'Dirty Harry with a ponytail' Ted Nugent to McCartney: I've got your back

Protection and dinner - what a deal!
Protection and dinner - what a deal!

When Sir Paul McCartney plays his historic "Friendship First" concert in Tel Aviv tomorrow (Sept. 25th) to mark Israel's 60th anniversary, he'll have an unlikely ally, possibly literally at his side: Ted Nugent.

Nugent is offering McCartney physical protection in light of death threats the ex-Beatle has received, namely from obscure Syrian-born extremist cleric Omar Bakri who posted a threatening message on his Internet broadcast: "Our enemy's friend is our enemy. Thus Paul McCartney is the enemy of every Muslim. If he values his life Mr. McCartney must not come to Israel. He will not be safe there. The sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him."

McCartney rebuffed the threats, saying, "I do what I think and I have many friends who support Israel," and it was then that Nugent boldly came to Paul's aid with this press release:

It would be my pleasure to keep this musical hero safe...and then buy him a nice dinner of tofu" - Ted Nugent

"Regardless that Paul and I have our obvious social, cultural and culinary differences outside of music, I will not bend or waiver to voodoo religious whackjobs and neither should Paul. It would be my pleasure to keep this legendary musical hero safe from terrorists and madmen, and then buy him a nice dinner of tofu."

Nugent, an NRA Board member who claims he's trained with law enforcement and unspecified military specialists for decades, boasted, "I'm Dirty Harry with a ponytail, and I'm at Paul's service."

Strangely, we at MusicRadar feel a whole lot better about the situation.

Be on the lookout soon for MusicRadar's riotous podcast interview with Ted Nugent.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.