Paul McCartney is a man who incites very different reactions in people. You either love him or you hate him. Or like me, you respect him for being a former Beatle but don’t like his output since then or particularly like him as a man. So I wonder what his son James is like?

We’ll soon get to find out as James McCartney is about to embark on his first full tour as a singer songwriter. He played a number of secret gigs late last year under the guise of Light. But he’s now truly revealing himself.

There’s a stereotype that all Scots are brash, vocal misanthropes who will call a spade a spade even if it’s a trowel. And Alan McGee is unfortunately doing nothing to change that stereotype.

OK, so I’m quite opinionated, something which has cost me many friends over the years, and on Brit Music Scene I’ve even criticized some artists for their musical output or life choices. U2, mainly, but still, I have nothing on Mr. McGee.

Paul McCartney has been around a while and been in the music business longer than most. So I guess his opinion means something. It certainly means more than than those of Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole.

Unless you’ve been living in a box in the middle of nowhere for the last couple of weeks you’ll know that the most exciting chart battle for years is currently happening in the U.K. It’s between Joe McElderry, winner of The X Factor 2009, and Rage Against The Machine, geniuses.
To catch up on the story, read these posts here, here, here, and here, and then …read more

I haven’t liked much of Paul McCartney’s output since The Beatles split. In fact, I don’t particularly like the man. However, the fact that he was in The Beatles means I have a reverence towards him that is bordering on religious. Because The Beatles were, in fact, bigger than Jesus.

McCartney has recently given a couple of interviews with some interesting revelations in. And that’s the thing – love him or hate him, McCartney is a man who was in the biggest pop group ever, is one of the richest entertainers in the world, and is famous absolutely everywhere. Which means …read more

With The X Factor contestants now down to six (soon to be five) thoughts are turning to the final, which is due to take place on Sunday, December 13. And there are rumors that Simon Cowell and co. could have landed a big fish in their net for the last show of the season.

According to The Mirror, Paul McCartney is being lined up to perform during The X Factor final. If it happens then the theme of the show would unsurprisingly be The Beatles. And one lucky finalist would get to sing alongside Paul McCartney.

The Children In Need 2009 charity concert took place last night at the Royal Albert Hall in central London. The stage was set for Take That and Robbie Williams to reunite and perform together, and there was speculation that this was exactly what would happen. And it kind of did, but not really.

There have been rumors of a Take That/Robbie Williams reunion taking place for months now, and the Children In Need concert seemed to be the perfect opportunity. In the end, Robbie and Take That shared the stage twice but didn’t actually reunite.

The Beatles are, for more, the best pop group ever to have lived. I love their early stuff, their late stuff, and even those Ringo Starr songs that appear on every album. In short, I don’t think they’ll ever be beaten in terms of a back catalog of songs and albums that remain timeless.

However, Paul McCartney doesn’t actually think The Beatles were any good. At least when they started out. He’s clearly referring to the very early days, even before they departed for Hamburg where he thinks they truly learned their craft.

The Beatles officially split up in 1970 after recording the Let It Be album. Paul McCartney was the first to go but it’s thought all four members knew the band’s time was coming to an end anyway. They left a legacy and back catalog of music that is still felt and heard to this day. Especially with the release of remastered albums and The Beatles: Rock Band video game.

However, it appears it could have all been so different, as Paul McCartney has revealed to Entertainment Tonight that the band seriously discussed a reunion. In the decade after The Beatles split …read more

Getting marooned on a desert island is something that’s unlikely to happen to the vast majority of us. Unless of course we habitually take dodgy plane rides to the back of beyond or are characters in Pirates of The Caribbean. But assuming it were to happen, who would you want to be stuck with and what track would you be keen to listen to for the rest of your sorry existence?

Those are the questions PRS for Music asked 1,000 people in the U.K. recently.
The results for who to be stuck with are interesting because they show not necessarily who …read more

This past weekend saw the 40th anniversary of the day the classic cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album was shot. The occasion was commemorated by hundreds of fans who converged on the zebra crossing in order to recreate the famous pose and pay their respects to the greatest band the world has ever seen.

Rather unsurprisingly, the zebra crossing is located next to the Abbey Road studios in north London where The Beatles recorded the LP which would end up being their penultimate album. It’s a very ordinary street in a very ordinary part of London, but its place in …read more