James Paul McCartney (TV special) ATV network in order to settle his two-year legal dispute with Sir Lew Grade. As the owner of the network and its music publishing division – and, by extension, the Beatles' Northern Songs catalogue – Grade had objected to McCartney crediting his wife Linda as his co-writer since 1971, citing her lack of professional experience as a songwriter and musician. McCartney's commitment to the television project allowed him to retain the second composer's publishing royalties, which otherwise would have been assigned to Grade's company. "James Paul McCartney" was McCartney's first such special since the Beatles' 1967 television film "Magical Mystery
Linda McCartney Festival premiered "Wide Prairie", a six-minute cartoon fantasy film she made with director Oscar Grillo. In April 1999, Paul McCartney performed at the "Concert for Linda" tribute at the Royal Albert Hall, which had been organized by two of their friends, Chrissie Hynde and Carla Lane. Among the artists that performed, besides Paul, were George Michael, the Pretenders, Elvis Costello, and Tom Jones. Paul closed the concert by dedicating the event to Linda, whom he called his "beautiful baby," and their children. In January 2000, Paul announced donations in excess of $2,000,000 for cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer