Friday, July 27, 2007

Ecce Cor Meum DVD Release!

ECCE COR MEUM DVD RELEASE!

PM.com is delighted to confirm that the 'Ecce Cor Meum' DVD is to be released through EMI Classics on 22nd October 2007! Details are to be confirmed very shortly, but the DVD is set include last year's complete Ecce performance from the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Click here for the Ecce Cor Meum promo video.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

McCartney 'will pay £70 million to silence Heather'


McCartney 'will pay £70 million to silence Heather'
by RICHARD SIMPSON



It is believed Heather Mills will receive almost £70 million in her divorce deal with Sir Paul McCartney
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills are understood to have thrashed out a divorce deal in which she will receive almost £70 million.

Miss Mills, who split from the former Beatle in May last year after four years of marriage, is believed to be in line for a lump sum of £15 million.

If the deal goes through she will get another £3.5million every year until their daughter Beatrice, who will be four in October, reaches her 18th birthday.

The divorce settlement - which would be the largest in British legal history - will include a clause ensuring that neither party ever speaks publicly about what led to the breakdown of their marriage, the Daily Mail has learned.

Commentators believe that the plan to stagger the bulk of the payment reflects Sir Paul's concern that Miss Mills, who has courted the media as a reality TV star in the U.S. since the split, should maintain a dignified silence.

In divorce papers leaked last October, Miss Mills accused Sir Paul of assaulting her at least four times, once slashing her arm with a broken wine glass.

She also said he was drunk regularly and smoked cannabis during their marriage and that he prevented her from breastfeeding Beatrice.

Miss Mills will not, it is understood, get any property in the agreement. She already has a seaside home in Hove, East Sussex, and recently bought a £400,000 house in Slovenia as well as a large property in the Home Counties. She will not, as has been suggested, get Sir Paul's £10 million London home in St John's Wood, which he has had since the 1970s.

Sir Paul, 65, will also pay for all of Beatrice's living expenses including her schooling, travel, nannies and security. He and Miss Mills will continue to share joint access to their daughter.

In recent months there has been frenzied to-ing and fro-ing between lawyers for both sides.

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Miss Mills, 39, is understood to have been pushing for a larger interim payment equivalent to £15 million after tax. The annual payment has also wavered in that time between £3.75 million and £3.5 million.

The agreement is being seen as a happy outcome, financially at least, for both parties. Sir Paul is paying a smaller lump sum than Miss Mills feels she deserves. But she will still end up with a very large total for someone whose marriage broke up after only four years.

By staggering the amount over the next 15 years - by which time Sir Paul will be 80 - he will get his wish that Miss Mills should not speak about the marriage publicly.

Sir Paul, who has never spoken about the break-up, is understood to feel that for Beatrice's sake as much as anything, intimate details of their family life should not be for public consumption.



Sir Paul: Said to be worth £825 million
Spokesmen for Sir Paul and Miss Mills said last night that they would not comment on the progress of the divorce. But sources on both sides have confirmed to the Mail that the financial details of the settlement have been agreed.

The legal process before the divorce is fully finalised may, however, stretch out until next year.

In recent months there has been a thawing of relations between the pair who immediately after the split went through a long period of communicating only through lawyers. They now speak regularly, and if one recent report is to believed, even plan a family holiday.

Lawyers are, however, still on standby in case the agreement between Sir Paul and the unpredictable and passionate Miss Mills disintegrates at the 11th hour. To that end the case remains listed for a five-day hearing next February, before Mr Justice Bennett, a family High Court judge.

One source close to Miss Mills said last night: "We're extremely close to a resolution. The figures have been agreed."

Speaking about the reasons why negotiations have been so drawn out, the source said: "Heather wants her story told - she sees herself as the victim. She wants to have what she calls 'a voice'.

"She feels she should have that platform to turn around media perceptions about her. McCartney's lawyers are saying she can't talk about the marriage at all - a total blackout.

"But Heather's argument is that that's a very grey area. If she wants to update her biography, for example, she says she can't just pretend the marriage never happened.

"But she will not be able to hint at any foul play that may or not have taken place, or anything like drug taking or drinking or how either of them have, and do, interact with Beatrice. It's a very complex agreement.

"Heather is very aware that five years down the road, she'll just be a Beatle's ex-wife. To capitalise on the split, she would need to bring out a book now. She wants to have this voice. But she wants to get as much money as she can get too."

The source added: "It's true to say Paul and Heather are getting on better now than ever since the split, but she's a hard woman and is still angry about the way she feels she and Beatrice were left vulnerable after the split."

In recent months there has been much speculation as to the nature of the deal, with estimates varying wildly.

Some reports suggested the rather unlikely situation in which Miss Mills would get nothing - since Sir Paul apparently increased his wealth by very little during their marriage. Other reports claimed she would receive £200million of his reported £825 million fortune.

At £70 million, the settlement would still overshadow the £48 million insurance broker John Charman, 53, was ordered to give his former wife Beverley in May in Britain's biggest contested divorce settlement.

Paul Mccartney Hailed For Boycotting Animal-testing Charities


Sir Paul McCartney has been praised by animal rights group Peta after announcing plans to boycott cancer charities who test on animals.

The multi-millionaire former Beatle has supported cancer charities since his first wife Linda died of the disease in 1998.

But on Monday (16Jul07) he revealed plans to refuse funding to organisations that practice vivisection, after discovering a number of charities close to his heart advocate the practice.

The vegan rocker said, "When Linda died I said I would support cancer charities. Animal rights groups wrote to me pointing out that many were heavily into vivisection - and it's true. A doctor we knew out in America just admitted it as a matter of fact, innocently, like 'Well, sure we do.' "What he doesn't realise is that he won't get a donation out of me for that very fact. There are better alternatives but you're not allowed to challenge the status quo."

His decision has been applauded by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Alistair Currie - Senior Research and Campaigns Co-ordinator - says, "Animal testing charities don't just miss out on big money; they miss out on medical progress. Animals are not furry little humans and their bodies cannot reliably predict results for human conditions. While we know a great deal about cancer in mice, we don't know anywhere near enough about cancer in humans.

Thankfully, there are plenty of charities that go for the triple win: they don't cause animal suffering; they do support modern non-animal research that increases the chance of finding cures for humans; and they get the money of smart, compassionate donors."

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Paul McCartney plays 'party' show in London
Beatles legend also pays tribute to former crew member

Paul McCartney continued the iTunes Festival season tonight (July 5) with a hit laden set made up of Beatles and Wings classics.

The legendary singer performed a moving show before a small crowd of 300 people at the ICA in London.

Bounding onstage, the former Beatle was greeted with massive cheers when he shouted: "Good evening. Alright?" before launching into 1980 hit 'Coming Up'.

Like his recent shows, McCartney, who was dressed casually in a white and black sweater, ran through five tracks off his latest solo album 'Memory Almost Full' before treating the crowd to the likes of Beatles classics 'Hey Jude' and 'Get Back' along with Wings hit 'Jet'.

McCartney was on jovial form throughout the gig, engaging in plenty of banter with the crowd as he constantly referred to the show as a "party".

Leading into The Beatles track 'Blackbird' he joked: "It is like a party you can get a conversation going. I watched that film 'Munich' by Steven Spielberg last night. It was pretty good."

As previously reported on NME.COM, the singer became emotional during his recent LA show at Amoeba Records when a member of the audience shed tears during the song 'Here Today' which McCartney penned as a tribute to John Lennon in 1982.

Referring to the performance, he told the crowd tonight: "We just did a gig in a record shop in LA and I was singing that song and I was just about holding it together emotionally and then I saw this woman weeping and I just lost it man."

As ever the highlight of the gig, was The Beatles classic 'Hey Jude' which sparked a mass sing-a-long amongst the arm waving audience.

Conducting the song's catchy refrain McCartney invited both the "boys" and "girls" in the crowd to sing along before he shouted: "Now everyone all together."

Rounding off the show, the former Beatle dedicated 'Let It Be' to a long term monitor engineer who recently died before adding: "This next song I want to dedicate to a crew member John Roden, who just passed away last week. This is for you Johnny."

He wrapped up the gig with 'Lady Madonna' and 'I Saw Her Standing There'.

Paul McCartney played:

'Coming Up'
'Drive My Car'
'Only Mama Knows'
'Dance Tonight'
'C Moon'
'The Long And Winding Road'
'I'll Follow The Sun'
'Midnight Special'
'Calico Skies'
'That Was Me'
'Blackbird'
'Here Today'
'Back In The USSR'
'Nod Your Head'
'Jet'
'House Of Wax'
'I've Got A Feeling'
'Matchbox'
'Let Me Roll It'
'Get Back'
'Baby Face'
'Hey Jude'
'Let It Be'
'Lady Madonna'
'I Saw Her Standing There'

The festival now continues with the likes of Kasabian and Editors and The Coral among those playing intimate shows across July. See NME.COM for full live reports.

The bands' sets are being recorded and will be released as a live album via iTunes in the future. For more information go to iTunesfestival.com.