i haven't watched TV for years, so it's very rarely i watch anything like this. but i had an instinctive feeling that this would be something a bit special & i wasn't disappointed. i was actually really moved.
we all know his musical career so won't go over all he represents there, but i just felt the sheer planet-sized humanity & warmth of the man shone out like a massive sun from what is quite a standard pulp tv kind of format.
watching it i felt it's almost as if there is no 'celebrity' to him, in a media universe where that is usually the only (or primary) qualification many big names can lay claim to, beyond very mediocre talent & pushy PR. he's existed in that universe for longer and probably more intensely than anywone else on the planet, & curiously none of it seems to have stuck.
he's paul now, as he is, as much as he has always been. no more or less. take me or leave me.
two scenes stood out for me.
that first is him singing and playing air guitar in the loo at his old house. not only is that amazing perspective, because (let's be honest) we all do it. in those moments when we were/are so excited about our playing & musical ideas that there simply aren't enough minutes in the day, so (in deperation) we end up stealing toilet minutes to create more precious music the time.
that funny & seemingly throwaway little skit actually connected him to every kid who ever picked up a guitar. i laughed & at the same time felt like i was in the company of someone who knew how i felt about the sheer joy of making music.
and the other is when he's in the pub (trying not to do spoilers for those who haven't seen) and he gets passed a drink. coming at the end of the episode as it does, after having given us the insight into him as a man that it does, i just got the overwhelming feeling (i was deeply moved by the thought) that he was probably as happy with being given that beer in that context as he would have been all those times he has been given a grammy or lifetime achievement award or royal badge. there's just a natural graciousness about him that makes me feel that to him, he would have appreciated it in the same way. the profound wisdom in his joyousness, after all he has been through.
he's heroic
anyway, i felt so many positive things about it i thought i would post it here, in case anyone missed it. maybe i missed a post about it somehwere else here, but couldn't see an obviously titled one.
hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
Comments
The affection which the people of Liverpool showed him was genuinely affecting.
Him playing When I’m Sixty Four on the piano in his childhood home really got to me.
Lovely post @vale
I just knew it would finish with Hey Bloody Jude though, which was disappointing.
But yes, his personality is from an era long behind us I think. An inspiration
I can only guess on how surreal it must have been for James Corden. I wish Macca had just done it, and not done it for promoting a new album though.... I hate the Graham Norton show for the same reason..
I’m not sure they can top that Carpool Karaoke though....Macca is a beyond a Celebrity
Fantastic city which I could have spent a week there
Check out his appearance with Ron Wood - some nice old stories from the past
On topic - I have a huge dislike for JC - but I'll watch this as Paul is obviously a legend.