Greg Hawkes

About

You played on Paul McCartney’s 1989 album, Flowers in the Dirt, the song “Motor of Love.”

I was in awe the whole time. Just the fact that I was there, I couldn’t believe it. He was super nice. I had a great time. On my way over [to England], I was thinking, “Gee, do you even bring up the Beatles or is it something he doesn’t want to talk about?” I think it was before he had made peace with the Beatles, especially during the Wings thing. Right around the time I went over, during his live shows he was doing half Beatles material and Paul solo and Wings things. I didn’t even have to bring it up. When he came in, he had an armful of record albums. He had just gotten a batch of that Russian live album he made, Back in the USSR with his name in that funny Russian lettering – some regular letters some oddball. And he hands us each one, saying “Would you like the new Ron McCaptain album? to show his name was spelled. Within five or ten minutes of getting in, he started talking Beatles stories. 

We spent three of four days in London and then went to his Hogg Mill studio [in Sussex]. He had his Beatles bass there and the last Beatles set list taped to side of it. He shows it to me and starts running through the songs – “Long Tall Sally,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” telling us “We’d have Ringo sing one” and I’m like “I know! Of course, you did!” 

From Long May You Run: The Cars’ Greg Hawkes Turns 70 – Rock and Roll Globe

Last updated on November 1, 2022