Entertainment

Paul McCartney shares message to mark what would have been Record Store Day

The revered rocker explored some of his earliest musical influences.
The revered rocker explored some of his earliest musical influences. The revered rocker explored some of his earliest musical influences.

Sir Paul McCartney reflected on his early memories of rock and roll in a message to share what would have been Record Store Day.

The former Beatle, 77, spoke to BBC Radio 6 Music listeners and revealed what album he would like to share with them.

Record Store Day was set to take place on Saturday but fell victim to the coronavirus outbreak. Sir Paul chose Gene Vincent’s 1956 rockabilly song Be-Bop-A-Lula and explained the impact it had on him as a youngster in Liverpool.

Sir Paul McCartney
Sir Paul McCartney Sir Paul McCartney has reflected on his early musical influences (Ian West/PA)

He said: “Now this is the first record I ever bought when I was a kid, and I saved up my pocket money for months, and then I took the bus downtown to the record shop, and I remember going into the back of the shop and listening to the record and loving it.

“It was just very early days of rock’n’roll, so it was just such a thrill, and then I got back on the bus, went home and played it endlessly, and these memories, of Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps, singing Be-Bop-A-Lula will stay with me forever.”

Sir Paul then revealed a further personal connection to Be-Bop-A-Lula. During the Beatles’s formative years performing in Hamburg, they played on the same bill as US star Vincent, a rockabilly pioneer who was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Sir Paul said: “So we used to have drinks with Gene and became really quite friendly with him, and who would have thought the day I walked into that record shop and bought is Be-Bop-A-Lula, that I would one day end up hanging with the man himself. Here it is, is Be-Bop-A-Lula, I love it.”

Record Store Day is an annual event involving more than 200 independent record shops in the UK – and more around the world – celebrating their unique culture.