Paul was born at Walton Road Hospital in Rice Lane, Liverpool, on June 18th, 1942, the first
son of Mary and James McCartney. His brother Michael was born eighteen months later.
Mary McCartney was a midwife, and the family moved to various addresses in Liverpool before settling at 20 Forthlin Road in 1955, where Mary died the following year of cancer of the breast.               
When Paul passed his 11-Plus examination in 1957, he entered the Liverpool Institute, a
popular high school near the city center. While traveling to school on the bus, he met with
a younger student, George Harrison. Another Institute boy was Ivan Vaughan who invited Paul to a fete at St. Peter's Church in Woolton where he introduced him to John Lennon, who was playing in a skiffle group he'd formed called the Quarry Men.
Paul had been interested in music due to the influence of his father, who had once led his own jazz band locally. Paul was able to play some songs to John and write down the lyrics which led to John inviting Paul to join the group.
The Quarry Men underwent changes, and when the residency at the Casbah Club began,
they comprised John, Paul, George and Ken Brown. By that time they had introduced more
rock 'n roll numbers to their repertoire and Paul had been encouraging the group to perform
their own original material. He began writing songs with John at Forthlin Road.
Although John was the leader of the group, Paul was the one who seemed to have the
greatest appetite for success and worked hard to achieve it. He developed a healthy respect
for the media and became an ideal spokesman. He was also full of ideas which he was to
continue to introduce to the group throughout the sixties, whether it was through his designs
for album sleeves or scripts for a TV special such as Magical Mystery Tour. He was also
the member who was most keen on public performances.

                      
The left handed Paul became the group's bass guitarist when Stuart Sutcliffe left the band
in 1961. The majority of songs John and Paul wrote together were composed early on in
their career, but once they became established, the two songwriters generally wrote their
numbers individually, although they agreed to credit all songs as "Lennon & McCartney"
numbers. Paul, who had introduced songs such as "'Till There Was You", "Besame Mucho",
and "Falling In Love Again" to the early repertoire, veered toward romantic songs which
indicated the influence of Hollywood musicals. Songs such as "Yesterday", "Michelle",
"When I'm Sixty Four" and "Lovely Rita" are typical of McCartney compositions, while Lennon opted for more biting compositions, harder, more experimental and rockier numbers
than Paul. Paul's interest in the traditional musical was evident in the hour-long TV special
"James Paul McCartney", in 1973 when Paul performed songs such as "Gotta Sing, Gotta
Dance".
When the Beatles moved to London, Paul preferred to remain in the city center, while his
fellow Beatles opted for houses in the outer suburbs. Paul always seemed the "culture
vulture" of the quartet, attending the theater and acquiring paintings by artist such as
Magritte. His long-time girlfriend, Jane Asher, aided him in cultivating his artistic tastes.
To the media, they seemed the perfect couple, but their five year romance came to an end
because Paul continued to have affairs. Oddly enough, it was Paul rather than John who
first began to experiment with avant-gard film making.
After Brian Epstein was found dead in August of 1967, Paul was determined to prevent the
group from losing interest in their career and encouraged them to film "Magical Mystery
Tour"; he even directed their promotional film for "Hello Goodbye" that year.
Jane Asher suggested that he buy a farm in Scotland which could act as a retreat, and he
purchased property near Campeltown. He'd also purchased a house in St. John's Wood,
quite close to Abbey Road Studios.
Paul was the first Beatle to become involved in a major solo venture when he composed
the music for the feature film "The Family Way" in 1967. His interest in movies continued
and he composed the title song for the James Bond film "Live And Let Die" in 1973. The
following year he composed the theme music for the Michael Caine film "The Honorary
Consul", while his biggest screen venture was the feature film "Give My Regards To Broad
Street" in 1984.
In 1968, he began his affair with Linda Eastman and the couple were married in March 1969.
Paul adopted Linda's daughter Heather, and the couple had three children of their own, Mary,
Stella and James.
During the filming and recording of the "Let It Be" project, tempers became frayed and
George walked out of the project after an argument with Paul. He returned, but the Beatles
were no longer the close team they used to be. A major split had developed between Paul
and his three partners over the decision they made to appoint Allen Klein as manager,
against Paul's wishes. Paul recorded a solo album, "McCartney", and had to argue with the
other members and Allen Klein regarding it's release date. It was finally issued in Britain on
Apple PCS 7102 on April 17, 1970 and in America on Apple STAO 3363 on April 20, 1970.
He was to form his own group called Wings, which had several changes of personnel, but
whose line-up included his wife Linda on keyboards. His solo albums and those with Wings
have included: "Ram", issued in Britain on Apple PAS 10003 on May 21, 1971 and in America
on Apple SMAS 3375 on May 17, 1971, "Wild Life" , issued in Britain on Apple PCS 7142 on
December 3, 1971 and in America on Apple SW 3386 on December 7, 1971; "Red Rose
Speedway", issued in Britain on Apple PCTC 251 on May 3, 1973 and in America on Apple
SMAL 3409 on April 30, 1973; "Band On The Run", issued in Britain on Apple PAS 10007 on
November 30, 1973 and in America on Apple 1873 on April 8, 1974; "Venus And Mars",
issued in Britain on Capitol PCTC 254 on May 30, 1975 and in America on Capitol SMAS
11419 on May 27, 1975; "Wings At The Speed Of Sound", issued in Britain on Parlophone
PAS 10010 on March 26, 1976 and in America on Capitol SW 11525 on March 25, 1976;
"Wings Over America", issued in Britain on Parlophone PCSP 720 on December 10, 1976
and in America on Capitol SWC0 11593 on December 11, 1976; "London Town", issued in
Britain on Parlophone PAS 10012 on March 31, 1978 and in America on Capitol SW 11777
on March 31, 1978; "Wings Greatest", issued in Britain on Parlophone PCTC 256 on
December 1, 1978 and in America on Capitol SOO 11905 on November 22, 1978; "Back To
The Egg", issued in Britain on Parlophone/MPL PCTC 257 on June 8, 1979 and in America on
Columbia FC-36057 on May 24, 1979; "McCartney II", issued in Britain on Parlophone PCTC
258 on May 16, 1980 and in America on Columbia FC-36511 on May 21, 1980; "Tug Of War",
issued in Britain on Parlophone PCTC 259 on April 26, 1982 and in America on Columbia
TC 37462 on April 26, 1982; "Pipes Of Peace", issued in Britain on Parlophone PCTC 1652301 on October 31, 1983 and in America on Columbia QC 39149 on October 31, 1983.
There have been several other releases, with Paul being the most active of all the ex-Beatles
and the one with the most extensive discography.
His singles have included: "Another Day" c/w "Oh Woman Oh Why", issued in Britain on
Apple R 5889 on February 19, 1971 and in America on Apple 1829 on February 22, 1971;
"The Back Seat Of My Car", c/w "Heart Of The Country", issued in Britain on Apple R 5914
on August 13, 1971; "Give Ireland Back To The Irish", issued in Britain on Apple R 5936 on
February 25, 1972 and in America on Apple 1847 on February 28, 1972; "Mary Had A Little
Lamb" c/w "Little Woman Love", issued in Britain on Apple R 5949 on May 5, 1972 and in
America on Apple 1851 on May 29, 1972; "Hi Hi Hi" c/w "C Moon", issued in Britain on Apple
R 5973 on December 1, 1972 and in America on Apple 1857 on December 4, 1972; "My Love"
c/w "The Mess" issued in Britain on Apple R 5985 on March 23, 1973 and in America on
Apple 1861 on April 9, 1973; "Live And Let Die" c/w "I Lie Around", issued in Britain on Apple
R 5987 on June 1, 1973 and in America on Apple 1863 on June 18, 1973; "Helen Wheels"
c/w "Country Dreamer", issued in Britain on Apple R 5993 on October 26, 1973 and in America on Apple 1869 on November 12, 1973; "Jet" c/w "Let Me Roll It", issued in Britain
on Apple R 5996 on February 18, 1974 and in America on Apple 1871 on February 18, 1974;
"Band On The Run" c/w "Zoo Gang", issued in Britain on Apple R 5997 on June 28, 1974 and
issued in America on Apple 1873 on April 8, 1974 with "Nineteen Hundred And Eight Five"
replacing "Zoo Gang" on the flip; "Junior's Farm" c/w "Sally G", issued in Britain on Apple
R 5999 on October 25, 1974 and in America on Apple 1875 on November 4, 1975; "Listen To
What The Man Said" c/w "Love In Song", issued in Britain on Capitol R 6006 on May 16, 1975 and in America on Capitol 4091 on May 23, 1975; "Letting Go" c/w "You Gave Me The
Answer", issued in Britain on Capitol R 6008 on September 5, 1975 and in America on Capitol
4145 on September 29, 1975; "Venus And Mars" c/w "Magneto And Titanium Man", issued in
Britain on Capitol R 6010 on November 28, 1975 and in America on Capitol 4175 on October
27, 1975; "Silly Love Songs" c/w "Cook Of The House", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6014 on April 30, 1976 and in America on Capitol 4256 on April 1, 1976; "Let 'Em In" c/w
"Beware My Love", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6015 on July 23, 1976 and in America
on Capitol 4293 on June 28, 1976; "Maybe I'm Amazed" c/w "Soily", issued in Britain on
Parlophone R 6017 on February 4, 1977 and in America on Capitol 4385 on February 7, 1977;
"Mull of Kentyre" c/w "Girls School", issued in Britain on Capitol R 6018 on November 11, 1977 and in America on Capitol 4504 on November 14, 1977; "With A Little Luck" c/w "Backwards Traveler/Cuff Link", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6019 on March 23, 1978
and in America on Capitol 4559 on March 20, 1978; "I've Had Enough" c/w "Deliver Your Children", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6020 on June 16, 1978 and in America on
Capitol 4594 on June 12, 1978; "London Town" c/w "I'm Carrying", issued in Britain on
Parlophone R 6021 on September 15, 1978 and in America on Capitol 4625 on August 21, 1978; "Goodnight Tonight" c/w "Daytime Nighttime Suffering", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6023 on March 23, 1979 and in America on Columbia 3-10939 on March 15, 1979; "Old Siam Sir" c/w "Spin It On", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6026 on June 1, 1979 - the releases in America differed; "Gettin' Closer" c/w "Baby's Request", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6027 on August 10, 1979; "Wonderful Christmastime" c/w "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reggae", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6029 on November 16, 1979 and in America on Columbia 1-11162 on November 20, 1979; "Coming Up" c/w "Coming Up", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6035 on April 11, 1980 and in America on Columbia 1-11263 on April 15, 1980; "Waterfalls" c/w "Check My Machine", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6037 on June 14, 1980 and in America on Columbia 1-11335 on July 22, 1980; "Temporary Secretary" c/w "Secret Friend", issued in Britain on Parlophone 12 R 6039 on September 15, 1980; "Ebony And Ivory" recorded with Stevie Wonder, c/w "Raincoulds", issued in Britain on Parlophone 12 R 6054 on March 29, 1982 and in America on Columbia 18-02860 on April 2, 1982; "Take It Away" c/w "I'll Give You A Ring", issued in Britain on Parlophone 12 R 6056 on July 5, 1982 and in America on Columbia 44-03019 on July 16, 1982; "Tug Of War" c/w "Get It", issued in Britain on Parlophone R 6057 on September 20, 1982 and in America on Columbia 38-03235 on September 14, 1982; "This Girl Is Mine",
recorded with Michael Jackson, c/w "Can't Get Out Of The Rain", issued in Britain on Epic EPC A2729 on October 3, 1982 and in America on Epic 34-03288 on October 3, 1982; "Say
Say Say", recorded with Michael Jackson, c/w "Ode To A Koala Bear", issued in Britain on
Parlophone R 6062 on October 3, 1983 and in America on Columbia 38-04168 on October 3,
1983. Paul has had numerous singles issued since and in 1979 was awarded a rhodium plated disc for his achievements, which by that time, had already brought him 43 songs which were million sellers and 60 gold discs. He had sold more records throughout the world than any other artist. Since then, Paul's achievements have continued and he has presented a unique classical piece called "Liverpool Oratorio" in 1991, has continued to tour and runs one of the largest music publishing catalogues in the world.