Publisher:		Sonicnet.com
Author:		Eric Schumacher
Date:		May 16, 2001

Paul McCartney To Tour, No Wings Attached

McCartney may also do series of impromptu shows.

It's shaping up to be a busy year for Paul McCartney. In addition to assembling the recent "Wingspan" documentary and double album, the former Beatle plans to tour after the release of his next album in September.

"He likes to get out on the road whenever he's got a new album," said McCartney spokesperson Geoff Baker. "He might even follow in the footsteps of Wings and do a series of unannounced, impromptu shows."

McCartney issued a statement on Wednesday saying that a Wings reunion is out of the question, since his wife and group member Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in 1998. He said he'll be touring with new musicians.

"You can't reform Wings for the same reason that you can't reform the Beatles, because a very important member is missing," McCartney said. "With the Beatles, it was John and with Wings it is Linda."

While his attention has been focused on Wings and his solo career of late, it appears McCartney still has time to air old grievances with Yoko Ono.

When McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were putting together the 1995-96 Beatles Anthology collections, the singer told U.K. magazine Radio Times, Lennon's widow refused to let him claim primary songwriting credit for "Yesterday," one of the biggest-selling songs of all time.

"'Yesterday' is the only song where none of the other Beatles were even on the record, and none of the Beatles or anybody had anything to do with writing it other than myself," McCartney said, according to Radio Times. "I asked as a favor if on Anthology it could be credited to Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and I was refused."

All Beatles songs by either writer were credited to "Lennon/McCartney" on the original albums, regardless of which one played the greater role in the song's creation.

— by Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen