2Legs: A Paul McCartney Podcast

We as Macca fans are really in the golden age of books being published that just focus solely on the man's solo career. We waited decades for it but over the last 10 + years we have been spoiled. (Perasi, Kozinn/Sinclair, Blaney, Montgomery, Benitez, Allan) etc. Joining us for E257 is Ian Derbyshire. He is the author of the new book Macca In The Long Noughties: Paul McCartney tracks, life and tours 1998-2009.

Ian tells Andy and Tom what inspired him to focus on this specific period and why we feel it's a welcome addition to the library. It's an interesting period because it of course journeys a life without Linda. The book is not just all music either.

There are personal stories included here, the Heather Mills era covered quite extensively. A very detailed approach on the tours during this era particularly the European gigs.

Among other things, Ian chronicles public appearances Paul made, a very nice chronology to open each year. A quick and enjoyable read about a "recent" era in Macca-World. 

Ian started a thread on the Hoffman Forums polling fans which was the best Macca record during this era. Link is here. Vote! 

Amazon Link for Ian's book (also available in Kindle):  We thank Ian for his work and hope you all enjoy it as well!

Andy & Tom

Finally! The McCartney guys add their 2 cents on a Lennon album. Yes, we've done this occasionally but fear not Paul is mentioned a few times in this episode. Andy and Tom recorded this shortly after the Chicago Fest. We are a bit late to the "Mind Games" hype reviews but we hope you enjoy our take. Andy discusses the Cube, Tom discusses aspects of the Blu-Ray discs and the "Mind Games" associated with the entire set. Now that the dust is settling on this release - how do you feel it stacks up among the previous Lennon releases?

A winner of a set.

Well Done Sean and Company!

Andy and Tom.

Hi All! It's been a minute but we've been busy as ever and it's summer!

But we are back and happy to share with you our very latest episode! Recorded Live at the Chicago Fest this was our panel discussion on "Give My Regards To Broad Street" at 40: A Re-Evaluation."

We had a multimedia presentation with music and video (which we've re-edited into the episode for better listening).

Also joining us for this discussion is Fest Guest and Resident Musician Scott Erickson. The audio is good and we had great Q and A's from the audience!

Good to be back and we hope you enjoy it!

Andy and Tom

Hello All! Hope you're keeping cool as we breeze thru July 2024!

A topic tackled 'Once Upon A Long Ago' in the pre-Andy era but this week we revisit the topic of songs Macca composed specifically for Films throughout his career.

Beginning in 1967 with The Family Way, we examine the songs written, the films for them, and in some cases why the Director scrapped them. (Tsk Tsk!) Some work well; some not as much is our overall take.

What say you? Favourite Macca Film song?

We return with the "Iconic Song Series" for E253! And we were very pleased to have Allan Kozinn (Co-Author The McCartney Legacy join us again for this episode where we opted to tackle 'The Back Seat Of My Car'. Recording sessions, musical structure and lyrical analysis are all a part of this episode! Allan also gives us an update of where Volume 2 of The McCartney Legacy is at.

All three of us reckon this ranks among Paul's finest hour, musically.

What say you? Let us know!

Hello All! We're back with a traditional episode this week. This time diving back into the Interview Archives (as we've done in the past) with Paul (& Linda's) appearance from November 1987 on the UK BBC1 Programme Wogan, hosted by Terry Wogan. We've re-edited in the performances of 'Jet', 'Once Upon A Long Ago' and 'Listen To What The Man Said' as the interview on YouTube had these cut.

Paul had made appearances on Wogan in the past, (1986) and made future appearances in 1989 and 1990. The purpose of this visit was to continue to the heavy promotional blitz he was doing at the time to promote All The Best! which was already certified platinum in the UK by this time. You'll see Terry present him with a gift of it.

We also discuss the recent additions to the GOT BACK tour and overall shows for the fall. Exciting times for Macca fans!

We hope you're all doing well.

Summer is here!

Did you watch this episode live when it premiered?

Let us know!

Peace

Andy & Tom

Our first (and last due to tech issues!) ever true live "real" episode! As we break down OHC track by track with former Leg David Gargalino! Originally Broadcast on our YouTube Channel on 20th June 2024.

Peace

Andy and Tom

We went live on our YouTube outlet to celebrate our 250th episode!  Cameos from Joe Mayo, Kit O'Toole, Beatley Tone and others!  Here's to 500!  

Andy & Tom

We are very happy to have one of the distinguished authors/researchers/film editor Adrian Sinclair back on 2Legs this week. Adrian is the co-author of the celebrated The McCartney Legacy Volume 1 1969-73, along with Allan Kozinn.

Adrian joins Andy and Tom as he gives an overview of this period in Wings history. Starting with the seeds of the era in during the infamous trip to Nashville in the Summer of 1974, then Geoff Britton and Jimmy McCulloch joining before heading back to London and Abbey Road where One Hand Clapping was planned to be filmed and released.

The film was directed by David Litchfield but has remained on the shelf but snippets have been officially released most recently on the Archive Edition of Band On The Run (Nov. 2010). Adrian tells us about meeting David Litchfield and we are also happy to include a short soundbite of an interview he conducted with Litchfield during 2018.

All this on the heels of One Hand Clapping the soundtrack album which is due out next week on the 14th June. We hope this episode gears you up even more for the release. Volume 2 of the McCartney Legacy is expected to be released on 10th December 2024.

We thank Adrian for his time and hope you enjoy it!

Andy and Tom

We are very happy and proud to have had Luca Perasi back on Episode 248 of 2Legs! Luca is the author of several books:  (Paul McCartney Recording Sessions 1969-2013, Paul McCartney Music Is Ideas, Volume 1 1970-1989, Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm Has My Soul. The Stories Behind The Songs) and newly published Band On The Run: The Story of A Classic Album to coincide with the album's 50th(ish) Anniversary. (As the album finally shot to #1 in the US in the Summer of 1974).

Luca explains why a singular text on Band on The Run is needed, (and more McCartney albums, as you will hear/see. Contexualising the period from whence it came, we discuss the Lagos trip, conditions, the crucial role Assistant Engineer Pete Sweetenham (Geoff Emerick's assistant) plays in the development of some areas of research.

Contemporary reviews, polyphonic art forms, we cover it all here and more. Thanks Luca.

We can't wait to see what else is coming down the road from you!  Luca was also consulted by MPL for research on the 2022 release The 7" Singles Box.  

Luca's New Book on Band On The Run. 

Peace, Andy & Tom 

We've got some friends joining us this week! In June 2007 Andy, Tom & James Liverani and Joe Mantineo all were lucky enough to attend the "Secret Gig" Promotional Show for Memory Almost Full at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. Tom, James, and Joe along with Andy recount their Memories (not almost full) about this epic concert, celebrities who attended, and the whole experience which is now 17 years ago which is absurd. Thank you Tom, James and Joe for sharing your stories and experiences. Anyone else out there fortunate enough to be at this show with us?

Let us know!

Peace Andy and Tom

James' link playing with Paul:

We dive back into the Beatles for this episode because hello how could we ignore the first commercial world wide home video release of Let It Be. Yes we all had the boots, the laserdiscs, the VHS copies from the rental stores we copied as kids, but now we have it fully restored FINALLY. In superior video and audio quality. Streaming now on Disney + Michael Lindsay Hogg's original film has seen the light of day with the technical assistance of Peter Jackson and his team in New Zealand we can now "Let It Be".

Your Thoughts?

Andy & Tom

It's been a hectic April! New Ringo EP, One Hand Clapping announced this past week, RSD and now finally a "new" Beatles related text has been published. All You Need Is Love: The Beatles In Their Own Words is a new book of interview transcripts conducted by long time Beatles associate Peter Brown and his co-author Steven Gaines.

These interviews were conducted between 1979 and 1981 with all then surviving members of the Beatles and their entourage which formed the basis for their 1983 controversial "tell all" book The Love You Make: An Insider's Story on The Beatles. One of the more significant interviews is the one that Paul gave for the book. Which we think took place sometime in 1980 (There are no dates given for the interviews but it was certainly before December 1980 as he refers to John in the present.

Much of the interview questions centered around the breakup and his relationships with Brian, John, Yoko and Linda.

Have you picked it up yet? Thoughts?

Let us know!

Peace Andy & Tom

This past week the much bootlegged album/sessions of One Hand Clapping leaked suggesting a 14th June release.  We discuss.  From our YouTube channel.  

We are big time proud and happy to share that Ms. Caitlin Larkin joined us for Episode 244 this week on 2Legs! Caitlin is a DJ on The Beatles Channel on SiriusXM (Channel 18) and can be heard Monday to Friday from 12PM to 1PM EST.

Caitlin has been a panelist with Andy at Fests in Chicago and New York the last few years and she shares her Beatles upbringing, her experience in radio, landing the gig at Sirius and what it was like when 'Now and Then' dropped at the station.

She also provided her "Top 12" Paul Solo Songs because she couldn't name just 10! @CaitlinLarkin on All Socials

Calling all Bootleg Fans! It's like Christmas in April!

Recent boots have surfaced (don't ask us where to find them!), stemming from the Geoff Emerick Estate sale which includes many Rough Mixes of BOTR material as well as later Wings material.

These are on the Misterclaudel and HMC labels. We have only heard the Misterclaudel as of this recording.

We would also like to give a special shout out to Hoffman/Beatles forum member "mikecarrea" who always has the inside scoop on this stuff and has painstakingly broken down the differences between the two.  His analysis can be found here. 

We discuss the potential use of AI on some of these tracks. In favour of it or not?

Have you heard any of these yet?

Peace,

Andy & Tom

(PS - We do not condone the purchasing of bootlegs whatsoever). 

We are very proud to announce the start of a recurring monthly series (which will be a regular episode) titled Iconic Song Series.  We will pick one Classic McCartney solo track and once a month we will be joined by Allan Kozinn and (eventually) Adrian Sinclair.  Co-Authors of the celebrated The McCartney Legacy. By now all followers of our show and McCartney fans in general know that Volume 2 of their book has been announced and scheduled for a 10 December release with pre-orders available now on Amazon.  

We were beyond happy that Allan and Adrian were willing to join us for a recurring show on 2Legs.  And this topic lends itself well.  For the first installment we chose 1970's 'Maybe I'm Amazed' from Paul's first solo album McCartney.

We discuss historical significance, where Paul was at the time (personally and professionally), lyrical meaning, track by track (analysis). (As in number of tracks used to make the record.). It's well known that Paul recorded much of McCartney at home over on Cavendish Avenue.  But for what is essentially one of if not his best known solo song Paul recorded this at E.M.I.  

These and all the other tiny details we all love to learn about are included in this episode!

We thank Allan and Adrian for joining us for this series and we look forward to doing more!

Suggestions?  Let us know or email us!

All The Best! 

Andy and Tom

Hello 2Legs Faithful!

This week we chose to analyse (in real time) another vintage Paul interview. As we have done in the past, (1986's Paul McCartney Special) etc. This time around we opted to view the rare 1980 Interview conducted by Tim Rice of all people which was recorded in May 1980 and later released that August. This was a promotional piece to promote McCartney II which had just been released.

We like to focus on interviews pre-1989/90 when Paul's interviews became more formulaic with his answers. And certainly any interview pre-December 1980 are valuable. We find that to be the case with this one. And would a video interview about a new solo album in 1980 have happened without the events that happened in January of that year? We discuss all this and more.

How do you feel about Paul's interviews over the years?

Let us know in the comments!

See ya next time 

Andy & Tom

Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone Magazine recently wrote a 15,000 word excellent article on his choices for the Top 100 Solo Beatles Songs of All Time. Surprise Surprise - Paul wins with 33 entries, John 30, George 24, Ringo 13.

What Macca Tracks made the cut? We discuss. And some of the other tracks by the others.

Article

Do you largely agree/disagree?

Andy & Tom

D.I.L.Y.

Hi all! For Episode 239 Andy and Tom invited Daryl Easlea who edited and assembled the special edition of Record Collector Magazine first published in the UK in December and arriving Stateside in January. Daryl is a lifelong collector on all things Beatles, Solo and McCartney and has been in the industry for the past 25 years.

He assembled a great team of writers for this issue. There is a submission for every studio album, sections on live, classical, and Firemen albums. Retrospective essays, and one of the most thorough (UK) discographies we've ever seen.

If you didn't snap this up, get it here! or 'Do It Now' as the man sings!

Daryl's X: @lordwakering @rrpgeditor @RecCollMag