Conversations with McCartney

by Paul Du Noyer

In June 1989, Paul Du Noyer was contacted by Paul McCartney's office in London and asked to interview the star as they had met once before and enjoyed a good rapport.

In the years that followed, Paul Du Noyer continued to meet, interview and work for Paul McCartney on a regular basis, producing magazine articles, tour programmes, album liner notes, press materials and website editorial. It's likely that Du Noyer has spent more hours in formal, recorded conversation with McCartney than any other writer.

"Conversations with McCartney" is the culmination of Du Noyer's long association with McCartney and his music. It draws from their interview sessions across 35 years, coupling McCartney's own, candid thoughts with his observations and analysis.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Pop Culture, Memoir, History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[Kathy Bringardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this book a five star because I think it is one of the best biographies I have read. Of course it helps that the subject matter is Paul McCartney, but this book is full of direct quotes, frank conversations, and fun little tidbits of Beatles trivia. Considering the fact that the Beatles broke up nearly 50 years ago, and Paul is still writing songs, performing to sell out crowds, and touring, is testament to his talent and enduring creativity. The author explores Paul's early days, his friendship with John, his marriage to Linda, the death of John and George, Paul's solo years, his years with Wings, his creative song writing, his personality flaws, and his thoughts on other artists. This book is a fun romp down memory lane, and an up to date look at Paul who turns 75 June 18th of this year. Paul endorsed this book, which certainly lends to its authenticity. For any Beatle fans out there, or those who fell in love with Paul, the "cute one", this book will enchant you.

[Lisastrawberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Contains lots of detail that even the geekiest fan might not know. Macca seems more relaxed in these interviews, perhaps mainly since he's talking to another Scouser. Highly recommended.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book about McCartney I've read in years. I really enjoyed the format. Paul McCartney does a lot of the talking. (This book was created using interviews the author had done with Paul over the last 35 years or so). Du Noyer adds his assessment and background info where needed.

VERY GOOD BOOK!!!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took a while to get through this because it's packed with so many references that stopping to Youtube a song or interview led to an hour spent immersed in archives and music videos... you get the picture.

This book is excellently written. The writer is very talented. He collates the interviews into topics and adds a lot of great prose that frames Paul's words and colors in the background with interesting facts.

Definitely worthwhile reading for any fan.

Now excuse me as I must do some more Youtubing on McCartney's prolific ouevre and endlessly fascinating life.

[Paul Heneghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was awaitng the release of Peter Jackson's "Get Back," I scoured the public library for anything Beatle-related that I hadn't already read.

Admittedly, I had given up on Paul McCartney ages ago, back around Venus & Mars. Having read this book, I realize now I have so much catching up to do.

Paul Du Noyer had been interviewing Macca over a period of about thirty years, so the result is a wonderful treasure chest of stories about Liverpool, early Beatles, Wings, Linda and so much more. Lots of accepted "wisdoms" about Paul and his music, his intentions and his pop music slant get blown up, and it's a refreshing read through and through.

[Rik Schnabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the Beatles or of course Paul McCartney, you'll love this book. It reads like you are actually hearing his voice and I used to think that you either liked Paul or John. Now I like both.

[Floris Rietveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geeft een mooi inkijkje in het leven van Paul McCartney. Aanrader voor fans van The Beatles!

[Cashmere · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the Beatles are certainly great and I've always enjoyed McCartney's music in particular (well beyond his best known band), he has never been my absolute favorite artist of all time. Great, yes, a favorite, yes, but never the very tip top of my list.

That said, despite the plethora of information about the Beatles and Paul in particular, interviews with him (be they on TV, in documentaries, in podcasts, or in print) are always consistently interesting and I can't really explain why. Perhaps because he is just so personable and also that after all this time, there are still new things to learn about the man, his history, and his music.

Anyway, I picked up this book planning on skimming through it, and ended up reading it cover to cover. Does it contain stories that I've heard before? Yes. Does it contain new stories that I've never heard? Also yes. The fact is, a McCartney interview of any kind is always going to be interesting and worthy of my time. (It takes some restraint to avoid typing "Paul McCartney Interview" into YouTube for fear of getting lost down a bottomless rabbit hole!)

This collection of interviews is well organized by author Paul Du Noyer who provides further depth and insight. It's a great read and I enjoyed it immensely.

[Ilan Preskovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the book would have been better had Du Noyer just reprinted his many interviews with Paul McCartney over the years instead of this somewhat strange mix of biography and critical assessment. As it is, the book is divided first into a fairly straightforward chronology of McCartney's life from his early days to fairly recently and something like themed essays where he takes various looks at McCartney's life and work from different angles. The chronology section is a rather rushed and shallow look at the career of one of the greatest and most successful pop musicians ever, spanning well over fifty decades but the themed essays are much more successful as they tackle specific aspects of the man and his work. Even at its least successful, though, it's a very worthwhile read as it is mostly told through McCartney's own words and offers up some intriguing insights on the man that's of interest even to a lifelong fan like me. Nicely written, breezy and highly enjoyable all around, it may be something of a missed opportunity but it's a very likeable one nonetheless.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read, by a writer who's spent a lot of time with the legendary musician. Much of it is block quotes direct from McCartney's words. Lots of insights to be gained about the Beatles, Wings, solo career, his relationship with John, with Linda, with his bandmates, and many other interesting topics from the late 50's to about 2015.

Quick read with lots of natural pause-points, which made it easy to find a place to stop reading at bedtime or when I had to put it down. I have another bio called FAB and will be starting that one soon.

[Warren Gossett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable running biography of Paul McCartney, now 73, by a UK music journalist who has interviewed him over several decades. It gives insight into who he is still producing music 50 years after he was a Beatle. The world is full of new and bright sounds and ways to think about them.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be as close to an autobiography by Paul McCartney as we Beatles fans will ever get. His friend Paul Du Noyer tells the story of Paul's life and Paul comments frankly on all of it. He comes across as a real human being rather than a living rock music legend.

[Charlie Miksicek · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. Goes beyond the Beatles and Wings periods and talks about all the other types of music Paul has composed (classical, Fireman). I still have a hard time believing he doesn't read music.

[Andrew Foxley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since 1989, music journalist Paul Du Noyer has interviewed Paul McCartney on numerous occasions, and it's these conversations that form the backbone of this volume, interspersed with the author's own commentary on McCartney's career and music. I liked it a great deal. The two men have enough of a rapport for Du Noyer to get some interesting material out of him, and he's clearly fond of and fair to his subject matter, but never fawning. McCartney himself makes much of his poor recall of specific details - not so important when most aspects of your life have been meticulously researched and catalogued by others - so there's an emphasis on personal perspectives on various aspects of his life, sometimes quite candid ones too. That, to me, is more interesting than the detail - how it [I]felt[/I] to be part of the Beatles, and have the remarkable career he's had.

By its nature, it's not an authoritative volume, but I found it a fascinating one. It contained plenty of material that was new to me, particularly around his post-Beatles career, which I'm not sure always gets the attention it deserves.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I didn't hate this book, but I wasn't in love with it either. I like books put together from interviews (such as books written on the John Lennon interviews from Rolling Stone and Playboy) but this one is different. I would have preferred if it was just formatted as a transcript for all of the author's various interviews over the years. The way it is, we jump from interview to interview, decade to decade, topic to topic. I understand what the author was trying to do by writing it the way he did, but it just isn't favorable to me. Also, this book is very much a mixed bag. There are certain chapters that are really interesting, but there were plenty of chapters that were so boring I couldn't be bothered to actually finish them. Overall this wasn't a really spectacular book, but I would recommend it for people looking to know Paul's opinions and hear his input on a lot of different things.

[Lady Galaxy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it really took me nine months to slog my way through this book. I always considered myself a fan of Paul McCartney because he was my favorite Beatle when I was a teen. (Later supplanted by John when I grew up.) I finally realized my biggest problem with the book, other than the author's strange decision not so use quotation marks to show when the narration stopped and Paul started talking, was that I was only a fan when he was a Beatle. I never bought any of his post Beatle albums or singles. I heard and liked a few of the ones I heard play on radio, but I wasn't familiar with most of his later works. Since most of the book was discussion of those later works, it was as if I were reading about somebody I didn't know. I did finally finish. There were no great insights. I'm sure it would be a more meaningful book for those who followed his career.

[Michael Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writer

I really enjoyed this book. The author had a pleasant way of writing. Not over the top and it kept my interest.
I must admit, though, I was not familiar with a?it of Paul's music after the Beatles. I did buy his Band on the Run album and thought it was very good. I don't think he was as good as Harrison's All Things Must Pass or Lennon's Double Fantasy. I'm not saying be wasn't talented. He is but I preferred the others.
The book had slot of information about McCartney that I didn't know. One part, though, I was confused. He said he wrote Yellow Submarine for Ringo. I'm assuming he meant the movie.
This book is definitely worth getting but I am sorry...I don't think Linda ever had a good voice.

[John Fielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a life-long fan of Paul, I was looking for a fairly recent book that would fill in any missing pieces in my memory and maybe some new insights into events and thoughts. Boy, did I find it in this excellent book. At first, my linear-thinking mind was thrown off by the non-sequential approach taken by Mr. Du Noyer. However, as I progressed, I came to realize that a "by subject presentation" is so much better. Du Noyer's writing is direct without any fluff. He never brags about his extensive access to Paul and Linda ... a common flaw of other biographers. He does fall into hero worship a few times but I fond them easy to overlook, especially since I share the same reverence. A must read for all Macca fans!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Paul’s direct words and conversations. I enjoyed the frankness of it all. Especially when he gets crass at times, but even then, because it’s Paul, I don’t even think of it as crude. He seemed very at ease which was nice. I was hoping the chapter on Linda would be a bit longer, but I really loved the inclusion of the author’s interview with her and his personal experience interacting with her.

I didn’t know what to expect on how this book would be set up or how it would flow, but the author did a nice job of weaving everything together and also including some of his own thoughts on things. Great read!

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it might be nice to hang with my buddy Macca for a bit, see what he had to say about life and music and getting older and all that. Du Noyer, the founder of Mojo, really seems to believe he has a good handle on who Paul really truly is, but I’m not sure McCartney really values their relationship all that much given how superficial most of these “conversations” are. It’s a poorly written puff piece of a book, and it’s especially bad when Du Noyer tosses in his editorializing bits and “funny jokes.” Anyway it was free, and quick, and a relatively benign read for a stressful week, and I will probably never think about it again.

[Rupert Grech · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to read a biography with so much of the subject’s own words. The quotes and conversations gave me a feeling of understanding towards what I imagine to be Paul McCartney’s personality. Not being a fan of his post-Beatles work, I found the detailed discussions of his later albums and songs tedious but I can’t fault the book for my lack of knowledge and some of the insights were interesting albeit at times a touch sycophantic. The author is obviously a huge fan and perhaps the book lacks a more objective approach but it is nice to read a positive biography.

[Jesús · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun read. Like with the other Macca biographies I’ve read, there is always a balance of details I already know and stuff that’s new to me. I expected this book to contain more things I knew than things I didn’t know but it actually had more that I didn’t know.
Most Paul McCartney biographies focus too much on the Beatles years and basically saying at the end “yeah, he did something else after that, didn’t he?”. Conversations with McCartney has a lot of information about the Wings/solo years, probably because that’s when the author started interviewing him.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Conversations with McCartney is based on interviews that Paul McCartney had with Paul Du Noyer over the decades of Paul's career. the book goes between the interviews and some biographies about Paul McCartney. it covers his years in the 60s when he was in the Beatles, his years in the band Wings. other times he recorded albums. the book writes of the Beatles,break up of the band his relationships with his fellow musicians. his wife Linda. and his songs of course sometimes how he wrote some songs etc. a pretty interesting book.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchase Conversations with McCartney here for just $10!

Absolutely brilliant! This is a really interesting book whether you are a McCartney fan or just a music lover in general. Fantastically written, informative and in parts heart warming & funny.

Alicia - The Book Grocer

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a interesting take on the authorised biography basically taking themes from interviews with McCartney held by the interviewer and breaking the book into such sections.
As such we see McCartneys views on the Beatles,Wings,home life..influences..etc etc.
You have to have an interest in the man really to enjoy the book..luckily I do..anyhow as far as McCartney biogs go this is a decent collection of reflections.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given the author tried to use all his McCartney quotes to create book around, I’ll use a quote from page 299: “There’s a couple redeeming features about it, but it’s just not very good.”

It’s too bad because I was rewarded for sticking with it as Chapter 29 is phenomenal, but it also reinforces how good this book could have been.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. The chapter sequencing is perfect. Gets the Beatles years out of the way up front (page-turner!) and defers/saves other topics along the way for whole chapters themselves. The way the conversations and commentary are woven together are very effective and engaging. Loved it.

[Chris Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a well-written book for sure. But for me personally a little too detailed. That said, it was great to hear from Paul directly. And there were lots of interesting things he said on everything from touring to looking in the crowd at concerts to how he approaches each show to he and John, Linda's experiences, and so much more that I hadn't heard before. So I enjoyed it.

[Chris Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique format for a book covering many years of McCartney interviews. First half is chronological while the second half focuses on specific topics, songwriting, Linda, John Lennon, etc. Nicely done job of organizing many different thoughts and topics over a period of several years.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

He’s iconic and he’s everything! I loved this collection of multiple interviews by Paul Du Noyer over a few decades. One of my biggest inspirations and favorite musicians. His resiliency is admirable.