FEATURE:
Paul McCartney at Eighty
IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney in 1964/PHOTO CREDIT: RA/Lebrecht Music & Arts
Paul McCartney and Me: The Interviews: David Quantick
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I have already begun…
a forty-feature run that leads to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday on 18th June. Alongside features about The Beatles, Wings, his solo material, in addition to why he is such a legend, inspirational human and genius, I am interviewing various amazing people. I ask what Paul McCartney means to them and when they first experienced his music. In this first interview is the terrific novelist, author, music journalist and comedy writer, David Quantick. Having appeared numerous times on Chris Shaw’s phenomenal Beatles podcast, IAmtheEggPod, I can confirm that David knows his stuff when it comes to Paul McCartney! David also made a programme about what if John Lennon had left The Beatles in 1962/lived (the Beatles icon was killed in 1980) for Playhouse Presents. To start this interview series ahead of Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday in June, David Quantick explains what the music icon…
MEANS to him.
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Hi David. In the lead-up to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday on 18th June, I am interviewing different people about their love of his music and when they first discovered the work of a genius. When did you first discover Paul McCartney’s music? Was it a Beatles, Wings or solo album that lit that fuse? What was your reaction when you first heard the band?
I first heard Help! on the radio as a small boy. I think I liked it. Then I had tapes of the Red and Blue compilations (released in 1973, the Red Album covered their hits songs between 1962–1966; the Blue Album between 1967–1970) and became obsessed.
Like me, you must have been engrossed by The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+. How did it change your impression of The Beatles at that time, and specifically Paul McCartney’s role and influence on the rest of the band?
It didn’t really…
I enjoyed it and was pleased that The Beatles continued to be creative and so on. But to be honest, Let It Be is a bad album and The Beatles were right to jack it in.
Your excellent 2002 book, Revolution: The Making of The Beatles' White Album, looked at the classic 1968 eponymous double album from The Beatles. What did you learn about Paul McCartney as a songwriter whilst researching and writing that book?
Only that he is a unique and fantastic talent, which I knew already. The White Album is a pretty democratic Beatles L.P., and Paul’s contributions - from Back in the U.S.S.R. and Mother Nature’s Son to I Will and Honey Pie - show enormous range.
McCartney’s latest studio album, McCartney III, was released at the end of 2020. What do you think the future holds in terms of McCartney’s music? How do you think his sound/lyrics will change or evolve, if at all?
He is nearly 80, but shows no signs of retiring. He loves to work, and he loves new ideas.
So, I will continue to look forward to his next record.
If you had to select your favourite Beatles, Wings and McCartney albums (one each), which would they be and why?
The White Album (The Beatles) for the variety and the ambition; Wings Over America for the variety and the ambition, and McCartney I because it is lovely.
Maybe an impossible question, but what does Paul McCartney, as a human and songwriting icon, personally mean to you?
Talent, luck, ambition and genius sometimes attach themselves to really good people. Like his fellow Beatles, Paul has always tried to be a force for good.
I love him.
“ He is nearly 80, but shows no signs of retiring. He loves to work, and he loves new ideas”.
It is difficult to say just how far and wide McCartney’s influence spans across music, culture and the world at large. If you were trying to explain to a child (or someone who had never heard of Paul McCartney) who was unaware of Paul McCartney why they should listen to his music, what would you say?
Just buy the Red Album.
Reading The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present makes me realise that Paul McCartney might be underrated as a lyricist. He is lauded because of his musical innovation, but sometimes his lyrics get short shrift. Do you think he is undervalued as a lyricist, and do you have any personal favourite lines of his?
He is a great writer.
Often complex, mostly simple. I’d show someone The End of the End from Memory Almost Full for the complex, and Silly Love Songs for the simple.
If you had the chance to interview Paul McCartney now and ask him any one question, what would that be?
Could you sing I Don’t Know from Egypt Station for me?
If you could get a single gift for McCartney for his eightieth birthday, what would you get him?
A day off being asked about The Beatles.
To end, I will round off the interview with a Macca song. It can be anything he has written or contributed to. Which song should I end with?
I Want to Hold Your Hand.
Nothing has ever sounded like this before or since. My favourite single of all time. Or Mull of Kintyre, the first single I ever bought. I still love it.