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Beatles News Archives

2001 Page 9

Paul McCartney Witnesses Another N.Y.C. Plane Crash

Paul was a virtual witness to the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 on Monday (November 12), much as he was for the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center. Paul and fiancée Heather Mills were on the Concorde, flying from London to New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport.

"As the Concorde was landing, the crash had just happened," Paul told spokesman Geoff Baker by phone, according to Reuters. "I looked out of the left-hand side of the plane and there was smoke all over the place." Paul added that the terminal was pretty much empty when he got off the plane, and that the FBI escorted him from the airport for his safety. All 260 people on the plane died in the crash, as did several people on the ground.

It's the second airline tragedy in two months for Paul and Heather, who were ready to take off from JFK on September 11 when two planes flown by terrorists hit and destroyed the World Trade Center. "I was there when the tragedy occurred and I witnessed the last moments of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Heather and I were sitting on a plane at the airport, waiting to take off. Suddenly the captain announced that all the planes had been grounded. From our side of the plane we could see the towers smoking and in flames. We couldn't believe what had happened," he said at the time. Paul organized the Concert For New York City as a way to help the victims of the terror attack.

Paul returned to New York Monday to raise more money for the September 11 victims, and he said, "It was a horrendous and tragic irony trying to raise money for the victims of the last crashes and then something dreadful was happening all over again." He added, "We have got to get behind America. We have got to help America...That is why I wrote 'Freedom' and that is why I am going to keep pushing it. I will not stop." "Freedom," which Paul premiered at the Concert For New York City, was written in response to the attacks and the heroism displayed by the city's firefighters and police officers who gave their lives at what is now called Ground Zero. The song was hastily recorded and added to his new album, Driving Rain, which was released yesterday (November 13). It's also the B-side of the first single, "From A Lover To A Friend," proceeds from which go to the families of the New York firefighters who died in the September 11 attack.

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Four decades of being a legend: Yes, Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono once described by her late husband John Lennon as "the world's most famous unknown artist,'' has not allowed celebrity to distract her from four decades of creativity. "Yes, Yoko Ono,'' a 40-year retrospective of her work, opened at MIT's List Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this month and runs through Jan. 6. So extensive is her portfolio that solo shows are also on view in Japan and Spain.

"And there are group shows everywhere,'' Ono said at the MIT show's opening last week. Her CD "Blueprint for a Sunrise'' was released earlier this month. Is this the year of Yoko Ono, the woman whom Beatle fans dubbed the Dragon Lady and blamed for the legendary rock group's break up? "I've noticed that from a couple of years ago, there has been gradually (growing) demand about my work,'' the 68-year-old icon said smiling beneath her trademark dark glasses at the opening. "I'm very honored by it.''

Nearly 21 years after Lennon was killed outside their New York apartment, Ono has decided to embrace the title Dragon Lady. On the cover of her new CD she wears a regal robe and crown meant to suggest China's last empress, Tzu-Hsi. "When I was a little girl in Japan we all studied in a textbook that she was a monster of a person. And we all believed it,'' Ono said, wearing the American flag pin she gave to Lennon when he got his U.S. residency visa, or green card as it is called.

"Now, we find out that the British press conjured up stories about her because she was fighting for China to not be colonized by Britain. I feel very connected to her. She was fighting for her country and John and I were fighting for idealism, a country called utopia,'' she said. "And it was the British press who labeled me the Dragon Lady. A dragon is a very powerful creature and I've decided not to be a victim, but to change my fate.'' She smiled when she finished the sentence.

Next to the photo of the 1969 billboard "WAR IS OVER! IF YOU WANT IT. Happy Christmas from John & Yoko'' is a photograph of the famed couple in bed surrounded by photographers and television cameras. But on her visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus the media was kept at arm's length from Ono by a retinue and a burly bodyguard. The work that first attracted John to her, "Ceiling Painting'' is on display. It consists of a white ladder beneath a metal framed piece of opaque glass from which a magnifying glass hangs. Lennon, according to the show's curator, climbed the ladder, looked through the magnifying glass to see the tiny word YES in capital letters in the piece of framed glass.

"He was attracted to her positive spirit,'' curator Alexandra Munroe said. The interactive piece is now marked "Please do not touch.'' "Well you can still interact with your mind,'' Ono said. The exhibit is divided roughly into three sections, pre-Lennon, the Lennon years and post-Lennon. From pre-Lennon times there are film clips of performances including "Cut Piece'' in which members in the audience at Carnegie Hall were invited to cut away her clothing while Ono sat totally still on stage.

Among the works from the post-Lennon period is "Play It By Trust,'' a wood carved chess set set upon wood table with two wood chairs all painted white. But some things haven't changed in 40 years. "I think that all of us really want the same thing,'' she said. "World peace. Together we have to make it happen. Do something,'' she said, "that will make your heart dance. Just one thing that will make your heart dance. And, if you can't do that because you're too depressed, then do something that will let somebody else's heart dance.''

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Harrison stabbing probe slams U.K. health services

Failures such as those in the care of a paranoid schizophrenic who almost killed George Harrison "could recur at any time,'' an independent inquiry said in a report. Drug addict Michael Abram, stabbed the guitarist and songwriter multiple times at his Henley-on-Thames mansion in December 1999.

The attack left George, with a punctured lung. He recovered from his injuries and has subsequently undergone treatment for throat cancer and a brain tumor. Abram, a father of two, was charged with attempted murder of George and his wife Olivia but the jury was told to acquit him on the grounds that he was temporarily insane. Abram, who believed The Beatles to be witches, was ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure mental hospital.

Central to the inquiry was that Abram, described in court by psychiatrists as a paranoid schizophrenic, went untreated despite numerous contacts with mental health and drug services in Knowsley in the north of England. The inquiry, by St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority on Merseyside, found that staff involved in Abram's care "could not have predicted the attack'' on George.

But the probe did find "significant failings'' in Abram's care. "These stemmed primarily from failures in the care system rather than any individual,'' said the report. "Our real concern is that the changes in practice undertaken by key agencies since the incident have not completely addressed the key problems. This means the pattern of events could recur at any time,'' the report said.

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Paul in Car Crash

Paul McCartney was involved in a pre-concert car crash in New York - but he still went on with the show. The accident happened on October 15 as the star prepared for his performance for the victims of the terrorist attacks.

The singer complained of back pain after the accident, at a crossroads in the East Hampton resort on Long Island, but was not treated in hospital. He and fiancee Heather Mills were in a hired car when it was involved in a collision with another car and veered into a tree, the New York Post newspaper reports.

The driver of the other car told police she had hurt her arm, and Sir Paul said he had back pain. Both cars had to be towed away. Neither driver was charged.

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Paul's New Life

Paul McCartney has spoken to Saga Magazine about new love and his first album of fresh songs in four years. In the over-50s magazine's November issue, Sir Paul talks about his new desire for life for the first time since his wife Linda died of cancer in 1998. He says he met and fell for model Heather Mills at the 1999 Pride of Britain Awards and how they have not been apart since.

Sir Paul adds the romance has rekindled his love of music with a new album, Driving Rain. He said: "I feel as thought it's a good time in my life, having had a bad one. This is quite a romantic album. And the truth of the matter is that it's a good thing to have romance in your life. We all know that."

He describes the 15-track album, which was recorded in Los Angeles in February, as fresh and raw and also reveals how he has no secret to songwriting. One track is simply called Heather and two others are co-written with his son James, the first time the pair have worked together on a record. The pair are due to marry next year and Mills, along with Linda, are two of the biggest influences for the new songs.

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Lost Beatles CV's

Hand-written CV's of the original Beatles line-up are to be published. They were found in a cellar in Hamburg. The CV's were written for German orchestra head Bert Kaempfert.

He signed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best as The Beat Brothers to his record company in 1961. They had failed to get a contract in the UK.

Kaempfert died 20 years ago. The papers were found in the cellar of his house by his daughter Doris. Now German label Bear Family Records is to release a double CD of early Beatles music with an accompanying book, featuring the CVs. The CD will mark the 40th anniversary of the first Beatles recording in Hamburg on October 23, 1961. The CV's are thought to be worth around £8,000.

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Legends Perform for Benefit Concert

Paul McCartney, David Bowwie, Elton John and Billy Joel joined other performers Saturday in a "Concert for New York,'' which served as a benefit for the city while celebrating its resiliency in a time of crisis. David Bowie kicked off the mammoth concert with a poignant rendition of Paul simon's "America,'' then rocked a crowd that included thousands of firefighters, police officers and rescue workers with the appropriately titled "Heroes.''

"It's an absolute pleasure to play for you tonight,'' Bowie told the crowd at "Concert for New York,'' which was broadcast from Madison Square Garden live on VH1. Despite the tragic circumstances that led to the concert, the star-studded event was anything but somber - instead, it was a raucous celebration. One of the biggest ovations was reserved for the 6,000 firefighters, police officers and rescue workers honored for their heroic efforts in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

"Tonight is dedicated to you,'' comedian Billy Crystal said as the crowd roared its approval. Many in the audience held up pictures of police officers or firefighters who died. "I met children who lost their daddies and I met a lot of people who survived,'' former President Clinton said backstage. "This is the first time they've had a chance to clap their hands and shout and dance. This is a great gift to them.'' Celebrity presenters including Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon brought rescue workers on stage and lauded them for their heroics. The guests then introduced performers.

Firefighters and police officers laughed and danced in the aisles. "Saturday Night Live'' cast member Will Ferrell got laughs with his impersonation of President Bush and Adam Sandler reprised his Operaman character in a risque segment that mocked Osama bin Laden. "There's not a day that goes by that people don't want to laugh,'' Sandler said backstage. "People are in great pain and you want to just laugh and feel good for a minute and that's what comedy is trying to do right now.'' When Joel sang the first few lines of "New York State of Mind,'' the crowd went wild.

"You look out from the stage, and you see a sea of blue,'' Joel said backstage. "You see firemen, you see cops, and these guys risk their lives everyday. They do this all the time ... to be able to see a smile on some of these people's faces - they've gone through so much, they've lost so many of their friends.'' Among the evening's most inspired performances included The Who, which energized the crowded with renditions of hits such as "Baba O'Riley,'' and "Behind Blue Eyes,'' and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who sang "Salt of the Earth'' and "Miss You.''

The evening also had its somber moments. Destiny's Child performed a stirring gospel medley after singing their hit, "Emotions,'' while the Backstreet Boys dedicated their performance to one of their tour crew members who was on the plane that hit a tower of the World Trade Center. Interspersed with the performances were short films celebrating the spirit of the city by directors including Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese. In addition, the concert featured appearances from New York sports figures, including the Knicks' Allan Houston, Yankees manager Joe Torre and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

Paul McCartney was the night's final act. Wearing an American flag pin and T-shirt with "FDNY'' printed on the back, the former Beatle sang five songs, including "Lover to a Friend,'' a new single he said would raise money for the Sept. 11 Fund, "Yesterday,'' and "Freedom,'' which he wrote in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack. It's lyrics included the line, "I will fight for the right to live in freedom.''

"This is one of the greatest nights for me,'' he told the crowd. "I want to thank you guys for everything you've done, on behalf of the British, on behalf of America, on behalf of the world.'' The finale featured McCartney leading members of the night's all-star cast singing "Let it Be,'' joined by a few police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers, then a reprise of "Freedom.''

A telephone number was featured so viewers could phone in donations; all proceeds are going to charities to benefit the victims of New York's terrorist attacks, organizers said. James Dolan, president and CEO of Cablevision, which helped put the concert together, said ticket sales had already raised $14 million. A two-disc CD set featuring music from the show is expected to be released by Columbia in November with much of the proceeds going to charity.

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McCartney Hands Out Concert Tickets at Firehouses

Some New York City firefighters got the visit of their lives on Friday when Sir Paul McCartney dropped in at downtown Manhattan firehouses to hand out 100 tickets worth $2,000 each for Saturday's Madison Square Concert benefiting victims of the attack on the World Trade Center.

"We found out that some of the guys here didn't have any tickets,'' said Paul, whose father was a fireman. "This concert is happening to honor brave guys like these, so when Heather told me they didn't have tickets I thought, 'Well, we've just got to fixthat, haven't we.''' Accordingly, Paul dropped in on ladder company 55 on Broome Street and ladder company sixon Canal Street, both of which sit within blocks from the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center where some 5,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks by hijacked jetliners.

Paul surprised the firemen, who his publicist Geoff Baker said were "sitting and talking, having coffee,'' handing out 100 $2,000 tickets to the concert. Paul has written a special song, "Freedom,'' which he will premiere on Saturday night at the concert. "It will be an honor to perform for them at the show tomorrow night,'' Paul said. Paul was in New York when the planes struck.

"I was sitting on a plane at New York airport and watched it unfold through the windows. It will live with me forever,'' he told Britain's Sun tabloid in its Saturday edition. He said he hoped the concert would raise morale as well as money. "People have to keep going at this difficult time,'' said Paul, who called the event "one of the most daunting gigs I have ever done.''

"My kids are half American and I was in New York when it happened, so I feel I am connected,'' the 59-year-old singer told the Sun. "Singing is the only way I know how to help the people of New York.''

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Harrison to Release New Single

George Harrison has recorded his first single since being treated for cancer earlier this year, a music industry source said. George, co-wrote "A Horse to Water'' with his son Dhani and recorded it with British musician Jools Holland. "It was wonderful to work with one of the great, legendary artists in the world,'' Holland said in a statement. "George suggested we do a track and this finally happened this month.''

George recorded the song at home on Oct. 1, less than sixmonths after undergoing radiotherapy for a brain tumor. He was treated for throat cancer in 1997. A spokesman for Holland described the new song as a cross between 1960s Bob Dylan and early 1970s John Lennon. "It is not a ballad and it is not rock -- I think George Harrison fans will be intrigued,'' the spokesman added. George, survived being stabbed in the chest by an intruder at his home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, west of London, in 1999.

He was widely reported to have moved to a luxury villa in the Swiss canton of Ticino in August as he recovered from the latest bout of surgery. His single will appear on Holland's album "Small World, Big Friends,'' to be released in Britain on Nov. 19, in which Holland plays duets with some of the biggest names in music, including Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, Van Morrison and Eric Clapton. Harrison was unavailable for comment.

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McCartney Urges Ono to Mend Rift

Paul McCartney has urged Yoko Ono that "there's still time'' to mend a rift between the two over The Beatles song "Yesterday,'' according to a magazine interview.

Paul revealed earlier this year that he and John Lennon's widow had argued over the writing credit to the song during the making of The Beatles "Anthology'' album. "Yesterday,'' like most of The Beatles songs, was officially credited to Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

But Paul maintains that none of the other Beatles had anything to do with the song. He said in May that he asked Ono to put his name first on the credit, but she refused. "It actually is one of the reasons that we're not the greatest of friends,'' Paul told Reader's Digest. "But if you're reading this, Yoko, there's still time.''

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Lennon's Venomous Letter to McCartney Finally Sold At Auction

An angry letter that John Lennon wrote to Paul McCartney at the time of The Beatles breakup was finally been sold Wednesday (October 10) at Christie's in London. The letter was snapped up for $88,330, after being put back on the block after it failed last week to reach its original reserve price of $95,700. A Christie's spokesperson told LAUNCH the letter was sold to an anonymous collector.

In the venomous letter full of profanity and misspellings, John criticized the effect fame had on his former bandmate Paul, and expressed his resentment about the unfair treatment of his wife, Yoko Ono. John also had some unkind words for Paul's wife, Linda, and wrote that he didn't believe their marriage would last. Despite the harshness of the letter in general, John closed on an affectionate note, signing off, "In spite of it all, love to you both from us two."

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George Martin: It's the Beatles, and More...

Everybody knows George Martin was "The Fifth Beatle,'' the studio force behind many of the Fab Four's memorable songs like "Yesterday,'' "Eleanor Rigby'' and "A Day in the Life.'' But what about novelty discs like Rolf Harris's "Jake the Peg,'' or Charlie Drake's "My Boomerang Won't Come Back,'' or ''Goodness Gracious Me'' by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren?

Martin was the producer of those too, and hundreds more hits -- and misses -- in a 50-year career at London's legendary Abbey Road studios. He's written movie scores, worked with full orchestras and comedians and some of today's biggest pop stars like Sting, Peter Gabriel and Celine Dion. Now, that half-century of output has been brought together in a 6-CD boxset, "Produced by George Martin -- 50 Years in Recording,'' on Capitol Records in the United States. It was released by EMI in Britain.

"At first I thought 'Who wants to listen to all that stuff?''' said George, who was knighted by the queen for his contributions to the British recording industry. "But Paul (McCartney) said he would listen to it in his car and then called me and said 'It's fantastic, I never knew you did so much,''' Back before he was Sir George, before The Beatles and other ''British Invasion'' acts like Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black, the urbane Martin was engineering many of the sounds that 1950's Britain danced and smooched to.

Who now remembers Alma Cogan, Eve Boswell, or England's answer to Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro? What about skiffle, that peculiarly British form of rockabilly that filled the airwaves in those innocent pre-Beatles days? Martin recorded such diverse groups as the Luton Girls' Choir and the Kirkintilloch Junior Choir, Humphrey Lyttelton's jazz band and the Temperance Seven. He produced the Johnnie Spence Orchestra performing the theme from TV's "Dr. Kildare'' and Shirley Bassey's melodramtic "Goldfinger'' from the James Bond movie of the same name.

Dated as much of the music sounds today, it is the comedy material that seems most frozen in a time when television was still in its infancy. Apart from "Weird Al'' Yankovic's pop parodies, no one seems to make novelty comedy recordings like Lonnie Donegan's "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (on the bedpost overnight) anymore.

"It was not just us. Stan Frieberg was doing comedy bits here in America,'' Martin told Reuters in a recent telephone interview during a visit to Cleveland, where he is enshrined in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. "The difference is that TV did not have the same throttle-like grip as it has today. People would imagine in their mind and see a picture. Now, to be funny, you've got to be seen,'' he said.

He cited "The Goons,'' the madcap 1950's British radio show that first showcased Peter Sellers and is considered the forerunner of TV's "Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Goons were particularly aural -- you've got to hear them,'' he said of the show which also starred Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe.

"But since Monty Python, people have become indoctrinated with TV and the focus is on the look. You listen to Peter Sellers and (comedy actress) Irene Handl, and you can shut you eyes and imagine them,'' said George. Like his close relationship with The Beatles, George worked with Sellers on several projects, including the comedian's idiosyncratic takes on Beatles hits that George himself had produced for the Parlophone label in the same studio used for Beatles recordings.

"A guy had said to me once, 'You know The Beatles lyrics are really interesting if they are spoken.'' That resulted in Sellers doing "A Hard Day's Night'' in the way Laurence Olivier did Richard III. "I scored him in a Medieval way with recorders,'' said George. "Now 'Help,' which Peter did with a German accent, we were not allowed to issue that,'' George said. "It was so non-PC (politically correct), it was the wrong time, it was considered naughty.'' But the boxset does include Sellers doing the Beatles' ''She Loves You'' with an over-the-top German accent.

"At EMI, they thought I was mad so they said 'Make it a 10-inch, old chap,''' so it would be cheaper, rather than a 12-inch record, he said. "The Best of Sellers'' was originally a 10-inch disc, and "it became a hit by word of mouth,'' he added. "Sellers did 'All The Things You Are' as if he were singing in the mirror while shaving and I had an idea for this Indian character and suggested he sing something from 'My Fair Lady' -- 'Wouldn't it be Luverly.'''

Loren, who was the world's biggest sexsymbol at the time, was a delight to work with on "Goodness Gracious Me'' on which Sellers put an outrageous Indian accent, he said. "She has a great chuckle, I really enjoy working with people like that,'' said George. "It was the same with The Beatles. We hit it off. They knew the records I had done and had the same sense of humor, it's an anarchic sense of humor.'' George still has that droll approach. Asked about his place in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, he replied: "Oh, I'm not sure where, but I'm in there somewhere.''

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