Media types scrambled earlier this week when the British tabloids reported that music legend Sir Paul McCartney was spotted romancing Nancy Shevell in East Hampton.
Locals know that McCartney is no newcomer to the Hamptons. In fact, he’s been vacationing there for years, spending two weeks every August with his late wife, Linda, and their four children at their Amagansett compound.
Last month, Paul’s daughter, designer Stella McCartney told W magazine: “I've been coming (to the Hamptons) my whole life." She recalls beach parties with kegs and nights out at The Stephen Talkhouse on Main Street in Amagansett when “they’d have Muddy Waters and amazing people play.”
She told the magazine that East Hampton is still a retreat for "the American half" of her family. Her maternal grandfather was lawyer and East Hamptonite Lee Eastman. Her uncle is entertainment lawyer John Eastman, who has managed Sir Paul’s career for 40 years. When McCartney married his second wife Heather Mills in 2002, rumors swirled that the ceremony would take place at Eastman’s Lily Pond Lane mansion. Instead the now-divorcing couple married in Ireland.
Eastman’s clients have included two notable Long Islanders: musician Billy Joel, who owns homes in Sag Harbor, Centre Island and Sagaponack, and abstract artist Willem De Kooning, who worked from a studio in Springs.
McCartney, himself a visual artist, had a longtime friendship with De Kooning. He credits De Kooning with influencing his painting style. The ex-Beatle is quoted as saying, "you have to paint abstract after you've been seeing Bill de Kooning". McCartney's influences also include the scenery at Georgica Beach, the subject of a few of his works. See some of them here.
Author Steven Gaines told the Associated Press earlier this week that "the Hamptons are filled with celebrities. …This is a community that's very protective of those who live here." Apparently McCartney now stays out East after Labor Day, when things quiet down. "October is Paul's favorite month," Gaines said.
Paul McCartney: Christine Cotter/Los Angeles Times; Nancy Shevell: AP photo
Comments (5)
who cares about this old fart?
Hey manhasset 'lad'! If you want to revert to name calling ......How about manhasset SUCKS!
To Manhasset lad-the world will still be talking about this "old fart" for the next 100 years-long after your worthless waste of dna is forgotten.
I second that Dave. This isn't a mere mortal we're talking about!
manhassat lad : You probably don't know who T-Bone Burnett is either - just for the record, you would be righteously fated to listening to only boring drivel were it not for certain musical geniuses, one of whom you mindlessly insulted herein. You will one day too be old, but now, today, you are living proof that the second word you used to describe Sir Paul is indeed timeless. In closing, you will never be honored by Her Royal Highness The Queen or remembered as any sort of legend; perhaps, in fact, remembered not at all.