The Day I Met Sir Paul McCartney
When recounting their experience, anyone who has ever had the pleasure of interviewing Sir Paul McCartney will reveal the one agonising thought that whirled through their mind as they began their preparations: where do I start?
The life and career of a musician so vital that he stands as a pillar in the foundations of rock and roll is naturally so expansive, so prolific and so unique that finding one point in thousands from which to launch a line of questioning can drive you crazy. Of course, that's only half the battle: once you've found your flow, and the research throws up an endless list of questions, where do you stop?
For his 2007 cover story with Clash Magazine, I arrived at my first interview with Paul clutching six sheets of A4 paper and enough questions to fill both sides of each (and that was after some furious self-editing), eager to satisfy a lifetime's curiosity, and squeeze into our conversation and the allotted time the kind of answers any superfan - like myself - would cherish, because who knew if or when this opportunity would ever arise again. We'd begin, of course, by talking about his new album, 'Memory Almost Full', but from there, our direction was unmapped and the landscape vast.
We all want to learn more about The Beatles - their recordings, travels and relationships - so I'd have to uncover new revelations there, and oh, maybe some personal pre-Beatle memories. Then there are the solo years: Wings, his classical work, the electronic adventuring of The Fireman, his humanitarian efforts, the constant pursuit of innovation...
By: Simon Harper
Source: The Huffington Post
