GLASTONBURYOFTHEMIND

With the gloves off in the divorce of the season - the media cant beleeeeive its luck - it seems that Sir Paul always had regard for tough independently minded women, capable of playing dirty when required. Before Heather Mills divorce bombshell arrived on his doorstep its fair to assume that few things vexed Paul McCartney more than the state of the business end of his publishing empire - ie ownership of The Beatles classic canon residing in the hands of others. It wasn’t really until the 60s dust cloud had cleared that Paul and the by now estranged John Lennon realised exactly what sort of mess the publishing contracts they had signed had left them in. Though apart both Lennon and McCartney were still yoked to their Northern Song contract. Both now took to composing with their respective partners, Yoko and Linda. This not only gave them the benefit of new creative input but also insured that half the royalties to new songs did not go to Northern Songs. But publishers , like insurer loss adjusters, dont accept things on face value, particularly when large sums are at stake. When the first Paul and Linda joint composition Another Day (as in composed under the influence of “a joint”, perhaps?) went to number one in 1971, Lew Grade, the ATV Chairman who owned Northern Songs, filed suit alleging that the Lovely Linda was not, in fact, a genuine songwriting collaborator. We are into surreal territory here and it is to do with the inanity of songwriting law and copy right. So there’s money involved if Linda can are can’t be said to have written the song. But surely the fact is that putting up with this piece of chap. Being his sainted other , housemate, long suffering, or not, etc Surely Linda was an ENABLER. As vital to Paul’s upkeep as eggs spam and the rest of a mam. Anyway…. Jack Gill The ATV Financial director once boasted that buying Northern Songs, from Dick James, took only 5 minutes. As ATV prepared to take the matter to court Gill attempted to explain to Linda that the company had no knowledge of her as a writer . The lovely Linda’s response was to spit in his face, according to the story printed on Page 98 of Northern Songs : The True Story Of The Beatles Song Publishing Empire By Brian Southall and Rupert Perry (Omnibus Press 2006 £19.95). “if you knew Jack Gill you would be shocked - because there was no finer gentleman than Jack, ” says former ATV man Sam Trust. Sam Trust ! What a name for someone in the cut throat world of song publishing.