Meet the Paul McCartney
I still remember the signing at the HMV Oxford Circus store on October 16, 1997; it's the day I could finally meet the Paul McCartney in person. Well, this is the whole story of how it happened.
On October 14, 1997, I went down to London from Lancaster with my friends; it's the day of the world premiere of Paul McCartney's Standing Stone at the Royal Albert Hall. On that time, I've already got information about the signing on the Internet. So I was a bundle of nerves with a mixture of hope and anxiety.
On that evening, anyway, I went to the world premiere with my friends. Before the premiere, my friends and I were interviewed by a German TV crew outside the Royal Albert Hall. When we went inside, we've found the TV monitors; Sting appeared on them. So we were so excited.
Well, the world premiere was indeed fantastic. My friends pointed out that the problem with "Standing Stone" is its unevenness, though. But at least, we all agreed on the point that Paul McCartney's challenge to the classical work is indeed great. After the premiere, incidentally, we were again interviewed by another TV crew outside the Royal Albert Hall.
On October 15, 1997, my friends went back to Lancaster; they are not die-hard fans of Macca like me, actually. In the morning, I arrived at the HMV store to check the situation; I found about 10 fans there. Since then, I had queued up at the pavement for about 26 hours. As of the morning, fortunately, I met two die-hard Japanese female fans of Macca; I could make friends with another fans; I wasn't bored stiff. In the middle of the waiting, the HMV security guys moved us to a fence-off section of the pavement. We had some visits from the media - I was interviewed by a CNN crew and a Radio 5 crew, and I was also interviewed and photographed by a newspaperman.
Throughout the night, blimey, HMV provided free tea and coffee, and toilet facilities; they also had staff around to keep an eye on us, and anyone who might bother us. Unlike the previous day, it didn't rain at all; it wasn't cold. Hence, we could have a peaceful night, though I couldn't get some sleep.
Early in the morning on October 16, 1997, the HMV security guys moved us to the corner, off Oxford Street; it was beside a side door of the HMV store. In the meantime, many coffees were distributed as Paul's treat - of course, I gratefully received it. As the HMV staff started selling several copies of 12" vinyl of Flaming Pie, I bought it to have it autographed by Macca.
The HMV staff finally let us in the shop around 12:30; we had to wait inside the shop until 2:15. During the waiting, it seemed to me that time was passing slowly.
At last Paul McCartney seemed to have arrived outside the HMV shop, for we could hear the screams of fans outside the shop. We couldn't see anything, though. After the reopening ceremony for the refurbished HMV Oxford Circus store, Paul walked through the shop, accompanied by the photographers and news crews. It was so astonishing, actually. Inside the store, hundreds of fans, including me, screamed! Some of us already burst into tears. It's indeed a bit like Beatlemania.
After that, I had to stand to wait for about one hours or so. Finally, my turn to meet the Paul McCartney in person came! My heart was beating so fast!
"Hello!," Paul said with a voice familiar to me. God! He is wearing well!!
"Hello!," I replied. Then I requested Paul to autograph like this:
"Please write my name, 'To Taka,' your autograph and your famous smiley face!"
On that time, I was surely the centre of Paul's attention; we looked straight into each other's eyes.
"OK!," Paul said with a smile on his face.
When he started writing my name, Paul actually said my name with that voice familiar to me!!
Whilst signing his autograph, I told Paul like this:
"Because of you, I started playing the Hofner bass." But I'm afraid Paul seemed not to catch what I said, for Paul was concentrating on his autograph on that time. Suddenly, I forgot what I intended to tell him. So I said, "Two days ago, I went to the world premiere of 'Standing Stone' at the Royal Albert Hall." Paul stopped signing his autograph, glanced at me, and said, "You did?" "Yes," I replied. "How was it?," said Paul. "Do you like it?" And I said, "Yes, I love it! It was fantastic!" "Really? Great! Thank you!," Paul said with a smile on his face. At the same time, Paul finished signing his autograph.
He signed his autograph like this:
When he handed the autographed LP album "Flaming Pie" to me, Paul said, "I wish you good luck in the future." "Of course, same to you, Sir!," I replied. We shook hands with each other.
My turn was over. Well, it was a lifetime's dream for me to meet the Paul McCartney in person; to get his autograph was always my wish. Though I couldn't tell him everything that I intended, anyway, I could achieve one of big dreams in my life.
It was indeed a miracle; but another miracle happened about half a year later. When I surfed on the Internet, I found Martha Rubenstein's "My Magical Macca Mystery Tour" web page by chance. On that page, surprisingly, I found a picture of me chatting with the Paul McCartney in person!! It is actually me from behind. So I asked her by email if she can make me a copy of that picture. Then Martha kindly sent me a copy of that picture and two copies of another pictures of me from behind. How lucky I am! Anyway, thanks a million, Martha and Genie who took that picture!!
According to Reuters, incidentally, Paul McCartney came to sign autographs at HMV to pay back a favour from 1962, when Beatles manager Brian Epstein asked for help from an old pal, Bob Boast, then the manager of the record store; Boast set up a meeting with George Martin, who was then a staff producer for Parlophone records, and that led to a contract with Parlophone, said Rob Partridge, spokesman for HMV.
Security guards reportedly said some 2,000 people were allowed into the cavernous store. But only about 250 could line up in a special "signing" queue to have copies of McCartney's albums "Flaming Pie" and "Standing Stone" autographed by him; only about 90 out of 250 could actually get the chance of the lifetime. More than 1,000 fans who were in a "picture-taking" queue crowded the store as Paul signed, and more than 1,000 fans were obliged to wait outside the store.
That's the story about Paul McCartney's first album signing in the UK since 1962 at the HMV store in London.
Paul McCartney : Signing session at HMV London
Paul McCartney @ hmv 150 Oxford Street, London, 1997
Paul at the HMV Oxford Shop 1997
