Happy Birthday to Paul McCartney, who turns 75 on Sunday (June 18th). To date, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in history, having written or co-written 30 U.S. Number One hits. McCartney met his original songwriting partner John Lennon on July 6th, 1957 at a church social where Lennon was performing. After joining Lennon’s band, the Quarrymen, McCartney persuaded Lennon to add his friend George Harrison in 1958, and the seeds of the Beatles were born. Ringo Starr joined the group in 1962.
Last month, McCartney made a rare big screen appearance as the old pirate “Uncle Jack” in the latest installment of The Pirates Of The Caribbean saga, titled, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
In March, “Macca” released the latest edition to his ongoing Archive Series, with the deluxe reissue of 1989’s Flowers In The Dirt. The highlight of the entire set is McCartney’s 1987 songwriting demos with Elvis Costello, along with the pair’s 1988 basic tracks, which were the basis of what was in the early stages of a joint project, prior to McCartney moving the album in a new direction. The work the two laid down was among the most groundbreaking and creative McCartney had committed to tape in years.
In addition to its wealth of audio and video content, exclusive features of the Deluxe Edition include a 32-page notebook of McCartney’s handwritten lyrics and notes, a catalogue for Linda McCartney‘s 1989 Flowers In The Dirt photo exhibition, a 64-page photobook, custom-created 112-page book telling the complete story of the album through exclusive in-depth interviews with McCartney, Costello and other key contributors. Along with expanded track-by-track information, the DVD included in the project gives a fascinating 20-minute look into the eventually aborted McCartney/Costello sessions.
