Banned on the rum
Macca: I can’t drink before gigs any more because I’d forget my own lyrics
or drink before I go on because I sort of like to feel light. Then afterwards I can get heavy and have a drink. Before I go on I don’t do that.
“But I do have little sort of snacky things in the dressing room that I might just grab, like chocolate covered raisins and equal amount of salted cashews.” Macca’s rider is a world away from other major rock stars.
James Brown would request a deli tray with meats and cheeses, coffee, Gatorade, Champagne – Cristal or Dom Perignon – and an electric golf cart.
Britney Spears has Mcdonald’s cheeseburgers (without the bun), 100 figs and prunes, a fish-and-chip supper – and a framed photograph of the late Princess Diana. The Prodigy ask for Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and a bottle of Dom Perignon. Eminem likes Bacardi, Hennessy cognac, two cases of soft drink Mountain Dew and a selection of Mexican treats from Taco Bell.
Kanye West demands brand new Versace towels – and the Stereophonics once asked for a bottom-shaped piñata filled with Cuban cigars and dark chocolate Cacique rum liqueurs, indoor fireworks and black gaffer tape. As you do.
Macca, who has admitted he battled booze issues after leaving The Beatles, opened up about his pre-gig routine during a chat ahead of his Australasia tour later this year.
He also said that a Scouse sense of humour was key to the Fab Four staying sane during their meteoric rise in the Sixties.
“I do think it was a big thing, because being from Liverpool you are naturally surrounded by a big sense of humour, always joshing,” he said.
“My dad would say the craziest things.
“So when the four of us got together we all knew that as a background.
“Because we spent so much time together the sense of humour really helped – just to stop you going mad.”
He added: “I always say we were a great little band. And that for me is what’s precious about The Beatles. We were a great little band that expanded beyond all expansion.” Macca also admitted that he was nervous working with Kanye West and Rihanna on Fourfiveseconds in 2015. “I got a phone call and my manager said, ‘Kanye West would like to work with you.’ And I go, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it’. I was a little bit nervous at first, because I thought it could go horribly wrong. But I was intrigued to see what he was up to and how he did it. And it was a very intriguing process. You don’t write songs. You just talk and noodle a bit and you record it all on your phone. “And then he goes away. And that’s basically his record. But it was great doing it because I don’t work like that.” In 2015, Sir Paul revealed he had stopped smoking marijuana because he wanted to be a better role model to his grandkids. “The last time I smoked was a long time ago,” he said. halina.watts@irishmirror.ie Paul used to enjoy a pint
Because we spent so much time together the sense of humour really helped us all SIR PAUL ON HOW THE BEATLES STAYED SANE WHILE ON TOUR