For Whom The Bell Tells...Issue 12

It always pays to prepare for something unexpected just around the corner in Macca's world, but even we were surprised when we heard Paul had been taking this very literally indeed recently. As usual, the boss had been dropped a few streets away from his Soho office affectionately dubbed the Bat Cave by the Macca camp to stretch his legs and mentally prepare for the day ahead. So far, so normal. As you may have read in the papers, Paul was crossing the road at traffic lights on London's hectic Oxford Street when he spotted a bicycle courier heading towards him at high speed. Ever the knight in shining armour, Paul immediately sprung into action, grabbed the woman next to him and threw her out of the way, ensuring she narrowly missed the crazed cyclist hitting her by mere moments. Seems like as well as being a living legend, Macca's also moonlighting as a real life super hero these days too, casually saving lives as he makes his way to the Bat Cave to start another day. Phew! It could only happen to Paul!

Back in the office itself, things didn't get any quieter either. Mind you, the nerve station for all things Paul McCartney isn't exactly your average office. The conversation is more likely to revolve around meetings with the President of the USA, than your average gossip round the water cooler! Just the other day, Tom Meighan of Kasabian took time out from fronting one of Britain's biggest bands to pop by and interview Paul about the forthcoming 'Band on The Run' re-release for NME. More used to filling stadiums himself then firing questions, Tom actually did a brilliant job and Paul really enjoyed chatting with him. Even though Tom admitted to us beforehand he was more nervous about it than he had ever been about playing one of Kasabian's sold-out shows. No one would have guessed though. Check out this week's NME for the results and Tom declaring Paul to be an amazing geezer!

The pair had another chance to catch up earlier this week too when Paul attended the Q Awards and was presented with the Classic Album award by none other than‚ Tom again! They have to stop bumping into each other like this. The award, of course, was for the incredible 'Band on the Run' album and Paul dedicated the award on the night to Linda, saying: This album was quite a struggle to make. The Beatles were a pretty hard act to follow, and we were going to follow them. On the eve of the album's re-release, it was certainly a good way to celebrate an amazing album and Paul had a great time at the awards alongside the likes of Take That, Ray Davies, Tinie Tempah, The Chemical Brothers and Florence and the Machine amongst others.

While the music industry nursed their collective hangovers the following day, though, there was no stopping Macca, who was back doing what he does best to deliver a stunning performance at the Jools Holland show. He played tracks from 'Band on the Run' watched by the likes of the Black Keys, Neil Diamond, Elvis Costello and Alice Cooper. Surely one of the most stellar Jools Holland line ups yet!

With the 'Band on the Run' re-release now upon us, Paul invited Dermot O'Leary down to his studio to find out more about the remastered album last week which you were hopefully able to catch last week on ITV1. The two had a lovely afternoon chatting and Dermot was able to enjoy the Sussex countryside. It was a great interview and the perfect chance for music fans to hear the inside track on what is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time from the man behind it all. The critics all seem in agreement too. The reviews are just starting to come in before next week's release and the reaction to the album couldn't be better, with the prestigious UNCUT giving 'Band on the Run' an amazing five star review and describing it as Macca's best, with knobs on.” We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Finally, we're really excited that the next leg of the tour is now upon us. The short South American tour kicked off a couple of days ago on Sunday 7th November at the Beira Rio Stadium in Porto Allegre, Brazil. It was crazy, a really memorable night. We'll never forget the mad scenes (checkout the PM.com film) and the makeshift 'McCartney Village' the fans had built whilst camping outside the venue for almost a week waiting for the doors to open. The coverage too has been off the hook. Endless front pages and TV reports that make our department very happy indeed.

There'll be more behind the scenes news to come from Paul's South American adventure very soon. So keep your eyes peeled.

Oh and actually there is one last thing. I'm over the moon to be able to say I had my own amazing news last week when my wife gave birth to a beautiful little boy, Noah. Uncle Paul very kindly sent Noah some smashing baby grows and some flowers to my wife, what a gentleman! Early signs for Noah are good, he responded very positively when I played him the new 'Band on the Run' package over the weekend.