Mike Kovacich macca-central.com It was a tour that started out with a few European dates in the spring and was expanded to a total of 25 shows ending off with a series of two night shows in Toronto, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Our pal and fan extraordinaire, Bob Gannon was at 10 of these gigs and many of the sound checks. He was also present for one of Ringo and the Allstars gigs and the infamous 70th birthday ... more

Beatles Superstar Sir Paul McCartney and NASA have a strong relationship but right now they are involved in some monkey business. The Former Beatle is unhappy about NASA using poor animals for outer space radiation testing. PETA has always stood by its claim that Lab testing is a dangerous thing and most importantly it is inhumane. PETA maintains that lab testing is harmful for lab animals and Sir Paul more than agrees with them. In a recent letter ... more

U.S. director Richard Lester receives a tribute award from the Almeria en corto film festival in southeast Spain. He has donated his archive to the British Film Institute. (Francisco Bonilla/Reuters)U.S. director Richard Lester receives a tribute award from the Almeria en corto film festival in southeast Spain. He has donated his archive to the British Film Institute. (Francisco Bonilla/Reuters) Richard Lester, the American-born director who helmed Help and A Hard Day's Night, has donated his archive to ... more

In this exclusive clip from CNN International’s forthcoming culture show, Sir. Paul McCartney talks of his great love for his Les Paul Gibson Guitar  “Les was the great innovator, the great experimenter…” Sir Paul McCartney Presenter Monita Rajpal travels to the Swiss resort of Montreaux which has, for more than four decades, been home to the annual jazz festival.  She meets founder, Claude Nobs, who introduces her to music icons Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock.  She also ... more

< “Paul McCartney and Wings” was a rock band that performed in the 1970s and early 1980s … which explains why Sir Paul has long had a Wings sticker on one of his iconic guitars. A Detroit Red Wings sticker. When McCartney christened Pittsburgh’s new CONSOL Energy Center Wednesday night with a spectacular show before a sold-out crowd, one of the guitars he used was, in fact, the famous one with the Wings sticker. So Penguins president ... more

Mike Kovacich macca-central.com Paul McCartney and his band of mates completed the Up and Coming Summer Tour with a two night stand in Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center which is the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. We have some reports from both shows including Bob Gannon's photos and reports from both shows that includes the 2nd night sound check and the latest tattoo signings.    Report by Douglas McKinney: The first show in ... more

Along with being the cute Beatle and the ballad Beatle, Paul McCartney was always the jet-set Beatle. He liked to be where the action was and, all these years later, he still craves that big spotlight. He opened the new Mets stadium last summer, he hits the big charity blowouts, and Wednesday night, he answered the call to christen the Consol Energy Center in a city he hadn't played in 20 years. At 8:23 (fashionably late), he took ... more

At 8:22 p.m Wednesday, a new era of music in Pittsburgh was ushered in by one of rock music's legends. Paul McCartney stepped into the spotlight, a grin on his face, waved hello and struck the first chords played in Consol Energy Center. The song, for the record, was "Venus and Mars/Rock Show." It could have been any song by any band, and it would still have been a monumental moment. But because it was McCartney, because ... more

Sir Paul McCartney was full of stories, jokes and trivia last night in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the Consol Energy Center, the final stop of his 2010 Up and Coming Tour in North America. The famed rocker even signed a woman's thigh on stage, blessed a recently engaged couple and got friendly with a baby. Oh yeah, he played some songs, too -- 39 songs spanning five decades over the course of nearly three hours and two encores, more ... more

Mike Kovacich macca-central.com What cities will win the MACCA Lottery? We all thought the "Up and Coming Tour" would end after the two shows in Pittsburgh this Wednesday & Thursday, and that Paul would take a break before going back in the studio to record a new album. As reported here at MACCA-Central, Paul revealed recently before his Toronto gigs that he has written a whack of new songs and is ready to record them after he ... more