He says his 1999 Millennium show at the Cavern was OK. The show, in the place it all began, featured songs from his Run Devil Run album with a nod to The Beatles in a raucous version of I Saw Her Standing There. It was a record-breaking success in every sense. "We just turned up that afternoon, rehearsed and played that evening. It went well. I remember telling my office to arrange some tickets for the family. You've got to do that in Liverpool. "And my office were over-zealous as usual. So I asked for about 30 tickets. We have a huge family on Merseyside." And with a hearty laugh, he adds: " In fact, some are breeding as we speak- there's always a couple on the go. "I gave the tickets to my brother Michael to sort out. Otherwise it would be like 'ere how come SHE'S going and NOT me?' - that type of family argument thing. So I lumbered Michael with that job. "Anyway, on the actual night they let all the family in first. I didn't know about it so when I got on stage the first few rows of people standing there were all MY relatives. It was bit off-putting at first.
"After the show I went for a drink with Julia Baird - John's half sister. It was my first bevvie of the day, because I can't drink before a gig - I'd forget the words if I did. Then one of my cousin's kids says to me, 'Hey, did you hear that heckler - that was ME.' "I just looked at him - not only did he get free tickets but he was heckling me, too. But you gotta laugh, haven't you? I know I did," The Cavern show was heard globally on mass media and on the internet and made headline news from Liverpool to Rio as well as a place in the Guinness Book of Records. He had put Liverpool and The Cavern on the map all over again. He says playing Liverpool is and always will be special. "The Kings Dock concert was a beautiful night. It's always good for me to go home it reminds me of where I'm from who I am, very stabilising. "I was driving along the dock road and thinking about the old pre-Beatle days. I started to think about the places - the chip shops I used to love going to on match days with my uncles. "I thought how great it would be to do a show by the banks of the Mersey. That night was special and I did a couple of John's songs. I knew I couldn't win with people saying, 'Why are you doing them - aren't yours any good?' "But it was special and they'll always remind me of John.
"Another great night was in Zagreb when I sang Yesterday and the whole crowd joined in - I just let them finish it. It was like the working class spirit of Liverpool." He says that he likes nothing better than enjoying a good pub quiz - the tougher the better. "I love them. They are tough, though. Crosswords, too. Now I can do The Times crossword which is dead hard. In fact," he says proudly "one of my cousins compiles crossword for the broadsheets. "That's all down to my dad, who left school at 14 . He was a very intelligent man just like Uncle Harry, who could recite Shakespeare. "Dad used to urge me and our kid to do crosswords and we'd yawn and say 'yeah, dad.' "I've met Thatcher and Wilson - granted, not in-depth meetings but I still say some of the most intelligent people I've ever met are my Liverpool family. I'm proud of them all - proud of Liverpool." He says that musically things have come full circle. He recently appeared on the front cover of an American teenage magazine. "I was chuffed with The Beatles Number One album. George, Ringo and Yoko were, too. I played it the other day in the car and I thought: 'How did we do that ... 27 number ones!' "In America I signed a few copies of it for Steven Spielberg's kids. And one bloke told me that his eight-year old son played Number One and asked: 'What happened next?'
 "Well, now I've just done Wingspan the album and the telly programme and that says EXACTLY what happened! Paul says that, like Wingspan, working on The Beatle Anthology was a great experience. "We called The Anthology, The Bible. It's a good job we did it now were not exactly spring chickens. Ringo and I did differ on what happened the night we met Elvis but part from that we pieced it together." So will we see Paul on tour again? Will he front another band on the run? "Yeah, I fancy that. "I'm half way through an album which should be ready at the end of the year so I like to have something to promote if I'm out on the road. "The Cavern gig whetted my appetite - not that it needs whetting. Laughs Paul: " Hey, look at Ringo - he's out touring again and he's an old so-and-so . . . "
 Read Part Two of this interview here |
Read Part One of this interview here |
| 
There was also a heckler who asked me to play 'Satisfaction' - I told him that wasn't one of ours! 
