Here is a rare photo of Paul & Linda McCartney with Neil Young backstage in Rotterdam in 1976.
This would be on 1976-03-24 at Sportpaleis Ahoy', Rotterdam, The Netherlands
with Crazy Horse, per Sugar Mountain.
Advertisement via Sugar Mountain.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young have had quite a few interesting musical encounters over the years.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
Bridge School Benefit Concert - October 23, 2004
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA
Photo by Kim Komenich of San Francisco Chronicle
As
with so many things, it's hard to say when and where Paul McCartney and
Neil Young became acquainted and developed a musical friendship. It
turns out that even many Beatles fans are often surprised by the depth
and endurance of the relationship.
We consider Linda Eastman to be the key link between Paul McCartney and Neil Young.
Photo of Neil Young by Linda McCartney - 1968
Linda
Eastman -- who went on to become Ms. Paul McCartney -- photographed
Neil Young in 1967. A photo from the session was used for the cover of
Young's Sugar Mountain, a live recording from the Canterbury House, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 9th & 10th November 1968.
While
very little is known of the photo session in 1967, it was understood
that Linda had a great appreciation for Young's music until her death in
1998.
Capitol Records - Los Angeles, California - 09.02.12
(Click photo to enlarge)
In March 1999, Neil Young inducted former Beatle Paul McCartney into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. During Neil's induction speech he said:
"The first song I learned to play was a Beatles song -- "Give Me Money, That's What I Want". Paul McCartney is one of the greatest songwriters ever. He'll be remembered hundreds of years from now."
Paul McCartney & Neil Young at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
After Neil handed Paul the Hall of Fame statue, Paul commented: "Thank you all. I love Neil!"
At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, Neil Young's display contains a telegram that he received from Paul and Linda McCartney in 1979. It read:
Neil,
Linda and I have been listening to Live Rust over and over, side four kicks ass.
Lotta Love,
Paul
(Thanks Larry B.!)
On October 16, 2004, Neil and Paul joined forces to benefit Adopt-A-Minefield which raises awareness of land mines. Held in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza Hotel, Neil Young played an acoustic set of "Pocahontas," "Harvest Moon," "Heart of Gold," "On The Way Home," "Human Highway," "Old King," and "Four Strong Winds". Pegi joined on vocals.
Later, Paul McCartney brought Neil onstage for "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and the show closing "Hey Jude."
McCartney said:
"We have a bit of fun but, as you can see, we do a lot of good along the way. That's one of the magic things ... When you've worked hard and you've had a lot of luck, you get to a position, where Neil and I are at, you can do a little bit more. It's a magic thing."
A week later, Paul returned the favor by performing at Neil's annual Bridge School Benefit Concert, which educates children with severe speech and physical impairments.
The 2 day benefit concerts in October 2004, with Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Neil Young and many other artists, was received enthusiastically by both fans and critics.
From Contra Costa Times review by Tony Hicks:
"Though his voice was a bit rusty, McCartney was his old self, throwing arms in the air after nearly every song and hamming it up whenever possible. He brought out Young for "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," which was a bit bumpy as McCartney tried keeping up with a tune with which he wasn't completely familiar. He went back to his strengths, through "Yesterday," "Get Back," "Let it Be," "Lady Madonna" and show-closer "Hey Jude."
Unlike recent years, nearly all the musicians hung around for the obligatory ending. You could see the excitement, even on the faces of veterans, in sharing the stage with McCartney, making it one of the rare all-star jams worth the wait."
Paul McCartney and Neil Young encore for "A Day in the Life"
On June 27, 2009, Neil Young performed the final show of a three year tour in Hyde Park, London, England for the Hard Rock Calling 2009 Festival.
During the last year of the tour, Young would conclude each concert with an absolutely over the top cover of the Beatles "A Day in the Life" which left his guitar in shreds in a wall of feedback at the song's conclusion.
About half way through "A Day in the Life", out walked Paul McCartney onstage to the astonishment of the 50,000 in the crowd. Those who attended, remarked that when McCartney's image first appeared on the giant video screens, a jolt of electricity went thru the crowd in anticipation of witnessing history.
What's interesting to note in the photos above and video below, is who is in awe of who. It would seem that McCartney's bows to Young in a "we are not worthy" pose indicate who is in the presence of the master.
From concert review in Uncut.co.uk | Uncut Editor's Diary - Post details: Neil Young – Hard Rock Calling, London Hyde Park, Saturday June 27, 2009 by Allan Jones:
"What follows is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen Neil Young play, a full-on sonic rupture, two hours of unforgiving and unforgettable guitar distortion, seismic upheaval, deafening detonations, feedback rapture, wave after wave after crashing wave of noise, uplifting and triumphant, the kind of thing that tears vents in the atmosphere, disarranging the senses, wholly transcendent, an often savage aural maelstrom out of which emerges finally a charred beauty, that old ragged glory that is oft-mentioned in talk of Neil, his music and the way he plays it.
Tonight it reaches climax after teasing climax, ecstatic and deranged and after a while just exhilaratingly hilarious, Neil grinning madly as he comes back for one more chorus, and then another and another after that, no one by now wanting the thing to be put to bed, the delirium palpable.
And he’s not done yet and tops even this with what’s become a formidable version of “A Day In The Life”, a song long-regarded by many as something no one in their right mind would think of playing live, including you might think Paul McCartney, who’s been standing at the side of the stage, but is within minutes at the microphone with Neil, arm around Neil’s shoulder, clearly euphoric, the crowd a-roaring. McCartney, now that things have moved on to a guitar-shredding instrumental section seems at a bit of a loss, not sure quite what to do, a problem he solves by waving his arms in the air, grinning wildly, dancing like someone who’s just been introduced to his feet and having a grand old time and then clawing at the strings of Neil’s guitar.
It’s an amazing moment, and an amazing end to an amazing show.
Photo by crris b on Photobucket
More on Paul McCartney encore w/ Neil Young on "A Day in the Life" at Hyde Park, London, England Hard Rock Calling 2009 Festival: 6/27/09.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Desert Trip
And as we presciently speculated in 2016, yes, we did indeed get the Paul McCartney and Neil Young mashup we all hoped for at Desert Trip. Maybe not exactly as expected (we thought Paul would walk onto Neil's set for "A Day In The Life"), but even beyond our wildest speculations.
After Neil joined Paul for "A Day In The Life" they went straight into John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" followed by a rare "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?". Are we lucky and blessed or what?!
And the McCartney love for Neil Young continues onto the next generation with Stella McCartney tweeting here reverence after attending Neil Young + Promise of the Real at Desert Trip Festival on October 15, 2016 (Weekend #2).
Also see more on Neil Young inspirations, influences and collaborations.
Paul McCartney and Neil Young (w/ Ben Keith & Rick Rosas)
Hyde Park, London, UK - June 27, 2009
Photo by Lzbth Corinthians (via Bernie B. Shakey)
(Click photo to enlarge)
Paul McCartney and Neil Young - 2004
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
Hyde Park, London, UK - June 27, 2009
Photo by Lzbth Corinthians (via Bernie B. Shakey)
(Click photo to enlarge)
Paul McCartney and Neil Young - 2004
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
The initial photo provided by Sugar Mountains is a shot by Gijsbert Hanekroot, the legendary Dutch photographer who did the TTN cover shots and many others of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, not to speak of the other rock royalty who all passed through The Netherlands eventually. While Gijsbert Hanekroot himself might not be that interested in unsolicited promotion, still here is the link to his own website: https://gijsberthanekroot.com/rock-photography/
ReplyDeleteThere you will find iconic pictures (of Neil Young and many other greats, such as Nils Lofgren for example) that y'all have seen before and a few more.
Paul and Linda hanging with the Horse in 1976? Wow!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the smell of weed was strong in that room. What a cool picture.
Yeah, leave it to Thrasher posting a photo without giving credit and calling it "rare" and Richie Redneck to actually never having seen this picture before.
ReplyDelete@ Richie Cruz
ReplyDeleteDude, I don't want to know what they did to you at that shitty redbeck school you went to. Glad I don't live in the US.
It is not a room by the way.
Actually I take that back, a teachers work gets done. For their annual 3 month vacation. Sorry, I forgot about that.
ReplyDelete3 months? I might migrate to the US after all!
ReplyDelete@ Dionys - thanks for the photo credit info. When we stumbled upon it sometime back, it was uncredited.
ReplyDeleteWe're certainly familiar w/ Gijsbert Hanekroot's work and have used his photo before, fully credited & linked. For example:
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2021/06/neil-youngs-my-letter-to-you-nya.html
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2021/06/a-message-from-neil-young-rising-with.html
@ Richie - no backstage reports that we've smelled ... as of yet ...
@ Hayo - if you are insinuating that we are less than responsible here @ TW by not providing credits, you're sadly mistaken.
As noted above on Hanekroot's work, we have credited & linked to him many times, as well as, all work here on TW when available.
As in this case, when we don't have full documentation, most often someone will share like the good guy Dionys did here, which we promptly correct and update.
You indicate that you've been reading this blog for sometime now going back to the days of Cold Bowl of Chili.
If that's the case, why would you make this comment? Are you really suggesting we're less than honorable? Because if you are, then we'll strongly suggest that you correct the record immediately similar to what we do when in error. ok?Furthermore, whatever beef you guys are stirring here amongst yourselves, you definitely need to take elsewhere. This is way off topic of a great photo and relationship.
you're harshing our mellow. You already made us cry earlier today on the other thread that we engaged on.
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2023/01/joe-rogan-on-neil-young-spotify-drama.html
haven't you done enough damage? or maybe you're into that whole Streisand Effect thing??
Ahh, this is a really great post, thanks for providing it. I recall a story about Neil playing with the Horse in 1976 and the Beatles were in the audience? Or McCartney and Lennon? I can't recall, my memory has gone potato on this one.
ReplyDeleteRichie, I am doing my best not to laugh at your stink bait but I am failing. But why keep it up? Go catfishing? I used to buy this can of slop that was called "stink bait" (back in college when I was wasting my time) and would catch endless catfish. I went in this direction when I failed dismally with the brook and brown trout.
ReplyDeleteAbner, review this thread please. I didn't throw out the first insult. Maybe you should acknowledge the person who did. Thanks
ReplyDeleteseriously.
ReplyDeleteagain. This is way off topic of a great photo and relationship.
whatever beef you guys are stirring here amongst yourselves, you definitely need to take elsewhere. 2nd gentle request. there will not be a 3rd
Can't remember if it was "I saw her standing there" or not
ReplyDeletebut I recall Neil saying it was a Beatles song that he played
first in public.
SONY
Hey Thrasher, if someone insults me totally out of the blue, I will respond. Sorry, but that's how I am. I'll try to refrain, but on this thread it's on someone else.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
This is as good a place as any to mention that, since Christmas, I've been enjoying the Beatles' Revolver deluxe box set (5 CDs). I don't spring for every Beatles reissue or new item that comes along, but Revolver has always been one of my favorite albums (maybe my very favorite), so I wanted this one.
ReplyDeleteFrom beginning to end, the experience is one of immersion in the music and the process of making it. Two CDs of outtakes and demos make the listener almost a fly-on-the-wall during the making of the album. The new stereo remix by Giles Martin (son of the late Sir George Martin, the Beatles' original producer) is refreshing and exciting. Guitar players and enthusiasts will want to hear the new mixes of And Your Bird Can Sing and She Said, which reveal more clearly than ever what John, Paul, and George were doing to create those layers of delicious, swirling licks.
Even getting to hear the original mono master in pristine quality (disc 2) is a new, wonderful experience. There is more to Revolver deluxe that I won't go into here, but suffice to say, I recommend Beatles fans pick up some incarnation of this set. It's well worth the expense in my opinion, and there's nothing like music to take you away from all the noise life throws at us.
PS I always liked Linda's b&w shot of Neil, used for both Canterbury House live and the jacket of Waging Heavy Peace.
@thrasher, While I sympathize with not wanting to see a thread go downhill fast, to a certain extent, you reap what you sow when promoting TW as a free speech zone, especially when posting on topics you absolutely know are likely to be controversial.
ReplyDeleteFor my part, I try to avoid insulting anyone while still making clear what I think, even when that means pointing out when I find someone has made a particularly egregious comment. See the other thread that blew up for a strong example of this.
The truth is, statements were made that touched a nerve with more than one of us. Let the record show that I don't think anyone was wrong or unjustified in objecting to Ritchie's comments--but that doesn't mean insults and taunting are appropriate.
The salient point being: remember to pause and take a deep breath before pressing "Publish."
Nothing Richie said was funny, I was struck by the pattern of baiting. For everyone's sake, let's make a solid agreement to knock it off. I am happy to take my share of blame because I reacted so strongly to the Joe Rogan stuff. None of us need this in our lives....enough
ReplyDelete@ Abner : Agreed, let’s bury the hatchet. There is a cost to attacking someone. We all suffer in witness. Peace & Love, it’s a theme with Neil Young. We must try to be kind to each other. How can we save Earth / humans if we can’t get along?
ReplyDelete@Thrasher : Thank you SO much for creating / maintaining TW. You do an incredible job, this latest post for instance. And what a recording that is, Neil with Paul doing A Day in the Life. Unbelievable.
But we are in your debt for your excellent running of TW. I’d hate to see you hang it up due to mistreatment from the few. You are such a positive soul, like Dan, and all of you good people!
I have been enjoying the posts and the positive comments from regulars to TW, as are the 95% of readers who never post.
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Great post.
ReplyDeletePaul & Linda were at the Phoenix Festival in 1996 and watched NYCH from stage side. You can see some brief footage of them hanging back stage before the gig in the Year of the Horse film.
Ah Thrasher you are stirring some memories for me with this Rare photo of Neil with Paul and Linda. Looks like Ralph and Poncho too - can't see Billy. Less than 10 days later I attended the Neil and Crazy Horse show in Glasgow, and six months previously I had seen Paul and Linda on the Wings tour in Dundee. I have commented on the 76 Glasgow show before, and it remains my all time favourite concert experience, but the Wings show was a great experience too. They played quite a few Beatles songs too as well as the Wings material. The crowd all surged to the front at some point and I remember standing and swaying on seats just a few rows back from the stage as the encores were played. Great memories.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years back I attended the Linda McCartney Retrospective exhibition and really enjoyed it. She certainly mixed with a lot of 60s/70s musicians and there are some great shots of them including Neil. There were also a lot of family shots of her with Paul and their kids where you see them just living normally and having fun. I see from her website that the exhibition is going to be in Tucson from February - if anyone is in the area I'd recommend checking it out.
Hey, I just get mad when I visit a blog about something I am passionate about and I see my colleagues insulted and hard-working scientists threatened with alt-right tribunals (which is less than honorable indeed, cry all you want). Especially since it is a blog I visited since its Greendale-era revival. What's next, climate change denial?
ReplyDelete@ Hayo : I notice yours was the first insult on this thread.
ReplyDeleteHayo, by now I have been a teacher for thirty years on various levels of education, working with 5th graders to college level and beyond. While we get our fair share of abuse in Germany as well that dooesn't even compare to what our hard-working and mostly underpaid colleagues in North America have to endure. As a Bavarian state official I hold a life time tenure, I am paid well above average and infact I do have the licence to have my usual work overload organized according to a schedule I decide about myself during three months of the year. When the economy goes up everbody laughs about me, when it's going down, as in current times, people become envious.
ReplyDeleteI came to look at the deterioration of the US public school system with shock and awe. The result being a large percentage of the population being self-taught know-nothings, living their insignificant ahistorical lives and bragging about it.
But then: Did Neil Young ever finish high school? Does he have an university degree? (no, not the honorary kind, the one where you have to sit still and work at a desk or a computer)
A couple of years ago in the very beginning of NYA I somewhat corrected Neil Young about a cropped graphical representaion of an eco-corridor bridge across an interstate-like road and he corrected his mistake without fuzzing about. I happen to have studied Hanekroot's portfolio quite thoroughly, becvause I bought an original from him. That's why I knew this to be his picture. Among the many Neil Young portraits of Gijsbert this photo is one that might be overlooked. So pointing out this picture as being somewhat rare, is not totally beside the point. I did not intend to "correct" THrasher but wanted to contribute to this excellent site. See the difference?
Oh, and I forgot: many Americans have to pay tremendous amounts of money to get a decent education. Mine came for free up to the master level. (I hear a rumbling in the rafters: Damn socialists!)
ReplyDelete@Dionys
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I should not let it work me up like this. They don't know better and can't help that.
Where I am from (I live 15 minutes from where this picture was taken) it is about the same, although I had to pay for half of my bachelor and master degrees. I never actually heard any derogatory remarks about teachers until yesterday, but I have only been doing this for 18 years so far.
And while Neil did not finish school, he is usually on the right track with most issues. Sometimes his lack of knowledge hinders making his point and in the last 20 years some of his songwriting, but I have never seen him be on the wrong side of an issue (unless it is on purpose in the eighties).
@Alan
I don't get a mood reset when I turn the page, mad is mad.
Dionys- really interesting stuff. As a college professor, thirty three years experience, I make less than almost all other professionals, etc... Funny in a way, as I help train some of the actuarial students coming out of our college. In their first year out, they make 10 k more than me.
ReplyDeleteFar more dismal, as I cannot complain about my life (all things considered) is the new push to create "private school vouchers." In short, and without any detail, the vouchers drain money and students from the public schools. Education in the United States is in total crisis.
My graduate work, through PhD was paid through scholarships and teaching. I paid undergraduate loans until I was 45.
God bless socialism
Hayo, you made great points, just lose the insults
ReplyDeleteI am not sure "redneck" and "knuckledragger" are big insults, especially compared to "you have sex with your students", but fine. Alt-right doesn't have to play by the rules, the rest of us do.
ReplyDeleteHayo, I sympathize. I really do. My message to try avoiding insults and inflammatory comments applies equally to everyone. "Regulars" on a forum do sometimes seem to get a free pass for acting up, kinda like a crazy uncle at a holiday gathering whose history of objectionable comments are laughed off as "oh, that's just good old Uncle Bill, hahaha!"
ReplyDeleteWe, as humans, do need to do a better job of counteracting damaging ideas. Yet it can be hard to do that while not overstepping the bounds of civility, especially in the heat of the moment.
Abner, You're right and applying mathematical precision to comments that were clearly not written with that level of thought or attention to detail is probably not productive!
I can only reiterate my previous suggestion to everyone: take a pause and a few deep breaths before posting.
Apparently when you're a "teacher" you get to insult and degrade whoever has a different viewpoint than you do, yet God help the poor soul who may throw an insult your way? Ok, got it.
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping you professors on this site aren't as nasty towards your students who think differently as you all have been towards me.
Never thought I would experience such a herd mentality on a website dedicated to one of the most independent thinking musician of all time, but the herd is very strong these days.
Self-reflection is an invaluable quality. That, and caring about how your words may affect other people regardless of your initial intentions. My small suggestion to everyone, myself included, is to work toward cultivating that state of mind.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to report that I have never encountered students of that sort. They are generally good natured and well informed. Actually the last time I had to use corrective measures was 9 years ago when a student set his table on fire out of curiosity.
ReplyDeleteAs for what I said at the beginning of this post, I was acting out of anger and I am sorry for that. Making fun of people not having seen pictures before is quite silly. Thanks to Dionys, Abner Snopes and The Metamorphic Rocker for setting me straight.
Side note: this picture goes really well with the Rotterdam 1976 timeline concert on NYA. Must have been a great time to be alive.
Hayo, I suspect most, if not all, of us have at some point posted intemperate things in anger or frustration. It takes some character to stand back and acknowledge an error. Too much of this is caused by excessive defensiveness and assuming bad faith from the other party.
ReplyDelete