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Yale Bowl, New Haven
An arena in Connecticut, with a 63,000 capacity, where Paul was originally to appear on Sunday 29 July 1990 on the final leg of his world tour.
There was a history of hostility towards rock concerts at this venue and in previous years planned concerts by Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, the Who and Simon and Garfunkel had been cancelled due to opposition from the council and local citizens.
The city council originally vetoed the concert due to complaints from residents in the nearby Westville neighbourhood. The local Board of Aldermen then decided to allow it after voting 19-6 to approve the show although they had presented MPL with a list of twenty restrictions that they said had to be adhered to. Despite this, there were still complaints.
Billboard magazine was to comment, 'The same neighbourhood that feared it would be overrun during concerts has gladly lent its front lawns as parking lots for the Yale-Harvard football matches.'
On 1 April 1990, prior to Paul's concert at Berkeley Memorial Stadium, Paul's manager Richard Ogden said that they had discovered that only 50 people had voiced objections while 60,000 wanted the concert to go ahead. However, it had been decided not to do the show.
Ogden commented, 'I have closely followed the events in New Haven over the past few weeks, both through official channels and by communications with my wife's family who live in the area, and I have decided that the strength of local opposition was formidable enough to have us reconsider the proposed New Haven show. Paul is very sensitive to community concerns of this sort and has no desire to be the catalyst for such a deep and divisive controversy within the city.'
He was to add, 'Fortunately, as a contingency plan, we held tickets for the July twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth shows at Boston's Sullivan Stadium and these will go on sale immediately to fans in the New Haven area.'
Yates, Kerry
An Australian journalist whose meeting with Paul benefited her career.
Glenn A Baker relates the event in his book The Beatles Down Under.
Kerry was seventeen years old and working for Women's Weekly when the Beatles arrived in Sydney in June 1964. She was among the large group of reporters and photographers waiting in a corridor in the Sheraton hotel, hoping to get a story on Paul as he was celebrating his 22nd birthday.
Paul decided to have a few words with the press, but as soon as he saw Kerry he went straight to her and invited her to his room for an interview.
Kerry commented, 'I had long blonde hair and a pink sweater and I must have stood out from all the grey and brown suits because Paul made a beeline right for me and invited me up to his room. He let my photographer take shots of him surrounded by his presents and the next week we ran one of them on the front cover with my "exclusive" story inside. For years I've been asked what I had to do to get that scoop, which really did help my career. I know that everyone wants to know but I'm not saying if I did it or if I didn't.'
Years Roll Along, The
A song that Paul wrote in the late 1950s, which was never recorded. When he wrote a letter to a local journalist in 1959 attempting to get some publicity for the Quarry Men, Paul mentioned the title of the number.
Yellow Roads Of Texas
One of several numbers created in a jam session during Wings' second trip to Lympne Castle, Kent in May 1979.
Yellow Submarine
Paul was to comment, 'I was lying in my bed one night, and, just before I went to sleep, I had this idea about a yellow submarine. It just came into my mind, so, the next day I started writing it and finished it up. This was written as a commercial song, a kids' song. People say, "Yellow Submarine? What's the significance? What's behind it?" Nothing! I knew it would get connotations, but it was just a children's song. Kids get it straight away. I just loved the idea of kids singing it. I was playing with my little stepsister the other day, looking through a book about Salvador Dali, and she said to me, "Oh look. A soft watch." She accepted it. She wasn't frightened or worried. Kids have got it. It's only later that they get messed up. With "Yellow Submarine", the whole idea was "if someday I come across some kids singing it, that will be it".'
Another time he recalled, 'I was just drifting off to sleep and there's that nice twilight zone as you drift off. I remember thinking that it would be a good idea to write a children's song. I thought of images and the colour yellow came to me and a submarine came to me and I thought "That's kind of nice; like a toy, very childish yellow submarine."
Donovan also helped Paul with some of the lyrics and said, 'I helped Paul with the lyrics for "Yellow Submarine". He came round to my apartment and parked his Aston Martin in the middle of the road with the doors open and the radio blaring. He walked away from the car and came up to my apartment and played me "Eleanor Rigby" with different lyrics and he also said that he had another song that was missing a verse. It was a very small part and I just went into the other room and put together "Sky of blue, sea of green". They had always asked other people for help with a line or two, so I helped with that line. He knew that I was into kids' songs and he knew I could help. I'm sure he could have written the line himself but I suppose he wanted someone to add a line and I added a line.'
John Lennon was to say, '"Yellow Submarine" is Paul's baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration, Paul's idea, Paul's title.'
The song was an ideal vehicle for Ringo, providing him with his first vocal A-side on a Beatles single, and was recorded on 28 May and 1 June 1966 and included on the Revolver album.
The number became the inspiration for the animated movie Yellow Submarine and was also included on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album issued on Parlophone CDP7 46445 2. A version in which Ringo makes a spoken word introduction was included on Volume Two of The Beatles Anthology.
'Yellow Submarine' was also issued as a single in the US on 8 August 1966 on Capitol 5715 with 'Eleanor Rigby' and reached No. 2 in the charts. It was issued in Britain on 5 August on Parlophone R5493 and topped the charts.
Yesterday
One of Paul's most famous compositions, of which there have been over 2,500 versions by a wide variety of artists of almost every musical genre, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Tammy Wynette, Placido Domingo, Howard Keel, Liberace and Erroll Garner. Only four versions have actually reached the charts: those by the Beatles, Matt Monro, Ray Charles and Marianne Faithfull.
Billy J. Kramer said that at one point in his career when he was looking for a new song he travelled to Blackpool to see Paul and ask him if he had a suitable number. Paul played him 'Yesterday', but Billy said he turned it down because he didn't think it was right for him. Chris Farlowe also says that he turned the number down, telling Paul, 'It's not for me. It's too soft. I need a good rocker, a shuffle or something.'
Although Paul says he played 'Yesterday' to both artists, he said it wasn't with the intention of giving them the song to record.
Paul began writing it when he was 21 and it was the first time a Beatle had made a solo recording.
In 1980 Paul said i really reckon "Yesterday" is probably my best song. I like it not only because it was a big success, but because it was one of the most instinctive songs I've ever written. I was so proud of it. I felt it was an original tune - the most complete thing I'd ever written. It's very catchy without being sickly.'
Paul woke up one morning, late in 1963 in the attic bedroom of the Ashers' house at 57 Wimpole Street with the melody in his head and set some nonsense words to the tune, which had the working title of 'Scrambled Egg'. He said, 'I just fell out of bed and the bones of the melody were there. I had a piano by the side of my bed and just got up and played the chords.'
He was later to state, 'It was the only song I ever dreamed.'
He later went along to Alma Cogan's flat and played her the tune on the piano. He was to ask her 'This is something I've written; does this remind you of anything?' He was still working on it when he was visiting the family home in the Wirral and Ruth McCartney recalls Paul walking around the house singing 'Scrambled eggs, Oh, you've got such lovely legs, scrambled eggs. Oh, my baby how I love your legs.'
Paul was unsure whether he'd actually created the melody or had heard the tune somewhere before. He played it to his fellow Beatles as a new composition and recalled, 'It was like handing in something you'd found at the police station and waiting to see if anyone claimed it. After two weeks they hadn't in this case so I felt entitled to collect it and call it my property.'
In January 1964 while they were in Paris, staying at the George V Hotel, Paul played it to George Martin, while it was still under the working title of 'Scrambled Eggs'. Martin recalls, 'Paul wanted a one-word title except that he thought the word "Yesterday" was perhaps too corny. I persuaded him that it sounded fine to me.'
Paul was still working on the number when the Beatles were filming their second feature Help! at Twickenham Studios, playing it constantly on piano. This irritated director Richard Lester who told him, 'If you play that bloody theme one more time I'll have the piano taken off the set. Either finish the song properly or give up on it.'
Ray Coleman was to write an entire book dedicated to the song in 1995 which was called Yesterday and Today.
Beatles publisher Dick James was to tell Coleman that he heard Paul playing it at the Twickenham Studios during the filming of Help!
He was to say, 'Paul said to me, "Come and listen to this. It's my latest tune, we'll be recording it soon, I've got an idea but I haven't worked out the lyrics yet." And he switched on the Hammond organ and very quietly just held the keys and used the bass part. Paul, in his construction of the song, always seemed to feature the bass before almost any other part of the melody. He played the left hand on the bass of the organ, and used the words "Scrambled Eggs" as the title. Funny words, but you really didn't have to be a great musician or even a music man to know that it was one of the greatest melodies that your ears had ever heard.'
The song was recorded in June 1965. In his book All You Need Is Ears, George Martin was to write 'I started to leave my hallmark on the music when a style started to emerge which was partly of my making. It was on "Yesterday" that I started to score their music. It was on "Yesterday" that we first used instruments or musicians other than the Beatles and myself.'
Paul had said, 'We tried ways of doing it with John on organ but it sounded weird, and in the end I was told to do it as a solo. I was never comfortable doing that, especially with the others.'
The next step was the use of a string quartet and Martin recalled, 'And that, in the pop world in those days, was quite a step to take. We started breaking out of the phase of using just four instruments and went into something more experimental, though our initial experiments were severely limited by the fairly crude tools at our disposal and had simply to be moulded out of my recording experience.'
When recalling that the number had been a tune without words for quite a long time, he pointed out that the working title 'Scrambled Eggs' had three syllables, as did 'Yes-ter-day'. He took his time to work out the lyrics, saying they were 'not too sickly but certainly it was always going to be a love song. I'm hip to the fact that people like a love song. I like ballads and I know people like them too.'
Recording of the number began on Monday 14 June 1965 at Abbey Road's No. 2 Studio with Paul playing 'Yesterday' on acoustic guitar and vocal. George Harrison was also present at the recording. The number was completed on Thursday 17 June with the overdubbing, an additional vocal track by Paul - and the presence of a string quartet comprising Tony Gilbert on first violin, Sidney Sax on second violin, Francisco Gabarro on cello and Kenneth Essex on voila.
Initially, Paul talked to the quartet, explaining his ideas, with such instructions as 'No vibrato. I don't want vibrato.' He recalled, "When they dropped the vibrato it sounder stronger. Before, it had sounded quite classical enough. Now it was no longer like the old gypsy violinist playing round a camp fire.'
Martin considered that the number was a solo Paul McCartney effort and thought that it should be released as such. He even approached the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein to discuss it. He said, 'I actually went to Brian and said: "What are you going to call this? Is it Paul McCartney?" And he looked at me very sternly and said: "No. It is the Beatles." He did not want to divide his holy quartet. Though it wasn't the Beatles at all, it had to remain so, as part of their recordings. I don't think it irritated Paul at the time because he considered himself to be a Beatle above all other things.'
When the Beatles appeared on Blackpool Night Out on Sunday 1 August 1965, Paul performed 'Yesterday.' Apparently John Lennon was not pleased with Paul getting what amounted to a solo spot and was shouting out sarcastic comments when Paul was rehearsing the number. When Paul was about to play it, George Harrison introduced him with the word's 'We'd like to do something now that we've never ever done before. It's a track off our new LP and this song's called "Yesterday". So for Paul McCartney of Liverpool, opportunity knocks!'
Matt Monro, a leading British ballad singer watched the Blackpool Night Out television show and the next day phoned George Martin asking him when the number was being issued as a single. Martin told him that there were no plans for it to be released as a single - Brian Epstein had vetoed it. Monro then said he wanted to record it and, as Martin was his own recording manager, asked him to score it for him.
Martin recalled, 'That was most difficult because I had already scored it for Paul and I didn't want to do it any other way. I did re-score it for Matt, and produced his record with a string orchestra. We had a French horn and I changed the harmonies. All the things Paul would hate were there, but it worked for Matt Monro.'
Paul was keen on Marianne Faithfull recording the number and even attended her recording session on 11 November 1965.
When the Beatles began touring in June 1965, Paul initially didn't play 'Yesterday' because he thought it might upset John. However, Capitol Records wanted to issue it as a single in America and asked if Paul could perform it on The Ed Sullivan Show, which the Beatles recorded on Saturday 14 August 1965. George Harrison announced, 'We'd like to carry on with a song from our new album in England and it will be out in America shortly. And it's a song featuring just Paul, and it's called "Yesterday".' Paul sang it and was accompanied by a pre-taped track featuring three violins. When Paul finished the number, John announced, 'Thank you Paul, that was just like him.' The show was screened on 12 September 1965.
'Yesterday' was included on the Help! album, but was not released as a Beatles single in Britain until 1970. It was the title song on their British EP, released on GEP 8948 on 4 March 1966 with the tracks 'Yesterday', 'Act Naturally', 'You Like Me Too Much' and 'It's Only Love'. However, it was issued in many other countries and topped the charts in America, Hong Kong, Finland, Norway and Belgium.
It was included on the compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies (But Goldies) issued on Parlophone PCS 7016 on 10 December 1966. It was also included on The Beatles 1962-1966 issued on Parlophone PCSP 717 on 19 April 1973. It was finally released as a single in Britain on Parlophone R 6013 on 8 March 1976 with 'I Should Have Known Better' on the flip. It was also the opening track on the mail order set issued by World Records as The Beatles Collection in 1977 and was also the opening track on The Beatles Ballads, issued on Parlophone PCS 7214 on 20 October 1980.
The American single was issued on Capitol 5498 on 13 September 1965 with 'Act Naturally' on the flip and was a million-seller there within ten days. It was also included on the American album Yesterday and Today issued on Capitol ST2553 on 20 June 1966 and was the opening track on the American album Love Songs, issued on Capitol SKBL 11711 on 21 October 1977.
'Yesterday' received the Ivor Novello Award as 'The Outstanding Song Of The Year' in 1966 and was the most performed song in America for eight consecutive years from 1965-1973.
Paul continued to use the number during his solo years and included it on his Wings 1975/6 tour, his British tour of 1979, also as an encore on his 1989/90-world tour and his 1993 tour. It also surfaced on the Wings Over America album. He also decided to include it in his Give My Regards to Broad Street feature film and it was part of the movie soundtrack album which was issued on 22 October 1984.
At the Dorchester Hotel, London, in November 1993 Paul was to receive an award for the 6 millionth American radio play, which was said to be 'the most performed song ever on US radio and television.'
He said, 'I asked as a favour if I could have my name before John's on the Anthology credit for "Yesterday" and Yoko refused.
'I could question her but I'm a civil person and life isn't long enough. I'd prefer to walk in the park, have fun.
'At one time Yoko earned more from "Yesterday" than I did. It doesn't compute, especially when it's the only song that none of the Beatles had anything to do with.'
During April 1998 he performed the number for a BBC 2 television tribute to Spike Milligan on his eightieth birthday. He played an acoustic version on guitar, slipping in part of Milligan's 'Ying Tong Song' into it.
Another version of this number, lasting two minutes and seven seconds, was recorded live for the Tripping The Live Fantastic album on 9 February 1990 at the Worcester Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts during the 1989/90 World Tour.
Ying Tong Song
One of the nonsense songs created by the Goons, the cult British comedy group comprising Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. On 18 April 1998, the night after Linda's death, a programme celebrating Spike Milligan's eightieth birthday, 'Happy Birthday Spike', was screened in Britain on BBC 2 with a pre-recorded piece from Paul in which he mentioned Spike's huge influence on the Beatles' sense of humour and sang a version of 'Yesterday', mixing it with the 'Ying Tong Song'.
You Gave Me The Answer
A track on the Venus And Mars album. It was also used as the flip of the 'Letting Go' single and was included on the Wings Over America album. Paul performed the number during the Wings World Tour of 1975/76 and often dedicated this particular number to actor/dancer Fred Astaire.
You Know I'll Get You Baby
One of several numbers Paul recorded in July 1979 during sessions for McCartney II, which weren't used on the album. Paul had originally intended issuing a double album and 'You Know I'll Get You Baby' had been planned for Record Two.
You Never Give Me Your Money
A number penned by Paul for the Beatles 1969 album Abbey Road. It was recorded at Olympic Studios on 6 May, with overdubbing at Abbey Road on 1, 11, 15, 30 and 31 July and 5 August 1969. The theme was inspired by the financial problems at Apple.
Paul commented, This was me directly lambasting Allen Klein's attitude to us. No money, just funny paper. All promises and it never works out. It's basically a song about no faith in a person.'
You Won't See Me
A track on the Rubber Soul album.
Paul was to comment, 'It was one hundred per cent me, as I recall, but I was always happy to give John a credit because there's always a chance that, on the night of the session, he might have said, "That'd be better" to me. It was very Motown flavoured. It's got a James Jameson feel. He was the Motown bass player.'
The Beatles recorded it on Monday 22 November 1965 and it was the last session for the album.
Paul wrote and performed the song on the piano and Mai Evans played Hammond organ in the recording studio.
It was inspired by a row Paul had had with Jane Asher.
You'll Never Walk Alone
A number from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel that became a No. 1 British hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers. It also became an anthem at Liverpool FC where the fans sang the song en masse. The gates outside the football ground now sport the message 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
Following the fire in the stands of a football match at Bradford City ground in which 55 people died, Gerry Marsden set out to make a charity record to raise funds for the bereaved families. He amassed a group of artists that he called the Crowd and issued the record on Friday 24 May 1985.
Paul had been invited to take part, but couldn't attend the actual recording session. However, he recorded a seventeen-second telephone message of sympathy that was included on the B-side of the record, entitled 'Messages'.
Young Boy
A track from the Flaming Pie album lasting 3 minutes and 54 seconds. It was penned and produced by Paul and engineered by Geoff Emerick and Jan Jacobs, assisted by Keith Smith and Frank Farrell.
Recording began on 22 February 1995 and Paul sang lead vocal and played drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and Hammond organ. Steve Miller provided backing vocal and played electric guitar and rhythm guitar.
It was issued in the UK on Parlophone RP 6462 on Monday 28 April 1997 in three different formats, a 7" picture disc and two different CDs.
Trevor Dann of the BBC, who'd originally vetoed 'Real Love' from being played on Radio One in 1998, banned 'Young Boy' from Top Of The Pops on the grounds that it was not new music.
'Looking For You' was on the flip.
Commenting on the number, Paul said, 'This was another written against the clock. I wrote it in the time that it took Linda to cook a lunch for a feature in the New York Times. It was great to renew my sixties friendship with Steve Miller.'
Paul had originally recorded with Miller in London in the 1960s and said, 'I rang up Steve, said I had this song, how about it? He's got this studio in Sun Valley, Idaho, and we went out there. Working with him was like falling back into an old habit. We worked on "Young Boy" over three days at his place and it was fun, we didn't sweat it. It's very straightforward, just a song straight from the shoulder.'
Paul was also to say that he was inspired to write the number by his son James. He commented, '"Young Boy" is just about a young guy looking for a way to find love and basically I suppose I was thinking of my own son, who's nineteen, though he'd kill me for saying that.
'It's for anyone around that age, looking for love. I remember the feeling well.
'I remember thinking, "There's three hundred million people out there and one of them is the right one for me." But you don't know if you'll ever meet them or how you'll do it. It's a pretty scary feeling. So this song is for all those people.'
Your Loving Flame
A track on the Driving Rain album lasting 3 minutes and 43 seconds. It was recorded on Tuesday 19 June 2001 and mixed by David Leonard. A string quartet was overdubbed on the track. The musicians were: David Campbell, viola; Matt Funes, viola; Joel Derouin, violin; and Larry Corbett, cello.
Your Mother Should Know
The theme number for the conclusion of the Magical Mystery Tour film, which was a spectacular finale. The Beatles were to descend a gigantic winding staircase, dressed in white evening suits. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they joined a huge gathering of more than 200 people including 160 members of the Peggy Spencer Formation Dancing team and 24 girl cadets from the Women's Air Force.
The sequence was filmed at West Mailing's Air Station and Paul was to say, 'That was the shot that used most of the budget!'
Apple's Alistair Taylor commented, 'The idea for this sequence was because Paul was, very much, into the Busby Berkeley school of thought. That's why he had the Peggy Spencer Formation Team there.
'The hour before we were due to film in this aircraft hangar, the generator blew. Every light, the sounds, everything went. So, it was panic stations. It was a Sunday and we couldn't get hold of the people we hired the generator from. So, a guy brilliantly made a wooden cog, because it was a wooden cog that had gone in the generator and we, thankfully, got it going again. But it blew again, and by this time it was getting near dusk and all the invited villagers started drifting off. Children in prams and the other, older children started going. So, the final scene in Magical Mystery Tour was just a tenth of the people that should have been there.'
Paul had actually composed the number inspired by songs of the 1930s and even included the line, 'a song that was a hit before your mother was born'.
Due to the fact that the Abbey Road Studios were fully booked, the number was recorded at Chappell Recording Studios at 52 Maddox Street, London Wl. The sessions took place on Tuesday and Wednesday 22 and 23 August 1967. There were some sessions recording this particular song at Abbey Road Studios, but the Chappell Studios recordings were the ones used on the Magical Mystery Tour releases.
Your Way
A track from the Driving Rain album. The number lasts for 2 minutes and 55 seconds and was recorded on 18 February 2001.
You're Sixteen
A number written by Robert and Richard Sherman that had given Johnny Burnette a million-seller in 1960 and Ringo Starr a multi-million seller in February 1974. It was also included on the Ringo album.
The track included a kazoo passage by Paul, Producer Richard Perry had played Paul the tapes of the album and Paul felt that the number needed something extra. He played the kazoo, a small mouth instrument which can produce a tinny sound that people used to imitate with a comb wrapped in paper, but which in this instance sounded almost like a saxophone.
Yvonne's The One
A number Paul penned in collaboration with Eric Stewart that was originally made as a demo disc in February 1985 under the title 'So Long Yvonne'. It was included on the Press To Play album. Stewart was to say the song was inspired by a postcard he'd received from Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. It was re-recorded by Adrian Lee, with Paul on rhythm, and issued as one of the tracks on lOcc's Mirror Mirror album when it was issued in Europe and Japan in 1995, although the track wasn't included on the American release.
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