Paul mccartney philip norman
Paul McCartney: The Life
May 17, 2016
Having been a fan of the Beatles, and Paul McCartney in particular, for most of my life, I was more than a little surprised when I first heard that Philip Norman had embarked on a biography of McCartney. The author of, “Shout!” and “John Lennon: The Life,” had always seemed to put Lennon at the centre of the Beatles story and was, I felt, unsympathetic to McCartney. Indeed, from the first page of this book, it seems that Norman himself was pretty astounded when Paul McCartney, if not making this an authorised biography, gave him tacit approval to speak to friends and family.
What emerges, considering the access he had, is something of a disappointment. Admittedly (and thankfully) McCartney has had a long career and it is difficult to cover everything, even in a book this long. Once I had read about Norman’s initial meeting with the Beatles as a young man, his jealousy of McCartney and his own feelings about writing this book, he embarked on the story proper. One of my first thoughts during the early period of Paul’s life was that I had certainly read everything before – most of the childhood/early Beatles years seemed to be culled directly from Mark Lewisohn’s magnificent, “Tune In,” (I hope Lewisohn is being paid something for HIS extensive research, as I found the same thing in the recent biography of Ringo Starr too, “Ringo: With a Little Help”). It seemed Norman also took much from the brilliant Barry Miles biography of Paul’s Beatle period, “Many Years From Now,” although that was an authorised biography and a much more entertaining read, and also from Michael McCartney’s, “Thank U Very Much” which I would love to see re-issued, as it is such a good book.
At times, Norman’s story jumps about and is contradictory in nature. For example, he will say that George Martin wanted the Beatles to record Lennon/McCartney songs and helped push their song-writing (although it was Brian Epstein who was far more encouraging of this) and then go on to say that Martin wanted them to record Mitch Murray’s, “How Do You Do It,” which was later given to Gerry and the Pacemakers, with no explanation. Or he will mention John Lennon’s first visit to Yoko Ono’s art exhibition and then tail off; not returning to that part of the story until much later.
Overall, this is a patchy and difficult book to review. On the plus side, Norman takes us through much of McCartney’s life which is not normally covered in biographies. He gives proper credence to Paul’s embracing of the counter culture and he acknowledges the enormous, essential part that he played in the Beatles story. I think, in essence, Tony Sheridan encapsulated that by saying bluntly that Paul probably would have made it without John, but John would not have made it without Paul.
Does Paul have faults? Well, everybody does. He is certainly driven, often vulnerable and has an enormous work ethic. Yet, much of this book is soulless and it does not feel that Norman’s heart was really in this project, whatever he says. Also, he relies too much on the people who agreed to speak to him. So, there is much from Angie McCartney (who married Paul’s father) and yet we know he had a very difficult relationship with her, so you do wonder how much of what she says you can truly believe. Likewise, there is a lot of emphasis on his relationship with Maggie McGivern, as she was obviously happy to be interviewed, whereas Jane Asher prefers to keep her relationship with Paul private and so you get the odd emphasis on an affair, when he was living with Jane Asher for most of the Sixties.
Some of the interviews in this book, most notably with friends and family of Linda, are worth reading. Still, it is an odd read, as though the author is desperate to show fans his hostility has ended and he is grudgingly admiring of Paul. I assume he is thinking of profit making visits to Beatles conventions, where his anti-Paul stance would not be welcomed, particularly in the States. At the end of the day, you will want to know whether this book is worth reading. If you know nothing about Paul McCartney, this book will give you the facts; but I feel most fans will feel it does not give you a real understanding beyond those.
What emerges, considering the access he had, is something of a disappointment. Admittedly (and thankfully) McCartney has had a long career and it is difficult to cover everything, even in a book this long. Once I had read about Norman’s initial meeting with the Beatles as a young man, his jealousy of McCartney and his own feelings about writing this book, he embarked on the story proper. One of my first thoughts during the early period of Paul’s life was that I had certainly read everything before – most of the childhood/early Beatles years seemed to be culled directly from Mark Lewisohn’s magnificent, “Tune In,” (I hope Lewisohn is being paid something for HIS extensive research, as I found the same thing in the recent biography of Ringo Starr too, “Ringo: With a Little Help”). It seemed Norman also took much from the brilliant Barry Miles biography of Paul’s Beatle period, “Many Years From Now,” although that was an authorised biography and a much more entertaining read, and also from Michael McCartney’s, “Thank U Very Much” which I would love to see re-issued, as it is such a good book.
At times, Norman’s story jumps about and is contradictory in nature. For example, he will say that George Martin wanted the Beatles to record Lennon/McCartney songs and helped push their song-writing (although it was Brian Epstein who was far more encouraging of this) and then go on to say that Martin wanted them to record Mitch Murray’s, “How Do You Do It,” which was later given to Gerry and the Pacemakers, with no explanation. Or he will mention John Lennon’s first visit to Yoko Ono’s art exhibition and then tail off; not returning to that part of the story until much later.
Overall, this is a patchy and difficult book to review. On the plus side, Norman takes us through much of McCartney’s life which is not normally covered in biographies. He gives proper credence to Paul’s embracing of the counter culture and he acknowledges the enormous, essential part that he played in the Beatles story. I think, in essence, Tony Sheridan encapsulated that by saying bluntly that Paul probably would have made it without John, but John would not have made it without Paul.
Does Paul have faults? Well, everybody does. He is certainly driven, often vulnerable and has an enormous work ethic. Yet, much of this book is soulless and it does not feel that Norman’s heart was really in this project, whatever he says. Also, he relies too much on the people who agreed to speak to him. So, there is much from Angie McCartney (who married Paul’s father) and yet we know he had a very difficult relationship with her, so you do wonder how much of what she says you can truly believe. Likewise, there is a lot of emphasis on his relationship with Maggie McGivern, as she was obviously happy to be interviewed, whereas Jane Asher prefers to keep her relationship with Paul private and so you get the odd emphasis on an affair, when he was living with Jane Asher for most of the Sixties.
Some of the interviews in this book, most notably with friends and family of Linda, are worth reading. Still, it is an odd read, as though the author is desperate to show fans his hostility has ended and he is grudgingly admiring of Paul. I assume he is thinking of profit making visits to Beatles conventions, where his anti-Paul stance would not be welcomed, particularly in the States. At the end of the day, you will want to know whether this book is worth reading. If you know nothing about Paul McCartney, this book will give you the facts; but I feel most fans will feel it does not give you a real understanding beyond those.
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