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   CLUB SANDWICH 77

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Club Sandwich 77

Club Sandwich 77

All of the speeches at the launch were delivered, not from a lecturn but, most appropriately, an old school desk. Paul was also involved in cutting a giant-sized celebratory cake. The bottom-left photo was taken last summer, when Paul and Linda visited LIPA to see how the final stages of the building work were progressing.

short of psychotic". There was Commissioner Padraig Flynn of the European Union, who spoke of the' contribution LIPA will make to the lives of young people. There was a representative of Grundig, whose investment in LIPA has been so important. And there was the last speaker of all, LIPA's lead patron, guiding light, inspiration, major financial contributor, Paul McCartney.
            Back on the stage he trod as a schoolboy, the Liverpool Institute's most famous former pupil received a rapturous ovation from the Auditorium audience, from the industry executives to the "chain gang" of clustered mayors and mayoresses. It was, Paul pointed out, great to be back in the place he first entered in 1953, age 11 and awestruck. It was a wonderful day, an emotional day. Only just holding back the tears, he ended with the words that, since his song 30 years ago, have become a synonym for optimism, "we can work it out".
            The speeches over, attention shifted to a group of young men and women, 13 in number, who rose to sing, a capella, some words of wisdom gleaned from The Prophet that sum up LIPA's aspirations and, almost palpably, pricked the conscience of many watching. Club Sandwich 77

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to yon.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls.

            This is LIPA, in a nutshell. Its hopes are many, and its students - its lucky, lucky students, who find the world's best equipment and facilities freely at the disposal - have been handed the opportunity of a lifetime. They are the future, the power is theirs to seize and the tools are being handed them on a plate.

I must admit I may have made a few mistakes, but let's get started, from a party, don't you know how long it takes!

            The thing about LIPA is, it is tangible. People may choose to dislike a Paul McCartney song, or criticise his career for goodness knows what reason, but LIPA is bricks and mortar. It is a genuinely intentioned, real monument for the benefit of all that is surely beyond criticism. Paul did not have to bother to do this. What other major celebrity has done it? (No fingers are necessary to aid the count.) The fact is, this is a significant tribute to Paul's character and endeavour, and if all he has done in his life has to led to this, then it has been worth every moment.
            Of course, down-to-earth Liverpudlians have the ability to cut through such misty-eyed sentimentality. "Lukkarall those people waiting for 'im," one teenage girl jeered to another, pointing out the crowd of McCartney fans braving the bitter cold temperatures to wait for their hero's arrival. "It's not as if he's written any decent songs or nuttin'." A few yards further on, a Scouser asked whether I'd allow him to make a colour photocopy of my invitation to the launch. "Go on, pal, the copies are so good these days no one'll ever notice..."
            This cocktail of bravado, personality and entrepreneurship has long been the backbone of Liverpool and the source of its rich talent - some of its exponents going on, beyond Merseyside, to change the world. LIPA will tap directly into its main artery, and bring in other skills and ideas from around the globe.
            LIPA is a fantastic achievement.

Pass down the message that it's right this time

Club Sandwich 77