POP/ROCK - July 19, 1988

Paul McCartney wants to join the list of rockers who have toured the Soviet Union. In a press conference Sunday, McCartney said he had already laid the groundwork for hitting the U.S.S.R. while overseeing the release of “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” a collection of rock ‘n’ roll classics from the ‘50s and ‘60s. “I would love to play in Russia. It would be an interesting gig,” said McCartney, who was frowned upon by Soviet authorities during the 1960s when Beatlemania swept the West. “The record is in the spirit of some of the friendship that (Soviet leader Mikhail) Gorbachev and (President) Reagan have got going,” said McCartney.