JAKARTA - World music legend and The Beatles member, Paul McCartney, has given a strong signal that he has not thought about plans to retire, both from the recording world and the stage.
The signal came just after the 83-year-old musician released his 20th solo album, "The Boys Of Dungeon Lane", last weekend.
The latest album by McCartney presents a deep nostalgic atmosphere. Through his lyrics, this man born in Liverpool invites listeners to look back on his youth in his hometown.
On this album, he also collaborated with the Fab Four drummer, Ringo Starr, through the song "Home To Us", and released the emotional track "Days We Left Behind" as the main single.
In his latest interview with NME ahead of the album's release, McCartney also reflected on his long career. When asked about the possibility of him retiring as an active musician, he admitted that he never knew for sure.
"I don't know. I never knew, you know?" said McCartney.
He then recalled the moment when he turned half a century old. At that time, the manager who accompanied him had asked a similar question about retirement plans.
"I remember when I was 50, my manager at the time asked, 'Do you think about retiring?' I replied, 'I don't think so.' However, he was obviously thinking about the number 50. I understand, because when we were 20, we thought that 30 was already very old. So, the number 30 seemed like something inappropriate, but those times come and go, and people still continue to play music, and the audience still likes the music," he said.
Furthermore, McCartney realized that the opportunity for fans to enjoy music from his era in person is now increasingly limited. According to him, the experience of watching legendary musicians on stage has a magic that can't be replaced by anything.
"If the music is from that period, they can't hear it directly in any other way. So, you have to see Neil Young live to get the whole nuance of a Neil - the typical Neil nuance. The same goes for many other bands, like The Stones or The Eagles. There's nothing to compare it to," he said.
McCartney emphasized that his greatest desire to continue to survive in the industry came from the creative process of writing songs themselves. For him, the emotional satisfaction when giving birth to a new work is still the same as it was decades ago when he was just starting his career.
"Creative satisfaction is only by writing songs - it's still the same old satisfaction as before. There's something magical about it," he said.
He also reminisced about his childhood dreams that were far from the spotlight. "I often think, 'I never intended to be a singer and a songwriter.' When I was in school, I thought the only option left for me was to be a teacher, because I didn't have a big qualification, and unfortunately, that meant you had to be a teacher. "
"But I joined a band, and that led me down this path. So, the satisfaction is being able to write a song and if you manage to finish it, it's the same satisfaction as usual. Some of them are better finished than others, but it's still a great thing," McCartney added.
The process of creating a melody from an initially empty guitar riff to a complete work, said McCartney, is an incredible achievement. The magical sensation became the main energy that continued to burn his musical spirit.
"It's really fun to sit down with my guitar when there's nothing there, I just play it without direction, and then suddenly after three or four hours, I manage to get a song. I know how the plot is, I've written the lyrics, and it's a real achievement. It's still a magical feeling for me. I think it's a creative passion that still exists, and hopefully it will always be there," concluded McCartney.
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