Sir Paul McCartney admits to being a closet Reality TV fan

Nov 25 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

SIR Paul McCartney yesterday likened reality television to a car crash, but admitted he watched it.

The ex-Beatle claimed shows like the X Factor did not encourage musical creativity.

Sir Paul, 66, said: “You can’t turn on the telly without somebody being judged by four people, whether they are on ice, on stage or in the jungle.

“I’m not very keen on it.

“I watch it like everybody. It’s compulsive viewing, but so is a traffic accident. It doesn’t encourage creativity.

“I don’t think you are going to get a Bob Dylan emerging from those shows, but then not everyone goes on those shows. I think it’s just a phase we are going through.”

The legendary songwriter’s latest album, released yesterday, is the result of experimentation and improvisation.

Electric Arguments is his third release as The Fireman – a collaboration with producer Youth (aka Martin Glover).

After a 10-year gap since their last album, the duo introduced vocals for the first time in the new album.

The star compared the concept of The Fireman with that of The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – which allowed the band to try out new things.

For Electric Arguments, Sir Paul said he “goofed around,” ad-libbing and having fun in the studio while they recorded one song per day.

He describes the experience as “liberating”.

Selecting words from poems for lyrics and trying out different vocal styles, Sir Paul said: “It’s a very random process but it’s very liberating . . . it’s a little bit indulgent.”

Meeting reporters at The Fire Station pub in Waterloo, London, Sir Paul revealed he preferred working with an independent record label for the album because: “I just like it because there is a certain freedom.”

The musician also expressed his happiness that Barack Obama won the US presidential election.

“I was so pleased that he won that it occurred to me if I ever got asked that I could sing Michelle to his wife,” he said.