Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt recently recalled how he and Paul McCartney “wrote a song together for a split second” during the rehearsals for the 2015 Grammys performance.
Bettencourt was in the presence of the legendary Paul McCartney. Nuno described his meeting with the man himself in a recent interview with Rick Beato.
Nuno Bettencourt talks about Paul McCartney
As the guitarist explains, he originally refused to take part in the 57th Grammys ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but jokingly notes how his schedule immediately opened up at the mention of Paul’s name.
In addition to the Beatle’s cordiality and humbleness, one aspect of Paul’s character that particularly impressed Nuno was the enthusiasm with which he approached playing music (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“He was so wonderful. And he was so giving. And just made me feel old. He was like a child. That’s why he’s doing it — the child in you has to be in there. Because that’s why we play music in the first place. If we lose that — and this dude has not.”
However, the the actual shocking development took place towards the end of the second day of rehearsals. Nuno recalls how everyone was packing up, and he was recording an idea for a song he just had with his phone. Then, one Sir Paul McCartney appeared behind his back:
“I just hear his voice, ‘What’s that you’re playing? Ooh, I like that; it sounds expensive!’ [laughs] I’m sweating now, he’s talking to me, and I’m sweating. He goes, ‘What do you got for the chorus?’ Because I said it was just a little verse. ‘What do you got for the chorus?’ — and I’m [thinking] like, ‘Don’t tell me I’m writing a fucking song right now with Paul McCartney, please don’t tell me that’s happening.’
“And I [thought], ‘You know what? Fuck this,’ and I go, ‘What would *you* do for the chorus?’ And he just starts singing [in] Paul McCartney falsetto.”
Unfortunately, the collab didn’t get to reach its logical conclusion, as another musician who was around for the Grammys ended up cutting it short. Nuno added:
“And I’m [thinking], ‘Oh my god, this is incredible, I’m writing [with Paul McCartney]’ — and then Kanye [West] comes over and interrupts us.”
Luckily, the recording app on Nuno’s phone had been running all the time. And given that Nuno mailed himself the recording “12 times, literally” to make sure not to lose it — maybe we’ll get to hear the idea become an actual song one day. In the meantime, you can check out the two getting ready for Paul’s surprise appearance at the 57th annual Grammy Awards below.
