Paul McCartney

by Alan Clayson

A biography of former Beatle, Paul McCartney. Part of Alan Clayson's "Beatle Box"

Genres: Music, Audiobook, History, Biography

303 pages, book

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Alan Clayson (Dover, England, 1951) is of a late 1970s vintage of composer-entertainers that also embraces the likes of Wreckless Eric, Tom Robinson, Elvis Costello and John Otway. While he is still making regular concert appearances, he has become better known as an author of around thirty books - mostly musical biography. These include the best-sellers "Backbeat" (subject of a major film), The Yardbirds and The Beatles book box.

He has written for journals as diverse as The Guardian, Record Collector, Ink, Mojo, Mediaeval World, Folk Roots, Guitar, Hello!, Drummer, The Times, The Independent, Ugly Things and, as a 'teenager, the notorious Schoolkids 0z. He has also been engaged to perform and lecture on both sides of the Atlantic - as well as broadcast on national TV and radio.

From 1975 to 1985, he led the legendary Clayson and the Argonauts - who reformed in 2005, ostensibly to launch Sunset On A Legend, a long-awaited double-CD retrospective - and was thrust to 'a premier position on rock's Lunatic Fringe' (Melody Maker).

As shown by the existence of a US fan club - dating from an 1992 soiree in Chicago - Alan Clayson's following grows still as well as demand for his talents as a record producer, and the number of versions of his compositions by such diverse acts as Dave Berry (in whose backing group, he played keyboards in the mid-1980s), New Age Outfit, Stairway - and Joy Tobing, winner of the Indonesian version of Pop Idol. He has worked too with The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Wreckless Eric, Twinkle, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Mark Astronaut and the late Screaming Lord Sutch among many others. While his stage act defies succinct description, he has been labelled a 'chansonnier' in recent years for performances and record releases that may stand collectively as Alan Clayson's artistic apotheosis were it not for a promise of surprises yet to come.

Reviews

[Chad Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the worst book I've read in a while. Alan Clayson is a horrendously terrible author who often has no idea what he is talking about and often skips over major important aspects of Paul's life in order to analyze other bands and people that often played minor roles in their lives to a further extent. He also has no sense of place and often jumps from 1998 back to 1974 to 1999 and then back to his dad's jazz days. Terrible book that left me more confused than knowledgeable and given the way it's written I'm not sure I should I trust anything I might've not already known from the famed musician's life.

[Ben Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dude really hates the Beatles

[Clif · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst series of Beatle books ever. Author uses "thick as a paving slab" in all four books to describe the Beatles anthology. Lazy.