Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool on 18th June 1942. He was raised in the city and educated at The Liverpool Institute.
Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. In the sixties, as the writer and co-author of their greatest songs, he changed the world of music with the Beatles. Legendary albums include: Please Please Me, Revolver, Help!, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album. Through the following three decades, first with Wings and then as a solo artist, he has continued to break boundaries and to influence the sound of music around the globe.
In 1990 he was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society to write The Liverpool Oratorio, which has received more than 100 performances in 20 countries since its premiere in 1991, a performance recorded live by EMI Classics. The double-CD album topped the charts in both the UK and USA.
In 1995 - the 30th anniversary of Paul McCartney's most-acclaimed song Yesterday - his second classical work, A leaf - for solo piano, was premiered at St James' Palace in the presence of the Prince of Wales. Since then, Paul McCartney has taken other steps into the classical form, composing Stately Horn, Inebriation, Spiral and his major challenge, Standing Stone.
Paul McCartney was commissioned by EMI Records in 1996 to compose a major orchestral work to mark EMI's 100th anniversary in the autumn of 1997. The symphonic poem Standing Stone was recorded in the legendary Abbey Road studios, conducted by Lawrence Foster and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere was held at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1997, with a 10-minute standing ovation given to its composer by the capacity audience. Standing Stone then proceeded to go to No.1 in both classical charts in the UK and USA and McCartney later won the USA's National Public Radio New Horizon Award for Standing Stone, in recognition of his work in broadening the appeal of classical music.
A freeman of The City of Liverpool and Lead Patron of The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Paul McCartney was appointed Fellow of The Royal College of Music in 1995 by The Prince of Wales. In 1996 Paul McCartney was knighted by H.M. The Queen for his services to music.
