Paul McCartney launches new podcast ‘A Life In Lyrics’
Paul McCartney has shared the first episode of his new podcast A Life In Lyrics, hosted by Irish poet Paul Muldoon.
Each episode is dedicated to a different song from his immense back catalogue of material. The first season promises to tackle beloved Beatles tracks including ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Back in the USSR,’ ‘Let It Be,’ ‘When Winter Comes,’ ‘Penny Lane,’ ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,’ ‘Here Today,’ ‘Live and Let Die,’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ ‘Jenny Wren,’ ‘Too Many People,’ and ‘Helter Skelter.’
Episodes will be available to stream on a weekly basis by iHeartMedia on podcast platforms unless fans are subscribed to Pushkin+ and can listen to the whole series in full. A second series has already been confirmed for February 2024. iHeartRadio will also broadcast the podcast on their stations across the United States every Sunday morning.
In the first episode, McCartney looks back and dissects The Beatles’ ‘Back In The USSR‘. He tells Muldoon of the track: “Chuck Berry wrote a song called ‘Back In The US’, which we were very familiar with and I thought it was cool, it was obviously about a serviceman going home.”
“It was a little but too pro-US because we were in the UK, so I could poke fun at it in my own way. When I saw USSR was sort of similar, then I realised I could set it back in the US, and do a little parody on Chuck’s idea of being back, and I would have a Russian guy who’d come from America and was glad to be back in Russia. He’d come from Miami on BOAC, British Overseas Airwaves Corporation,” McCartney added.
Previously discussing the series in the prologue episode, Muldoon said: “When we listened back to the tapes, we realised there was something very special happening in these conversations. “It was McCartney unfiltered.”
Meanwhile, Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, previously said in a statement: “Paul McCartney is one of the most groundbreaking, gifted artists of all time, and his songs have elevated and given meaning to so many moments in so many of our lives – so the chance to launch a podcast that tells the stories behind those songs … it’s a once-in-a-lifetime project.”
Byrne added: “‘McCartney: A Life in Lyrics’ will be a first-hand, first-of-its-kind account of his creative process – that has shaped and inspired multiple generations across the globe. We simply could not be more excited to partner with Sir McCartney, Paul Muldoon, executive producer Malcolm Gladwell and Pushkin Industries to bring these stories to listeners everywhere.”
Listen to the first episode below.
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