Sir Paul's Big Plans

McCartney to release solo disc, launch tour in September



Three years ago, when Sir Paul McCartney last went on the road, he earned $103.3 million -- topping Pollstar's list of the year's biggest tours. Only Bruce Springsteen, with his $116 million-grossing Rising tour in 2003, has beaten the ex-Beatle since. But times have changed: The concert business fell into a malaise last summer, and even Madonna and Prince couldn't bail it out.
Can McCartney's fall arena tour of the U.S., which begins on September 16th, help reverse the trend? Some wonder if too many expensive superstar tours -- McCartney charges up to $250 per ticket, the Rolling Stones are expected to be comparable and U2 are close -- could spread fans' entertainment budgets too thin. "There's only so much money," says Dennis Arfa, agent for Metallica and others. "Those who get on sale later, they're going to be hurt by the money that's not available."

But Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, which is promoting half the dates on McCartney's Lexus-sponsored tour, says that sixteen of the first seventeen dates sold out quickly. "You couldn't have a hotter ticket," he says.

McCartney plans to release an album to coincide with the tour. He reportedly intended to bring a band into the studio, but instead, his new producer, longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, suggested he make it alone. So McCartney played most of the instruments, including fluegelhorn and drums, which he played sporadically in the Seventies while fronting Wings.

Nonetheless, since McCartney's February Super Bowl appearance, when he performed "Drive My Car," "Get Back," "Hey Jude" and "Live and Let Die," he's planning to continue playing more Beatles classics. "The interesting thing, now that I've decided it's OK to do Beatles songs, is looking at stuff that I've never done live," he says. "I don't just do a kind of very self-satisfied set for myself. I try and do stuff people are going to want to see."



STEVE KNOPPER
(Posted May 09, 2005)

not that it necessarily matters, but how the hell old is sir paul these days?

i'm kinda interested to see how an album w/ nigel godrich will turn out for him.

Sdldawn said:

That's good, because it's not the same when anyone else sings the Beatles songs that Paul sang lead on.

Sdldawn said:

Is this quote from 1975? He's been doing Beatles songs at his shows my whole life.
Maybe he'll do Wild Honey Pie.
[Edited 5/10/05 14:20pm]

New album!