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Fuente: Liverpool Daily Post

Folk legend Judy Collins tells Lew Baxter she believes Sir Paul is still grieving over the real love of his life

IN ALL the heartache, hullabaloo and turmoil that has engulfed Paul McCartney over his acrimonious split from Heather Mills, most of his friends have been steadfast and silent, loyal to the man who has been tagged by the second Lady McCartney as a self-obsessed, control freak.

Some, though – fired by affection and concern – have spoken out to vehemently disagree with the allegations made by Mills about the 65-year-old McCartney, insisting he is a decent bloke and a warm family man, citing his unblemished 30-year marriage to Linda as the bedrock of his life.

One of Linda’s best friends was American folk troubadour Judy Collins and she too largely remained quiet as, five years ago, the former Beatle wed Miss Mills, then 34, in a lavish £2m affair in Ireland, apparently much to the chagrin of the children from his first union.

Judy then watched sadly – although not surprised – from the sidelines as the relationship splintered, despite McCartney’s clear devotion to Beatrice Molly, his three-year-old daughter with Mills.

Speaking from her New York home, Judy now reveals that the then Linda Eastman asked her when she was first dating Paul how she could handle all the women who chased after him.

“I told her I didn’t really know, but Linda was very perceptive. She solved the problem by virtually never leaving his side. They were hardly separated in all their time together, apart from maybe one night,” says the crystal-voiced soprano singer, who made her first public performance at 13. Later, she turned to the traditional sounds of the fabled Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger for her inspiration, and then to the poet balladeer Leonard Cohen as a mentor.

At 22, Judy’s debut album in 1961 – A Maid of Constant Sorrow – was hailed as a minor masterpiece and she won Grammy recognition for her version of Stephen Sondheim’s ballad Send in the Clowns and Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. She has more than 40 albums to her credit and her riveting blue eyes were celebrated by Stephen Stills in the Crosby, Stills, & Nash classic Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.

Breaking away from her roots, Judy has just realised a long-held ambition and released an album of songs by Lennon and McCartney that she dedicates to Paul – and Linda, who died in April, 1998, after battling breast cancer.

“She (Linda) was determined to keep her man, although he obviously adored her so much that I seriously doubt if he would ever have strayed. They were so committed to each other,” says Judy, who declares that, although she did cover In My Life a few years ago, she has always wanted to record a full collection of Beatles songs.

“They symbolise my youth and that wonderful 1960s adolescence. I love them all, they are like a Rosary to me.

“So, I took the 13 songs that I like the best, and there is also a web download of The Fool on the Hill that isn’t on the album,” says Judy who, like her friend Paul McCartney, also suffered personal tragedy when her only son, Clark, committed suicide at 33 years of age in 1992.

“Linda was a dear friend of mine even before she met Paul, and she took a lot of photographs of me and my son in the mid- 1960s. Yet, since her death, paradoxically I’ve seen more of Paul when he is New York,” comments the 67-year-old singer.

“Linda kept Paul’s feet firmly on the ground as they both did with their kids. They did a swell job on them.

“Everyone figures that because they were in that fabulous Beatles circle they were always out having fun but actually, as a group, it was more a nine to five existence, no matter how incongruous that sounds.

“And every day Paul couldn’t wait to get home to Linda. She was the love of his life and always will be. When she died, he came to see me and we sat together for hours reminiscing about her, talking about what a wonderful person she was.

“He was destroyed by her death and in bits and pieces. I am convinced that even now he is still in shock. He is still mourning Linda,” believes Judy.

The first song on her album of Beatles songs is the McCartney classic And I Love Her. Although it was recorded in 1964 for his then fiancée Jane Asher, Judy believes it is just as apposite to Linda. She also tackles his iconic Yesterday and the anthem-like Hey Jude, finishing the set with The Long and Winding Road.

“I once went to see Wings at Madison Square Gardens when Linda was singing in the band and Paul never went near the old Beatles stuff,” Judy recalls.

“Then, when I was back there a couple of years ago for another of his concerts, the crowd went wild when he just unexpectedly swung into those fabulous tunes and songs.

“The people around me were gasping in delight and disbelief. It was one of those magical moments in life. I just sat entranced and thought: ‘Well, I just have to sing these songs’,” she says.

“So, I got together a great band and we recorded all the songs in less than three days.”

Judy confides that, although she would have loved Paul to play on the album she didn’t actually ask him. She isn’t quite sure yet if he’s even heard it, although she’s just sent him an autographed copy.

“Most people in the business would have called him just to sit in and listen. And I knew he would have agreed for me, but I was just too shy, even though he knows I was one of Linda’s best friends, ” she explains.

And she confesses that she has also been too shy to ask McCartney to work on her proposed new album of her own songs due out early next year, which features such musical luminaries as Chrissie Hynd, Tim Robins and Dolly Parton.

But she had heard that Sir Paul is to headline a show at Liverpool’s Capital of Culture jamboree next year and declares that she would be so pleased if she got the chance to sing her favourite Beatles songs in the city that spawned them.

“I was there on a fleeting visit years ago and thought it so lovely,” says Judy. “But how good would it be for me to do a concert in Liverpool during that special year?

“They are my favourite songs in the whole world. Maybe you could ask someone in the city to invite me.”

JUDY COLLINS Sings Lennon & McCartney is out now, on Wildflower Records, New York