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Fans mob Macca at album signing
By Bo Wilson and Valentine Low, Evening Standard 22.11.06They still scream, you know. More than 40 years after the heyday of Beatlemania, Sir Paul McCartney enjoyed a stirring - and timely - reminder of the loyalty of his fans when he made a rare public appearance at a record signing in the West End today.
People queued round the block in their hundreds to catch a glimpse of the former Beatle.
When he did arrive, they greeted him with an expression of approval that has remained a constant since he was one of four young moptops with the world at their feet - they screamed.
The sound, while perhaps not quite as loud or hysterical as the days when the lads had to run between limos just to escape being mobbed by wild-eyed teenagers, was a welcome reassurance that McCartney is still a crowd-puller.
His divorce may be about to cost him a large fortune, his estranged wife Heather Mills may be hogging the airwaves in the US, and he may have recently suffered the indignity of being photographed looking lonely and dishevelled on his way home from the pub - but Sir Paul, it seems, still holds the same place in the public's affection as he always did.
He arrived at the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly - where he was signing copies of his new classical album and DVD - looking fresh and cheerful, rather than a 64-year-old in the throes of a bitter and expensive divorce. As he hurried up the stairs inside he gave the jostling crowds a little wave and mouthed "Hello".
Outside some of the fans - who came from as far afield as Japan, Australia and Mexico - had queued through two cold nights to await his arrival. First in line was Joaquim Baltrons Rodriguez, 50, who flew from Costa Brava in Spain to start his vigil at 9am on Monday.
He brought a home-made leather-bound book with anecdotes and photographs of the 20 years he has spent following his hero around the world - which he hoped to present to him.
New Yorkers Roger Smith 44 and Rose Marie Curreri, 53, even got passports especially so they could fly over and come face-to-face with Sir Paul.
And what were their views on Ms Mills? It seems no one had a good word to say for her. Venessa Leslie, 27, from Texas, said: "She deserves none of his money whatsoever. I never liked her in the first place."
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