Thanks to Richard Joly at OnoWeb
and to Larry McGahey, webmaster for Old World Distributors

(Entered August 16, 2000)

Paul McCartney announced Tuesday (August 15) that he plans to release a new dance track next week featuring outtakes from original recording sessions by the Beatles. "Free Now," a club mix made by McCartney with the help of the Welsh band Super Furry Animals, will be featured on the new CD "The Liverpool Sound Collage."

Paul described the track as a "manic Beatles single." "It's a new little piece of Beatles," he said. "It's more underground than what you usually hear from me, but I like to be free enough to do this sort of thing." The track mixes recordings of the Beatles chatting during studio sessions between 1965-1969 with previously unreleased guitar work by the group.

McCartney created "The Liverpool Sound Collage" to accompany an exhibition at the Tate Liverpool gallery by artist Peter Blake. It takes the form of an ambient soundtrack of life in the northern city, featuring everything from interviews with local shoppers to quotes from students. "Free Now" will not be released as a commercial single. It will be available to the public only in album form.

The Liverpool Sound Collage web site reported that Paul collated elements for his collage on the streets of Liverpool, where he interviewed astonished shoppers and passers by on his tape recorder. The locally recorded elements range from snatches of chat with students at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and background at the soundcheck for Paul's return concert at The Cavern to extracts from The Liverpool Ontario and the sound of The Mersey.

Extending the theme of using sound fragments from local voices, Liverpool Sound Collage also contains out-takes from recordings made between 1965-69 with George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.

One graphic on the web site features the words "Plastic Beetles" - not to be confused with the Plastic Ono Band.

http://www.liverpoolsoundcollage.com