(Classic Rock) Paul McCartney met two of the women who inspired the Beatles track Blackbird at his gig in Arkansas. Before his show in Little Rock on Saturday - part of his One On One Tour - McCartney was introduced backstage to Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, members of the Little Rock Nine.

The group of nine black students were at the centre of the civil rights movement in America when they enrolled in the all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. After they enrolled, Arkansas governor Orval Faubus objected, sparking the Little Rock Crisis.

After meeting the women on Saturday, McCartney tweeted: "Incredible to meet two of the Little Rock Nine - pioneers of the civil rights movement and inspiration for Blackbird."

Later onstage, McCartney explained to the crowd the impact the Little Rock Nine's story had on him as a young man. Blackbird appeared on the Beatles' 1968 White Album. Read more here.

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