Sir Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney - biography, information, personal life

A brief biography of Paul McCartney will help you learn about the life of a musician and prepare for the lesson.

Paul McCartney biography short

He became interested in music in elementary school, where he first appeared on stage.

The future musician graduated from Joseph Williams Primary School, after which he became a student at the Liverpool Institute. In 1956, he experienced a terrible tragedy - his mother died suddenly of breast cancer.

In 1957, he met and became a member of The Quarrymen. In 1959, The Quarrymen mutated into the Silver Beetles, and a little later into just The Beatles.

In the fall of 1962, Paul wrote the song "Love Me Do", which became exactly the single, thanks to which the whole world learned about The Beatles.

Their debut album was called The Beatles Please Please Me. During his recording, Paul met sound engineer Jeff Emerick, who later made a huge contribution to the musician's work. Basically, the authors of all compositions were John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

November 1963 The Beatles released their second album. By this time, they were already drawing crowds of millions at their concerts. The best compositions of the time, written by McCartney, were "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "Another Girl".

In August 1968 Paul McCartney wrote the song "Hey Jude".

In May 1970, the band released their last album, Let It Be.

After the collapse of the legendary band, the musician and his family moved to the west coast of Scotland. The feeling of devastation did not leave him for a long time, but thanks to the support of his wife Linda, Paul McCartney was able to overcome depression.

In April 1970, he released his first solo album, which went double platinum. A year later he founded a group Wings.

In total, the group Wings released seven albums and Paul McCartney in the late 1970s, he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of 60 gold discs.

In the spring of 1981, Wings disbanded. His first solo compilation was McCartney II, released in May 1980.

The musician was actively engaged in solo work, collaborated with Michael Jackson and in 1987 he released a collection of his hits "All the Best!". Ten years later, he presented the Flaming Pie disc, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2000, he dedicated the album "Driving Rain" to his second wife. Heather Mills. Two years later he went on tour around the world. Winter 2008 Paul McCartney was awarded the BRIT Award for his historical contribution to the development of music.

He was married three times and is the father of five children.

McCartney is widely known as an animal rights activist and supporter of vegetarianism. He also became famous as an opponent of the spread of genetically modified foods, anti-personnel mines, a ban on hunting, and as the organizer of many charity concerts in support of medicine or other good causes.

Of all the Liverpool Four, Paul McCartney's solo career is the most successful. This is evidenced by the millions of discs sold and the regular presence in the charts (especially in the 70s and 80s) on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. James Paul McCartney was born June 18, 1942. At fourteen he wrote his first song ("I Lost My Little Girl") and at fifteen he joined John Lennon's band The Quarrymen. What happened next, everyone knows - the Beatles were born. With Lennon, McCartney developed an excellent author's tandem, and most of the songs of the Beatles period were released under the brand name "Lennon - McCartney". In the latter half of the 60s, Paul, like his partners, began to look to the side, but while John and George embarked on experiments, he was engaged in more mundane things, and one of his first off-Beatle works was the soundtrack to the film "The Family way". But if the corresponding disc was released under the name "George Martin Orchestra", then shortly after his marriage to Linda Eastman McCartney recorded his first official solo album, performing all the instrumental parts alone. "McCartney" went on sale two weeks before "Let It Be", and the day before Paul made a statement about the breakup of "Beatles". Having embarked on an autonomous voyage, the musician soon released his first hit single "Another Day", followed by the "family" album "Ram", released on behalf of the McCartney couple.

Both the first and second LPs were in good demand, but Paul wanted more, and in 1971 he returned to the team format, creating an ensemble called "Wings". The debut album of "Wings" and critics and the public met with distrust, and the disc found itself outside the top ten. The "Red Rose Speedway" that followed it also turned out to be rather weak, but the commercial success of the disc was obvious, and in America it became a chart topper. In the summer of 1973, the Wings made their first British tour, after which they went to Nigeria with a truncated line-up and recorded their best-selling "Band On The Run". With this album, Paul finally reasoned with the spiteful critics, and his band got a break to look for a drummer and guitarist. Released in 1975, "Venus And Mars" almost repeated the success of "Band On The Run", and its appearance was reinforced by the world tour "Wings Over The World".

The next record, "Wings At The Speed ​​Of Sound", became the first album of the "Wings", where the songwriter was not only Paul, but the demand for this disc was ensured by the compositions of McCartney himself, "Silly Love Songs" and "Let "Em In ". The triple live album "Wings Over America" ​​became the fifth consecutive American chart topper, after which the group went on vacation. Seizing the moment, Paul recorded an instrumental version of the album "Ram", but released it not under his own name, but under the pseudonym Thrillington. At the end of the year "Wings" launched the single "Mull Of Kintyre", which sold two million copies in England alone, and some time later broke platinum with the full-length "London Town". This album had a softer sound and a synthetic flavor compared to its predecessors. An attempt to return to rock and roll on "Back To The Egg" was not crowned with much success, and although the record also received platinum status, it did not generate a single serious hit. and returned to the do-it-yourself formula with the synthesizer-laden McCartney II program, and the following year officially announced the dissolution of Wings. Returning to solo, Paul regained the first place in the transatlantic charts, but "Tug Of War" sold like hotcakes mainly due to a duet with Stevie Wonder in "Ebony And Ivory". McCartney later sang on Jackson's "The Girl Is Mine" single, and Michael returned the favor by performing "Say Say Say" on Paul's "Pipes Of Peace" album.

In 1984, the artist started shooting the film "Give My Regards To Broad Street", and although the film itself failed, the soundtrack of the same name, which contained a number of Beatle motifs, was a success and even topped the British charts. Despite the fairly good press, the disc "Press To Play", made in a typical eighties spirit, was also unsuccessful, after which a nondescript collection of rock and roll standards "Back in the USSR" appeared, which was distributed only on the territory of the Soviet Union. Paul managed to return the lost positions in 1989 with the album "Flowers In The Dirt", recorded in collaboration with Elvis Costello. Two years later, McCartney decided to try his hand at classical music with the release of "Liverpool Oratorio". And although the work caused conflicting responses, throughout the 90s, Paul again turned to the serious genre in the opuses "Standing Stone" and "Working Classical".

The album "Off The Ground" continued the line of "Flowers In The Dirt", but at the same time had a more direct sound and was distinguished by the musician's increased interest in social problems. At the end of work on the "Anthology" "Beatles" McCartney returned to solo work and released the disc "Flaming Pie". Despite the acoustic basis, this program has earned a lot of critical acclaim, and in the charts in England and the US she got the second line. After Linda's death, Paul hid from the public for a long time, but in 1999 he reminded himself of himself with the album "Run Devil Run", which mainly included rock and roll covers. In 2001, the musician again began to make original things, but, despite the rather nice material, the disc "Driving Rain" turned out to be poorly sold. Much more demand was caused by the appearance of "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard", where Paul applied a new tactic, recording all the parts himself, but inviting an outside producer, Nigel Godrich. In 2006, McCartney again experimented with the classics, releasing the oratorio "Ecce Cor Meum", and in 2007 he won applause with the album "Memory Almost Full", many of which evoked memories of "Wings". At the end of the decade, the live album "Good Evening New York City" was released, and the ex-Beatle decided to start the next decade with another classic. But if "Ocean" s Kingdom "was his first attempt at ballet, then the disk "Kisses On The Bottom", which soon arrived in time, was composed of pre-war jazz and pop standards.

In 2012, McCartney performed at the opening of the Olympic Games in London, and at the end of the year he took part in the charity concert "The Concert For Sandy Relief", unexpectedly appearing on the same stage with ex-members of Nirvana. In preparing the new album, Paul held sessions to arrange a casting of producers, but could not make a specific choice, and the creation of "New" had a hand in the four test subjects: Paul Epworth, Ethan Jones, Giles Martin and Mark Ronson. As a result, the material on the disc turned out to be quite diverse, but this did not prevent the disc from debuting in the top ten of a number of countries. The next five years were spent traveling and working on archives, but in 2018, Sir McCartney finally pleased the public with a fresh one. In contrast to the experiments on "New" with a modern sound, "Egypt Station" returned Paul to a more familiar sound for him and thus ensured that for the first time in a long time he completely led the Billboard.

Popular British composer and musician, Knight of the British Empire, winner of 27 Grammy awards, member of The Beatles quartet, founder and leader of the Wings group, and later a successful solo artist.

James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 at Walton Hospital in Liverpool. Paul's mother, Mary, was a nurse at the facility and was given a bed in a separate room during the delivery. Paul's father, Jim, was a talented musician who played in his spare time in jazz bands (his main activity was the sale of cotton products).

The McCartney family moved several times until they finally settled in a house on Forthlin Road in Liverpool in 1955. A year after that, Paul's mother died of breast cancer, which was a strong blow for the teenager. Many years later, Paul dedicated a line to his mother in the song "Let It Be" ("When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me").

Shortly after his mother's death, Paul became interested in the "rythm-and-blues" songs he heard on the radio and asked his father to buy him a guitar. McCartney's first guitar was a Zenith acoustic instrument. At first, Paul did not have a relationship with the instrument, since he is left-handed, but later McCartney changed the arrangement of the strings on the guitar, taking into account this peculiarity, and things went well. Around the same time, Paul met George Harrison (George Harrison) - they studied at the same school, went to her on the same bus and shared an interest in music. Harrison introduced McCartney to John Lennon, who was then the frontman of The Quarrymen. In 1957, Paul joined the band as an additional guitarist.

The first songs ("Love Me Do", "I Saw Her Standing There"), which later became hits, were created by the Lennon-McCartney composer duo in a house on Fotlin Road. Around the same period, Paul wrote the song "When I'm 64" and the band played it at early shows. In 1960, the band's name changed to The Silver Beatles and then shortened to The Beatles. In the same period, the team went to Germany with concerts. In 1962, the quartet was formed in the final composition - John Lennon, who changed the guitar to bass Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Ringo Starr) and functioned like this until its breakup in 1970. Harrison was included in the team at the insistence of McCartney, despite some resistance from Lennon.

At one of the club concerts, Brian Epstein noticed The Beatles - the group made such an impression on him that he decided to become its manager. Epstein arranged for The Beatles to audition for Decca, but they did not secure a contract. In May 1962, the manager still managed to sign an agreement with Parlophone Records. The quartet was produced by George Martin. The first single of the quartet "Love Me Do" reached the fourth line of the British charts. The first LP, Plese Plese Me, was released in March 1963. By August of that year, a song called "She Loves You" had been at the top of the chart for a total of seven weeks.

Around the same time, Paul began dating actress and designer Jane Asher. It is believed that some Beatles songs from that period ("We Can Work It Out" and "Here, There and Everywhere") were dedicated to this relationship.

The group became popular in America in 1964, after appearing on the television show Ed Sullivan (Ed Sullivan), which was watched by more than seventy million viewers. The Beatles became world famous. The passion for music (and the members themselves) of the quartet at that time became so widespread that a special term arose - "Beatlemania" (Beatlemania). During 1964, the group released more than 30 million records with their recordings in the United States alone (however, this figure includes not only full-length albums, but also various singles). In 1964, McCartney (as part of The Beatles) received his first prestigious Grammy Award - the quartet was nominated as "Best New Artists".

Paul McCartney became the first British pop musician to admit that he had used the drug LSD. Later, Paul told the press that all the members of the quartet took a variety of drugs, and this sometimes affected their music.

11. Paul and Linda

McCartney's song "When I'm 64" appeared on The Beatles' 1967 album "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". It is believed that Paul dedicated this track to his future wife, Linda Eastman (Linda Eastman), later Linda McCartney But in fact, Paul and Linda first met at the launch of the album.The couple got married in 1969. Linda already had a daughter from a previous marriage, Heather (later the McCartney couple had two more daughters, Mary and Stella, and son James Louis.) .

20. With beloved dog Marta

In 1970, McCartney released his first solo album. The record appeared around the same time as "Let It Be", the last collaboration between The Beatles. Some copies of Paul's solo album contained an additional interview in which the musician talked about the reasons for the breakup of The Beatles. Subsequently, experts called creative differences among the musicians as the reasons for the breakup of the group (McCartney began to play an increasingly important role, which did not quite suit Lennon). In addition, there were controversies related to the business: McCartney wanted Lee Eastman, Linda's father, to run The Beatles, the rest of the participants leaned in favor of New York manager Allen Klein. In 1971, it was revealed that Klein was involved in financial fraud, and Lennon apologized to McCartney, which somewhat (but not much) improved relations between them. Meanwhile, John Lennon himself announced his departure from The Beatles in September 1969, although the group officially continued to exist until the appearance of McCartney's first solo record. Paul's solo work did not receive any special name and is known to listeners simply as McCartney (ten years later, in 1980, the musician released another "untitled" record - McCartney II).

In the future, relations between Lennon and McCartney continued to be tense. At the same time, Paul had ideas (which Lennon did not support) regarding the reunion of The Beatles. For example, in 2005, a $10.8 million contract with CBS Records dated 1979 was made public. A year before Lennon's death, McCartney told the record company that the quartet could re-record and perform with the original lineup.

In the year of his thirtieth birthday (1972), McCartney released two singles that were banned in the UK: "Give Ireland Back To the Irish" - due to political content, "Hi, Hi, Hi" - due to drug-related overtones . In addition, in 1971, the musician formed the Wings group, and his wife Linda became a full member of this group. In 1980, Paul was arrested for marijuana use, which led to the end of Wings' tour of Japan. A year later, this McCartney team ceased to exist. In December 1980, John Lennon was shot dead in New York, which destroyed any hopes for the revival of The Beatles.

In the eighties, Paul continued to engage in solo work, and also recorded several duets with a number of popular artists (in 1982 - with Stevie Wonder (Stevie Wonder), the song "Ebony and Ivory"; in 1982 and 1983 - with Michael Jackson (Michael Jackson ), the songs "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say". In 1984, the film-musical "Give My Regards To Broad Street", created by McCartney, was released on wide screens. The musician himself played one of the main roles; noted Linda McCartney and another of the "Beatles", Ringo Starr].

In 1997, Paul McCartney was made a Knight of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. A year later, the musician's wife, Linda, died, like his mother, of breast cancer. Although Linda is known to the general public primarily as the wife of the ex-Beatle, she was a professional photographer and author of several books on vegetarian nutrition. After the death of his wife, McCartney continued to engage in creativity, and not only in the field of music: he showed the public his own paintings, and also published a book of poems called Blackbird Singing.

George Harrison died of cancer in 2001. On November 29, 2002, the anniversary of his death, McCartney took part in an event called "A Concert for George" held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As part of the concert, McCartney performed the song with Ringo Starr; In addition to two former members of The Beatles, the event was attended by many other famous musicians, including Eric Clapton (Eric Clapton) and Tom Petty (Tom Petty). The concert was later released on CD and DVD.

26. Paul and his second wife Heather Mills

In 2002, Paul married for the second time; his chosen one was the model Heather Mills (Heather Mills). He met her in 1999 at one of the charity events. For Mills, this marriage was also not the first. She generally had a rather turbulent youth - at the age of nineteen she even starred for the erotic album "Die Freuden der Liebe" (English title - "The Joys of Love"). In 1993, as a result of injuries sustained during a transport incident, Mills had her left leg amputated below the knee. Mills willingly shared with reporters the details associated with the injury, and on one of the television shows she even removed her prosthesis in front of the cameras - the model believed that in this way she could draw attention to the problems of the disabled.

The musician continued to give concerts quite actively, and in 2003 he first came to Russia to perform in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Paul planned to visit Russia earlier, back in the eighties, but the Soviet authorities refused to accept the musician. A year later (in June 2004) McCartney once again came to St. Petersburg, this time as part of a European tour. In both Russian cities, the musician was given central squares for concerts: Red Square in Moscow and Palace Square in St. Petersburg. The concert program consisted of songs by The Beatles and Wings, as well as McCartney's solo work. The second event in the northern Russian capital was the musician's 3,000th performance. In the same year, Paul performed as a headliner at the largest music festival Glastonbury, which was the end of the tour.

27. Heather, Paul and V. Putin during a tour of Russia

In 2003, another daughter appeared in Paul's family, who was named Beatrice. On May 17, 2006, the McCartney couple announced that they planned to divorce. Numerous speculations appeared in the British newspapers regarding the reasons and circumstances of the divorce, and this forced Heather to announce on October 24, 2006 that she plans to sue the Daily Mail and Evening Standard, for spreading "false and harmful information." In addition, her lawyers plan to sue The Sun newspaper. On March 17, 2008, McCartney and Mills finalized their divorce. By court decision, the wife got 24.3 million pounds.

On October 9, 2011, McCartney married for the third time. His chosen one was an American Nancy Shevell (Nancy Shevell), vice president of the transport company founded by her father.

Paul McCartney has been a vegetarian and animal rights activist since his marriage to Linda. The musician claims that he was prompted to speak out for animal rights, in particular, by the scene of the murder of a deer mother in the cartoon "Bambi" (Walt Disney, 1942). After marrying Heather, McCartney began supporting the campaign to ban landmines.

McCartney constantly appears in the lists of the wealthiest people in the world and for a long time remained the richest representative of the music business in the UK. In 2004, he gave way to Clive Calder, the former head of Zomba Records (the latter's fortune was estimated at 1.235 billion pounds, while McCartney's fortune was 760 million).

McCartney has won 27 Grammy awards. He is the only member of the illustrious quartet to receive this prestigious award not only for performances with The Beatles, but also for solo work. In addition to the Grammys, McCartney received other notable awards, including two Golden Globes (for the songs No More Lonely Nights, 1984, and Vanilla Sky, 2001), an Oscar (in 1970, as part of The Beatles, for the song Let It Be ) and the Gershwin Brothers Award from the Library of Congress for contributions to pop music. Also, Sir Paul was twice included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Rock "n" roll Hall of Fame) - as an ex-Beatle and as a solo artist. In 2002, McCartney was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, but was forced to withdraw due to the wedding of one of his daughters on the day of the award, which was re-awarded to Sir Paul in 2010. In the same year, McCartney received the well-known Gershwin Prize of the US Library of Congress. In 2012, French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded McCartney the Legion of Honor.

Used materials:

Paul McCartney awarded French Legion of Honor. — The Guardian, 08.09.2012

Love, Love Me Do: Sir Paul Weds Nancy Shevell. — sky news, 10.10.2011

Stephen Bates. All my loving: wedding bells again for Paul McCartney. — The Guardian, 09.10.2011

Information about the parents and brother of the musician

Father

James McCartney was born in LiverpoolJuly 7, 1902 . His parents were from Scotland.

He began working at the age of 14, showing samples of cotton to prospective buyers, and was paid 6 shillings (33p) a week. Fourteen years later, his hard work and honesty helped him become a cotton merchant and receive a large wage - five pounds a week, which was considered an extraordinary increase for a working boy, and this is still proudly emphasized by his sons.

Naturally, such work cannot be called particularly creative and attractive. The guy needed an outlet, and when he was 20 years old, he became interested in jazz music. And so strong that he soon became the leader of a small jazz band, which at first was calledMasked Melody Makers , and from the end of the 20s, the name of the founder was immortalized in its name -Jim Mac's Jazz Band . And it's ndespite an eardrum injury from a fall off a wall at the age of ten, as a result of which he was not called up for military service during the war.

Being a rather gifted person, James McCartney wrote some wonderful jazz melodies, of which, unfortunately, only a composition calledWalking in the Park with Eloise, which Paul released on the single "Walking With The Park with Eloise"/"Bridge Over The River Suite" (1974).

It seemed that now he was provided with a job for life, but this was not so. After the Second World War, the cotton trade never recovered and the city began to fall into poverty, turning into one of the poorest cities in Europe. Residents who found themselves in this position faced an obvious problem of choice: either resolutely get down to business and get out of a difficult situation through work and thrift, or reconcile themselves and stand at the end of a huge line for unemployment benefits. Jim McCartney chose the first path. Society, he liked to point out, had been turned upside down, but it was to be profited from. During the war, Jim went to work in an engine factory, and when Nazi Germany was finally defeated, he became an inspector for the waste disposal department. It was his responsibility to check how thoroughly the scavengers cleaned the garbage bins. Later, he got a job as a turner at a factory that produced Saber engines for the air force. With this job, the family moved to the Wallacey area, built up with council houses. The bare-brick apartment bore little resemblance to housing, yet for a family with a small child it was better than furnished rooms.

Jim McCartney firmly adhered to "agnostic" views. He believed that in Catholic schools too much attention is paid to religious education and not enough to education. His point of view won out, and therefore Paul and Michael were not educated by priests and nuns, but in church public schools. Mary did not insist, as she did not particularly like the level of education in Catholic schools, as she was convinced during her work as a patronage nurse.

The absence of strict religious norms was compensated in the McCartney family by strict rules of conduct and responsibility for one's actions. Mary was fair and caring, giving all her love to the family. Jim was a man of his word, proud, hard-working, with a heightened sense of duty. His wife earned more than he did, but as a firm believer in his class and hometown, Jim considered himself the head of the house, or, as Michael called him, "arbiter", who always had the last word and whose decision was final. And if Linda repeats Mary in her attitude to religion, then Paul persistently tries to imitate his father.

Paul said of his father: "He was just Jim, an unremarkable cotton merchant. But he was very smart, often doing crosswords to fill his vocabulary. He taught us to appreciate the common sense, which, as you notice, most people in Liverpool. I have traveled the world several times, looking into its smallest corners, and I can swear by God that I have never met people more soulful, smarter, kinder, more full of common sense than the Liverpools from whose midst I came.

Peter Brown, who ran Apple and introduced Paul to Linda, as a former managing director of Brian Epstein NEMS Enterprises, was associated with the Beatles from the beginning of their performances at the Cavern Club until the moment the ensemble broke up. He knew Jim McCartney well. A Liverpudlian himself, he says: “Paul was greatly influenced by the example of his father, who was too honest a man and therefore not very successful in commerce. Paul saw in his father this wonderful quality - decency - and he himself tries to be the same as his father. For men from Northern Ireland, this question is very typical: while I am the owner - do not forget your past, be decent, keep family hearth."

In the home of Jim McCartney, this old-fashioned and chauvinistic approach to the family environment was smoothed out by a well-developed sense of humor, love and attention to sons. Their father encouraged their interest in rural life. They spent their holidays on a farm in Wales, where the brothers are photographed proudly riding ponies. After saving money, Jim bought Paul a three-speed Rally sport bike and took it with him on long country walks. Being an enthusiastic gardener, he discovered to Paul the beauty of the smell of fresh lavender rubbed between his fingers. Before shaving, Jim rubbed his stubble against his sons' cheeks and kissed their necks. He made delicious Yorkshire pudding, sweet cream and rice pudding. With the saved cards, since there was still a card system in England, the father bought bananas for his sons. When children's tummies hurt, he never stroked them, but, apologizing, explained this by saying that then his stomach would hurt too. Jim bought them a dog - it was a semi-pedigreed shepherd dog named Prince. To prevent the children from fighting in the evenings, the father ran two sockets from the radio from the living room to their bedroom, where they could listen through headphones first to "Dick Burton - Special Agent" and then, when they got older, the piercing pop sounds of "Radio Luxembourg" .

Jim McCartney's life credo was decency and modesty. These views he expressed in proverbs - such as "Satan finds employment for lazy hands" - and always repeated them, and Paul called them "suffixes" [In English, these are suffixes of nouns denoting action, process, state]. Jim argued that the most important things in life are tolerance and restraint. “Tolerance is very important,” McCartney said. “If they laugh at weak and infirm people, as children often do, I explain how unpleasant it can be for them. And if a person does not have restraint, then he can bring on himself a lot of trouble” .

The ensemble never enjoyed significant success, but it was he who helped Jim find a wife.As Paul later said, Mary had been courted for a long time by another guy whom Mary suggested going to the dance. "And suddenly he realized that this is the very place where my father plays. Mary was fascinated by the performance of her father." Paul is deeply convinced that a person builds life according to his desire, but at the same time he does not deny the factor of heredity. “It seems to me that I got everything from God,” he says.

On November 24, after a week of acquaintance with the bride, James marries a second time. His name is Angela Williams (Angela Williams). She was born in 1929. From her first marriage to a certain Andy Williams, who died in a car accident in February 1962, she had a daughter, Ruth (Ruth), who later took the name McCartney. Already in adulthood, Ruth tried herself as a singer. And even came to the USSR.

March 18, 1976 Jim McCartney dies of pneumonia. One of the first to hear this sad news was John Lennon, who called Paul from New York and offered his condolences. However, Paul himself did not appear at the funeral, because he did not want to see his father dead.

Mother

Mary Patricia Mohin, Paul's future mother, was born in LiverpoolSeptember 29, 1909 .

Its roots go back to Ireland, to one of the clans that lived in the northern part of this freedom-loving island. From childhood, she was brought up in strict Catholic traditions, however, ironically, this did not prevent her from subsequently jumping out to marry a not-so-lucky jazz musician...

Nevertheless, from the point of view of Catholic morality, her profession was more than worthy. Throughout her life, Mary worked either as a health visitor or a midwife - in general, alleviating the suffering associated with the appearance of future citizens of the United Kingdom. Which, without a doubt, cannot but arouse respect in us. As mentioned above, one day she saw James and fell in love with him. They made their relationshipApril 15, 1941. Mary Patricia Mawyn was raised in a strict Roman Catholic faith. At the age of 31, against her faith, she married Protestant Jim McCartney, who was eight years her senior. Nevertheless, the wedding took place in the St. Suitins Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool in the Jill Moss area. As a result of Mary's promise to the priest, both of her sons were formally baptized as Catholics ("and a Jewish circumcision was performed," Michael confessed).

The family idyll collapsed on October 31, 1956, when it seemed that no danger threatened her. And only three decades later, having his own family, Paul, in memory of the losses suffered, tried to restore this idyll. Whether he succeeded is another question.

Mary complained of chest pains for several months. Back in the summer of 1955, when she was returning home from the Boy Scout camp, where she visited her sons, her chest hurt so badly that she had to lie down to rest. At first she thought it might be menopausal symptoms, but the lump in her chest and the pain never went away. Once Michael found his mother in the bedroom crying with a crucifix in her hands. When Michael asked what happened, the mother replied: "Nothing, honey."

In the end, Mary consulted a specialist. He diagnosed her with breast cancer and operated on, but it was too late. Before going to the hospital, she told her husband's colleague Olive Johnson: "I don't want to leave my boys now." And just before her death, she said to the wife of brother Bill: "I would like to see how the boys grow up." Paul was fourteen at the time, and Michael was twelve.

This great musician is referred to as none other than sir. The whole world knows him as the founder of the "Liverpool Four" - The Beatles, and this is McCartney James Paul. Albums of their group sold out in millions of copies all over the world. They brought a new inspiration to the music and drove all the girls crazy.

short biography

Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool. His parents were Scottish. His mother's name was Mary, she was a Catholic and worked at a local clinic as a midwife and nurse. Paul's father, James McCartney, was a trumpeter and pianist before the war and even had his own small jazz band, but the war ruined all his plans. After the war, he worked at a mechanical engine factory and at a cotton exchange. He began to raise his son without the involvement of religion, since he himself had once turned from a Protestant into an agnostic. The McCartney family lived modestly. Paul also had a brother, Michael.

In 1947, James Paul McCartney attended J. Williams Primary School in Belle Vale. After graduating from school, in 1954 he went to study at the high school for boys, which was called the Liverpool Institute.

In 1956, Paul was shocked by the death of his mother, who died of breast cancer. Subsequently, this loss brought him closer to John Lennon, whose mother died when he was 17 years old.

Paul had an old trumpet given to him by his father, but he traded it for a Framus Zenith acoustic guitar. James Paul McCartney was left-handed and learned to play it like Slim Whitman reversed the strings. Paul began to skillfully imitate such world stars as Elvis Presley and Little Richard.

creative upsurge

Once in Walton, Paul was invited to a performance by John Lennon's The Quarrymen in the lobby of St. Peter's Church. There, on July 6, 1957, McCartney met Lennon for the first time. John was tipsy, but he really enjoyed Paul's guitar playing. Subsequently, McCartney began to tune Lennon's guitar.

Paul's father and Aunt Mimi were wary of this friendship, they believed that Lennon came from "the bottom" and expected trouble from him. But the guys played very quickly and already in 1957 they began to write songs together in McCartney's father's house on Fortlin Road.

Paul once, while still studying at school in 1954, accidentally met George Harris, who became his friend, and therefore he invited John Lennon to take him to his team.

The Beatles and Paul McCartney

And already in 1960 in Hamburg their group performed for the first time under the name The Beatles. There they were under the tutelage of entrepreneur Bruno Koschmieder (a former clown).

After some time, Paul turned from an ordinary musician into a real professional. It is believed that 800 concert hours spent on the stages of the clubs of this city made The Beatles a world-famous group.

At the beginning of the winter of 1960, the Beatles gave a Litherland Town Hall concert, which became a turning point in their future destiny. The Beatlemania boom began.

Until 1961, Paul played the rhythm guitar, then, after being fired from the scandal of the musician, he became a bass player.

Albums, concerts and hits

The mega hit that opened wide doors for them was the composition She Loves You. Then the group appeared on television in the "Royal Variety Show" - a program that was watched by 26 million people. This was the trigger for their grandiose fame.

Lennon's death

After the death of the famous singer, Lew Grade offered Lennon's wife Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney to buy the rights to the Lennon-McCartney songs, since they were owned by the publishing company Northern Songs, for 20 million, but Yoko refused because of the very high price.

In 1983, McCartney became friends with Michael Jackson, who eventually bought the rights to the songs of their group for 47.5 million. Paul considered this a betrayal. Now he had to pay for the performance of his own songs on tour.

Many agree that the 2000s finally brought rebirth, stability and success to Paul's life. Sir James Paul McCartney gives concerts, shoots videos and writes albums, and is widely involved in charitable activities. His name has long become a classic brand that cannot be compared with anything else.