • Ram (1971)
  • McCartney (1970)

A brief biography of Paul McCartney will help you learn about the life of a musician and prepare for the lesson.

Paul McCartney biography short

He became interested in music in elementary school, where he first appeared on stage.

The future musician graduated from Joseph Williams Primary School, after which he became a student at the Liverpool Institute. In 1956, he experienced a terrible tragedy - his mother died suddenly of breast cancer.

In 1957, he met and became a member of The Quarrymen. In 1959, The Quarrymen mutated into the Silver Beetles, and a little later into just The Beatles.

In the fall of 1962, Paul wrote the song "Love Me Do", which became exactly the single, thanks to which the whole world learned about The Beatles.

Their debut album was called The Beatles Please Please Me. During his recording, Paul met sound engineer Jeff Emerick, who later made a huge contribution to the musician's work. Basically, the authors of all compositions were John Lennon And Paul McCartney.

November 1963 The Beatles released their second album. By this time, they were already drawing crowds of millions at their concerts. The best compositions of the time, written by McCartney, were "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "Another Girl".

In August 1968 Paul McCartney wrote the song "Hey Jude".

In May 1970, the band released their last album, Let It Be.

After the collapse of the legendary band, the musician and his family moved to the west coast of Scotland. The feeling of devastation did not leave him for a long time, but thanks to the support of his wife Linda, Paul McCartney was able to overcome depression.

In April 1970, he released his first solo album, which went double platinum. A year later he founded a group Wings.

In total, the group Wings released seven albums and Paul McCartney in the late 1970s, he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of 60 gold discs.

In the spring of 1981, Wings disbanded. His first solo compilation was McCartney II, released in May 1980.

The musician was actively engaged in solo work, collaborated with Michael Jackson and in 1987 he released a collection of his hits "All the Best!". Ten years later, he presented the disc "Flaming Pie", which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2000, he dedicated the album "Driving Rain" to his second wife. Heather Mills. Two years later he went on tour around the world. Winter 2008 Paul McCartney was awarded the BRIT Award for his historical contribution to the development of music.

He was married three times and is the father of five children.

McCartney is widely known as an animal rights activist and supporter of vegetarianism. He also became famous as an opponent of the spread of genetically modified foods, anti-personnel mines, a ban on hunting, and as the organizer of many charity concerts in support of medicine or other good causes.

Paul McCartney's childhood

The legendary musician of the no less legendary Beatles, Paul McCartney, was born in the hot military summer of 1942 at the Walton Clinic in Liverpool. His mother, Mary, worked at the same clinic as a midwife. Both Paul's mother and his father, James, were of Irish descent. Paul was baptized in Roman Catholic Church However, a Catholic mother and a Protestant father raised the future musician outside of religion.

Since 1947, Mary began to work as an on-call midwife. The work of a midwife, already difficult, was further complicated by the fact that a woman could be called to take delivery at any time of the day. However, this was paid accordingly, and therefore the family was able to afford moving to a more comfortable area in Everton. Paul's father worked at an arms factory during the war years, and after the victory of the Allies over Nazi Germany got a job at the cotton exchange, where his weekly earnings were 6 pounds. Mary was earning more in a week, which gave James a lot of heartache. The family as a whole did not live in poverty, but the McCartneys lived extremely modestly. TV, for example, appeared in the apartment only in 1953.

Artemy Troitsky. Tale about Paul McCartney's concert on Red Square

In 1954 Paul's family moved from Everton to Wallacey and from there to Speke. Both Wallacey and Speke stayed briefly, eventually settling in Allerton in 1955, and less than a year later Paul lost his mother to breast cancer. This subsequently became one of the reasons for rapprochement with another member of the Beatles, John Lennon, who also lost his mother, barely reaching adulthood.

At the age of 14, his father gave Paul a used pipe, which the teenager exchanged with a friend for an acoustic guitar. Since Paul was left-handed, he, like Slim Whitman, arranged the strings on the guitar in reverse order. From that moment, McCartney's passion for music began, it was this passion that helped him survive the shock associated with the death of his mother.

After the death of their mother, three men - father, Paul and his brother Michael - were left alone. Despite his father's modest earnings - by then he was earning £10 a week - James a large number of He devoted time to the cultural education of children, took them to concerts and played the piano at home. Resorting to the regime of the strictest economy, the father, nevertheless, managed to create an atmosphere of comfort for the brothers; poverty did not give rise to either Paul or Michael any complexes. After the death of their mother, the brothers began to earn actively; Paul very quickly learned to communicate with people and became a small traveling salesman. Thanks to his father's upbringing, Paul has always been extremely economical and balanced, without losing his head in the world of show business, almost without using drugs or making mistakes.

"The Quarrymen" by Paul McCartney

McCartney's school friend Ivan Wowen, who played in John Lennon's The Quarrymen, once invited Paul to a performance in Walton. It was then that McCartney first met Lennon. After the performance, a spontaneous audition took place, as a result of which Paul was accepted into Lennon's group. Soon the guys became close friends. This friendship was negatively received by the families of teenagers, but Lennon and McCartney began to work together. Soon McCartney brought his friend George Harrison into the group, thus forming the final composition of the group. By 1960, the Quarrymen renamed themselves The Silver Beatles. Subsequently, the name is shortened to the usual "The Beatles" and the ensemble goes on tour to Hamburg.

The Early Years of The Beatles and Paul McCartney

Paul's father did not want to let his son go to Germany, but Paul's argument that he would earn ten shillings per concert turned out to be decisive - the McCartney family was still experiencing financial difficulties. In Hamburg, McCartney grew up in professional musician. The living conditions and the clubs in which the band performed were not very good, but the rigid schedule of daily performances became a necessary school for the group. After some time, the Beatles started a fire in a room at one of the clubs, as a result of which they ended up in a police station, from where they were deported to the UK.

Since December 1960, the group has been performing in Liverpool, gradually gaining popularity. Since April 1961, the Beatles again come to Hamburg, where they begin work on their own material (before that, the musicians played covers).

The rise of Paul McCartney

In 1961, Brian Epstein became the group's manager, who decided to sign the group's contract with the Decca Records label. The Beatles record a demo, but the audition ends in failure and the label refuses to cooperate with the group.

The band's first single "Love Me Do" was released on October 5, 1962. In the English charts, the disc soon reaches number 17, and a couple of years later in the USA it reaches the top of the hit parade. At the same time, the group changes its image and dresses in its famous costumes.


In February 1963, in one day, the band recorded material for their first album, Please Please Me, in London. Most of the album's songs were co-written by Lennon and McCartney, although several songs were wholly owned by McCartney.

In May 1963, after a concert in London, Paul McCartney met the seventeen-year-old actress Jane Asher. Between them, a romance begins that lasts more than five years. Jane had a huge impact on the formation of McCartney's cultural tastes and on his work. It was Asher who awakened the musician's interest in the classics and provoked the Beatles' transition from pop-rock to art-rock. Paul dedicated the songs "We Can Work It Out" and "Here, There and Everywhere" to Jane.

Beatlemania

The song after which The Beatles were talked about as stars was "She Loves You". This composition topped the English chart for two months. In November 1963, the group performs a concert, which is broadcast on television. In total, the program was watched by more than 26 million viewers. The concert had a huge resonance, called by the journalists of the newspaper "Daily Mirror" "Beatlemania".

The band's second album came out just in time, in the wake of the emerging Beatlemania. The album "With The Beatles" became a British hit. The group gives concerts in Paris, and in January 1964 arrives in the States covered by Beatlemania. With a concert on the televised Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles took America by storm with more than 73 million viewers watching the show.

In the summer of 1965 the group was awarded the Order of the British Empire. In the same year, the album "Help!" Is released, the central composition of which is the song "Yesterday", recorded by McCartney without the participation of the rest of the group. Two months later, the single "Yesterday" reached the top of the American charts. In December 1965, the album "Rubber Soul" was released, which marked a new stage in the work of the team.

avant-garde

In 1965, during the troubles of Northern Songs, the publishers of the Beatles, in the stock market, all members of the group invested in real estate in Surrey, and only McCartney remained in the capital. Abandoning rural life, Paul quickly became a regular at jazz clubs, art galleries and other cultural objects London. Peter Asher, Jane's brother, introduced the musician to prominent London bohemia John Dunbar and Barry Miles. These people began to shape the new musical tastes of Paul McCartney.

Thanks to Barry Miles, Paul became interested in experimental jazz and symphonic music, Dunbar enlightened Paul in the fields of modern poetry and literature, in particular, introduced the musician to the peculiarities of psychedelic culture. Jane soon brought Paul together with experimental director Michelangelo Antonioni and London underground leader Robert Fraser. At Fraser's house, Paul meets Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton, Allen Ginsberg. The latter had a strong influence on poetic creativity Paul, as a result of which the songs of the Beatles radically changed their semantic content. In the theatrical and literary get-together of those years, Paul had great authority, he wrote music for plays.

Paul rents an apartment in Montagu Square, equips it as a studio, and, in collaboration with sound engineer Ian Sommerville, begins to experiment with music. Ian introduces Paul to his ex-boyfriend William Burroughs, who becomes a frequent visitor to McCartney's studio apartment. The ideas of the American beatnik interest Paul, and he turns the apartment into a kind of art laboratory, where, together with Burroughs, he creates sound effects, which later formed the basis for the sound of The Beatles records of the second half of the sixties. Most of the sound experiments associated with Lennon were actually created by Paul McCartney in collaboration with Burroughs and Sommerville.

Paul McCartney sings with Nirvana

Breakup of the Beatles

In 1968, the Beatles released the White Album. The record hit the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest selling music album XX century. Paul McCartney is the author of the idea to put the record in a white sleeve without any inscriptions. Almost all of Paul's songs from this album have become rock classics. The song "Helter Skelter" became the first hard rock composition in the history of music.

In January 1969, during the filming of the film "Let It Be", disagreements begin in the group, due to the absolute dominance of Paul in all areas of the group's activities. John Lennon said that their creative duet with McCartney had exhausted itself. On the last day of February 1969, relations in the group escalated to the limit, and in fact the group ceased to exist. In a similar atmosphere, the Beatles are finalizing Abbey Road, essentially the band's last album (Let It Be, released in 1970, was mixed from material recorded in parallel with the White Album). On December 31, 1969, McCartney began a lawsuit to end the existence of the Beatles.

Solo career of Paul McCartney

After breaking up with John Lennon and the Beatles, Paul McCartney became depressed and for a long time spent in a hermitage in the west of Scotland. There, McCartney first became addicted to drugs and began to abuse alcohol. After the end of the period of depression, McCartney releases his first solo album, which spent three weeks at the top of the charts and went platinum twice. The press, however, reacted negatively to the album (as well as to the record that followed it), and Lennon called both discs "garbage".


After that, Paul creates the Wings group, with which he performs until 1980. The group, which was created by the ambitious Paul in the hope of "surpassing" the Beatles, was perceived by the public rather restrainedly. In 1974, for the first time since the breakup of the Beatles, McCartney and Lennon played on the same stage, performing "Midnight Special". In 1977, the single "Mull of Kintyre" became the commercial peak of Paul McCartney's solo career. In the UK, the record broke absolutely all records, including those of the Beatles. For nine weeks, the single topped the British charts, and circulation in England amounted to 2.5 million copies. Then McCartney became the most highly paid musician on the planet.

December 1979 was marked by charity concerts by Paul McCartney in support of the people of Kampuchea, affected by the drought. The concerts were organized at the personal request of UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim.

Breakup of Wings after John Lennon's death

By the end of the seventies, the relationship between McCartney and Lennon in general became more acceptable, although it remained rather strained. They periodically called up, but often quarreled during telephone conversations, usually because of Lennon's temper.

In August 1980, in a conversation between the musicians, the idea of ​​​​reuniting, if not the Beatles, then at least the McCartney-Lennon duo, was in the air. But the meeting, which could radically change the fate of the two legendary musicians, never took place.

The last phone conversation between former friends happened in September 1980. Paul and John did not quarrel, the conversation was calm and relatively friendly.

On the day of Lennon's assassination, McCartney was working on his song "Rainclouds". The news of John's death shocked him to the core. During an interview that took place that day, when asked by a reporter "What do you think of John's death?" Paul could only answer: "It's such a longing."

After Lennon's death, Wings did not last long. Paul disbanded the band on April 27, 1981.

Conflict with Michael Jackson

The album, released after the dissolution of the McCartney group - "Tug of War" was released in 1982 and became the best record in McCartney's solo career. Paul dedicated the song "Here Today" to the memory of John Lennon.

In 1983, Paul collaborated with Michael Jackson. While working on joint songs, Paul gives Michael a lot of show business advice, among which there is such a careless point: "Buy the rights to someone else's songs." Two years later, Michael Jackson, using this advice, buys the copyright to the songs of the Beatles for $ 47.5 million. Paul called this act a betrayal and broke off relations with Jackson. Commenting on this act of Michael, Paul said: "It's not very pleasant to go on tour, knowing that you have to pay someone to perform your own songs."

Paul McCartney at present

In the future, McCartney's work caused an ambiguous reaction from the public and music critics. Albums that spent months at the top of the charts alternated with failed records, each of which was called by the press "the worst of McCartney's career."

Sir Paul McCartney's wedding

In 1997, the album "Flaming Pie" was nominated for a Grammy, and Paul himself "for his contribution to the development of music" received a knighthood of sir. In 1999 McCartney (as solo artist) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2001, McCartney wrote the soundtrack for the film Vanilla Sky. A year later, as part of the "Back In The World" world tour, the musician visits Russia for the first time and performs with a concert on Red Square. Until now, this concert is the only concert of a western rock star on the central square of Moscow (all other concerts announced as concerts on Red Square were held on Vasilyevsky Spusk).

On June 20, 2004, Paul performed at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg. It was estimated to be the 3,000th concert of McCartney's career. In June 2008, McCartney's free concert took place on Kiev's Independence Square, which gathered more than 250,000 people.

During his solo career, Paul McCartney became widely known as an animal rights activist and promoter of vegetarianism.

In August 2012, McCartney defended the Russian punk band " Pussy Riot”, posting on the official website an appeal to the members of the group, in which, among other things, were the words: “I really hope that Russian authorities will respect the principle of freedom of speech for all citizens of your country and will not punish you for your protest.” The reaction to this letter from Vladimir Putin, who is on friendly terms with Paul McCartney, is unknown.

Of all the Liverpool Four Solo career Paul McCartney is the most successful. This is evidenced by the millions of discs sold and the regular presence in the charts (especially in the 70s and 80s) on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. James Paul McCartney was born June 18, 1942. At fourteen he wrote his first song ("I Lost My Little Girl") and at fifteen he joined John Lennon's band The Quarrymen. What happened next, everyone knows - the Beatles were born. With Lennon, McCartney developed an excellent author's tandem, and most of the songs of the Beatles period were released under the brand name "Lennon - McCartney". In the latter half of the 60s, Paul, like his partners, began to look to the side, but while John and George embarked on experiments, he was engaged in more mundane things, and one of his first off-Beatle works was the soundtrack to the film "The Family way". But if the corresponding record was released under the name "George Martin Orchestra", then shortly after his marriage to Linda Eastman McCartney recorded his first official solo album, performing all the instrumental parts alone. "McCartney" went on sale two weeks before "Let It Be", and the day before Paul made a statement about the breakup of "Beatles". Having embarked on an autonomous voyage, the musician soon released his first hit single "Another Day", followed by the "family" album "Ram", released on behalf of the McCartney couple.

Both the first and second LPs were in good demand, but Paul wanted more, and in 1971 he returned to the team format, creating an ensemble called "Wings". The debut album of "Wings" and critics and the public met with distrust, and the disc found itself outside the top ten. The "Red Rose Speedway" that followed it also turned out to be rather weak, but the commercial success of the disc was obvious, and in America it became a chart topper. In the summer of 1973, the Wings made their first British tour, after which they went to Nigeria with a truncated line-up and recorded their best-selling "Band On The Run". With this album, Paul finally reasoned with the spiteful critics, and his band got a break to look for a drummer and guitarist. Released in 1975, "Venus And Mars" almost repeated the success of "Band On The Run", and its appearance was reinforced by the world tour "Wings Over The world".

The next disc, "Wings At The Speed ​​Of Sound", became the first album of the "Wings", where the songwriter was not only Paul, but the demand for this disc was ensured by the compositions of McCartney himself, "Silly Love Songs" and "Let "Em In ". The triple live album "Wings Over America" ​​became the fifth consecutive American chart topper, after which the group went on vacation. Seizing the moment, Paul recorded an instrumental version of the album "Ram", but released it not under his own name, but under the pseudonym Thrillington. At the end of the year "Wings" launched the single "Mull Of Kintyre", which sold two million copies in England alone, and some time later broke platinum with the full-length "London Town". This album, compared to its predecessors, had a softer sound and had a synthetic flavor. rock and roll on "Back To The Egg" was not particularly successful, and although the record also received platinum status, it did not generate a single serious hit.In 1980, McCartney returned to the "do it yourself" formula, releasing a program stuffed with synthesizers "McCartney II", and the following year officially announced the dissolution of "Wings". Returning to solo, Paul regained the first place in the transatlantic charts, but "Tug Of War" sold like hotcakes mainly thanks to a duet with Stevie Wonder in "Ebony And Ivory". McCartney later sang on Jackson's "The Girl Is Mine" single, and Michael returned the favor by performing "Say Say Say" on Paul's "Pipes Of Peace" album.

In 1984, the artist started shooting the film "Give My Regards To Broad Street", and although the film itself failed, the soundtrack of the same name, which contained a number of Beatle motifs, was a success and even topped the British charts. Despite enough good press, the disc "Press To Play", made in a typical eighties spirit, turned out to be unsuccessful, after which a nondescript collection of rock and roll standards "Back in the USSR" appeared, distributed only in the territory Soviet Union. Paul managed to return the lost positions in 1989 with the album "Flowers In The Dirt", recorded in collaboration with Elvis Costello. Two years later, McCartney decided to try his hand at classical music with the release of "Liverpool Oratorio". And although the work caused conflicting responses, throughout the 90s, Paul again turned to the serious genre in the opuses "Standing Stone" and "Working Classical".

The album "Off The Ground" continued the line of "Flowers In The Dirt", but at the same time had a more straightforward sound and was distinguished by the musician's increased interest in social problems. At the end of work on the "Anthology" "Beatles" McCartney returned to solo work and released the disc "Flaming Pie". Despite the acoustic basis, this program has earned a lot of critical acclaim, and in the charts in England and the US she got the second line. After Linda's death, Paul hid from the public for a long time, but in 1999 he reminded himself of himself with the album "Run Devil Run", which mainly included rock and roll covers. In 2001, the musician again began to make original things, but, despite the rather nice material, the disc "Driving Rain" turned out to be poorly sold. Where more demand prompted "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard", where Paul adopted a new tactic by recording all the parts himself, but using an outside producer, Nigel Godrich. In 2006, McCartney again experimented with the classics, releasing the oratorio "Ecce Cor Meum", and in 2007 he won applause with the album "Memory Almost Full", many of which evoked memories of "Wings". At the end of the decade, the live album "Good Evening New York City" was released, and the ex-Beatle decided to start the next decade with another classic. But if "Ocean" s Kingdom "was his first attempt at ballet, then the disk "Kisses On The Bottom", which soon arrived in time, was composed of pre-war jazz and pop standards.

In 2012, McCartney performed at the opening of the Olympic Games in London, and at the end of the year he took part in the charity concert "The Concert For Sandy Relief", unexpectedly appearing on the same stage with ex-members of Nirvana. In preparing the new album, Paul held sessions to arrange a casting of producers, but could not make a specific choice, and the creation of "New" had a hand in the four test subjects: Paul Epworth, Ethan Jones, Giles Martin and Mark Ronson. As a result, the material on the disc turned out to be quite diverse, but this did not prevent the disc from debuting in the top ten of a number of countries. The next five years were spent traveling and working on archives, but in 2018, Sir McCartney finally pleased the public with a fresh one. In contrast to the experiments on "New" with a modern sound, "Egypt Station" returned Paul to a more familiar sound for him and thus provided him with the first full lead on Billboard in a long time.

Last update 11/06/18

Similar articles