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I tried to meet Paul McCartney at the Airport recently - thoughts

Sir Paul was in my town a month back, so I tried to meet him. It was only about 4 of us at the airport and I thought he might actually sign for us. He did roll down the window and wave. I still think that was pretty cool. He didn't even have to do that… just could have keep driving.

NOW - I tried to meet him when he was leaving. Still only about 4 of us. It was cold and late at night.. which is ok - part of the game. His body guard came over and asked us to leave the parking area and wait by the street. Really… ok no worries we can just wait in the grass. He then went on to say - Paul has not stop to sign anything this tour - BUT if he does you have to write "YOUR NAME" "the CITY we are in" and the "Date". REALLY??? At the time I didn't raise a fuss, but later on I really wish I had. The reason we had to write all the crap on our album was because of "Ebay" according the to body guard. Really EBAY!! Please… Is Ebay really hurting Paul McCartney. I wanted to say… instead of complaining about ebay - why doesn't he just charge a fee and donate it to his favorite charity. Still has me shaking my head…. I am glad I didn't write all that crap on the album and ruin it. Oh - and Paul didn't stop btw.

Mark

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 2, 2015 at 4:01pm

Must be nice to be Fuddjcal. I can just imagine the woman keeping him company at the concert and after!

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Permalink Reply by Fuddjcal on January 2, 2015 at 4:41pm

I actually had to pay the piper and take my wife to McCartney, Ringo and.....wait for it.....Justin Timberlake this year. LOL. Justin Friggen Timberlake I had to go to.

Usually it's our guys concert group of 4-8 of us. It is not pretty either I can tell you that. It's 1980's and I'm not kidding. It's amazing how stupid these hot chicks are. LOL. They'll do just do about anything to be backstage with short fat guys, and a couple ex athletes. The Tom Petty shows are the best as a buddy of mine is the Attorney for a couple of the Heartbreakers.

It pays to have money and actually be able to talk to them. Stay in school kids and worry about bags after you make the money !!!!!!. The quality goes way up. LOL. Most guys are afraid to approach the really hot ones, but they are the easiest. My wife lets me troll, talk and do whatever I want. Unfortunately, I don't cheat. That's not allowed. I really am not in to losing half of everything which I have been warned many times. LOL. That's Fudd's lesson for Today. Happy New Year everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on January 2, 2015 at 6:36pm

Happy New Year as well. I agree about the hot ones, seems like that's common everywhere. We are exclusive also and both hate the feeling of condoms. Plus we aren't a fan of STDs

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Permalink Reply by Barry S on January 3, 2015 at 4:11am

Fudd and Dom you two are speaking my language. I've been a bartender in a huge country nightclub for 16 years. Just got home here at 6:30, eating a sandwich before bed. We have lots of big country artists play at our club, with tons of girls trying anything to get backstage, or on the bus. I don't cheat either, but boy if I did! Good night, Happy New Year to you.

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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on January 2, 2015 at 3:23pm

There's a scene in the new Chris Rock film, Top Five, that provides a glimps into what the autograph scene can be like for a big star. It's shot from behind so you see the hoard appearing all of a sudden...with no regard for the star or whatever he may be going through that day.

And sure...the fans make the stars. Stars should be grateful, etc. But facing this every day almost wherever you go has got to get annoying. Combine that with the pros who want you to help them make money off your name and I can understand why some celebs hate autograph seekers..even if just a few people are around. Someone can be a star's biggest fan...but how can they know?

I'm surprised that - as far as I know - no celebs have their assistants passing out pre-signed photos so they don't have to stop themselves. (Of course, then the issue would become whether they're really signed by the celebrity).

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Permalink Reply by Peter C. on January 2, 2015 at 3:42pm

AFAIK Paul Rodgers´s assistant gave pre-signed pictures to fans during QPR Tour in 2008.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on January 2, 2015 at 4:11pm

It always sucks when you don't get the signature. I wouldn't be too hard on Sir Paul. He has been signing autographs for people for 50 years. The E-Bay people are a pain in the a$$. They truly do use kids as runners and strategically surround the stars and they end up getting the signatures. I paid Mike Schmidt for 5 autographs, was alone with 1 helper in a room because I arrived late (because of a speeding ticket near Newark airport) politely asked for a quick photo with him being a big Philly fan. I got a nah. Its the ugly part of the "hobby", reality.

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Marik on January 3, 2015 at 10:04am

When Paul visit my country in 2004, I attended the show in Prague. My wife and I overheard security tell some people that Paul might sign a few autographs around the right back side of the stage after the show providing you had the passes to do so. We didn't have any VIP or backstage passes and to this day, I believe there were never any VIP or backstage passes sold for that show. We stuck around anyway. We waited 45 minutes for people to start clearing out and we finally started to see some members of his band. But man we couldn't get any more then 50 feet to him because his security was pretty big. He gave everybody a wave at one point and people were asking him to sign but he just nodded and went on with his business. That was the only time I have ever seen Paul and my only opportunity to get him to sign even though my chances were nil. The only thing I had in my possession for him to sign was a cd that I brought with me. Maybe one day I will be lucky enough to meet him but it seems these autograph chasers are ruining it for people.

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Permalink Reply by Peter C. on January 3, 2015 at 1:36pm

Let me show you the difference:
- I think that this is completely ok, respectful, nice experience for everyone and noone feel bothered:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcZouRN302I

- This is awful, disgusting, exploiting..... just made for sale and nothing else:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhyS4dMULFk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNqs-oVifu0

And that´s my favourite band and those guys are extremely friendly, fine, kind guys - and I hate to see that someone is exploiting their kindness in such a disgusting way. They still have the patience because they love their fans.... many other artists lost their patience with this situation. In case of Ian Gillan you can clearly see how he dislikes the situation...

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on January 3, 2015 at 2:11pm

ugh, the 2nd video makes me sick...Why even sign for them? That many albums and how they just toss them on the ground to make it easier for him to sign quicker...It is stuff like that makes me hate dealers...But not all of us have the opportunity to meet our heroes. It sucks and I personally would rather buy directly from the artist then through 2nd hand. It would also stop forgery in its tracks. Just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Peter C. on January 3, 2015 at 3:14pm

This is much worse example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xVBvZup5ZQ

This is totally disgusting and despicable. That´s why I was writing about respect, privacy, relationship between fans / artists destroyed by these vultures described as dealers..... Are you suprised they dont differ between fans and these lunatics? It´s because these lunatics overshadows "normal" well-behaved fans. And then buying item from this type of dealer? It just closes the circle. It´s about us and our behaviour - and that´s why I really think whole autograph scene is becoming ethical issue. Everyone asks about authenticity of item - fine.... let´s add another question how the sign was obtained if you want to make a change.