Decca to release McCartney ballet score

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LONDON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Decca Records in Britain, which 50 years ago rejected signing the Beatles, says it is preparing to release Paul McCartney's first ballet score.

After Decca executive Mike Smith arranged for Paul and the other Beatles to audition in 1961, others at the label rejected the chance to sign the band, saying, "guitar groups are on the way out." Decca signed the Tremeloes, the Beatles went to Parlophone and that comment has gone down in music history.

McCartney collaborated with the New York City Ballet company's master-in-chief Peter Martins last year to discuss the theme of "Ocean's Kingdom" which McCartney said was a love story based on the collision of the "pure" ocean kingdom and the kingdom of earth with its "sort of baddies," the BBC reported.

The ballet premiers in September and Decca will release the album in October 2012.

The music's first draft was finished in two months and recorded in June after which McCartney began collaborating with Martins to refine the work.

"What was interesting was writing music that meant something expressively rather than just writing a song," Paul said.

"Trying to write something that expressed an emotion -- so you have fear, love, anger, sadness to play with and I found that exciting and challenging."