Beatles covers to be on UK stamps

Six of the Beatles' album covers are to feature in a special set of UK stamps, to be issued next month.
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver are among the sleeves which will be reproduced on 9 January.

TV show The Sky at Night, in its 50th year, will also be commemorated by the Royal Mail in 2007, with six celestial images chosen by Sir Patrick Moore.

Other subjects for sets will include UK inventions which changed the world and the abolition of the slave trade.

The diamond wedding anniversary of the Queen - whose image appears on traditional British stamps - and the Duke of Edinburgh will be marked in October.

Underwater life, British Army uniforms and the centenary of the Scout Association will also feature on stamps in the UK during the next 12 months.

Paul McCartney Planning Stage Show Based on His Life

Sir Paul McCartney is planning a stage show based on his life, according to the Telegraph.
The UK paper quotes the former Beatle's cousin, the actress Kate Robbins, as saying that McCartney will approve the music and serve as musical director. The music is based on The Liverpool Oratorio — McCartney's first classical work, which he composed with Carl Davis in 1991 to commemorate his home city's 150th anniversary.

Robbins is also working on the adaptation, along with the writer Steve Brown.

The paper reports that McCartney's much-publicized divorce proceedings with his second wife, Heather Mills, have delayed the project.

The story will follow a character named Shanty (a fictionalized McCartney) from his childhood in Liverpool up through his first marriage to Mary Dee (standing in for McCartney's first wife, Linda) and the birth of a child. The couple attempts to balance their family life and their careers.

The paper speculates that the show could go up in Liverpool in 2008 — the city's year as the European Capital of Culture.

McCartney's latest classical album, "Ecce Cor Meum" — Latin for "Behold My Heart" — was released this year. His latest pop album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," was released in 2005.

Merry Christmas from MaccaSpan

Wishing all the best to you and your family. Have yourself a Merry MaccaSpan Christmas!

Remember not to drink and drive this holiday.

Cheers,

McCartney, the MaccaSpan Admin

Signed Beatles Album Cover Auctioned For $115K

An album cover signed by all four Beatles as a gift for George Harrison's sister sold Friday at auction for more than $115,000.
The sale, to an unidentified buyer, was believed to set a record price for a signed Beatles album purchased at a public sale, said Mark Zakarin, president of the online auction company ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com. The exact price, with the buyer's commission, was $115,228.82. Bidding on the album began at $25,000. The copy of "Meet The Beatles," the band's first U.S. release on Capitol Records, was put up for sale by Harrison's sister, Louise. "To Lou with love from `Brother'!!," wrote George above his signature. John Lennon's inscription read, "To Lou many love from John Lennon X." Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr expressed similar feelings when all four signed the album cover while aboard a train to Washington for a 1964 concert.

Beatles still popular in Japan after all these years

TOKYO — Although the Beatles split up in 1970, the Fab Four's music continues to attract new generations of fans in Japan.
"I could hardly believe my ears," said Hidenobu Kondo, 44, recalling the day two summers ago when he heard his then 2-year-old son, Ryuichi, suddenly sing part of the Beatles song "We Can Work It Out."
"It really blew me away, because I didn't teach him English or music," said Kondo, a Beatles fan who often listens to the band's CDs as his son plays nearby. "Even a little child must have understood by intuition that the Beatles were good."
Ryuichi took the stage to belt out "I Want Hold You Hand" recently at a club in western Tokyo's Kunitachi city called "Liverpool." The venue, which is named after the port city in England where the Beatles rose to fame, features Japanese bands covering Beatles hits. An audience of about 60 people ranging from university students to a couple in their 70s clapped as young Ryuichi sang away.
The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — caught the imagination of Japanese baby boomers in the second half of the 1960s.
Japanese musician Yosui Inoue, 58, still remembers the day in 1967 when "All You Need Is Love" was broadcast live around the world. It was a time of "flowers and peace," he said, recalling how young people protesting against the Vietnam War would hand out flowers as a symbol of peace.
Writer Masanori Oe, 64, lived in the United States in the latter half of the 1960s and took part in antiwar rallies. He said that in the face of the draft, young Americans felt the only way they could change the world was by changing themselves.
Picture book author and singer Cocco, 29, of Okinawa, appeared at the "Dream Power" music festival held Nov 4 at Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo, where the Beatles performed 40 years ago.
The event has been held for the past five years to support children in poor parts of Asia and Africa. The money raised is used to build schools.
Cocco, who sang the Beatles number "Norwegian Wood," said she initially had her doubts about the legitimacy of the fund-raising effort, and traveled to Vietnam to see if the money was really being used for its intended purpose.
What she found warmed her heart. Children at the school she visited gave her necklaces and flowers they had made from bamboo leaves and tissue paper, and convinced her to take part in the event.
Also performing at the festival was Naoki Sato, 33, of singing duo Love Psychedelico. Sato hailed Lennon's influence on him, saying that at a time when it was thought cool for rock musicians to say "no," Lennon's music conveyed the message that it was also cool to say "yes."
Says musician Inoue, "What is so remarkable about the Beatles is the sense of the positive they exuded."
"Love and peace are eternal," he commented. "I took them for granted when I was young, but at my age talk of such things becomes much more serious."
Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, said it was the word "Yes" written on the ceiling of an art gallery as part of her exhibition that drew her and her future husband together. Together they launched their campaign for peace in 1969. Ono says the power of love is incredible and she remains convinced that it will bring about peace one day.

Sixties London to Be Explored in Kennedys' How Did You Meet the Beatles?

By Andrew Gans
Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? is the title of a new work from Adrienne Kennedy and her son, Adam P. Kennedy.
Subtitled "A True Story of London in the 1960's," the theatre piece will be presented Jan. 15, 2007, at Joe's Pub. In the production playwright Adrienne Kennedy, according to press notes, "chronicles her search for fame and fortune in 1960's London, where she encountered Laurence Olivier, James Baldwin, Ricki Houston, various British writers and, of course, the Beatles." Show time is 7 PM.
Adrienne Kennedy is the recipient of three Village Voice Obie Awards for her plays Funnyhouse of a Negro, June and Jean in Concert and Sleep Deprivation Chamber. She co-authored the latter with son Adam P. Kennedy, who is the CEO of Kennedy Promotions LLC. The Signature Theatre Company also devoted its 1995-1996 season to Adrienne Kennedy's work.
Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street. Tickets, priced at $20, are available by calling (212) 967-7555 or by visiting www.joespub.com.

FBI releases files on John Lennon after 25-year wait

The FBI has released 10 files on late former Beatle John Lennon which it had withheld for nearly three decades on the grounds that releasing them could threaten the United States.
.The files were published on the Internet Wednesday at www.lennonFBIfiles.com after authorities agreed to release them following a long-running legal campaign by California academic and historian Jon Wiener and rights groups.
.Although the US authorities repeatedly resisted calls for the documents to be released after Wiener's first request was turned down in 1981, the revelations contained in them are hardly startling and many are well-known.
.Among the observations are that Lennon, a noted liberal and peace activist, had given an interview to an underground newspaper in 1971 in which he had "emphasized his proletarian background" and "sympathy with the oppressed and underprivileged people of Britain and the world."
.The files record the fact that Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, had signed a petition in support of the Cambodian monarchy when the Southeast Asian nation was being bombed by the United States during the Vietnam War.
.Lennon had also encouraged the belief that he held revolutionary views "by the content of some of his songs," the documents added, an apparent reference to his song "Power of the People."
.Despite the innocuous nature of the information in the files, the FBI had fought against their release because they contained "national security information provided by a foreign government under an explicit promise of confidentiality."
.Publication could "reasonably be expected to ... lead to foreign diplomatic, economic and military retaliation against the United States," lawyers for the FBI told the courts during a 1983 hearing.
.In a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday, Wiener described the FBI's rationale for refusing to release the documents as "absurd."
.Although the foreign government mentioned in the documents has never been named, most analysts believe it refers to Britain.
."I doubt that Tony Blair's government will launch a military strike on the US in retaliation for the release of these documents," said Wiener.
."Today we can see that the national security claims the FBI has been making for 25 years were absurd from the beginning. The Lennon FBI file is a classic case of excessive government secrecy."Wiener had already secured the release of 300 pages of FBI documents on Lennon in 1997, information which formed the basis for his book "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI File."
.A court ruled in 2004 that the documents should be released, but the FBI appealed the decision before finally agreeing to release them on Tuesday. — AFP

MaccaSpan "Videos" Section Update

The VIDEOS section of MaccaSpan has been updated. So along with the albums section, rather then linking you to amazon, MaccaSpan has all the video info on our own site now!

'Threat' to Heather Mills-McCartney

Police have warned Heather Mills-McCartney that they have received intelligence of a threat to her safety, it has emerged.
Officers spoke to the 38-year-old and her estranged husband, Sir Paul McCartney, 64, on Thursday about the "non-specific threat" from the Merseyside area.
Ms Mills-McCartney was also told the names of the people who had made the threat, Sussex Police said.
Officers have taken steps for an "immediate police response" to be available to her if it is needed, a force spokesman added.
According to reports, she has been given a panic alarm which allows her to contact Sussex Police headquarters directly. However, officers have said there is "no imminent risk" to the model.
Bernie Murphy, Sussex Police Force Command and Control Centre Supervisor, based in Brighton, said: "On Thursday 14 December 2006 information was received from police in the Merseyside area which indicated a non-specific threat towards Heather Mills-McCartney.
"In accordance with normal police practice, and also taking into account the Osman ruling, the threat was risk-assessed.
"Police can confirm that Mills-McCartney was spoken to by officers and was fully informed of all the information, including details of the names of individuals involved. In addition, Mills-McCartney's estranged husband was also spoken to.
"Police are satisfied there's no imminent risk to Mills-McCartney.
"Local officers have been fully briefed regarding the circumstances and provision has been made for an immediate police response should this be necessary."

McCartney up for iconic accolade

The poll is about who has impacted most on British cultural lifeSir Paul McCartney has made it to the final three in the BBC Culture Show's Greatest Living Icon poll.
Viewers of the television series have been voting for which living Briton they think has had the biggest impact on British cultural life.
The former Merseyside Beatle, 64, is battling for the top spot against Sir David Attenborough and Morrisey.
The winner is to be announced during Saturday's show, which starts at 1950 GMT on BBC2.
The three are ranked ahead of David Bowie, Sir Michael Caine, playwright Alan Bennett and actors Sir Michael Caine and Stephen Fry.
Singer Kate Bush, fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and model Kate Moss are the only women to make it into the top 10.

Stella McCartney bans pheasant shoots on Madonna's country estate!

London, Dec 16 (ANI): Music icon Madonna's English country estate will no longer be available for hunters wanting to shoot some pheasant, for pal Stella McCartney just put an end to the bloody sport at Ashcombe.
Madonna and her British director hubby Guy Ritchie rent Ashcombe in Wilts to shooting parties for as much as 10,000 pounds a day.
And, to give hunters a far more satisfying experience, the singer also bought and released 3,000 imported baby pheasants so that shooters were sure to have enough targets.
However, Sir Paul McCartney's designer daughter Stella, who also happens to be a pal of Madonna's, reportedly ripped into the Material Girl for playing a role in promoting the sport.
"Ashcombe's become a hunting factory and the Ritchies like playing rich landlords. Stella wasn't pleased when she heard about them releasing pheasants and spoke to Madonna" The Sun quoted a source, as saying.
"She's the reason Madonna is stopping shooting next year," the source added.
This is not the first time that Stella has been at odds with the singer, for she recently scolded Madge for wearing a 35,000 pounds fur coat.
Madonna herself gave up hunting peasants last year when a bird she shot did not die immediately, and she had to watch it as it struggled up the hill with blood gushing from its mouth.
"It wasn't dead.Blood was gushing from it's mouth and it was struggling up this hill and I thought, 'Oh God, I did that. I haven't shot since," the singer said last November.

Paul to take down lodge to keep pavilion

SIR Paul McCartney will knock down the lodge built on his Peasmarsh estate in order to keep his pavilion.
The former Beatle has been embroiled in a year-long planning battle to save the two-bedroom wooden lodge, at Woodlands Farm without planning permission.At one stage he even offered to tear down a farmhouse and other agricultural buildings on the estate in order to keep the lodge and pavilion.Last month he told planners at Rother District Council that he was withdrawing the application to keep both and just wanted to retain the pavilion.On Thursday the council's planning committee accepted this proposal and a legal agreement was signed between the parties.Sir Paul, who campaigned for the building of Rye Memorial Care Centre, has said the lodge was essential for protecting his privacy,In the summer two American tourists managed to get into the grounds at Woodlands and took video footage of Sir Pau's home and cars and posted it on the internet.Sir Paul's estranged wife Heather Mills McCartney is said to be planning to leave England for America after putting the £625,000 Beckley home (right) she owns on the market.She bought the five-bedroomed Grade II listed barn conversion after splitting from Sir Paul in May. It is only a few miles away from Sir Paul's 950-acre estate.But she has spent little time there, preferring to stay at her beach-front home in Hove.Friends of Heather say she has received a string of job offers in America and recently gave her first televised interview on the divorce to Sir Paul, 64, on American television.She told the show: "I get nothing but support in America. People want to come up and give me a hug."Heather's personal trainer and bodyguard is former Rye man Ben Amagoni, who she met when he worked at Hilden Health Centre in Rye.

Starr To Set The Record Straight

Former BEATLES drummer RINGO STARR is so sick of the various myths and lies about him, he's decide to tell the truth about his life in a documentary. The 66-year-old musician is currently filming a tell-all movie of his life, which is set to be broadcast on British television next year (07). He explains, "It's an anthology we're doing on me."

Yoko Ono Target in $2M Extortion Plot

A chauffeur for Yoko Ono was arrested yesterday after police said he taped her private conversations and threatened to circulate them unless she paid him $2 million.Detectives arrested Koral Karsan, 50, at his home in Amityville, N.Y., after Ms. Ono, the widow of John Lennon of the Beatles, reported him to police. Police said Mr. Karsan, who worked for Ms. Ono for seven years, threatened to circulate embarrassing photos of her and spoke of killing her and her son, Sean Lennon.Last night, Mr. Karsan was charged with first-degree attempted grand larceny. Outside the 20th Precinct on Manhattan's Upper West Side where he was taken for questioning, he told reporters he was innocent.But police said the Turkish-born driver dropped off an extortion note at Ms. Ono's home at the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West and West 72nd Street on December 8, the 26th anniversary of Lennon's killing. In 1980, Lennon was returning home from a recording studio when Mark David Chapman shot him four times with a .38-caliber revolver. Ms. Ono was with him at the time.In the rambling letter, which was accompanied by a photograph of Ms. Ono in her pajamas, he wrote that he secretly had made audiotapes of her and demanded money in exchange for their safe return. Police said he spoke of killing her, her son, and himself during a later conversation with one of her associates, which was recorded by investigators, the Associated Press reported.Last night, staff at the Dakota declined to comment, saying they had been instructed not to comment on Mr. Karsan's arrest. A publicist for Ms. Ono did not immediately return messages.However, at the parking garage adjacent to the Dakota, an attendant, Juan Ferrara, 55, said Ms. Ono informed staff there last week that Mr. Karsan was no longer working for her and should not be allowed to park there. According to her associates, Ms. Ono leases several cars, including a midnight blue Bentley, which Mr. Karsan often drove.Reached on the telephone last night, a former assistant for the family who said he knew Mr. Karsan expressed surprise at his arrest. "He always seemed like a nice guy," Dane Worthington, who lived at the Dakota with the Lennon family for 17 years, said. "I feel very bad. I know people get greedy."Mr. Worthington, who called his former employer a "sweetheart," noted that her generosity has made it easy for others to take advantage of her. In 2002, Ms. Ono settled a 20-year legal battle with former employee Frederic Seaman, whom she accused of taking personal diaries and family photographs from the Lennon apartment. The ex-employee, who was Lennon's personal assistant, ultimately apologized in court for taking the memorabilia, which he subsequently used in writing a book published in the early 1990s that detailed the day-to-day life of the former Beatle."When people like Yoko are very generous with someone who is working for them, the more generous they are, the more people want," Mr. Worthington said.

MaccaSpan adds Podomatic Page 3

Something's new at MaccaSpan Radio! MaccaSpan on Podomatic page 3!
Also, we will be hitting the 50th episode by the end of the YEAR!

www.maccaspan.com/radio/player.html

Stella has a Baby!

Fashion designer Stella McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis have welcomed the latest addition to their family - a baby daughter, Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis.The little girl was born on Friday in London, weighing 7lbs 14 oz. She is a second child for the couple, who celebrated the birth of son Miller in March 2005, and a fourth grandchild for Stella's father Paul McCartneyThe tireless animal rights campaigner's pregnancy hardly impacted on her busy schedule, with the 35-year-old recently announcing the continuation of her successful collaboration with sportswear brand Adidas, and preparing for the launch of her organic facial care range in spring 2007.

Astronauts awake to Beatles Tune

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery woke up to The Beatles on Sunday, their first morning in space, where the first order of business will be to make sure their ship wasn't damaged during launch.
The crew lit up the sky late Saturday with a fiery ascent that practically turned night into day in the first nighttime launch in four years. Then it was on to the international space station to rewire the orbital outpost.
The astronauts began their day to the mellow tunes of "Here Comes the Sun."
"Good morning, Discovery. We especially want to thank you for the burst of sunshine you brought into our lives last night. It was an awesome launch," Shannon Lucid from Mission Control radioed up to the crew.
"It was pretty great for all of us, too," Commander Mark Polansky responded.
Astronauts will spend the day inspecting the shuttle for potentially critical heat shield damage from debris falling off the external tank during lift off, the problem that doomed the shuttle Columbia in 2003.
Nicholas Patrick, one of the five astronauts experiencing zero gravity for the first time, will use the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm and similarly long boom with sensors and a camera to inspect the ship. The survey was to start at 3:12 p.m.
Discovery is to dock with the space station Monday to begin the intricate work. Three complicated spacewalks are planned to rewire the space station from a temporary to a permanent power source.NASA had to beat the odds to get off the launch pad Saturday. After only a 30 percent chance of good weather earlier in the day and a two-hour delay in fueling, Discovery streaked through a moonless sky at 8:47 p.m. EST.
"It just all came together perfectly," launch director Mike Leinbach said.
The mood was also upbeat aboard Discovery.
"I think we have five people who just haven't stopped smiling yet," Polansky said after the shuttle reached space.
During its 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will also deliver an $11 million addition to the space lab and bring home one of the space station's three crew members, German astronaut Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency. American astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams will replace him, staying for six months.
The two veterans aboard the shuttle are Polansky and Robert Curbeam, who will spacewalk three times. The others are pilot William Oefelein, and mission specialists Patrick, Williams, Joan Higginbotham and the European Space Agency's Christer Fuglesang, who was the first Swede in space.
Fuglesang carried some unusual food into orbit: several cans of moose sausage and moose pate.
The mission is one leg of a three-year race to finish construction on the space station before shuttles are retired in 2010. After Discovery's mission, 13 more shuttle flights are needed to complete the lab.
The launch was the first at night since Endeavour's flight in November 2002 and only the 29th in darkness of NASA's 117 total shuttle launches.
"What you've seen tonight is the successful accomplishment of the most challenging, demanding, technically state-of-the-art, difficult thing that this nation or any nation can do," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said.
Mission Control in Houston told Discovery's crew that there were no initial reports of any serious problems and that the shuttle was "in great shape."
NASA had required daylight launches for three flights after the Columbia accident so that clear images could be taken of the external fuel tank. Foam broke off Columbia's tank at liftoff and struck the spacecraft's wing, leading to the disaster that killed seven astronauts.
Saturday's launch was only the fourth since the Columbia disaster in 2003 and the third of the year. It also was the last scheduled liftoff from pad 39B, which will be modified for new rockets that will take astronauts back to the moon in 2020.
"It's kind of the end of an era," Leinbach said.
Waiting at the space station for his visitors to arrive Monday, U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria played celebratory music for Discovery, "Song 2" by Blur, highlighting the lyrics: "Woo hoo! Woo hoo!"

MaccaSpan "Albums" Section Updated!

The albums section has been updated with basic album info for now, rather then just linking you to Amazon like it did before. The album info pages will eventually expand. In the future, I am hoping to have the same for the DVD/VHS section and I also want to add a SINGLES section.
MaccaSpan - We're always under construction!

SIGNED BEATLES ALBUM UP FOR SALE

A RARE Beatles album signed by all four members of the band is on sale in a Stratford gallery.The copy of the 1967' Magical Mystery Tour' album, signed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, is on display in Foster Frame in Greenhill Street as part of a collection of signed albums being sold. The album is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name.The picture shows Siobhan O’Sullivan, of Foster Frame, in Stratford, with the album.

Naked Heather pics left on tip

In happier times ... Macca and Heather in picture similar to some of those dumped -->By NICK PARKER HUNDREDS of family photos of Sir Paul McCartney and estranged wife Heather Mills were found dumped yesterday.
The intimate pictures — taken during happier times before their bitter divorce battle erupted — were discovered in bin bags on waste ground.
One shows Heather, 38, in bed barely covered by a white sheet — with her artificial leg standing on a black stiletto shoe beside the divan. Others show her posing nude and showing off her bump while heavily pregnant.
She is also seen wearing diamond earrings in a bath — and in a pink swimsuit while playing in a whirlpool bath with their three-year-old daughter Beatrice.
Sir Paul was shocked when The Sun revealed the find last night.
He said: “I’m very grateful to the Sun for getting these pictures back to me.”
The collection appears to be a McCartney family album taken by the ex-Beatle and his loved ones dating back 30 years. Sir Paul was said to be particularly distressed to learn that touching pictures of his late wife Linda were among those found dumped.
Linda, who died from breast cancer in 1998, is in snaps of a family holiday to Australia and on a cabin cruiser.
Lost love ... Macca and LindaThe haul also includes one of the last pictures of Paul and Linda out together. Tragic photographer Linda looks pale and frail beside him.
The photographs — packed into cardboard boxes — were found among thousands dumped in bin liners on a patch of London wasteground yesterday.
We immediately alerted Sir Paul and arranged to hand the colour prints to him. The private shots show naked Heather leaning out of a Victorian-style bath wearing only diamond stud-earrings.
She gazes over her shoulder while around seven months’ pregnant in a series of snaps.
More than 30 other private pictures show pouting Heather poolside in swimsuit. Four of the dumped pictures are cheeky close-ups of her bum as she sports a skimpy striped thong-style swimsuit.
More pictures show Macca and Heather sitting on a bench in front of India’s Taj Mahal.
Other romantic moments include snaps of trips to Venice, America’s Grand Canyon and on safari in Africa. Private moments showing Sir Paul’s love for little daughter Beatrice were also caught on film.
One set shows the doting dad feeding her with a silver spoon. In another he is bare-chested as he cuddles Bea, who is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words: “My Daddy Rocks.”
Sir Paul is also pictured astride a grey pony at a riding school with Bea giggling on his lap. Neither are wearing helmets.
Pictures of Bea in the bath and trying on sunglasses as she gets dressed with her mum were also dumped.
The discovery is the latest twist for the warring couple — locked in one of the messiest divorces in showbiz history.
Heather — who is demanding an £80 million divorce — has been accused of leaking papers alleging Sir Paul beat her and his first wife Linda.
He furiously denies the claims. Heather further turned the screw by suggesting she will demand Peasmarsh — Sir Paul’s £4million, 160-acre estate.

McCartney Grateful For Return of Photos

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY is ecstatic after a batch of private family photographs were returned to him, after they were found discarded on a London rubbish tip. The intimate pictures - including some of the former BEATLE's late wife LINDA MCCARTNEY - were discovered by British newspaper The Sun earlier this week (begs04DEC06). The photos show MCCartney in happier times, with a number dating back 30 years. One of the family albums contains snaps of MCCartney's estranged second wife HEATHER MILLS proudly showing off her bump while heavily pregnant with the couple's daughter BEATRICE, and posing in a Victorian bath wearing nothing but diamond earrings. Shocked at the finding, MCCartney says, "I'm very grateful to The Sun for getting these pictures back to me." The 64-year-old is currently embroiled in a bitter divorce battle with Mills, who has sensationally claimed he physically abused her during their four year marriage. The couple split up in May (06) and began divorce proceedings in July (06).

McCartney fronts copyright fight

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams joined thousands of other performers on Thursday in an appeal for an extension to British copyright on their recordings.
They called for "fair play for musicians" in a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times containing more than 4,000 names.
On Wednesday a review for the government rejected extending copyright on sound recordings and performers' rights beyond the existing 50 years.
The advert said it had been placed on behalf of more than 3,500 record companies and 40,000 performers.
"We call upon the UK government to support the extension of copyright in sound recordings," the appeal read.
Cliff Richard, whose first hit "Move It!" from 1958 is close to the cut-off point for copyright protection, has led the way in highlighting the issue.
Without a change in the law, the catalogue of McCartney's Beatles could be up for grabs from 2012 and 2013, including early hits like "Love Me Do" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand".
In his report on intellectual property, former Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers argued the consumer must be protected as well as the artist. He said there was no evidence bands moved to the United States or elsewhere to extend their copyright protection.
The British Phonographic Industry says it will continue to lobby for a copyright extension to 95 years, the same as in the United States, and noted the final decision lies with the European Commission.

Beatles lyrics sell for £97,000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Texas bookstore owner bought a rare page of working lyrics for Beatle Paul McCartney's song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for $192,000 at an auction of rock and pop memorabilia at Christie's on Monday.
Bill Butler also won the bidding for one of rock legend Jimi Hendrix's electric guitars -- a 1968 Fender Stratocaster -- for $168,000, the guitar's strap for $10,800 and a photograph of Hendrix and band members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell framed by two topless blondes for $5,400.
"I'm worried about getting it all home," Butler, wearing a tan baseball cap emblazoned with the Texas state flag and the words "Vote Kinky Friedman," joked with reporters after the auction.
Butler retired from the telecommunications industry before opening his rare and used book shop in Rosenberg, Texas, just outside Houston. He said he would display the guitar at his bookstore but would store the 1968 McCartney lyrics in a fireproof file cabinet.
Butler lost the bidding for a black leather vest worn on stage by Hendrix. The vest was bought for $28,800 by Don Bernstine, who acquires rock memorabilia for the Hard Rock Cafes, hotels and casinos.
Other big sellers included a notebook containing handwritten lyrics by reggae star Bob Marley, which went for $72,000, and a handwritten poem by Doors singer Jim Morrison, "The American Night," which was sold for $50,400. Both went to private collectors in the United States. Prices included buyer's premiums.
Christie's fall New York auction of 147 lots of guitars, clothing, handwritten lyrics and other memorabilia took in a total of $1,117,920 from people who placed bids in person, by phone and over the Internet. That total was at the upper end of the auction house's estimate of $800,000 to $1.1 million.
The auction included items connected to Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, the Jackson Five, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis and others.A previously unheard and undocumented interview with John Lennon for Crawdaddy music magazine was sold for $38,400 and an acoustic guitar Dylan played during camping trips went for $24,000. A handwritten 1972 letter by John Lennon to a music magazine about the political situation in Northern Ireland fetched $24,000.
However, a review of Sophocles' "Antigone" written as a junior high school assignment by pop star Britney Spears fetched only about $250, to laughter and applause from bidders, far below the low estimate of $500 -- despite auctioneer Helen Bailey's best efforts.

UPDATE

Beatles lyrics penned by Sir Paul McCartney have been sold for $192,000 (£97,000) at an auction in New York.
The handwritten early version of Maxwell's Silver Hammer from 1968 were given to the musician's biographer Barry Miles soon afterwards.
A guitar owned by the late Jimi Hendrix which had been kept at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fetched $168,000 (£85,000) at the Christie's sale.
A page from Britney Spears's schoolbook made only $240 (£120).
Beatles reunion
It contained the pop star's handwritten review of a Sophocles translation from when she attended junior high school at the age of 13, with notes from her teacher including "write more neatly".

Hendrix's guitar is a Fender Stratocaster
The auctioneer was forced to start the bidding at only $50 (£25) due to a lack of interest.
Other sales included a notebook containing lyrics written by Bob Marley, which commanded $72,000 (£36,445).
A poem penned by Doors frontman Jim Morrison made (£25,500) - well beyond its $12,000 (£6,075) estimate.
Another item with a Beatles connection was sold for $38,400 (£19,435) - a taped interview with John Lennon from 1974 which formed the basis of an article for Crawdaddy magazine.
He discussed his songwriting technique and the possibility of a Beatles reunion.

Maxwell's Silver Dollar

London, Dec 4 (ANI): Original Beatles lyrics handwritten by Paul McCartney and a Fender guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix are among the lots to be sold in a big auction of rock and pop memorabilia. The item that is expected to fetch the highest price is a page of draft lyrics for the Beatles song Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Christie's expects it to fetch up to 300,000 dollars. "McCartney lyrics rarely appear on the market and have not appeared for about six years," said Helen Hall, of Christie's. The lot also includes two copies of the song that a member of the Beatles' staff wrote out for use by other members of the band. They are the only trio of Beatles lyrics to have appeared on the market. Maxwell's Silver Hammer, which appears on the Abbey Road album, took three days to record and overdub, and caused considerable arguments between the band members as they hurtled towards their break-up. McCartney insisted that the song was a possible single but Lennon disagreed, later calling it "a typical McCartney single, or whatever". Lennon was not even present in the studio when it was recorded because he was recovering from an accident. "We spent more money on that song than any of them on the whole album, I think," he said. The auction at Christie's in New York will cover more than five decades of music history, with lots ranging from Miles Davis' trumpet to a handwritten page from Britney Spears' schoolbook, featuring her teenage analysis of the play Antigone, up for grabs. Love letters by Bob Dylan and a previously unheard interview of John Lennon are also among the lots. (ANI)

Paul McCartney Takes Over Classic FM

Classic FM is pleased to announce a day of special shows featuring Sir Paul McCartney. Tune into the station on Thursday 7th December to hear Sir Paul choose some of his favourite classical tracks and hear the first live recording of 'Ecce Cor Meum'. Don't miss our special Paul McCartney programme from 11am - 1pm when Paul presents his own show and keep your ears peeled throughout the day when we play music from his latest album 'Ecce Cor Meum' and he discusses his music. From 6.30pm join reporter Bob Jones on Classic Newsnight for a special Liverpool Legacy report when Paul discusses his love of Liverpool. And at 8pm don't miss the hour-long In Conversation With Anne-Marie Minhall special when Paul talks about his latest release 'Ecce Cor Meum'. For the next three hours sink into your armchair and enjoy the all-Paul McCartney Evening Concert with Nick Bailey, featuring an exclusive recording of the world premiere of 'Ecce Cor Meum', which was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 3 November. Paul will also be popping in to tell Nick Bailey what it was like on the night and keep your ears peeled for the full play of 'Standing Stone'.

You Never Give Me Your Money

Sir Paul McCartney is still seething after taking John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono's advice - because it cost him millions of pounds.
The music legend was keen to buy back the copyright of the original Beatles songs for the relatively cheap price of GBP12.5 million in the eighties. But Ono warned him against the purchase, insisting the deal wasn't worth anything.
Pop star Michael Jackson seized on the opportunity and bought the rights for GBP28 million. They are now worth in excess of GBP500 million and part-owned by Sony.
Beatles producer Sir George Martin says, "Paul spoke to Yoko saying, 'Shall we buy it back between John and myself?'
"But she said it wasn't worth it.
"At present, the copyright is worth something approaching one billion dollars."
"Paul's always had a chip on his shoulder about that."