Amalthea
Jul 02, 2002, 04:34 AM
Not content to let it be, Paul McCartney organized a charity rock concert that raised millions for the victims of September 11. His optimism and freedom-loving message reflect the special bond he sees between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Paul McCartney has had a few experiences at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport that he’ll never forget. The first was in January 1964 when he and three of his friends arrived there to take America by storm. But more recently another event occurred while he was there that left an indelible impression on his psyche.
McCartney and his fiancée, Heather Mills, were on a plane waiting to take off from JFK last September 11. The plane never got off the ground, and McCartney stayed in New York reflecting on the terrible events that had cancelled his flight. The former Beatle hasn’t stopped singing about it yet.
Almost immediately, McCartney helped organize one of the largest charity rock concerts ever, the Concert for New York City, which took place five weeks later at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The six-hour show featured a who’s who of rock ’n’ roll and the rest of the entertainment world, playing for an audience of thousands of VIPs—police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers from the Big Apple. McCartney himself performed a half-dozen numbers to close the show, including a new song, “Freedom,” written just for the occasion. The catchy, simple song was quickly remixed and released as a single, with sales benefiting 9/11 disaster relief.
McCartney has just wrapped up his latest excursion, Driving USA, his first American tour since 1993’s New World Tour. Besides playing Beatles and McCartney/Wings favorites, the world’s most famous bassist performed a number of tracks from his new CD, Driving Rain. The album, his first collection of new songs since the death of his wife, Linda, was released in November 2001, with “Freedom” a last-minute addition made just prior to release.
McCartney can be seen everywhere accompanied by his new love, Heather, and the two are expected to be married this summer. They met in 1999, and McCartney was quickly taken with her passion for helping others in need, particularly those who have lost limbs due to encounters with long-forgotten land mines. Mills, a former model, lost part of her left leg in 1993 after being struck by a police motorcycle in England. Instead of retreating into depression, she fought back, helping amputees in poor countries acquire prosthetic limbs. She and McCartney, in fact, are patrons of Adopt-A-Minefield, a charity that allows supporters to provide funds for clearing known minefields in order to make them safe.
Q: What inspired you to write “Freedom,” the song you debuted at the fundraising Concert for New York City?
A: We stayed in New York for the week after September 11th, and, like everyone, I felt so helpless. I realized that I could put on a concert to raise money for the relatives of the victims, and so we started working on that. But at the same time, I really wanted to put down in a song how I felt about this outrage; in fact it was Heather’s suggestion that I do so. “Freedom” was the most custom-made song I’ve ever written.
Q: How did you approach writing it?
A: When I got involved with the concert, I knew that there would be firefighters there, police officers, rescue service workers—all brave people who put their lives on the line on the 11th—and I wanted to give them and others a song that might give voice to this anger and sorrow that we all felt. So I tried to write the song from the perspective of the ordinary American person, the person who enjoys freedom as a matter of course.
In the West, we take our freedom for granted. It is a very precious right, and it is one that has to be treasured, protected, and—even though I am a pacifist—at times fought for. I wanted to write a very simple song, an anthemic song. Hopefully memorable, so that people at the concert could sing it with me.
Q: And did they?
A: They did. Since then, people have said it’s a song that could stand against oppression of any sort. It would be good if people felt that “Freedom” was a suitable anthem to sing against oppression, but it would be better if we didn’t have oppressions to sing against.
Q: How did your approach to the song compare to the way you usually write songs?
A: Most of my songs just come to me; I don’t know where they come from, and because I believe in the magic of songwriting, I don’t really want to explore it. They’re just there. The melody for “Yesterday” came to me in my sleep. But there are some times when you do feel that you have to deliberately write a song to add your voice to others who are standing against a wrong.
Q: Can you name some examples?
A: I wrote “Ebony and Ivory” as a stand against racism. In The Beatles, I wrote “Blackbird” to give my voice in support of the civil rights movement that was going on in the ’60s. At the time I wrote it I had in my mind a black woman living in the States. Rather than write “black woman living in Little Rock,” I made it a bird, made it symbolic, so that people could apply it to their particular problem.
Q: Your former bandmate, the late George Harrison, organized the very first rock concert to promote a specific cause—the Concert for Bangladesh. What do you think is the value of such events?
A: The main value is raising money for people. I was very heartened by the fact that the Concert for New York raised millions for the families of the victims of the 11th. That’s always the first motivation, to do what you can to help people in a tangible way. After that, you try to raise people’s spirits. Music can be a very powerful thing.
Q: How did you decide to become an activist for the campaign to eradicate land mines from war-torn regions?
A: It was Heather who got me into being an activist for the cause. When I first met her, I was so impressed by how strongly she felt about this issue and how tirelessly she works to help rid the world of land mines.
Like most people, I was aware of the problem, but she really opened my eyes to how big it is. Seventy million land mines still in the ground throughout the world—this really is a global problem. Together we’ve become patrons of the charity Adopt-A-Minefield [www.adoptaminefield.com] that works by asking people to give what they can to “adopt” a particular mine-ridden piece of land. All of the money goes to either mine clearance or to survivor assistance. I’m very proud to be a patron.
Q: Was there a single image or statistic that solidified your support?
A: My take on it is simple—I think that when a war is over it is a cowardly thing to leave the war behind you in minefields that hit women and children and the most vulnerable. That’s what is insidious about land mines; they keep the war alive. It’s shocking to me that the minefields of El-Alamein, the great African battle of World War II, are still not cleared to this day. When you see problems like that, you just know you’ve got to do something to help.
Q: As someone who has lived in both the United States and Britain, what do you feel is the source of the empathy between the two nations that has emerged so visibly since the events of September?
A: I’ve spent a lot of time in the United States. When I was growing up in Liverpool, it was the arrival of American rock ’n’ roll that changed everything for us. Then, with The Beatles, we got to go to America—the land of your dreams if you were a kid from Liverpool—and that was amazing for us.
America has given me a lot, from the way it embraced The Beatles to the pleasure I get performing here to this day. Linda was American, of course, and my kids are part American. I like America. I like Americans. And what I, as a British guy, particularly like is this freedom that we do have in common. Of course, there are excesses, and people from other countries can criticize those faults. But one thing that the British and the Americans share is that we do not allow Hitlers. And in that, and in our shared belief that we have this right to our freedoms, we have a great bond.
Q: What are you most proud of when looking at the legacy of, first, The Beatles and, second, your own creative efforts?
A: The great thing about The Beatles was that we stood for good things. We sang about peace and love. We believed in freedom and everybody’s right to it. We didn’t believe in paying attention to rules just because they were rules. We always questioned the rules and frequently, particularly in music, broke them.
But in breaking the rules, there was an optimism about The Beatles, and that came out in a lot of our songs. Our songs didn’t say, “Drag your brother down; rip him off.” Our songs said, “Let it be; all you need is love.” I’m very proud of that, and I like to think that the same messages have been there in my music since The Beatles. I still believe in the values we held dear in The Beatles, because they are good values. We still do need love; we still need peace.
Q: You continue to compose and perform and have even branched out with a symphony. What motivates you musically?
A: There’s so much that I want to do. I’m currently composing a new choral work. I’ve got an idea about possibly doing a charity exhibition of my own photography. I’m hugely proud that I’ve been asked to give an exhibition of my paintings in my hometown of Liverpool this summer. I’m still lucky enough to be writing songs, and, at an age when most people would be thinking about retiring, I’ve been getting out on the road again.
What motivates me musically? Love of music. If I were told that I could never make a record ever again in my life, I’d still take off with my guitar and write songs. I do it for the love of it.
------------------
"Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside"
- Paul McCartney, 1982
Paul McCartney has had a few experiences at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport that he’ll never forget. The first was in January 1964 when he and three of his friends arrived there to take America by storm. But more recently another event occurred while he was there that left an indelible impression on his psyche.
McCartney and his fiancée, Heather Mills, were on a plane waiting to take off from JFK last September 11. The plane never got off the ground, and McCartney stayed in New York reflecting on the terrible events that had cancelled his flight. The former Beatle hasn’t stopped singing about it yet.
Almost immediately, McCartney helped organize one of the largest charity rock concerts ever, the Concert for New York City, which took place five weeks later at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The six-hour show featured a who’s who of rock ’n’ roll and the rest of the entertainment world, playing for an audience of thousands of VIPs—police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers from the Big Apple. McCartney himself performed a half-dozen numbers to close the show, including a new song, “Freedom,” written just for the occasion. The catchy, simple song was quickly remixed and released as a single, with sales benefiting 9/11 disaster relief.
McCartney has just wrapped up his latest excursion, Driving USA, his first American tour since 1993’s New World Tour. Besides playing Beatles and McCartney/Wings favorites, the world’s most famous bassist performed a number of tracks from his new CD, Driving Rain. The album, his first collection of new songs since the death of his wife, Linda, was released in November 2001, with “Freedom” a last-minute addition made just prior to release.
McCartney can be seen everywhere accompanied by his new love, Heather, and the two are expected to be married this summer. They met in 1999, and McCartney was quickly taken with her passion for helping others in need, particularly those who have lost limbs due to encounters with long-forgotten land mines. Mills, a former model, lost part of her left leg in 1993 after being struck by a police motorcycle in England. Instead of retreating into depression, she fought back, helping amputees in poor countries acquire prosthetic limbs. She and McCartney, in fact, are patrons of Adopt-A-Minefield, a charity that allows supporters to provide funds for clearing known minefields in order to make them safe.
Q: What inspired you to write “Freedom,” the song you debuted at the fundraising Concert for New York City?
A: We stayed in New York for the week after September 11th, and, like everyone, I felt so helpless. I realized that I could put on a concert to raise money for the relatives of the victims, and so we started working on that. But at the same time, I really wanted to put down in a song how I felt about this outrage; in fact it was Heather’s suggestion that I do so. “Freedom” was the most custom-made song I’ve ever written.
Q: How did you approach writing it?
A: When I got involved with the concert, I knew that there would be firefighters there, police officers, rescue service workers—all brave people who put their lives on the line on the 11th—and I wanted to give them and others a song that might give voice to this anger and sorrow that we all felt. So I tried to write the song from the perspective of the ordinary American person, the person who enjoys freedom as a matter of course.
In the West, we take our freedom for granted. It is a very precious right, and it is one that has to be treasured, protected, and—even though I am a pacifist—at times fought for. I wanted to write a very simple song, an anthemic song. Hopefully memorable, so that people at the concert could sing it with me.
Q: And did they?
A: They did. Since then, people have said it’s a song that could stand against oppression of any sort. It would be good if people felt that “Freedom” was a suitable anthem to sing against oppression, but it would be better if we didn’t have oppressions to sing against.
Q: How did your approach to the song compare to the way you usually write songs?
A: Most of my songs just come to me; I don’t know where they come from, and because I believe in the magic of songwriting, I don’t really want to explore it. They’re just there. The melody for “Yesterday” came to me in my sleep. But there are some times when you do feel that you have to deliberately write a song to add your voice to others who are standing against a wrong.
Q: Can you name some examples?
A: I wrote “Ebony and Ivory” as a stand against racism. In The Beatles, I wrote “Blackbird” to give my voice in support of the civil rights movement that was going on in the ’60s. At the time I wrote it I had in my mind a black woman living in the States. Rather than write “black woman living in Little Rock,” I made it a bird, made it symbolic, so that people could apply it to their particular problem.
Q: Your former bandmate, the late George Harrison, organized the very first rock concert to promote a specific cause—the Concert for Bangladesh. What do you think is the value of such events?
A: The main value is raising money for people. I was very heartened by the fact that the Concert for New York raised millions for the families of the victims of the 11th. That’s always the first motivation, to do what you can to help people in a tangible way. After that, you try to raise people’s spirits. Music can be a very powerful thing.
Q: How did you decide to become an activist for the campaign to eradicate land mines from war-torn regions?
A: It was Heather who got me into being an activist for the cause. When I first met her, I was so impressed by how strongly she felt about this issue and how tirelessly she works to help rid the world of land mines.
Like most people, I was aware of the problem, but she really opened my eyes to how big it is. Seventy million land mines still in the ground throughout the world—this really is a global problem. Together we’ve become patrons of the charity Adopt-A-Minefield [www.adoptaminefield.com] that works by asking people to give what they can to “adopt” a particular mine-ridden piece of land. All of the money goes to either mine clearance or to survivor assistance. I’m very proud to be a patron.
Q: Was there a single image or statistic that solidified your support?
A: My take on it is simple—I think that when a war is over it is a cowardly thing to leave the war behind you in minefields that hit women and children and the most vulnerable. That’s what is insidious about land mines; they keep the war alive. It’s shocking to me that the minefields of El-Alamein, the great African battle of World War II, are still not cleared to this day. When you see problems like that, you just know you’ve got to do something to help.
Q: As someone who has lived in both the United States and Britain, what do you feel is the source of the empathy between the two nations that has emerged so visibly since the events of September?
A: I’ve spent a lot of time in the United States. When I was growing up in Liverpool, it was the arrival of American rock ’n’ roll that changed everything for us. Then, with The Beatles, we got to go to America—the land of your dreams if you were a kid from Liverpool—and that was amazing for us.
America has given me a lot, from the way it embraced The Beatles to the pleasure I get performing here to this day. Linda was American, of course, and my kids are part American. I like America. I like Americans. And what I, as a British guy, particularly like is this freedom that we do have in common. Of course, there are excesses, and people from other countries can criticize those faults. But one thing that the British and the Americans share is that we do not allow Hitlers. And in that, and in our shared belief that we have this right to our freedoms, we have a great bond.
Q: What are you most proud of when looking at the legacy of, first, The Beatles and, second, your own creative efforts?
A: The great thing about The Beatles was that we stood for good things. We sang about peace and love. We believed in freedom and everybody’s right to it. We didn’t believe in paying attention to rules just because they were rules. We always questioned the rules and frequently, particularly in music, broke them.
But in breaking the rules, there was an optimism about The Beatles, and that came out in a lot of our songs. Our songs didn’t say, “Drag your brother down; rip him off.” Our songs said, “Let it be; all you need is love.” I’m very proud of that, and I like to think that the same messages have been there in my music since The Beatles. I still believe in the values we held dear in The Beatles, because they are good values. We still do need love; we still need peace.
Q: You continue to compose and perform and have even branched out with a symphony. What motivates you musically?
A: There’s so much that I want to do. I’m currently composing a new choral work. I’ve got an idea about possibly doing a charity exhibition of my own photography. I’m hugely proud that I’ve been asked to give an exhibition of my paintings in my hometown of Liverpool this summer. I’m still lucky enough to be writing songs, and, at an age when most people would be thinking about retiring, I’ve been getting out on the road again.
What motivates me musically? Love of music. If I were told that I could never make a record ever again in my life, I’d still take off with my guitar and write songs. I do it for the love of it.
------------------
"Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside"
- Paul McCartney, 1982