Magneto and Titanium Man, or: When Paul McCartney met Jack Kirby and scored the Marvelverse
Still buzzing from this morning's trailer, I discovered a fantastic case of "when fandoms collide" which for all my read biographies I had no idea about. I mean, I knew there was a Wings song named Magneto and Titanium Man, but somehow I had never made the connection to the former Mr. Lehnsherr and the other guy from the Marvel comics. Turns out that not only was the song inspired by the comics, but also Jack Kirby, the one who with Stan Lee basically is the parent of all the Marvelverse, liked the song so much that he drew Paul and Linda McCartney with Magneto as a thank you. And then... But first things first.
How the song came to be: the younger McCartneys, of course. Paul's kids were Marvel fans and reading the comics kept them entertained while the album Venus and Mars was recorded. They also told their father all about their favourites and the laters' superpowers. This had musical results:
Jack Kirby liked the song and promptly drew a Paul, Linda and Magneto portrait as a thank you:
This Kirby wanted to hand over in person. Steve Sherman, whose brother Gary made the encounter happen: Gary phoned Capital Records, which is headquartered in Hollywood. He asked to speak to the Artist & Repertoire rep for Paul. When they put him through he told them that Jack Kirby had done a drawing of Paul and would Paul be interested in meeting Jack. It turns out that the A&R guy is a Kirby fan. Half an hour later he calls back and says you bet, Paul would be happy to meet Jack. Show up at the Forum about an hour and a half before the show.
Says Lisa Kirby, Jack's daughter, taking up the story:
They invited him to a concert, and we went backstage and presented (Paul) with the original drawing. At first, we didn't think we were going to get to meet him; we met Linda McCartney. She was a wonderful lady, very nice. Then I turn around, and out comes Paul McCartney - and I just stood there....! *laughs* I was probably about fifteen, and I just stood there and stared. My mom used to tease me about it: "You didn't even say one word to him! You just stood there with your mouth hanging open in disbelief!"
They gave us tickets, and the Forum in L.A. was packed. We're all sitting there, and all of a sudden my mom goes, "Lisa, what is that smell?" The guy next to me had just lit up a joint, and my mom says to me: "Oh my god, is he smoking marijuana?" So she took a kleenex out of her purse, and she held it over her face for the entire show! And I'm sinking back in my seat in embarassment. But the most exciting part was when Paul McCartney got up to sing Magneto and Titanium Man and he dedicated it to Jack Kirby. That was just outrageous, it was really exciting!
In case you were wondering who that guy with the pot was, Steve Sherman says the Kirbys sat between Michael Douglas and Ryan O'Neal. And here's a photo of the backstage meeting. Paul, it's cool that you like the Marvelverse, but Wolverine should be no one's model for a hairstyle:
Now I have a question for those who know the Marvel comics in far more detail than I do: is there ever a reference to Magneto, Titanium Man et al having their very own McCartney composed song?
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/653792.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
How the song came to be: the younger McCartneys, of course. Paul's kids were Marvel fans and reading the comics kept them entertained while the album Venus and Mars was recorded. They also told their father all about their favourites and the laters' superpowers. This had musical results:
Click to viewJack Kirby liked the song and promptly drew a Paul, Linda and Magneto portrait as a thank you:
This Kirby wanted to hand over in person. Steve Sherman, whose brother Gary made the encounter happen: Gary phoned Capital Records, which is headquartered in Hollywood. He asked to speak to the Artist & Repertoire rep for Paul. When they put him through he told them that Jack Kirby had done a drawing of Paul and would Paul be interested in meeting Jack. It turns out that the A&R guy is a Kirby fan. Half an hour later he calls back and says you bet, Paul would be happy to meet Jack. Show up at the Forum about an hour and a half before the show.
Says Lisa Kirby, Jack's daughter, taking up the story:
They invited him to a concert, and we went backstage and presented (Paul) with the original drawing. At first, we didn't think we were going to get to meet him; we met Linda McCartney. She was a wonderful lady, very nice. Then I turn around, and out comes Paul McCartney - and I just stood there....! *laughs* I was probably about fifteen, and I just stood there and stared. My mom used to tease me about it: "You didn't even say one word to him! You just stood there with your mouth hanging open in disbelief!"
They gave us tickets, and the Forum in L.A. was packed. We're all sitting there, and all of a sudden my mom goes, "Lisa, what is that smell?" The guy next to me had just lit up a joint, and my mom says to me: "Oh my god, is he smoking marijuana?" So she took a kleenex out of her purse, and she held it over her face for the entire show! And I'm sinking back in my seat in embarassment. But the most exciting part was when Paul McCartney got up to sing Magneto and Titanium Man and he dedicated it to Jack Kirby. That was just outrageous, it was really exciting!
In case you were wondering who that guy with the pot was, Steve Sherman says the Kirbys sat between Michael Douglas and Ryan O'Neal. And here's a photo of the backstage meeting. Paul, it's cool that you like the Marvelverse, but Wolverine should be no one's model for a hairstyle:
Now I have a question for those who know the Marvel comics in far more detail than I do: is there ever a reference to Magneto, Titanium Man et al having their very own McCartney composed song?
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/653792.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.