Getting one on one with Paul ahead of hitting the road

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You’re now over two years into the Got Back tour, which has so far spanned four continents and delighted hundreds of thousands of people with a set list bigger and more varied than ever. How has it been for you so far?

Great! You work on the setlist over time and you finally feel you get it to a place where it’s working well. That’s how we all feel on the tour now – and it looks like the audiences agree!

The previous leg of the tour ended last December, so there’s a bit of a gap before the next run. How are you going to prepare ahead of these new shows?

We always take a few weeks to rehearse with the band to get up to speed. and then a couple more weeks to work with the production, lighting, sets, videos, etc. So that’s what we’re going to do this time, because there’s so much involved now. With The Beatles. we just had one guy really, Mal Evans, and he didn’t need to do that much regarding our performance. But now there are so many people involved, so I like to take it nice and easy and give it a couple of weeks for the band and the roadies and all the technicians to just remember what we’re doing, remember how it all goes.

It is now 35 years since you first started touring solo after Wings. In that time, you’ve played well over 500 concerts. What were your ambitions when you first set out in 1989 and have you fulfilled them all yet?

The ambition is always to have a good time, and to play well for an appreciative audience. The surprise is how enthusiastic the audience members can be, because their enthusiasm reaches us on stage, encourages us to play better all the time.

Has what you’ve seen in the audience from where you’re standing changed much in that time?

Well, I always expected the audience would be the same age as me, but as things have gone on, they’ve gradually gotten younger and younger. It’s a great surprise and pleasure now to see the young faces out in the audience having a great time and reflecting their energy back onto us.

You like to throw surprises into the mix – for example, you warmed up for your Glastonbury 2022 headline slot with a last-minute gig the night before at the nearby Cheese & Grain, and then at the end of last year, you played the tiny Clube de Choro ahead of your first big concert in Brasilia, while in Australia you invited some fans into soundcheck for an impromptu Q&A. Are these surprises as much for your own enjoyment as that of the fans? Why do you like doing them?

Yeah, it’s always nice to make a change in your routine. And so little clubs, like the ones you mentioned, are always very exciting because you see the whites of your audience’s eyes and you experience the fun of a gig as if you’re at a party. We love it. It always livens things up a bit.

With so many well-loved songs, you can never really go wrong choosing your setlist because someone is always going to love what they’re hearing. But at the smaller shows when you can really see people’s reactions, has it ever inspired you to change things up, or affect the mood of a show?

No, I think we choose the setlist for a small show to reflect the party-like atmosphere that happens when you play those shows. It’s always exciting. We almost feel as if we’re in the audience.

Is the feeling you get from playing live now the same as when you were starting out playing for tiny audiences?

Right back? Before Hamburg and all that? No, the thing is then no water had gone under the bridge, so you didn’t know how you were going to be received, and you didn’t know if the band that was on before you was going to play all the same songs that you’re going to play! And you were young and inexperienced, so it was a bit more nerve-wracking. I think now that we’ve got used to doing it and that we know that there are plenty of songs that people know, it gives you more confidence, and you realise that people will come now to see you specially, so there’s no need to be nervous.

Do you still get the same buzz when you play live though?

Oh yeah. It’s equally as good, but the actual practicalities are completely different. When we first started out we were plugging the bass and guitars into one amp, and worry that we might get an electric shock off the microphone. These days it’s much more professional. and you’ve even got your own amp, so you don’t have to share it! It is a completely different kind of experience, but the buzz of playing to an audience is actually even better as you feel a bit more secure than you did when you were starting out.

As an artist, you’ve always embraced new technology, and pushed things forward in the studio. On stage, however, it’s the human experience that is at the fore of your shows – there are no backing tracks, it’s just you in the band. The physical energy and connection with your audience is overwhelming, is that important to you, and how do you keep connecting with people again and again in such a genuine and organic way?

Since I started in the very early days of The Beatles that’s how we’ve always done it. We play songs that we like to the audience and hope that they like it too. So it is a very human experience. When you get that kind of thing going. it’s like you’re one big family. And I’m a family man!

This leg sees you starting off In South America. Do you enjoy playing there?

Yes. I love South America. We’re all looking forward to having a rollicking good time. The audiences are fabulous.

Yes, South American fans are notoriously passionate and vocal. What sets these fans apart from elsewhere in the world?

Latin blood!

Last year culminated with a return visit to Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, where in 1990 you set a world record for the biggest ever concert audience. On this visit, you were awarded for the international artist who has sold the most concert tickets in Brazil ever. How did it feel to revisit the landmark location, and receive that honour?

It was fantastic on both points. Maracana has very special memories for us. And even though it was bigger than it is these days, the atmosphere and the energy of the crowd is incredible, so it always feels fantastic. We always have a great time.

What is your memory of that record-breaking 1990 concert?

I think the memory before the concert was the weather. Because like most people you go to Brazil, and you expect the weather to always be fantastic. But of course there’d be no plants if there was no water. And that week, there was a lot of water. It rained actually right up until we got on the stage. So my main memory was really just wondering whether we were going to even be able to play the show because of the rain, but we had faith. I said, “It’s going to be great.” and sure enough. it was. I did get a few reports that there were people making love in the audience, which I thought was rather nice. Except I just didn’t see!

Mexico City is another city you seem to have a love affair with, as you’re returning there again on this leg. Your 2012 concert in Zocalo Square was a monumental moment that saw over 400,000 take to the streets. Can you believe moments like that actually happen in your career?

Yeah. but almost no. Because they are fantastic events. At first, you don’t even know what Zocalo Square is, but then your team will say. “Well, here’s pictures of it.” You look at it and go. “Wow.” And then you say, “Yeah, now we’re going to be a free show.” So people from anywhere who normally can’t get tickets – you know, there’s people out in the countryside – will be able to come in, as it’s now just a bus ride. So in a way, it’s kind of hard to believe that we’ve been through such amazing things like that. But once you’ve done it, it’s a great notch on your belt. It’s just, “Wow, did we really do that?” The answer is yes, you did.

In the hours before every show you perform in a foreign country, you take lessons in that country’s language backstage. How is it possible to concentrate when you know you’ve got a stadium full of people waiting to see?

Well, I want to be able to communicate with the people in the stadium, so I always try and learn some local phrases that will amuse and entertain the local people and us into the bargain. I like languages. And so, even though it is a little extra homework, I still love to be able to communicate.

You’re known for getting out in the cities in which you play, especially places you haven’t been for a while. For example, it’s 10 years since you last played in Peru, and now you’re heading to Lima again. Why is it important for you to get out and about whilst on tour? What do you like best about new and unfamiliar places?

Well, the original idea is to get some fresh air, because most of the time we’re always on an airplane, or in a car, or backstage, or in a hotel. Getting out and about means that you get some good fresh oxygen, and also get a better picture of the city you’re playing. Sometimes you see the most unexpected things. Once, when we were in Japan, my wife Nancy and I were bicycling in Tokyo, and we rode around a local park. Suddenly, we heard a familiar song. I could hear someone playing my song, ‘Come On To Me’. We followed the sound, and it was a guy teaching the song’s guitar part to a local girl. So we just hovered, and spent the next five minutes watching him. He was very good and he got it right!

Speaking of getting out and about, this summer you were spotted at Taylor Swift’s concert in London. Similarly, last year you saw Beyonce live in concert and also went to see U2 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. When you watch these stunning big presentations, does that give you inspiration for your own shows?

Yeah, I think anytime you watch a live show, it reminds you of how your audience feels, and so it’s always an encouragement. In truth, one of the big reasons is that Nancy is a big fan of live music . So we enjoy going together, to feel the vibe.

In addition to touring, you filled the last couple of years with other fantastic projects – new music, keeping yourself busy with a new adventure from Grandude, the titular character of your children’s books, plus the incredible award-winning book The Lyrics, and now the 1964: Eyes Of The Storm book and exhibition. Do you need constant distraction and projects? Can you be bored?

I don’t get bored easily. I always can find something to do. We always used to say if you’re bored, you’re boring. There is always something, and if worst comes to worst, I’ll just go out for a walk. You know, there is always something. And I can always pick up an instrument – or switch on the telly and watch my favourite shows!

Your latest book and exhibition, 1964: Eyes Of The Storm, which started in London and is now showing in both the US and Japan, takes fans on an incredible visual journey through a historical and culturally impactful period of time, where one can tangibly see the world changing as they progress through the
pictures. When you discovered these, what kind of journey did you go on as you looked through them all again?

It was kind of a magical mystery journey. First of all. because I thought l’d lost all these pictures. I knew l’d taken them. I had a vague memory of having taken them. But from then on, I didn’t know what happened to them. Luckily, I’ve got a great bunch of people in my office, some of whom deal with the archival side of what I do, and they’ve done an amazing job. These photos l’d taken in the 60s show up, and with my photo expert, Sarah Brown, we started to look through them. She said, “l’ve been talking to the National Portrait Gallery and they’re interested to see them. Do you mind if I show them these?” So they got involved, and from then on, it was just great fun. We would have meetings where we get out all the photos. and we’d say. “This one should be printed big, this one’s okay at that size, what about this one here? Wow!” We selected all the photos, decided the sizes, the frames, and then there were meetings about all the details, like even selecting the wall colour behind them. So it was a fascinating journey for me to see what went on in a big exhibition like this. I think the National Portrait Gallery really did me proud. It was a magical journey.

You always like to move forward in everything you do, but recent projects seem to be taking stock a bit more – ‘Now And Then’, The Lyrics, Get Back, the concept of McCartney Ill and 1964: Eyes OfThe Storm all in a way celebrate what came before. Do you have a different relationship with your past now than you did say 10 years ago?

Yeah, I think so. The Beatles thing, particularly with Peter Jackson’s Get Back, that’s really awakened memories of how we recorded together. Because after a long time it’s not that you forget, it’s just that you don’t remember you don’t have an occasion to remember. So when something like that happens with the
film, it’s really beautiful and I love it. It’s like, “Wow,here l am in a room with these guys,” and, “Oh yeah, that’s how we used to record.”

“Oh yeah, I did used to bully them, but I was only trying to get them to work. So it’s not bullying. it’s cajoling! That’s really been very nice for me to remember things like that. I mainly remember my relationships with the
guys. That’s the main thing that happens: you just are reminded. And the more time goes by the fonder your memories are. You go, “Oh, that was great. l remember that.” So then that leads me on- I go, “Well, l remember hitchhiking with George… And again, doing The Lyrics book, all these little stories came out: “Oh, I hitchhiked to Paris with John. It’s sweet remembering these things, they’re sweet memories.

Can those moments in history inspire your next steps? For example, did the 50th anniversary of McCartney in 2020 inspire McCartney Ill, or could watching Get Back make you think about future studio collaborations?

I’m always on the lookout for ideas. Or, it’s not so much on the lookout: my mind is open to ideas, so if I hear a song that I think is really great, I think, “Oh yeah, it would be great to do a song in that style.” Listening to old rock and roll records also brings back the spirit of the music that first turned me on to rock and roll. That may mean that I’II want to go in and do a rock and roll track that day, or I’ll look at the old things I’ve been meaning to finish and think. “Oh, I could rock and roll with that. I’m in the mood for that now.” These things put you in moods. I’m always looking, noting down little phases that occur, thinking: “Oh, that might be quite good. That might work in a song.” So again, I’ve got millions of little fragments! I mean, in my pocket now I’ve got little bits of paper that l think I must get around to putting them somewhere. They’re just little ideas, a little phrase. I’m always on the lookout, just because I love it. I enjoy it so much that I don’t think I’d like a time when I was disinterested.

With such a long and distinguished career, there’s forever another significant anniversary to celebrate. This summer, for instance, marked 60 years since the release of the A Hard Day’s Night movie, which captured the sheer hysteria of Beatlemania at its peak

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