CLUB SANDWICH 49

CLUB SANDWICH

            Our summer Sandwich spread highlights some of Paul's activities away from the studio: foremost his being awarded an honorary degree from the University of Sussex (see 'Call Me Dr. Rock',) and being given the Silver Clef Award at the Music Therapy Charity Luncheon. Having bought a guitar for Ј32,000 at their auction, Paul promptly donated it back to the charity! Paul is also included in a forthcoming BBC-TV Forty Minutes programme about the work of Music Therapy, to be screened in the autumn, but we'll include that in our next issue.
            Paul's contribution to the spirit of Glasnost is discussed in 'To Russia With Love'; the article on the Paul McCartney Kindergarten in Poland throws up a more unusual link with Eastern Europe and shows how appreciated Paul's music is even in countries where it is hard to buy his albums!
            Paul's next album is progressing in the studio, but it's still much too early to have any release details. Nor, I'm sorry to say, is there news of any concerts or tours, but you club members can be assured that we'll keep you posted when there's something to report.
            Any of you Rupert Bear fans who can make it to Canterbury in October should check out an enchanting exhibition to mark the fortieth anniversary of the death of Rupert's creator, Canterbury-born Mary Tourtel. Featured in Canterbury Heritage at the Time Walk Museum, Stour Street, it is part of the Canterbury Festival of '88, on the theme, 'Telling Tales', which runs from 2-22 October.
            British readers should also look out for a Limited Edition Poster by Linda done to support Greenpeace's campaign to stop acid rain. A donation of Ј25 to the campaign will result in your receiving a copy of the poster; one of Ј100 or more will produce an autographed poster as Linda's 'Thank you'. For more details contact Greenpeace, 30-31 Islington Green, London N18XE, Tel. 01-354 5100.
            Lastly, Paul gave an interview for the BBC Animation Week which was shown on Monday, September 5th. We'll be back in the autumn with news of Buddy Holly Week and lots more.

            'Til next time,
            Sue

MEET JOANNE O'CONNOR

            Beatles experts will remember that George Harrison once wrote a song called 'Apple Scruffs' in affectionate tribute to the fans who spent hours outside the Apple offices, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols. While not exactly scruffs, their present-day equivalents have been known to gather outside MPL. When they do, more likely than not it'll be Joanne O'Connor who deals with them.
            "They come from all over the world. I had a language problem with a lady who was trying to hand in a tape for Paul: I tried to explain to her in pidgin French that Paul doesn't accept unsolicited tapes - I think she was French! The Japanese are the most charming. It's tricky when you have a group of Japanese tourists giving you gifts for Paul and bowing, while you're busy on the phone!"
            Joanne joined in July 1987. "The agency wouldn't tell me anything about the company, but advised me to go for the interview. I liked the atmosphere and felt relaxed immediately. I hadn't realized how closely Paul was associated with the company. When I joined I was thrown in at the deep end: we were busy through until January with All the Best and there was the build-up to Buddy Holly Week in September. When people knew Paul was bringing out All The Best, they started writing and phoning with interview requests. You get to know which of these Paul is most likely to do.
            "On a typical day I deal with job applications and requests for auctions and personal appearances, as well as answering the phone. My biggest crisis? All panics are as bad as each other!"
            Then there's the stream of tapes, videos and other packages going to and from Paul's studio, the record company etc. Another ready means of communicating with Paul is via the fax machine, as Joanne soon found out.
            'I spoke to Paul on my first day and he teased me on the phone by reading out the fax he'd got with my qualifications and what they thought of me at the interview. Paul and Linda came in on the Friday of my first week - he was chatty when we met. Sometimes they might come in twice in a week, then not for a couple of months: it depends on their meetings and appointments."
            Born in Aylesbury, Bucks, in the year of Sgt. Pepper, Surrey has loomed large in Joanne's life ever since. The family moved to Sutton soon afterwards, she went to Carshalton High School and achieved the RSA Diploma for Personal Assistants at Kingston College of Further Education before joining MPL.
            The O'Connor family seem remarkable in their aptitude for art: all the children got Art A-level early.
            "One of my brothers and I went to Saturday morning art classes at the Sutton College of Liberal Arts—so did my Mum and Dad. My Dad got an art teaching degree when he was young, though he never used it. He was an international executive for 3M, where he's still a consultant now he's retired - he was known as Mr. Microfilm! My Mum goes to every available class: jewellery, flower arranging, dressmaking. Both my parents are doing astronomy now and my Mum's learning Italian."
            What about music?
            "My Dad played just enough to get through a piano exam and one of my sisters played a bit when she was young. I like Talking Heads, Eurhythmies, Simple Minds ...I wake up to Capital, then listen to Radio One when I first come into the office - for some reason the office radio
            won't get Capital!"
            What are Joanne's hobbies?
            "I'm quite a social person. I worked part-time for one and a half years in a pub near home - my family had always gone there. It was run by an Irish family: I think my name helped in getting the job! I often meet friends at the pub near my home in West London."
            The writer once got into trouble for suggesting that MPL girls were outdoor girls - they're bright and capable too, of course. Well, just when it seemed the outdoor bit couldn't apply to Jo, she came up with the following.
            "You could say I went on the London to Brighton cycle race - Paul sponsored me. I raised Ј240 for the British Heart Foundation. It was 61 miles: I felt wicked at the half-way point, but really fresh at the end. I cycled to work for six weeks before the race and have done most days since. Also, I did karate for a year and have been meaning to take it up again."
            The Brighton connection doesn't end there: "Several of my friends graduated at Brighton at the same ceremony as Paul, when he got his honorary degree. I used to visit them at university and still go to Brighton, as my main friends are staying down there for the summer."
            What are Jo's favourite McCartney melodies?
            "Everybody knows the Beatles' songs... 'C-Moon, 'Say Say Say' and 'Let 'Em In' are three of my favourites since the Beatles."
            Like the rest of us, Joanne looks forward to picking her favourites from Paul's next opus. In the meantime, she'll continue to mind the shop with a smile.