Independence Concert Q&A with Paul

09.06.2008
9 June 2008

1) Congratulations on your Liverpool show. Great show, great reviews. How was it for you?

PM: It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. The audience was fantastic too. It's always great playing to a home crowd. Playing in Liverpool brings back a lot of great memories for me.

2) Are you looking forward to Saturday? The UK press said that if Anfield had a roof you would have blown it off. Well if Independence Sq had a roof would you blow that off too?

PM: We definitely hope to. Perhaps this time we will knock their socks off instead! Saturday's going to be a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it. Every time I speak to someone who has been to Kiev before they keep telling me what a great place it is with lots of history.

3) Playing to 36,000 people is one thing but to hundreds of thousands is something else! How do you prepare for a show of this size?

PM: Well in the same way really. You pick the setlist and what you think will work as a starting point and take it from there. We have to rehearse this one as we would for any out-door or stadium show. Everything is on a slightly larger scale.

4) How is your Ukrainian?

PM: Fabulous. Ha! No, I'm taking lessons.

5) The Ukraine media have been voting for their favourite all time Paul McCartney song. Do you have an all time favourite Ukrainian song?

PM: I heard a Ukrainian cover of She Loves You, which I thought was pretty cool.

6) 'Dance Tonight' went down really well in Liverpool. Can we expect anything else from Memory Almost Full on Saturday?

PM: I'm keeping the setlist close to my chest at the moment. We don't want to give anything away ahead of the performance otherwise there will be no surprises. So I'm not telling anyone!

7) We know you can play many instruments but can you play the Kobza?

PM: Yes, I play it every night (joking)

The kobza (is a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument, of the lute family)

8) 'The Ukraine Girls really knock me out', discuss...

PM: They leave the west behind...

9) First Liverpool, now Kiev, there are plenty of rumours about a tour, any truth in the rumours?

PM: A tour is being talked about but there is no definite news at the moment.

10) You have just donated a new track, recorded as The Fireman to the Adopt A Minefield charity - any further Fireman plans?

PM: We have recorded an album and hope to release it sometime later this year. Watch this space.