For Whom The Bell Tells... Issue 16

The rest of the world might take August off, but whilst the boss might have taken a couple of days off here or there, there was no stopping his standard whirlwind schedule continuing at a breakneck pace. No change then. He started the month ending the first leg of the amazing all-new ‘On The Run’ tour in The Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. In his time, there can’t be many signs held up in the audience that Paul hasn’t seen before but this concert was notable for one that stood out from the rest. A man sat a few rows from the stage holding up a sign saying ‘Paul, sign my wife’, while his wife next to him held up a notice saying – you guessed it – ‘I’m the wife – sign me’. Well, Paul hates to disappoint his fans as we all know, so he duly brought the couple up onto stage during the encore to sign his name and the words ‘Let it be’ on the woman’s shoulder. You could say they were suitably chuffed: after the show, they headed straight to a tattoo parlour to make the words permanent! Now that’s devotion.

If you couldn’t make it to any of the ‘On The Run’ dates though, fans got the next best thing last month when Paul appeared on the cover of Project, an iPad only magazine. Incredibly, it was the world’s first-ever moving music cover and used footage filmed in Chicago on Paul’s ‘On The Run’ tour. The footage shows Paul walking on stage in front of the crowd before the image morphs into the cover of the magazine. If you haven’t already seen it, make sure you check it out and prepare to be amazed (you will need to buy an iPad – this could be the excuse you were looking for). This is what the future will look like.

In yet another unexpected move, Paul then popped up in the Telegraph in the UK interviewing none other than the legendary Doris Day about her new album. Paul has been friends with the star for years so when the request came in from her office to ask her questions to celebrate her first album of new material in 17 years Paul was happy to oblige. The intimate and thoughtful interview made for a revealing read and a touching tribute to the Hollywood icon – with Paul even sharing the fact that the yellow dress Doris wore in ‘Calamity Jane’ made his daughter Stella want to be a designer.

From journalism to the big screen, Paul is also set to appear not once, but twice, at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival later this month. The annual film festival is known as the place the Oscar buzz kicks off and is now in its 36th year. This year, the festival will host two previews of films featuring none other than the big boss himself, Paul McCartney. The first was the moving documentary ‘The Love We Make’, which chronicles Paul’s cathartic journey through New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. Following its screening at the festival, the documentary will be shown on Showtime in the US this weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks. The festival will also screen the special ‘Blue Sway’ video, directed by Paul and surf film maker Jack McCoy and included as an extra on the recent ‘McCartney II’ reissue. The video has already won the ‘Best Music Video’ Award at the NYC BE FILM Short Festival and will no doubt delight more fans in Toronto.

Speaking of which, some big names have been singing Paul’s praises again this week. First up, none other than musical megastar Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys picked Paul as the artist he most admires in an interview with the Guardian newspaper in the UK, admitting that he idolises him. It’s not the first time Brian has raved about Paul and his achievements – and there was me thinking I was Paul’s publicist! Seems like more people are interested in hearing what Brian Wilson has to say for some reason. I hope he’s not after a job…

Maroon 5’s Adam Levine also revealed himself as another big name Macca fan recently too, when he picked Paul as his dream bassist in the Fantasy Band feature in the UK’s Independent newspaper. He’ll have to wait his turn though: Paul’s name comes up in this slot almost every week.

In the meantime, Paul’s been in New York working hard to prepare for the opening night of the ballet ‘Ocean’s Kingdom’ for which he has written the orchestral score and libretto. In the newsroom we’ve been reading up on our ballet terminology and have swapped the sounds of rock n’ roll for Paul’s new orchestral tunes, which as it turns out is great music to work to. As I’m sure you will have read it is the first time Paul has written an original orchestral score for dance and is the result of a collaboration between Paul and New York City Ballet’s Master In Chief Peter Martins. Following the ballet’s premiere later this month, the orchestral score will be available digitally, on CD and on vinyl in October. I’ll let you know how it all goes on the big opening night next time I write but I think the audience is in for a real treat. Well, did you really expect anything less?