Pulse Music

Kanye West has dropped a video for his new single "Eazy." In the video, Kanye sends The Game and Eazy-E after Pete Davidson. They kidnap him and bury him up to his neck. Roses are then planted surrounding Pete's head. The video ends with a message, "Everyone lived happily ever after. Except (Skete, which is the name Kanye calls Pete) you know who. Jk, he's fine."

In other news, Kanye was spotted out at dinner with Tristan Thompson in Miami. According to TMZ, the two were out to eat at Setai Hotel.

Lizzo is speaking out about her weight and wants to create a new beauty standard by embracing her figure.

Appearing on the cover of People, she said, "I know I'm fat. It doesn't bother me. I like being fat, and I'm beautiful and I'm healthy. So can we move on?"

Lizzo revealed that she faced multiple stereotypes while growing up and simply because of her size she became the "funny, fat friend."

Calling herself a "body icon," she says she's embracing her look, more and more every day.

Her new reality competition show, will also embrace it. She's embarking on a nationwide search for dancers, that look like her, to join her on tour.

Her show, Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

TL;DR:

RECORD STORE DAY HONOR

Paul McCartney's McCartney III standout, "Women And Wives" has been named Record Store Day's "Song Of The Year." The song, which will be released as a limited edition vinyl single on the 15th annual Record Store Day on April 23 and the June 18 RSD Drop, features McCartney's original version on the A-side, backed with previous RSD U.S. Ambassador St. Vincent's remix from the McCartney III Imagined album.

In a statement by Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz, "I was driving down a Montana highway one sunny, snowy morning when St. Vincent's imagined version of 'Women And Wives' came on Sirius Radio. I was stunned by the song's message of chasing the future. When St. Vincent's Jeff Beck-like guitar solo arrived at the end, I got goosebumps. This is a classic McCartney song, up there with some of his best. Record Store Day is thrilled that we can celebrate 'Women And Wives' as our Song of the Year with a side-by-side 12-inch record, old school style."

LIVE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Paul McCartney has just uploaded a new 10-song Spotify playlist on his official PaulMcCartney.com site. Every month "Macca" posts a new "Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket" tracklist with a specific theme and for March -- in celebration of his upcoming "Got Back" tour -- his team has selected live versions of his hits, deep album cuts, and concert fan favorites.

Among the tracks picked for this month's playlist include Wings' final chart-topper, "Coming Up (Live In Glasgow)" from 1980, "Let Me Roll It" from the 1974 One Hand Clapping soundtrack, "Get Back" from his 2007 Amoeba Gig set, a soundcheck performance of "I Wanna Be Your Man" from 1993's Paul Is Live, and the barnstorming "Beware My Love" from 1976's Wings Over America.

A message to fans on the site reads in part:

A Paul McCartney show is a once in a lifetime experience and if you're anything like us you'll be counting the days till he comes to your town - we're less than 60 days away from Paul's first live show of the year!

So whether you're making a custom sign for the show, dreaming up the setlist or already planning on what to wear; we've complied a playlist full of some of our favorite live performances. . . Get ready for GOT BACK with the live edition of the ‘Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket' playlist.

Paul McCartney recalled the emotions behind writing "Maybe I'm Amazed," which is arguably, his first solo classic: "That was very much a song of the period. Y'know, when you're kind of in love with someone and -- God, it sounds, y'know, soppy, doesn't it? But, when you are in love with someone, it's new, like it was for me and Linda and the Beatles were sort of breaking up and stuff. That was my feeling."

Nearly 50 years after recording it, the Band On The Run Wings standout "Let Me Roll It" remains a highlight of Paul McCartney's live show: "The nice thing about 'Let Me Roll It' for me, is having a sort of distinctive guitar riff. We used to do a lot of riffs in the Beatles -- and it's not easy to keep coming up with 'em, but that (sings guitar riff) -- and stand. . . Anyway, so, it's kind of that theatrical thing of that, that I like. And then the song it's a kind of slightly dramatic quality, where I used an echo that John used to use a lot. So, people thought the vocal sound was a bit like John Lennon -- it's the echo."

Paul McCartney's Live Spotify playlist for March 2022:

"Get Back" - Amoeba Gig
"Maybe I'm Amazed" - Wings Over America
"The Mess (Live At The Hague)" - Wings Over Europe
"Dance Tonight" - Amoeba Gig
"Best Friend (Live In Antwerp)" - Wings Over Europe
"I Wanna Be Your Man (Live In Sydney)" - Paul Is Live
"C Moon" - Amoeba Gig
"Beware My Love" - Wings Over America
"Let Me Roll It" (1974 'One Hand Clapping' version) - Band On The Run
"Coming Upon (Live At Glasgow)" - McCartney II

Congrats are in order once again, as BTS gets their 11th week at #1 on Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart. "Butter" was released last May and has reached the top 10 in over 30 countries worldwide.

Selena Gomez joked about her red carpet slip-up at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards. While on the red carpet, one of her Christian Louboutin pumps gave way and she fell into a handler's arms before getting pulled back up to her feet. To avoid the same thing happening on stage, she just pulled off her shoes and presented an award while barefoot. Posting a series of photos she wrote, "I couldn't keep my heels on, but I did manage to take a couple selfies."

Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine is back on the road with Brian Wilson's daughters -- two-thirds of Wilson Phillips -- Carnie and Wendy Wilson. The shows, billed as Al Jardine Family & Friends, also feature his son Matt Jardine, Carnie's husband and Brian Wilson band guitarist Rob Bonfiglio, and legendary Beach Boys sidemen Bobby Figueroa on drums and Ed Carter on bass.

In addition to a spate of Beach Boys classics, the group will be performing a mini-set of Wilson Phillips favorites.

In the late-1990's Jardine, the Wilson sisters, along with son Matt and his brother Adam, toured as Al Jardine's Beach Boys Family & Friends.

Al Jardine told us that ultimately, both then and now, the Beach Boys' biggest hits serve a bigger purpose than just entertaining fans: "Each song, or each track selection is a special little messenger. And they convey a certain optimism, I think. And collectively, they're extremely powerful and it reminds of a better time -- a more positive time of growing up and experiencing things as a culture."

Matt Jardine -- who's revered as having one of the greatest sets of pipes in the business -- has been providing falsettos vocals and harmonies to the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson touring band's for a combined 30 years now. He recalled to us when he finally got the nod to move up from being a P.A. into a performer with the Beach Boys: "I was basically a gopher out there, just corralling drivers and making sure bags didn't get left behind backstage and all the loose ends that could turn into major (laughs) disasters if they're not taken care of -- that's the stuff I was doin' and I got a call sayin,' 'They need you onstage.' That's how it started. It was a trip."

Dave Grohl revealed that none of the Foo Fighters expected their new movie Studio 666 to come out as professionally as it did. Grohl spoke to Rock Cellar and admitted, "Originally, none of us imagined we were going to make a full-length feature film. We thought, in true Foo Fighters fashion, it would just be some low-budget run-and-gun thing, maybe a longform video that would make people laugh, y'know? But we made the mistake of hiring the most talented people in town to make the film. (Director) BJ (McDonnell) is a legitimate badass, he's worked on some really, really amazing films. And Tony Gardner did the special effects. I mean, that guy, he's full f***ing Hollywood legend. And then the entire crew. . . I think we were surrounded by a like-minded group of people that were there just to f***ing have a good time."

After acting in his videos and directing his various documentary projects, Dave Grohl was asked how it felt to be directed as an actor in a major motion picture: "It's very, very different. And different process, too, I mean, like, if we're doing a documentary, when I sit down to interview someone, they say 'action,' and I just have a conversation, I very rarely hold questions. And I'm learning as much as the viewer as I'm doing this. With the film, oh my god, there's so much, like, hurry up and wait, and the prosthetics and makeup and the scripts, and the take after take. A very, very different process, but both really fun."

He went on to explain, "These are things that. . . we wouldn't do these things if they weren't enjoyable to the band. We don't do anything unless it's enjoyable for the band."

Foo Fighters perform on Friday (March 4th) in Geelong, Australia at GMHBA Stadium.

Lady Gaga is among the co-hosts announced for Elton John's AIDS Foundation party and fundraiser. She'll host alongside Elton's husband David Furnish. Other onstage duties go to Bill Porter, as well as Eric McCormack from Will & Grace fame.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised more than $86 million to date.

In its 30^th year, it also serves as an Oscar Awards viewing party, will take place at West Hollywood Park on March 27.

No mention yet as to whether or not the event will be live streamed.

TL;DR:

• Lady Gaga is among the co-hosts for Elton John's AIDS Foundation party and fundraiser.
• The event has raised more than $86 million to date.
• It will take place at West Hollywood Park on March 27.

Marilyn Manson has sued ex-fiancee Evan Rachel Wood over her abuse allegations. According to Deadline, the suit claims that Wood's rape and abuse allegations are a "malicious falsehood" that has derailed Manson's music, TV and film career. He also accused Wood of defamation and impersonation of an FBI agen.

The complaint -- which was filed Wednesday morning (March 2nd) in Los Angeles Superior Court, read, "This action arises from the wrongful and illegal acts done in furtherance of a conspiracy by Defendant Evan Rachel Wood and her on-again, off-again romantic partner, Defendant Ashley Gore, a/k/a Illma Gore, to publicly cast Plaintiff Brian Warner, p/k/a Marilyn Manson, as a rapist and abuser—a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner's successful music, TV, and film career."

The suit -- which is seeking a jury trial, goes on to make some accusations against Wood and Gore, alleging that the duo hacked into the singer's computers and social media, as well as "created a fictitious email account to manufacture purported evidence that Warner was emailing illicit pornography."

The suit continued, "It's incredibly important to differentiate between the character of ‘Marilyn Manson' and the man Brian Warner. Wood's claims may resonate because of the intentionally ‘shocking' character of ‘Marilyn Manson' but they simply do not reflect the truth. The manufactured facts these conspirators scripted a decade after the event never happened."

Manson later posted a message on Instagram, saying, "There will come a time when I can share more about the events of the past year. Until then, I'm going to let the facts speak for themselves." He advised viewers to click the link in his Instagram bio which directs them to a PDF of the lawsuit.

Manson is asking for unspecified damages.

Oscar winning singer/songwriter Randy Newman has postponed his March European tour while he recovers from a broken neck.

Newman, who's now 78, posted a message on his official website (RandyNewman.com) which reads:

Recently, I noticed I was shrinking. People over whom I had towered now towered over me. Could this be payback for having written 'Short People'? Turns out, my neck was broken. They operated on me successfully, I think. For even now, I look less like an anteater and more like a folk rock artist from the early sixties. But the doctor said I'm not quite ready to tour.

I was really looking forward to coming to Europe to perform. I miss performing a great deal and I look forward to a time when I can come. I'm sorry I won't see you this time but I will see you soon.

While publicizing the Foo Fighters' new horror spoof Studio 666, Dave Grohl revealed he actually partied at the site of the infamous Manson murders. Grohl recalled hanging out at 10050 Cielo Drive where pregnant actress Sharon Tate and three of her house guests were mercilessly slain by followers of Charles Manson on August 8th, 1969.

Grohl recalled to Britain's The Independent, "When I was young, I was kind of obsessed with the macabre and knew everything about the Manson Family and those killings. Then, in the summer of '92, I was staying in California with a friend in this tiny house with no air conditioning." Grohl went on to say that every day the pair would search out a new swimming pool to cool off in.

He remembered, "My friend called me and said, 'Guess where we're swimming today? The house where Sharon Tate was killed by the Manson Family.' It was f***ing dark because it became real, everything I knew about it: walking into that house, it was real. And that house had not changed; the front door, the living room. It was f***ed up. It was legitimately f***ed up. It was not cool at all."

A reggae band from Florida is suing Dua Lip over her single, "Levitating."

TMZ reports that Artikal Sound System has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Lipa, claiming that the 2020 Future Nostalgia track rips off their 2017 song "Live Your Life."

The suit also names the singer's label, Warner Records, and others as defendants. They are asking for profits they may have made off of "Levitating" plus damages.

Graham Nash is finally back on the road after delaying his solo tour several times due to Covid. The twice-inducted Rock Hall veteran kicks the run off tonight (March 2nd) in Collingswood, New Jersey at the Scottish Rite Auditorium and winds down the current dates over two nights -- April 2nd and 3rd -- at Kent, Ohio's Kent Stage.

Nash's shows feature just him, Shane Fontayne -- Crosby, Stills, & Nash's longtime road guitarist, and keyboardist Todd Caldwell. The setlist features a cross-section of Nash's career -- tackling hits by the Hollies, along with new solo work, and classics by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young.

Graham Nash told us that not worrying about his partners' material on a nightly basis has proven to be a liberating thing for him: "It's really interesting having to deal with my music, not having to wonder whether (David) Crosby has equal songs, or Stephen (Stills) has equal songs, or Neil (Young) has equal songs. You know me; I've always been the democratic one in the band. But having to deal with just my music is kind of refreshing. It's very satisfying, actually."

Nash admitted that his acoustic shows have brought him closer to his audience than ever before: "They more and more seem to think I'm one of them, and I like that a lot. ‘Cause I don't want it to be, y'know, a bunch of people looking at some guy onstage as a star, y'know? Whatever we have done in our lives, every single decision we have ever made, up to this point will bring us to the show. So, why not have the best time? Why not have me do my job, which is as a musician, I go there, I sing songs, I hope to touch their hearts, I hope to touch their minds, I get paid money, and they leave smiling. What's wrong with this picture?"

Graham Nash tour dates (subject to change):

March 2 - Collingswood, NJ - Scottish Rite Auditorium
March 4 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
March 5 - Rocky Mount, VA - Harvester Performance Center
March 6 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
March 8 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
March 9 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
March 11 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre Clearwater
March 12 - Coral Springs, FL - Coral Springs Center
March 13 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
March 15 - Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre - Fletcher Hall
March 16 - Asheville, NC - Diana Wortham Theatre - NC
March 19 - Huntsville, AL - Mars Music Hall at Von Braun Center
March 22 - Cincinnati, OH - Memorial Hall
March 23 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
March 25 - Evanston, IL - Evanston SPACE
March 27 - Nashville, IN - Brown County Music Center
March 29 - Iowa City, IA - The Englert Theatre
April 1 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
April 2, 3 - Kent, OH - The Kent Stage
October 12 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre

The Jonas Brothers are heading to Vegas.

The trio announced Tuesday (March 2nd) that their new residency, Jonas Brothers: Live in Vegas will take place from June 3rd through the 11th at Dolby Live at Park MGM Las Vegas.

Kevin Jonas wrote on his personal Instagram page, "Can't wait to be back on stage in June with my brothers!"

Tickets go on sale March 7th.

Blondie has just rolled out a 10-date summer tour with legendary punk rockers, the Damned. As it stands now, the bands will kick things off on August 12th at Mashantucket, Connecticut's Grand Theater and wrap things up on August 27th in Chicago at the Chicago Theatre.

Debbie Harry says that with radio playing so hard to specific and narrow demographics, the Internet provides a wider range of musical choices for perspective fans that radio ever did: "Y'know, my audience is, y'know, the spectrum of ages. It's not just one little demographic, it's a lot of different demographics and I think people now, because of the Internet, they really get to choose. They're not really being force-fed. They can really select, they can shop, they can listen, they can. . . y'know, it's a much more open field."

UPDATED: Blondie North American tour dates (subject to change):

April 14 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
May 14, 15 - Pasadena, CA - Cruel World Festival 2022
May 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
May 18 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys
May 21 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Corona Capital Guadalajara
August 12 - Mashantucket, CT - Grand Theater (with The Damned)
August 14 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion (with The Damned)
August 17, 18 - New York, NY - The Rooftop at Pier 17 (with The Damned)
August 20 - Bensalem, PA - Xcite Center at Parx Casino (with The Damned)
August 21 - Washington, DC - The Anthem (with The Damned)
August 23 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Bradley Music Center (with The Damned)
August 24 - Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House (with The Damned)
August 26 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre (with The Damned)
August 27 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre (with The Damned)

Jay Z, Kanye West and Diddy are all among the highest paid hip-hop artists of 2021. Jay Z topped the list, after making $470 million last year, with a net worth of $1.5 million. Ye comes in at number two with $250 million. Diddy snagged the number three spot with $75 million and Drake comes in at number four with $50 million. Wiz Khalifa rounded out the top five with $45 million.

Check out the top 10 hip-hop earners:

1. JAY-Z – $470 million
2. Kanye West – $250 million
3. Diddy – $75 million
4. Drake – $50 million
5. Wiz Khalifa – $45 million
6. Travis Scott – $38 million
7. DJ Khaled – $35 million
8. Eminem – $28 million
9. J. Cole – $27 million
10. Birdman – $25 million
10. Doja Cat – $25 million

Kanye West has reportedly waved the white flag. According to Hollywood Unlocked, Kanye said that he will no longer fight to keep his divorce from moving forward. He told the site, "I've asked my team to expedite the dissolution of my marriage to Kim so I can put my entire attention into our beautiful children." Ye also fired his attorney Chris Melcher, after a reported contentious relationship.

According to TMZ, sources claimed that a breakdown in communication is the reason for the fallout. One day he wanted to settle things with Kim and other days, he wanted to put up a fight. Ye has hired Samantha Spector, who recently represented Nicole Young in her divorce from Dr. Dre.

Meanwhile, Kanye's lawyers have raised an issue about he and Kim's prenup. Ye's lawyers filed legal docs claiming prenups in California after 2002 are presumed invalid.

Ariana Grande tested out her new R.E.M. makeup line in a new YouTube video with RuPaul's Drag Race alum, Gottmik.

The two-time Grammy winner announced, "I'm really proud of this s**t," before getting a makeover from her guest.

The "Positions" singer revealed that she began working on R.E.M. Beauty touring in support of her 2018 album Sweetener, adding, "Tour was a great time to test things on stage."

CHVRCHES TO TOUR NORTH AMERICA: Chvrches is bringing their Screen Violence tour to North America this spring. The band will kick off the next leg of their tour on May 13th in Mexico City, Mexico and hit cities like Miami, FL, Orlando, FL Washington DC, and Omaha, NE, before wrapping things up in Manchester, TN on June 18th. Presale begins on Wednesday (March 2nd).

HAIM DROPS 'LOST TRACK': Haim dropped the song, "Lost Track" on Tuesday (March 1st) along with a video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The visual was shot at The Balboa Golf Course in Encino, California on January 26th as a part of W Magazine's feature on the Licorice Pizza director.

It was 53 years ago today (March 2nd, 1969) that John Lennon and Yoko Ono made their first live public concert performance. Although the couple had first played together the previous December for the Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus TV special, Lennon's appearance at Ono's concert at Cambridge University's Lady Mitchell Hall marked the first time the couple performed to the open public.

Lennon and Ono, along with saxophonist John Tchicai and percussionist John Stevens, performed the cacophonous experimental piece "Cambridge 1969," which featured a bearded, denim-clad Lennon creating a wall of feedback guitar under Ono's avant-garde singing. The song was eventually released later that year, and made up the entire second side of the couple's second album, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life With The Lions.

Yoko Ono told us that she has mixed emotions about her and Lennon's performance that day: "It was an iconic moment, because when I did that in Cambridge with John, I was, like, thinking, 'This is it!' I really sent a message to the world, saying 'This is the thing!' But then, when that was on lacquer, people attacked it so much. And John was the only one who was in love with it. John would say -- in the car when we were going somewhere, cross country or something -- he would say, "Okay, let's play 'Cambridge 1969' I said, 'Please don't do that John (laughs),' because by then it was attacked so much that I was like, 'Ugh, I don't want to hear it.'"

Yoko Ono believes -- both then and now -- trying to pin down what John Lennon meant to the world is impossible: "John was an artist and musician -- and a poet, as well. And also, he was a songwriter, singer, rocker. So, he was a very complex character."

A remixed and revamped version of Lennon and Ono's "Cambridge 1969" was featured on Ono's album, titled Yes, I'm A Witch. The critically acclaimed set features modern rockers the Flaming Lips' updated take on the track, which is re-titled "Cambridge 1969/2007."

It was 55 years ago today (March 2nd, 1967) that the Supremes recorded their hits "The Happening" and "Reflections." "The Happening" was the theme song to the 1967 movie of the same name, which starred Anthony Quinn, George Maharis from TV's Route 66, and Faye Dunaway. The song was the final Number One by the original lineup of the Supremes, and also featured one of co-founder Florence Ballard's last performances with the group. The song hit Number One on May 13th, 1967, topping the charts for just one week.

"The Happening" was the tenth and final Number One song written for the group by Motown staff writers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland -- who in this instance were joined by The Happening's musical director Frank De Vol, best known for composing the theme song for the TV shows My Three Sons and The Brady Bunch.

Although Ballard sings on both tracks, she left the group after the release of "The Happening." She was replaced by Cindy Birdsong, and Motown head Berry Gordy Jr. renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes.

"Reflections," which was released later that summer, was actually the bigger hit, despite the fact that it never got higher than Number Two. The song was a change of pace for the group and featured a more modern sound, which strayed from the orchestral rhythm tracks of their previous singles.

In the '80s the song went on to be featured as the theme to ABC's Vietnam drama China Beach, and served as the opening number for Diana Ross' ill-fated Supremes reunion tour in 2000 with two latter day, non-original Supremes.

Not long before her death on February 8th, 2021 at the age of 76, Mary Wilson talked bout how important the legendary songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland -- who wrote most of the Supremes biggest hits, including, "Baby Love," "Come See About Me," "You Can't Hurry Love," and "I Hear A Symphony" -- was for the group: "These three guys have actually made my life. I mean, it's been over 40 years and I've got to say, before I met them, before Diana met them, before Florence met them, we were called 'the no-hit Supremes.' These guys are artisans, because they have created a musical mass of music that has not been passed by anyone. I mean, their catalog is just tremendous."

Songwriter/producer Lamont Dozier recalled how he and the Holland brothers worked while at Motown: "There was a time clock. Nine o'clock in the morning we punched a clock and at six we punched out. During that day we would have lunch. It was like school, in a sense. We had an in-house band, so if we came up with anything we would either cut the song that day or the track. And after on, we would dub it in, say, a couple of days later, after we had finished the lyric. But that was, y'know, the general work schedule that we had."

Brian Holland recalled that once their songs clicked with the Supremes, it was onward and upward for the Motown team: "When we first started getting hit records on them, we were writing songs, and we were asking, 'Well, who can sing this?' But once we locked in and it was a hit, then we knew where you were. Because, before you've gotten a hit record you really haven't established (an) identity, so to speak. Once you get those hit records, a hit record, or whatever -- depending on how big it is -- you really kind of establish a direction at least for a while."

Louis Tomilson stopped his sold-out show in Minneapolis Thursday (Feb. 24th) night to get help for a female fan in distress.

According to a video obtained by TMZ, The former One Direction singer was performing his hit “Walls” when security guards were summoned to escort the woman out of the theater. Tomilson had the lights turned up and stopped playing until the fan was brought to safety.

Witnesses told the site that he was helpful throughout the ordeal.

Paul McCartney has added a second Fenway Park show to his upcoming tour itinerary. The pre-sale for the new show, set for June 8th, goes on sale today -- Monday, February 28th -- for American Express Card Members at 12 noon local time. General on-sale begins Friday, March 4th at 10 a.m. local time.

As it stands now, "Macca's" 14-date 2022 "Got Back" tour will kick off on April 28th at Spokane, Washington's Spokane Arena and wrap on June 16th at East Rutherford, New Jersey's Met Life Stadium -- just two days before the former-Beatle's 80th birthday, which falls on June 18th.

Brian Ray, McCartney's touring guitarist for the past two decades, told us he's still amazed by his boss' onstage stamina: ["We get a break, and he doesn't. He stands up there in front of the crowd for another, I don't know, 20 minutes more than we do, doing his solo bit in the middle. We get a break, and I am flattened by the end of the night!"] SOUNDCUE (:12 OC: . . . of the night)

Although once on the road his set lists don't vary much from night-to-night, Paul McCartney explained that at the start of each tour he likes to throw a few unproven rarities in to shake up the mix: ["I just like doing it, and whenever I go out on tour it's exciting to stick a few things in that I haven't done before, just 'cause then it's sort of like there's a bit of a nervous edge to it, which is quite cool -- except on the first night when you think 'Why did I do this? Why didn't I stay safe?'"] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . I stay safe)

McCartney admitted that his primary reason for still going out and embarking on globe-trotting tours is that he loves performing more than almost anything: ["Then the audience is the other big thing. The audience is amazingly warm these days. And what I do is, I tell my promoter, I'll say, 'Just put one of the shows on sale and just see how we're doing.' And he might ring me back and say: 'Fantastic! Sold out in an hour -- the whole thing!' So, I go 'Okay, I'm cool. They like me!'"] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . they like me)

UPDATED: Paul McCartney tour dates (subject to change):

April 28 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena
May 3 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
May 6 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
May 13 - Los Angeles, CA - SoFi Stadium
May 17 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
May 21 - Winston Salem, NC - Truist Field
May 25 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
May 28 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium
May 31 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson Boling Arena
June 4 - Syracuse, NY - Carrier Dome
June 7 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park
June 8 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park
June 12 - Baltimore, MD - Oriole Park
June 16 - East Rutherford, NJ- Met Life Stadium

IN OTHER McCARTNEY NEWS

Mary McCartney, Paul and Linda McCartney's 52-year-old photographer daughter -- and host of the Food Network's Mary McCartney Serves It Up -- shed light on her famous dad's culinary talents.

Mary told London's The Express that there's definitely a difference between him when he's at home and at work: "I see my dad in two very different ways. When it’s family, it’s family, and when he tries to tell a story everyone talks over him. Then when he’s on stage I think, 'Wow. He’s pretty amazing.'"

She went on to explain, "Dad can cook, he likes to make the lasagna out of mum's first cookbook, and he makes a very good mashed potato. If we’re all having Sunday lunch, he’s in charge of mash. He doesn’t put any special ingredients into it, I think it’s just because he takes the time. He mashes it and then spends ages whipping it with a fork -- and he’s not shy with the butter either."

For more info on the Food Network's Mary McCartney Serves It Up, log on to: https://bit.ly/35vBToj

Stevie Nicks had some tough words for Russian president Vladimir Putin comparing him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler for his invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday (February 26th), Nicks took to Instagram and addressed the loss of life and displacement of the Ukranian people following Russia's unwarranted invasion:

At 4 am this morning me and a friend sent a message to a lady in Ukraine who sent us a beautiful hand painted box -- to thank her again and check up on her after watching the news all night -- she immediately wrote back that she was home and still fine...

At 4:45 am she wrote us back that she was now 'just trying to escape'; that changed everything. Now I know someone, an innocent person, who is having her freedom taken from her. I  have been crying ever since. My mom said to me after 9-11 – don’t forget what your father and I were fighting for; don’t forget it. . . (I am glad she isn’t here to see this).

This is Hitler coming back to haunt us. In one evening -- until now, an entire sovereign country has been full on invaded. How dare he. My heart is broken for our new friend – and for people of Ukraine -- I am so, so sorry.

Love and prayers for them.
Stevie Nicks