McCartney leaves indelible mark on Brownsville woman
Sabina Walters of Brownsville kneels next to Paul McCartney's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a recent trip to Los Angeles to attend the 53rd annual Grammy Awards. She and her husband were able to meet the McCartney at Capitol Records as part of a radio contest she won.
Sabina Walters of Brownsville has an autograph of Paul McCartney permanently tattooed onto her shoulders, just below a tattoo she already had that says, “Let It Be,” a classic Beatles song and album.
She and her husband were able to meet McCartney at Capitol Records in Los Angeles as part of a radio contest she won.
Michael and Sabina Walters of Brownsville pose for a photograph just prior to the 53rd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
They made the trip after she won a radio contest.
To most Paul McCartney fans, Sabina Walters of Brownsville must be the luckiest woman in the world.
Walters won a nationwide contest called “My Weekend with Sir Paul” from radio station 3WS in Pittsburgh. As the grand-prize winner, her biggest dream came true.
Walters and her husband, Michael, not only got to meet Paul McCartney in person, but also attend the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, attend a Grammys after-party and have $10,000 spending money to cover it all.
She and her husband’s five-day, four-night trip began with a first-class flight to Los Angeles, where they stayed in a Hollywood hotel.
The Walters’ experience with McCartney began when they attended his private recording at Capitol Records. With a total of 30 people in the room, including his band and family, McCartney sang songs from his latest album, “Kisses on the Bottom,” live for iTunes.
“If you go to iTunes to watch the recording, you can actually see us at different angles in the studio,” said Walters.
After the recording, Walters found herself face to face with Sir Paul, although she can barely remember.
“Right when I knew I was about to meet him, my legs went weak,” said Walters. “I don’t even remember shaking his hand, I was so nervous.”
Although she does remember telling him it was an honor to meet him, she also received a unique autograph from her music idol.
The McCartney devotee has the Beatles’ song title “Let it Be” tattooed on her shoulders, which McCartney signed as he said, “Uh oh, more pain.”
The next morning she had the autograph permanently tattooed at LA Ink, along with a little red heart between the song title and his autograph.
After meeting McCartney, Walters walked away with tears in her eyes, feeling overwhelmed and overjoyed.
“Paul was just so kind, so polite and so charming with that British accent of his,” said Walters.
The next two days were spent shopping, going out to eat and sightseeing around Hollywood until the Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday.
Walters, who saw Paris Hilton, Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Osbourne to name a few, said that being at the Grammys was very different from what most people see on television.
“It was very glamorous. Everyone was dressed up and we even walked down the red carpet, then we entered the Coliseum and there were concession stands and people eating Big Macs,” said Walters.
Walters compared her Grammy experience to being at a concert at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh as she ate nachos and cheese, yet amazingly glamorous.
From where Walters and her husband were seated, they not only could see celebrities, but people backstage preparing for the next performance.
“It was kind of like seeing the wizard behind the curtain,” said Walters, referring to the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz.”
Both Walters and her husband also enjoyed other performances such as Katy Perry and Adele. In fact, Walters’ husband bought Adele’s compact disc after hearing her perform live, but he’s not the only Adele fan, evidently so is Sir Paul.
“He was going nuts for her. He must have been a big fan,” said Walters.
Every time Adele won an award that night, McCartney would jump up and run across the aisle giving people high-fives, she said.
McCartney wrapped up the Grammy Awards with a medley from the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album. He was joined by Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh and Dave Grohl.
To top off the night Hollywood-style, Walters and her husband attended an-after Grammys party, where Kenny Loggins and the band One Republic performed.
Walters said there were acrobats, men bungee jumping from the ceiling, over-sized lighted palm trees and women dressed from head to toe in feathers dancing on platforms all around them.
Everything was glamorous and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Walters and her husband. She wonders if she will ever have the opportunity to meet McCartney again.
“Once I met Paul I was ready to go home, everything else was just a bonus,” said Walters.