Ahead of the release of his new album, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, later this month, the latest issue of MOJO features a world exclusive interview with Paul McCartney. Grayson Haver Currin sits down with McCartney to discuss the emotional, 70-year journey behind the album, and retraces the key musical moments in Paul’s life: growing up in Liverpool, The Beatles, Wings, and more. (More info and to order a copy for delivery wherever you are HERE).
As part of our month-long celebration of all things Macca, Paul Weller discusses the life-changing impact The Beatles had on him growing up, the on-going influence of McCartney’s work, and getting to play with his musical hero, firstly on 1995 charity LP The Help Album, then on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in 2012…
“When did Paul McCartney come into my life? It would have been November 1963 – the Royal Command performance. My mum had bought the singles – definitely She Loves You – but that was the first time I saw them on the box. And that was it for me. Even at the age of five I thought, ‘This is amazing,’ and it’s never changed for me, it’s never ever faltered.
“The Beatles taught me everything: musically, but also about the power of imagination. Look outside your little village or city walls, to see that there’s something outside, beyond. And question everything: you don’t have to just accept what you’re supposed to accept. They were everything and they kind of still are. Bono said they were the Big Bang and I think that’s true. Forget about Elvis. The Beatles wrote their own songs, they were self-contained, they led the way.
“Even the other day, someone was playing Tomorrow Never Knows in the studio on the big speakers. God knows how many times I’ve heard it, but I was instantly, ‘Fuuucking hell! Does it get any better than this tune?’ And this was not even four years after Please Please Me. The giant steps, the incredible innovations in such a short space of time…
“When did I start being ‘Paul’? That was my mum. I was christened John but my mum changed her mind two weeks later and started calling me Paul, and I was awful glad she did. The Macca connection was always important to me. The fact he’s a Gemini, like me, I took as a sign. And he had a chipped tooth, like me [Macca chipped his in a moped crash on the Wirral, Boxing Day, 1965]. And I thought, That’s another sign. I was always looking for comparisons. When I started playing, I was playing guitar, but then I wanted to play bass to be like Macca, but I found I couldn’t sing and play bass at the same time, so I changed back.
“Favourite Macca bits? Well one of my favourite basslines is actually Tomorrow Never Knows – based mostly on that one note, like a precursor to trance music, a riff that goes round and round like a mantra – fucking ingenious. And a song? For No One – how amazing is that, both melodically and lyrically.
“The first Macca solo album, McCartney, I love that: the lo-fi vibe and Macca’s funky drumming. But Ram is a fantastic album too. There are so many good tunes on it – Dear Boy is one of his best ever, kind of a Martha My Dear vibe. And there’s an edginess in the music and the production before the sophistication of Wings comes in. I like my Macca raw.
“When he did Come Together with us [as The Smokin’ Mojo Filters on The Help Album, 1995, pictured above] we were shitting ourselves, so we recorded the backing track ahead of time: ‘Let’s get this down at least.’ But when Macca came in he was great. He played some guitar on it, and Wurlitzer, and he did some backing vocals with us. I was nervous, you know, to ask him to do another take – like, with a bit more bass on the guitar – but he was cool about that too.
“I played with him at The Royal Albert Hall in 2012, at a Teenage Cancer Trust gig. We were backstage and he was saying to Ronnie Wood, ‘You should come on and play guitar on Get Back,’ and I was behind Woody, going, ‘And, er, maybe me?’ ‘Oh alright, and you as well.’ And I was like, ‘Yes!’ I don’t think you could hear my guitar but I was onstage with Macca and that was good enough for me.”
As told to Danny Eccleston.
This interview originally appeared in MOJO 331.
“We’ve done that before. Let’s do something different…”
Get the latest issue of MOJO to read our world-exclusive interview with Paul McCartney in full. More information and to order a copy for delivery wherever you are HERE.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
