 New  |
 Wings Over America (2013 Remaster) |
|
|
Late last night "a note from Paul" appeared on Heather Mills McCartney's official web site:
Over the years people have written so much stuff about me. Some of it is good and some true, but much of it is inaccurate and leads some people to form a distorted view of me and those I love.Normally I ignore it, telling myself that I can’t answer every single point and that most people know better than to believe it, and prefer to make up their own minds based on what they know to be true. Sometimes, however, these inaccurate articles affect my family and friends, and it is then that I’m tempted to put the record straight.
One person in particular, that some of the media can be wildly wrong about is my wife Heather, and it hurts me to see her wounded by these scurrilous reports, and not have anyone to put the record straight. Because of this I thought that it would be a good idea to tell the people who care about us, and believe in what we do, the truth about some of these ridiculous stories, which are made up by people we have never ever met.
Recently articles have appeared which need correcting, so here are my thoughts on a few of the points mentioned in them.
Heather makes me dye my hair……… not true. It is true that I colour my hair. Wow, Shock Horror! I’ve actually been doing this for many years now with varying degrees of success, but it’s my hair, and if you don’t like the result I’m afraid it’s just too bad, but it’s certainly nothing Heather suggested. I was engaged in this devilish practice years before I met her. I remember a strange blue dye dripping down my forehead on an Australian tour over ten years ago, but let’s face it, if I want to dye my hair pink, that’s up to me and no one else. The suggestion that it was Heather’s doing simply isn’t true.
The split between my former publicist Geoff Baker and me has also been attributed to Heather. The actual truth, which I had been trying to spare him the embarrasment of going public with, was that he had gradually been getting more and more unstable over the past few years. The last straw came when a group of friends and I went late one night to see the magician David Blaine doing a stunt by the side of the River Thames. I was keeping out of sight of a small crowd of photographers when to my horror I saw Geoff pointing me out to the paparazzi who then ran towards me in a feeding frenzy. None of us could understand why he had done this, but it was just another example of his crazy behaviour. After that I tried to let him down gently but it was my decision alone to let him go as I didn’t want that kind of instability around me. It was nothing whatsoever to do with Heather.
The awkward subject of the Lennon McCartney credits on our songs was also put down to Heather’s influence over me but this actually originated at the time of the Beatles Anthology in 1997 when I, foolishly perhaps, asked for my name to come in front of John’s on the one song, Yesterday. The request was turned down and even though I didn’t see why at the time, it’s something that I don’t have a problem with anymore. But it was plainly before Heather’s time and she therefore couldn’t have had anything to do with it.
The media sometimes suggests a rift between my kids and Heather, but in fact we get on great and anyone who knows our family can see this for themselves.
Heather and I recently decided to appear on the quiz show Celebrity Millionaire. It was something we had fun doing and incidentally we raised a substantial amount of money for our landmine charity Adopt-a-Minefield. It’s an insult to my intelligence to imagine me being coerced into something like that. In fact, were both fans of the programme and we had a good laugh taking part in it.
Heather is also, according to some of these mischevious writers, supposed to encourage me to ‘go to the opening of an envelope’. Really ? Compared to many people we hardly go to anything unless it’s connected with our charity work. Again, anything we do attend is a joint decision.
Some of the stuff that is written is plain malevolence but some of it is so ridiculous that I have to admit it’s funny. One rumour is that Heather has made me have plastic surgery. Now the truth, honest guvner, is that I haven’t had any done, but in flicking through a magazine recently I came across someone who appeared to know better! An LA plastic surgeon had a book out in which he claims I’ve had some work done! OK, now I know it’s not true, but this guy knows better. How ? The proof, he reckons, is that…..wait for it……my ear lobes are too low!…..and, says he, you know how you can tell people have had plastic surgery?……They deny it!!! At first I felt like entering into a long debate with him about it, but it’s so hilarious that I decided not to bother.
Although some of these articles can be funny, there are others that are plain malicious and you need to be strong not to be hurt by some of the cruel suggestions that flow from these people’s pens.
One of the most shocking recent statements was that “losing her leg was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to Heather as it fed her desire for self publicity” Imagine losing a leg, and dealing with it as bravely as Heather has done and having to read that on top of it!
She was reported to always be clinging to me, the inference being that she was too possessive. Never mind the fact that I love her holding my arm, the real truth is that often the surface of a floor or pavement can be dangerous for an amputee to walk on, and a little help from a friend can sometimes be appreciated. These scurrilous writers can’t be bothered to search for the truth of situations like these.
There are so many other misapprehensions that are spread by certain sections of the media that it is impossible to answer them all. I only hope that these words of mine help genuine people to get a clearer view of the realities of our lives, and encourage them to think for themselves, and not give credence to words by people who simply don’t care about the truth.
Thanks for listening.
All the Best,
Paul McCartney
(kindly submitted by PLUGGED correspondent Joan M. Hopkins)
| back |
©1994-2024 Harald Gernhardt. All Rights Reserved
