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It has been called the McCartney PR war. Despite the estimated £825 million fortune separating the two factions, this has become a battle over hearts and minds as much as money.
The opposite sides have adopted very different tactics. Sir Paul, 64, has maintained what he hopes is a dignified silence. In a BBC radio interview this month, he said: “There are certain things in life that are personal, and I think a relationship with a partner is intensely personal and I prefer to keep it that way.”
His 38-year-old estranged wife, for her part, also kept silent — until legal documents leaked last month revealed that she had accused Sir Paul of verbal abuse and violence. She promptly threatened to sue at least three newspapers. Now she has decided to come out all guns blazing in a tabloid television interview in America.
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Yesterday, as Lady McCartney went on the offensive, declaring that she had married for love and was devastated by the negative media reaction she had received, Sir Paul’s publicity machine was on an altogether different mission.
He was at the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly, Central London, for a signing session after the release of his soberly entitled classical album Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart).
More than 500 fans, many of whom had been camping outside the store since Monday, queued to meet their idol as he made his first public appearance in Britain since the divorce battle turned bitter.
When he appeared at the side door, a couple of girls had the chance to reassure him with calls of “Paul, we love you” before he was swiftly escorted upstairs and out of sight. Reporters were banned from the top floor by an army of bouncers and publicists.
Kevin Phillips, a social worker from Barnet, North London, was among the crowds waiting to meet Sir Paul. “His ex has been all over the TV all morning, but this seems fairly low key,” he said. “Mind you, all his lawyer has to do is stand up in court and say, ‘He used to be a Beatle, my lord’. Game over.”
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Fans were told that they could ask the star to sign only two items — a copy of Ecce Cor Meum, his classical meditation on love and peace, featuring two Oxbridge boys’ choirs, priced £10.99, or a copy of his new live concert DVD, Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us, priced £17.99.
“It is a bit cynical,” said Mike Knowles, 35, a film producer from Derbyshire and former employee of the Vegetarian Society. “Where has the innocence gone? People are feeling sympathy for someone they don’t know. Just because he goes around smiling and holding his thumbs aloft doesn’t mean he is a good bloke.
“Then again, here I am, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, just because I listened to Pipes of Peace when I was 10, in the daft belief he has some connection to my life.
“He is so practised at PR — he basically made the model. It’s the battle of the publicity machines, and at the moment his seems to be winning.”
The album underwhelmed the music critics — comments ranged from “maudlin sentimentality” and “vacuous tosh” to “a feeble cod-classical meditation whose flailing vapidity of the music is matched only by the toe-curling triteness of the words”. But there was no doubt among fans as to which partner, so far, was making the most dignified journey to the divorce courts.
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Sir Paul seemed relaxed, joking with fans, and treating some to a cappella renditions from the back catalogue.
“It was amazing,” said Allison Trautman, 20, from Los Angeles, who could not make a signing in New York two weeks ago. “I spent 20 hours waiting to see him for 20 seconds but it was more than worth it.”
Asked whether his appearance belied the strain of his marital problems, she said: “His hair was slightly grey around the sides. It was definitely ‘Freedom from Heather’ hair.”
Chris Redmond, 24, an actor, said that Sir Paul was in high spirits: “He seemed quite chipper to be honest, even though he was surrounded by the usual moody guys in black.”
Lucy Atkins, 28, from New Zealand, said: “I told him he looked gorgeous. He had such a nice smile. I was surprised how happy he looked considering what that woman’s said about him.”
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THE PR PLAYERS
In Heather’s corner: