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Authenticity is Everything
Macca encounter
Today, in London outside his office in Soho sq i saw Macca. I was the only person there, and i had a copy of one of his solo CD's for signing (Ram). He came out and said very politely that he does not sign there ('because this is business' i think he said, or words to that effect). 'But in can shake your hand' he said, and did so before getting into the car. 'And thank you for being a fan' he ended with. Nice. He was great. Of course, i have seen him sign there many times over the years, but less recently. This is the first time i have actually heard him say he does not sign there, so i suppose this is relatively new. Anyway, as a genuine fan, it was great to see him today - he's a class act.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by James Stone on
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I think there is no question he can be pompous, I mean he made Phil Collins angry. Howard Stern as well.
Can't really blame him. Everyone has wanted a piece of him since he was in his 20's. 50+ years of this now. I think anyone on this forum would be so sick of that by now. He has managed it pretty well all things considered.
He doesn't owe you anything! And there are a lot of creepy people out there.
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Permalink Reply by Mr. Steffman on
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I agree completely. Under his circumstances, he has hung on to sanity quite well.
I didn't mean to say he was a control freak in a negative context necessarily... I just meant like the time Steve Jobs asked an elevator man a question and the man answered wrongly, so Steve Jobs fired him on the spot. (The problem was the guy didn't even work for Apple.)
Paul runs the show and surrounds himself with yes men. He's not someone that can be convinced to do things. It's always his terms.
I love and respect the guy though.
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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on
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James, you are absolutely right. The man is a superstar and has been signing for 50 years. You cant really fault him. He signs if he feels like it.
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Permalink Reply by Ricardo on
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I agree.. Given the level of fame that he has experienced over such a long period of time (since his early 20's.. He is now 74), it's incredible how 'normal' he is. And how he can still be polite and friendly to strangers stopping him in the street. I'm sure he has bad days, and can get fed up and irritable from time to time with the intrusion, but it is FAR outweighed by the time he gives to people when they meet them-whether signing or not- just with a handshake or answering a few questions, or showing appreciation to his fans. That has been my experience anyway since the mid 1980's when I first saw him.
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I don't get it to be honest. Why search out Mccartney vs buy an autograph? Is it the thrill of the chase? I'd love to meet Mccartney, but I am not waiting around for 12 hours for him to tell me to get lost. How painful is that?
I honestly don't have tons of money, but I'd save up money to purchase an autograph of his anyday over standing on some street corner looking like a fool/stalker in the hopes I run into him and he doesn't tell me to take a hike.
That would be the biggest buzzkill ever.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on
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I don't think that is entirely fair, i own a vintage Beatles era McCartney that while has Caiazzo loa and given thumbs up by Tracks and Cox...I will never 100% know it is real because I didn't see it signed myself. I would trade it in a heart beat for an interaction with McCartney like Nick had even if the signature was less fully formed.
Now don't get me wrong I love the history of the vintage graphs I own, but the Beatles are my heroes and would love nothing else to meet either of them. The closest I got is Ringo pointing out and commenting on a sign I held in concert and Paul responding to one of my emails to his Ask A Question on his website.
Meeting Brian Wilson and all of the other Beach Boys were my only next biggest thrill with a celebrity that I really wanted to meet, but still isn't equivellsnt to how much I would wish just to shake Paul's hand.
So believe me, I get why someone would try.
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I have gone the whole "meeting stars" route and generally it leaves me feeling very empty. Much of the time they were no shows after a LONG wait, entire time was just so nervous, all that energy for nothing. Terrible When stars did show, I was pretty much a nervous mess and would never know what to say and then would have this horrible feeling that I acted like an idiot in front of them. Then there were the stars I met where it was just a bad encounter as in "leave me alone" which was so depressing.
I would NEVER ask for an in person autograph, doesn't commemorate the experience at all. This coming from a big autograph collector. The first words out of my mouth are "can I have a picture?" it is 1000 times better than ink on paper. I made that mistake once and got an autograph when I could have had a photo. What a total waste.
As far as not knowing if something is really signed by the person unless you see it signed, if that is the case, we might as well just close up shop here on this forum and burn it all. I own a Beatles set and I know for certain it is real. I didn't have to be there. Would have loved to have been there, but its the next best thing.
All that being said, everyone is different. I don't get it, but others enjoy trying to meet stars and that is cool. I respect it even though I don't get it.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Maas on
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I much prefer getting autographs in person, for a few reasons.
1. I don't have a ton of money, especially for McCartney autographs. Taking a day off to try to meet him is totally worth it for me.
2. I'll never know for sure if an autograph I bought is authentic. Sure, I may be confident that it was signed because of how it looks, but there will always be that part of my brain that questions it authenticity... No matter how good it looks or who authenticated it.
3. When I get an autograph in person, I have a memory attached to it. A memory of meeting a person who means something to me. When I look at an autograph I purchased, I have no idea who got it signed, where or when it was signed. I just think about the price I paid. There's no memory attached to it.
And yes, the chase is indeed a thrill. I spent hours outside of Paul's hotel last summer only to get a wave and a point to his watch. I had no problem with it! I went to the show later that evening and didn't feel any anger towards him. That's not in my mindset.
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Permalink Reply by Invest_In_Graphs on
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Nick: I'm sorry for saying that I didn't know who you were - that's because I'm fairly new to this forum although I've been around for years. When you got him in the Midwest, can you share the circumstances?
Reading these posts show me that he's not as much of a non-signer as I thought, but he's fairly close to it. I was used to the airport routine after concerts. As far as I know, that has been 100% cut off after July 2013. The big McCartney seekers have either stopped going to airports for him or have largely cut back. I went in State College, PA, in October 2015 - they were four of us. He drove through.
As far as him having an attitude, I've never seen it (which is not to say that it has never happened or that I disbelieve others' stories).
The picture below is what I'm struggling with. How do I get it done without it being personalized or a rushed "Pal"?
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Beatles - Program #1.jpg, 729 KB
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It's probably more like, "Who do I have to pay and how much?"
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