Paul McCartney

Paul - The Interviews

All His Lovin'

By DAN AQUILANTE

The past 40 years have been a long and winding road for Paul McCartney, but this past year the world's best-known pop star has been rejuvenated by love - and his love of life.

The ex-Beatle has always been a very private person. So over the past few months, it was shocking to see the billionaire musician at his daughter Stella's fashion shows and playing high-profile gigs such as the Concert for the City of New York and the Super Bowl half-time show.

And he's even on tour again for the first time in almost decade.

At 59, he's rich, handsome and about to take the plunge with 34-year-old fiancée Heather Mills. The guy's also still pretty fast on his feet when answering questions.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, Paul was charming and funny while bobbing and weaving around the details of his upcoming wedding.

His "Driving USA" concert tour lands at Madison Square Garden for a pair of shows tonight and tomorrow.

Post: Your concert tour has generated lots of ink in the papers, but not as much as your wedding plans. The reports say you get hitched on June 6 at your home in the Hamptons.

McCartney: Is that the date?

Post: That's what Page Six is saying.

McCartney: Let them say it. I'm not saying anything. We'd like this to be as private as possible, so we could get wed with a bit of privacy. But I can tell you this: We are getting married, and it will be sometime this summer.

Post: Have you chosen a best man?

McCartney: Yes I have, I've done all the stuff a groom is supposed to do when he gets married. You've got to, you know.

Post: Will you tell us who he is?

McCartney: No. Sorry.

Post: Do you have sweaty palms at the prospect of saying "I do" again?

McCartney: I'm not nervous, not really. I'm coping quite well with it. It's all right. I'm enjoying myself, and I'm excited by it because Heather is a great girl, you know, very lovely.

Post: There are some reports that your daughter Stella and Heather don't get along. Is that true?

McCartney: False.

Post: Will Stella design Heather's dress?

McCartney: Quite definitely no. People have been naturally rumoring that, and the answer is no. Heather has a designer and ideas of her own. You know, I'm not really supposed to know anything about the dress, according to ancient superstition. I haven't seen it, but Stella isn't designing it.

Post: How about the Queen's Jubilee on June 3?

McCartney: We've been asked to play for her. It should be fun.

Post: You've met the Queen a few times. She knighted you, and you even sang that she's a pretty nice girl and that you love her a lot.

McCartney: Yeah, I wrote a song to that effect. She and the late Queen Mother are the most loved people in England. You can't say that about everybody in the royal family these days. I like the Queen, she's great, but she doesn't have a lot to say.

Post: In less that a month, you'll be celebrating your 60th birthday. Would "When I'm 64" be a different song if you wrote it today?

McCartney: First I'd call it "When I'm 98." The perspective has definitely changed. I don't really know why I chose that year and luckily I'm not losing my hair - touch wood. It was a nice little song. I'll have to sing it on my birthday, won't I?

Post: How old were you when you wrote it?

McCartney: Oh, young 20s. Then 64 seemed like such a long way off, I guess. I thought it was the age when you were really old.

Post: Is it?

McCartney: It's really quite scandalous, but I feel great, amazingly good. Like I said, I touch wood, thank the Lord for making it all possible and here I am, on tour, feeling good. I'm very lucky.

Post: Any bad parts about being back on tour?

McCartney: Surprisingly not. This tour is pure fun. We are pacing it the way I like.

Post: Is there a possibility after your wedding, after the Queen's concert that you'll extend the tour with a second leg?

McCartney: I think so. We're starting to talk about that now. I was hanging out with the guys in the band yesterday, and we were saying we don't want it to end just yet.

Post: You've been absent from touring for more than nine years. What brought you back?

McCartney: After I recorded "Driving Rain" last year, I realized after playing with a band again how I love playing music.

Post: Some guys would say they tour for the fans, but not you. This is for your own pleasure, isn't it?

McCartney: I think you have to do things for yourself. You have to want to do it. And I did. The joy of playing with the band is my main kick. It's also nice that the audience seems to enjoy it. It really feels like a party to me.

Post: Are there artistic endeavors you haven't had time or opportunity to accomplish?

McCartney: When people ask, "Paul, do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?," I don't. There isn't this list of things that I have to do. When an idea occurs to me, I usually do it.

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