Paul McCartney's looking forward to some time off - but has no intention of stopping

Jan 3 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

Paul McCartney concert

Their latest work was written and recorded in "about 13 days," or so, Sir Paul is told.

"We don’t count the days, we don’t bother with that," he explains.

"We just go in the studio, my studio in Sussex, then if I’ve got a week spare I might do something, or we might leave it a week and then go in another day. It’s really when we’ve got time to work on it."

The title of the album comes from an Allen Ginsberg poem, Kansas City To St Louis. Ginsberg and other Beat poets also provide inspiration elsewhere on the album.

It was Youth who first suggested the idea of having vocals on the album this time around, but Sir Paul, unprepared and without any lyrics written, wasn’t so sure.

"He knows me well enough now that, if he coaxes me a little bit, or just keeps quiet long enough, that I’ll say ’Go on then, I’ll try something’ once the idea is in my head," he says of his musical partner and former Killing Joke bassist.

"So I excused myself to everyone in the studio, and explained that it could be a highly embarrassing moment for everyone, but got up and started singing some melodies.

"Then we started looking in poetry books," he continues.

"We just wanted to find good- looking words, so that’s what I went for, inspirational words from people like Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg."

The first song on the album to take shape was what became Travelling Light.