• His nickname is Macca.
• He originally played guitar for The Beatles, he switched to bass when Stu Sutcliffe left. John Lennon and George Harrison both refused to switch from guitar.
• McCartney is the wealthiest rock star ever. His estimated worth over $1.5 Billion, and He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful musician and contemporary songwriter in history. >>

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  Bertrand - Paris, France and Tyler Durden - Paper Street, MI
• As a youngster, he loved old songs and show tunes.
• He was married to Heather Mills, a former swimwear model and disabled-rights activist. Her leg was amputated below the knee in 1993 after she was hit by a police motorcycle. They divorced in 2006 - until then he was the only Beatle never to get divorced.
• His mother Mary and wife Linda both died of breast cancer.
• He handled logistics for The Beatles when their manager Brian Epstein died of a sleeping pill overdose in 1967.
• McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. His official title is "Sir" Paul McCartney.
• In 1980, he spent 10 days in a Tokyo jail when he was caught at customs with a half-pound of marijuana. Said McCartney: "I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything to smoke over there. This stuff was too good to flush down the toilet, so I thought I'd take it with me." It was a life-changing event for McCartney, who broke up his band Wings soon after.
• He enjoys painting, and has finished over 500 paintings.
• His daughter Stella is a talented fashion designer.
• He appeared on an episode of The Simpsons where he helps Lisa become a vegetarian.
• McCartney is known for the "There are seven levels" controversy. When he and the other Beatles first started to experiment with drugs, McCartney got high one night and experienced a hallucination that he had to write down. When he awoke the next morning, he couldn't make heads or tails of what he had written down: "There are seven levels." Later research shows that there are seven philosophical levels of energy in the body, called Chakras. Was McCartney seeing the body's energies? >>

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• When the World Trade Center was hit on September 11, 2001, he was on a plane in New York about to take off. He stayed in New York that week and helped organize a benefit concert for victims of the tragedy the next month.
• He is so strict about his vegetarianism that he insists his crew not eat meat either, at least while on the road with him. True to his vegan lifestyle, in the rider for his 2002 World Tour McCartney forbids meat and meat products to be served in the backstage area, as well as rooms to be set with furniture made of any animal skin or print even if it's artificial. He even demands a limousine with no leather seating. The ex-Beatles also has a rather detailed requirement about plants in the dressing rooms: "plants that are just as full on the bottom as the top such as palm, bamboo, peace lilies, etc. No tree trunks!"
• In 1976, he bought the rights to all of Buddy Holly's music. He does not own the publishing rights to most of The Beatles songs because Michael Jackson outbid him for them.
• His birth certificate garnered $20,000 at an auction.
• He is left handed.
• When the Beatles were breaking up in late 1969, Paul thought he was through as a recording artist. It never occurred to him to record as a solo artist or form a new band. It was his wife, Linda, who encouraged him to continue with making music. Paul has said that she used "tough love" to tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself and to make more music. >>

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  Ken - Louisville, KY
• In the late '60s, rumors abounded that McCartney had died in a car crash and was replaced by a look-a-like. Some Beatles fans found innumerous clues in song lyrics and album covers to support the theory. >>

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• In 2007, McCartney released his album Memory Almost Full on the Hear Music label, a joint venture of Starbucks and the Concord Music Group. David Kahne, who produced Kelly Clarkson's hit single "Never Again," worked on the album. >>

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• While there aren't official statistics to prove it, McCartney has probably collaborated with more artists than any other. Some of the many musicians he's collaborated with include Michael Jackson, Carl Perkins, Stevie Wonder and Stanley Clarke. >>

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• On March 17, 2008, Heather Mills was awarded 23.7 million pounds (about $47 million) in their divorce. Mills asked for much more, but wound up with more than the $32 million Paul had proposed. Mills was vilified in the British press for being opportunistic. >>

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• September 25, 2008 he played a show in Tel Aviv, his first concert in Israel. In 1965, The Beatles were scheduled to tour Israel, but their visas were canceled along with the tour. >>

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• When he first toured with his band Wings, he refused to play any Beatles songs. In later years, he included lots of Beatles tunes in his sets, and even used John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" at many of his shows.
• Paul was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Once in 1988 as a member of The Beatles and in 1999 as a solo artist. >>

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• His concert on April 21, 1990 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio set a new world record for attendance at a concert by a single artist when it drew 184,000 people. It was the last stop on his tour. >>

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• Paul McCartney wrote his first song, "I Lost My Little Girl", when he was 14 in 1956.
• Paul McCartney played every instrument on his solo albums McCartney and McCartney II.

Comments: 47

• Don from Sevierville, TnI've read that there's only one thing Paul does right handed - playing drums - and he does everything else left handed. Now Phil Colllins, Ian Paice of Deep Purple and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick play drums left handed, meaning the drum kits have to be arranged differently.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia Federation2008 - Sir Paul McCartney has declined to thin the wild boar population on his 1,500 acre East Sussex (England) estate. Locals have complained about crop, tree and garden damage from dozens of boar-- some weighing as much as 900 pounds. "The boar are doing huge damage," said one. "They are also dangerous if confronted... As with deer, the Government has a policy to allow humane culling but Sir Paul is having none of it."
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationPaul McCartney performed without incident before 50,000 fans (and 5,000 security guards) in Tel Aviv, Israel Thursday (September 25, 2008). Earlier in the day, Paul went to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, lit candles at the Church of the Nativity there and wished for peace for Palestinians and Israelis. "I am bringing a message of peace and I think that's what the region needs," he said. "It's my own small way I can bring my message."
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn March 2008, Paul McCartney has reportedly ended his 27-year feud with former Wings member Denny Laine. Paul and Denny (who also played at one-time in the Moody Blues) had a falling out in 1980 when Paul's marijuana bust in Japan caused Wings' tour there to be cancelled. But that's apparently over, now. Paul and Denny even caught a U2 concert together in London last December.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationBritish tabloids reported Wednesday (January 2, 2008) that Paul McCartney underwent a secret balloon angioplasty operation for his heart "last autumn". The procedure, which opens up the arteries to allow greater bloodflow, was reportedly done at a private London clinic and was described as "routine" (40,000 are done in the UK alone every year). Sir Paul is 65.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationCalling it, "a vital part of local community life," Paul McCartney is helping those waging a campaign to save his one-time post office in Liverpool. Paul had his brother read a statement of support outside the post office Tuesday (November 20, 2003) that said, "Its 100-year history should not be cast aside lightly. I agree with thousands of local people who feel that everything must be done to save it."
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn September 2003, Paul McCartney is writing the music for the upcoming "Shrek 4" film. Though "Live And Let Die" was used in "Shrek The Third", it was originally written for the James Bond film. Paul might even provide the voice of a minor character in the movie, since his three year-old daughter is a big fan of Shrek.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn May 2003, Officials in Berlin have dropped an investigation into a paternity test Paul McCartney took in 1983 that a German woman says was faked, saying the statute of limitations had expired. Erica Hubers sued Paul in 1966 over the paternity of her daughter, Bettina. Erica claimed she and Paul had an affair in Hamburg when the Beatles performed there. Paul denied parenthood but gave her £2,700. In 1983 the Hubers returned to court and Paul took a blood test, which was negative.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationPaul McCartney, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), placed a full-page ad in the Louisville Courier-Journal Thursday (July 24, 2003) critical of the practices of fast food giant KFC, who are headquartered there. Said a company spokesperson, "Paul McCartney is a music legend and he's entitled to his opinion, but we think he's misinformed. While PETA would prefer a world of vegetarians, most people disagree. So we think PETA should follow one of Sir Paul's songs and just 'Let it Be.'"
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn 2003 A.D. Paul McCartney's music publishing company has obtained rights to 23 classic rock 'n' roll songs composed by the late Carl Perkins, including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Honey Don't" and "Matchbox."
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationPaul McCartney is among those who will receive 2002 honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts December 8, 2002 A.D. in Washington, DC. Honors will also be bestowed upon actors Elizabeth Taylor, James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera and conductor James Levine.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationA show of some 70 paintings by Paul McCartney, dating from 1987 to 2001, opened Friday (May 24, 2002 A.D.) at a Liverpool art gallery and runs through August 1. "I used to come here as a schoolboy," McCartney said. "If I had said to John (Lennon) then, 'I'm going to have an exhibition here one day,' I think I know what he would have said. I'll leave it to your imagination." Also best left to the imagination is one of the paintings, entitled "Bowie Spewing". It's just what you think.
• Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn 2003, The British music magazine Q says Paul McCartney was once addicted to cocaine for a year before wife Linda helped get him free. McCartney is quoted as saying, "I was lucky to have Linda, because there were certain things I was going off on and she could pull me back, like drinking and drugging and getting crazy."
• Lucyinthesky from Philadelphia, PaK from Toronto, if you weren't being sarcastic which I don't think you were, you are the one who isn't wise if you believe that this song is all there is to Paul McCartney! As I already pointed out in my posts below Paul has always been mostly a brilliant music compose,singer and musician more than a lyric guy although he can and has written some great lyrics! But even when he did it was always his music that was the best part of his songs!
• K from Toronto, CanadaAh, will always be remembered for the following completely brilliant lyrics: "Someone knockin' at the door, somebody ringin' the bell. Someone knockin' at the door, somebody ringin' the bell. Do me a favour: open the door, and let 'em in." Wiser words no human will ever again speak.
• Joe from Killeigh, IrelandSo weird - as I type this Don Mclean's American Pie is playing on radio - I'm told it's about his reactions and feels of despair on hearing news that Buddy Holly (whose music rights Paul owns) had died in a plane crash. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
• Joe from Killeigh, IrelandPaul, George and John were all from Liverpool but their families were all originaly Irish. Only Ringo's family were English.
• Vickie from Sao Paulo, BrazilJUST TO CLEAR UP SOME SUBJECTS:
  * 'Wingspan-hits and history' is indeed very good. i bought a couple weeks ago and loved it.
  
  *PAUL IS LEFT HANDED FOR EVERYTHING.
  
  *Yes, some people did (and some still do) believe Paul McCartney had died and was replaced..(look up 'paul is dead' on wikipedia or google)
  
  *he has only one brother,called Michael- not an autistic Maxwell (where did that come from?)
  
  that´s about it...
  PS_I feel really bad about the story of him, his brother and their mom..so sad
  
  (like all of you, im sure) I LOVE PAUL!
  
• Lucyinthesky from Philadelphia, PaI wanted to add,that Paul's wonderful mother Mary McCartney who was a nurse and a midwife died when he was only 14 and his brother was only 12.Paul's earliest memories of his mother are of many people bringing her thank you gifts at her door for delivering their babies and Paul also remembers his mother riding her bike at 2 in the morning in the snow to go help deliver people's babies!
  
  Paul and his brother's last visit to see his mother was at the hospital and she was bleeding from her operation but nobody told Paul and his brother that she had breast cancer and was bleeding from her operation,and so Paul and his brother didn't know why she died! Paul and his brother were also not allowed to go to their mother's funeral and were not told where she was burried! Paul's brother Michael says that right after their mother died Paul became depressed and withdrawn,and obsessed with playing his guitar. His brother says that he often would go looking for Paul and find him playing his guitar alone in the dark, and his brother said you lose a mother and gain a guitar and that it was an escape. Paul says in his authorized biography by Barry Miles that he had a vivid dream and saw his mother alive 12 years after she died,and she seemed so real,and she told him to just accept things as they are. He said that when he woke up he thought how wonderful it was to see her again,and then he wrote his beautiful song,Let it Be and it's his mother Mary he's referring to when he sings the lines,When I find myself in times of trouble mother Mary comes to me,speaking words of wisdom let it be.
• Lucyinthesky from Philadelphia, PaPaul McCartney is one of the most musically talented singer song writers and musicians of all time! Some people criticize him for not writing more deep lyrics,but he has written many songs with very good and some great lyrics,but it's true he doesn't usually but he really doesn't have to either. Because he has always been more of a great singer,bass player and just about anything player,and *music* composer than a lyric writer. Paul's father James McCartney was a self taught accomplished classical jazz pianist who was the leader of his own jazz band in the 1930's and they were pretty popular in clubs in England. He even wrote his own instrumental songs and Paul and Wings recorded one of his father's old instrumentals called Walking in The Park With Eloise on their 1976 Wings At The Speed Of Sound album.So Paul inherited the extreme *musical* talent from his father,and his father was not a poet but a talented musician.
  
  There is an excellent web site called The Evolution of Rock Bass Playing McCartney Style by Denis Alstrand where Stanley Clarke,Will Lee,Billy Sheehan and Sting all say what a great melodic influential bass player Paul has always been. The 1992 Rolling Stone Album Guide also calls Paul a remarkable bass player,as well as calling John and Paul the 2 greatest song writers in rock history.
• Ian from Lethbridge, CanadaThat's kind of what I thought. Thanks Jay! I'll be sure to pick up Wingspan sometime. I already own Chaos & Creation In The Backyard and it's awesome!
• Jay from Columbia, MoIan, no Paul's solo stuff is very good. Maybe not as consistant as Beatles stuff, but still very good. I suggest the greatest hits set Wingspan: Hits and History. It covers the major hits. With Wings, Paul had a great guitar player Denny Laine. Best solo Paul songs: Maybe I'm Amazed, Band On The Run, Another Day, With A Little Luck, I could go on forever. All of the above and many more great songs can be found on Wingspan. Paul's a great musician with or without The Beatles.
• Dock from Knoxville, IaMaxwells silver hammer is about medical student Maxwell Edison, who uses his silver hammer to murder his girlfriend, then his teacher, and finally the judge during his murder trial.
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScIan I haven't heard all of Paul McCartney's post-Beatles work, but some of the stufff I've heard is good. It isn't as good as it was when he was in the Beatles. A few of his songs are a little silly.
• Ian from Lethbridge, CanadaIs it just me, or do most people seem to hate Paul's post-Beatles work? I haven't heard it for myself, so I can't say, but a lot of people like to bash him around for making cruddy post-Beatles songs. Is he really that bad?! ///////////// (The Beatles are my favourite band by the way, and I have trouble accepting the fact that he didn't do anything good after The Beatles)
• Riley from Naval Reserve, ScHe wears a fake nail on his pointer finger when at concerts because otherwise his nail is worn down. Also, his now wife, Heather, didn't know that he sang Get Back until she heard it on the radio, once they were married, and asked him if he sang because it sounded like him. He replied with, "Yes dear, and it's a very famous song too."
• Ben from Nyc, MsI say him a while ago, he ROCKED!!
• Dave from Bristol, EnglandWhen he wrote Yesterday he didnt have a title for it so for ages called it 'Scrambled Eggs'
• Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScI get your point Lexie, but a lot of people, including myself, like Helter Skelter simply because of the fact that it's loud. Yes, Paul has wwritten other songs that are more melodic.
• Chris Labenne from Niles, OhIn my opinion, the second best bassist of all time, only ousted by the almighty Jaco Pastorius.
• Julia from Columbus, Ohit's a myth that he is right handed for everything but guitar. that was a misprint in at least one book about the beatles. paul has cleared this up several times by stating that he is only left handed.
• Alice from Santa Cruz, Cadid people really think that paul was dead?
• Lexie from St. Louis, Moalso, Helter Skelter is the only Beatles song I dont like. Its loud and hurts my brain. Paul wrote much more beautiful songs like "Mother Nature's Son".
• Lexie from St. Louis, Mohow can you all claim to know when paul mcCartney hurts, or when he thinks, or how he does things? eh? I dont know. As to the lefty thing- why would he go out of his way to play (bass) guitar lefty if he were not left handed? I myself am left handed and can vouche that its as confusing as HELL to learn something like guitar lefty from someone right handed.Anyway, does it really matter?
• Arno from Overdinkel, Netherlandsbest song he ever wrote???
  HELTER SKELTER! off caurse
  
  i"ll shaked his hand in germany ,and he said to me "how your doing dude!
  love the man!
• Tanya from Los Angeles, CaPaul is left-handed!
• Ashley from Roseville, Miby the way, paul is not left handed. he only plays guitar as a lefty. other than that, he is a right hander
• Cathy from Fort Oglethorpe, GaPaul said one of his favourite songs is "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum. To quote him:
  McCartney: It's got to be "A Whiter Shade of Pale." The first time I ever heard it was the night I met Linda. We met at the Bag O' Nails, and we went on to the Speakeasy, and they played the record of it there. We were with Keith Moon of the Who and Eric Burdon of the Animals, and we were all trying to figure out who it was. We all thought it must be Stevie Winwood, but it turned out to be Procol Harum. We just said, "This is the best song ever, man." And it became mine and Linda's song. So that's why I have a special affection for it.
  
  
• Don from Pittsburgh, PaPaul's solo debut has his most enduring song, "Maybe I'm Amazed." "Every Night" is the other good song. The rest of the album is just filler. Can't even be mentioned in the same breath as John Lennon's debut "Plastic Ono Band." Peace.
• David from Lansing, MiPaul does not have an older brother named Maxwell. His only brother is his younger brother, Michael, who was in the sixties band Scaffold (under the alias Mike McGear, as he didn't want to seem to be riding on Paul's coat-tails).
• Emory from Baltimore, MdWhen it rains really hard, Paul's knee hurts.
• Emory from Baltimore, MdPaul bought a new Chevy Malibu from Ringo's Chevy dealership in Durango, North Dakota. He paid cash!
• Simon from Brno, Czech RepublicWhen he was 14, Paul wrote his first song, "I've Lost My Little Girl".
  
  
• Simon from Brno, Czech RepublicSang backup on Donovan's song "Mellow Yellow".
• Simon from Brno, Czech RepublicDaughter named Beatrice born to Paul and wife Heather Mills in 28 October 2003.
• Simon from Brno, Czech RepublicHis four children with Linda are James(1978), Stella(1971),Mary(1969).Heather(1963)is his stepdaughter.He was married to Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969 at the Marylebone Register Office,London.
  
  
  
  
• Simon from Brno, Czech RepublicOwns the double bass that once belonged to Elvis Presley's bassist Bill Black.(This double bass was used in song "Heartbreak Hotel" too.)