More than just a decorative style, Art Deco went with a lifestyle of cocktails, jazz, tango, ocean liners and cinema.PICTURE PALACES?The booming film industry fed Parisians' escapist fantasies, with glamorous picture palaces to match. Le Louxor cinema (170 boulevard Magenta) had a neo-Egyptian fa?e, reflecting the excitement surrounding the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. (Long closed, it is due to reopen in 2009.) On boulevard de Strasbourg, L'Eldorado (now the Th?re Com?a) opened in 1932 with a glazed roof in the foyer, wrought-iron balconies and stucco decor. Near the Champs-Elys?, the Balzac took an ocean-liner theme, with balustrading and porthole windows. Best of all was the Grand Rex ( www.legrandrex ), a temple to cinema on boulevard Poissonni?, with its illuminated crown standing out like a beacon against the sky.
One of Europe's largest venues, inaugurated in front of 3,300 guests in 1932, its grande salle, now used for rock concerts as well as films, has a fantasy decor of Moorish minarets, palm trees, arcades and classical pediments under a starry sky.TIME FOR A MEALParis's quintessential Art Deco brasserie, La Coupole (102 boulevard du Montparnasse, 00 33 1 43 20 14 20) opened in 1927 in artistic Montparnasse. It had oceans of space perfect for people-watching, square columns painted by different artists, and geometric mosaic floors. I think it was crap." I said, "Oh, yeah?" And I thought, "What will I do now? Fucking ... It was similar to me and John, back to when we were just kids, before we'd been discovered.There was one key moment when it all rose to the surface I was in the studio, raring to go. Got my Hofner [bass guitar] out, tuned her up, knew what I was going to play I was in a good mood.
I was just about to listen to the track and find my way through a bass part when Nigel said, "You know that song you played the other day? I really didn't like it. I might have thought, "Well, I've heard a lot of good perky songs on the radio. And I'm in a perky mood!" But he was just like, "Nah."And it was good for me, because it was like working with a band member It was like working with ... I mean, it's too heavy a comparison to say it was like working with John Because if I say that, it's a huge statement But it was like working with a great band member. I use the Les Paul onstage, because it doesn't go out of tune as much, and it has a nice sound. But Nigel would wrinkle his nose and say, "It's a bit heavy rock."MB: I'd imagine it's hard to find people, especially in the studio, who aren't intimidated by you, and who won't just be yes-men.McCARTNEY: I suppose it is.
