McCartney Times

At Liverpool BeatleWeek, Geoff Baker said that Liverpool is the Fifth Beatle, because his favorite Paul McCartney concerts both took place in Liverpool. Geoff says that Paul’s performance at Kings Dock in June 1990 was his favorite concert and in second place, the historic concert at the Cavern Club in December 1999.

Paul hadn’t performed at the Cavern Club since he was with the Beatles in August 1963, 36 years previously. He said there was something magical about Paul’s performance especially at the Kings Dock venue that stands out in Geoff’s mind over the many years of concert tours around the world.

Geoff was in conversation with author Mark Lewisohn at the recent International BeatleWeek last August 27, at the Liverpool Adelphi hotel, before a standing room only audience in the main ballroom. Geoff’s last appearance was in 2010 and spoke of the highlights from working as a Public Relations Officer for Paul McCartney from 1996-2004, and with Linda McCartney from 1990-1998. Since then, Geoff has written a book, “Rock Bottom”, published in 2011, a highly acclaimed fictional account of a rock star called Ian Taylor.

Mark Lewisohn and Geoff Baker

It was Geoff who helped make it possible for Paul to play the historic 1999 Cavern Club concert to help promote the “Run Devil Run” album – Geoff’s favorite Paul McCartney album – because the EMI studio executives who were based in Hammersmith London wanted Paul to play a gig in Hammersmith, and Geoff recognized that Paul preferred to play a concert gig in his hometown of Liverpool at the Cavern Club. Geoff pointed out that the day after the Cavern Club performance, Paul was featured on the front pages of many UK newspapers showing him playing back at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

One of the funny stories Geoff told was the amazing array of signs that fans would display at concerts, such as a fan holding up a small dog and waving it at Paul during a Paul McCartney concert in Mexico City. He couldn’t get the significance of what waving a small dog while Paul was playing, but it caught his attention!

Geoff also talked about the Paul McCartney 2003 concert in Moscow’s Red Square, where Paul performed “Back in the USSR” a second time when Vladimir Putin showed up half way through the concert unexpectedly. What caught Geoff’s eye was the black, oversized briefcase that an aide to Putin was carrying, that presumedly contained the Russian nuclear codes.

Geoff kept the audience on the edge of their seats, since he a very entertaining conversationalist and has such great stories to tell. He gave Beatles fans a peak into what it is like working with Sir Paul McCartney. In between stories, McDonalds Farm, a Paul McCartney/Beatles tribute band, with Tony Coburn, from Cavern Club Beatles, singing as Paul, performed the songs discussed in conversation.

For more information on the latest International BeatleWeek, check out this web page.
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Source: Liverpool is the Fifth Beatle says Geoff Baker – BeatlesNews.com