biography
| name: |
McCartney, Sir (James) Paul
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pronunciation:
[muhkah(r)tnee]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1942– )
|
| biography:
| Musician, songwriter, and composer, born in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK. The Beatles' bass guitarist, vocalist, and member of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting team, he made his debut as a soloist with the album McCartney (1970), heralding the break-up of the group. In 1971 he formed the band Wings (disbanded in 1981) with his wife Linda (1942–98). ‘Mull of Kintyre’ (1977) became the biggest-selling UK single (2·5 million). In 1979 he was declared the most successful composer of all time: by 1978 he had written or co-written 43 songs that sold over a million copies each. Later albums included Band on the Run (1973), Wings Over America (1977), Give My Regards To Broad Street (1984), Tripping the Live Fantastic (1990), and Flaming Pie (1997), and his music attracted numerous Grammy awards. ‘Ebony and Ivory’, recorded with Stevie Wonder, was an international hit of the year in 1982. He has performed at concerts all over the world, gaining a place in the Guinness Book of Records for playing before the largest-paid attendance (1990, Rio de Janeiro). He wrote and produced the film/video featuring ‘We All Stand Together’ (1984), which has become a perennial Christmas favourite. His Liverpool Oratorio (written in association with Carl Davis) was performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at Liverpool Cathedral in 1991, and he has since continued to develop his interests as a classical composer, notably in Standing Stones (1997). He collaborated with Harrison and Starr in the retrospective Beatles' anthology in 1995. He wrote the books All You Need Is Love (1968) and Paul McCartney In His Own Words (1976), and wrote, produced, and composed the music for a successful animated film, Rupert and the Frog Song (1984, BAFTA). An exhibition of his paintings opened in Liverpool in 2002. He was knighted in 1997. He married Heather Mills (1968– ) in June 2002. |
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