“Creative satisfaction is just writing a song – it’s still the same old satisfaction that it was.”
‘The Boys Of Dungeon Lane’ was released by Beatles legend Paul McCartney last week (May 29). The record reflects his years growing up in Liverpool and features a poignant duet with ex-band member Ringo Starr on ‘Home To Us’.
In an interview released yesterday, McCartney was asked if he’d ever step away from the limelight as a musician.
“I don’t know. I never know, y’know?” he replied. “I remember when I was 50 years old, my manager at the time said, ‘Well, are you thinking of retiring?’ I went, ‘Uh, I don’t think so.’ But he obviously thought, 50… which, I get it…”
It’s interesting. There’s often rhetoric around ageing and performance, as if once you reach a certain age, you’re expected to pull back the reins.
A song-writing legend with a career spanning almost sixty years, amassing success with The Beatles and as a solo artist, McCartney explains that he still loves the game – and that’s why he’s still here.
“Creative satisfaction is just writing a song – it’s still the same old satisfaction that it was,”
He continues, saying. “There’s something magical about it, and I often think, ‘I never set out to be a singer-songwriter person.’ When I was at school, I thought the only thing left for me would be a teacher…”
In a conversation with friends yesterday, we had bonded over our love for the arts. We’d discussed how music, performing arts, dance, and acting will never die so long as we have love and passion for it.
So often, the idea of what it means to be a musician gets drowned out by the 5% who live the pop-star lifestyle – millions of fans, ultra-wealth, image management, publicity and everything that comes with it.
But we forget, these people started off as artists who simply wanted to create and loved doing it
Paul McCartney doesn’t have to stop because he’s reached a certain age or a certain level of success. If you love something enough, you’d keep doing it until you’re physically unable to.
