There are two stories here, written by two friends who met Paul in September of 1981. The first one was written by Terry Seemann who was meeting Paul for the first time. And the second part was written by Laurie Ross.
I think the one thing that bothered me is that this was written in 1981 and it is obvious that the fans still do not like Linda. I understand fans in 1969 disliking her and even into the Wings years, but I would have thought by 1981, fans would have mellowed out a bit on the dislike of Linda. It stands out to me that these girls were not very kind to Linda. She walked by and they didn't say hello or ask for her autograph or photo. But yet they expect her to be nice to them. And to go on about her clothing and funky socks, is just silly. I think Linda eccentric style of clothing is one of the major things that I love about her. But then I am looking back in 2013 on the whole thing, so it is a very different perspective.
I am not trying in any way to be mean to Terry or Laurie or the other girls in this article. I love their Paul story. I think the Koala Bear party is adorable. First of all, everyone can have their opinion and not everyone is going to like the Beatles' wives. That is fine. Also many years have past and feelings and thoughts change. So if Terry or Laurie read this, please do not feel like I am being unkind in any way. That is not my intention. I personally have a lot of admiration for Linda McCartney, and when I read of those who do not speak kindly of her, I have to question why. But it is nothing personal. And as I said, everyone can have his/her own opinion.
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| Terry and Paul Photo by Gloria Rossi |
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| Photo by Laurie Ross |
Story by Terry Seemann
I love Mondays! I
never thought I’d be saying that, but after two wonderful Mondays in September
(1981), “I love Mondays” has become my slogan.
My girlfriend, Gloria Rossi and I arrived in London on Saturday, September
19. We met up with another friend of
ours, Laurie Ross, Saturday night. About
a week before leaving for London, I’d received a letter from Pat Simmons saying
that she heard that Paul was recording with Stevie Wonder at Air Studio. Needless to say, as soon as I told Gloria and
Laurie this news it was a unanimous decision to try our luck the following
Monday since Paul usually doesn’t record on weekends.
Monday finally came.
About 11:30 Laurie called Air Studios and asked if John Hammel was
there. He is one of Paul’s roadies. Laurie was told that he wasn’t there yet but
he was expected later that day. Upon
hearing that news, we started to get just a wee bit excited because, after all,
why would one of Paul’s roadies be going to Air Studios unless our man himself
was going to be there!?
We took the underground to Oxford Circus. At 12:45 we began waiting on the corner. I really wasn’t very hopeful at this point
and thought we would have to wait an hour or two if we were to see him at all.
After about five or ten minutes we saw a man pass us and go into Air. I didn’t pay too much attention to him until
Laurie asked if that was George Martin.
We were all pretty sure it was and now our hopes were a little higher
for seeing Paul. Then around 1:00,
Laurie suddenly yelled out, “There he is!” and sure enough, there he was,
getting out of a blue Mini car that had just pulled up. He had James Louis and Linda with him. Paul looked very surprised to see anyone
there. He was very friendly but said he
could not stop because he was very late.
Laurie asked him when the new album was coming out and he
said not until next spring. She also
asked if he was recording with Stevie Wonder and he said not now (he was mixing
the album). I had said hello to Paul and
James when they got out of the car, but after that, I couldn’t seem to say
anything. I did finally manage to ask
him if I could get a picture with him but that’s when he said they were running
late. Paul did say to us, “See you later”
which, of course, we took literally. None of us really paid too much attention
to Linda but as they walked into Air she gave us kind of a strange look.
After walking around the block trying to calm down, we tried
to figure out what to do next. People
were looking at us kind of strangely and one woman asked, “Who did you see that
I didn’t?”
Needless to say, we all decided to go back to Air later to
catch Paul coming out. At 3:15, we
headed back to Oxford Circus. On the way
there, we had the thought that since James’ birthday was just a few weeks back,
if we got him a belated birthday present, Paul might stop for a couple of
minutes. We saw an Australian gift shop
and stopped to buy a stuff Koala bear (Remember the Saturday Night Live
interview with Father Sarducci – “what animal would you like be to?”).
We got back to air Studios around 4:45 and began our wait on
the corner again. At about 5:15 or 5:30
I saw a blue car pull up again and sure enough it was his car. Linda got out with James and went into
Air. Apparently they had gone to
eat. I hardly looked at Linda but I
think she gave us another strange look.
At least we now knew for sure that Paul was still inside.
We continued to wait thinking that they might not come out
until 8:00 or 9:00. But about 6:45 I
looked across the street and there was that blue car again. A minute later, Paul, Linda and James came
out. Laurie asked if she could take his
picture and he said yes, but make it quick as he was late (seems to be his
standard line). Gloria had already
started taking pictures. I then remembered
that IW as holding the koala bear so I hurried and gave it to Paul, trying to
tell him it was for James, but never quite getting it out. Gloria then yelled, “the card!.” And I
noticed that I had dropped the birthday card we got for James, so I picked it
up and handed it to Paul, making sure I touched his hand. We all took pictures as they were getting in
the car, but unfortunately al I got was his back.
Gloria and I went to Liverpool for the rest of the week, but
the next Monday we decided to try our luck again. We met Laurie on our corner
around 12:30 and waited once again. We
were also joined by two friends of hers, Madeline and Cathy.
We waited until about 2:30.
Gloria and I were about to give up hope as we had sore feet, but
everyone else said they were going to wait until 3:00, so we said we would
too. That has got to be one of the best
decisions we ever made, because about 2:45, what should appear but that little blue
car again. And, if that wasn’t enough,
Linda was not with him! It was just Paul
and John Hammel.
When Paul got out of the car, Gloria and I rushed up to him
and asked for his autograph. And he
actually stopped to give it to us. Then
I once again asked him if I could have my picture taken with him. Looking up, he said, “I think you are!” I looked up and there was Gloria with camera
ready. I then took a picture of Paul
with Gloria and Laurie. Before we knew
it, Paul was gone again. But we couldn’t have been happier. We not only got autographs, but pictures
too. Also, I think Paul must be some
kind of miracle healer as my feet didn’t hurt a bit anymore.
Since this was Gloria’s and my last day in London, we knew
that we had to wait for Paul again that night.
Around 6:00, Gloria, Laurie, Madeline and I took up our vigil
again. We didn’t know how long we would
have to wait since he arrived so late.
At about 7:40, someone (I think it was Paul’s manager, Allan) came
running out to the car. A few minutes
later, Paul came running out. He said he
was really late (once again) and couldn’t’ stop.
We had decided earlier just to try to thank him now for being
so nice before since it was going to be too dark to take pictures without a
flash. We tried to thank him as he was
running to the car, but I don’t know if he heard us. He did wave to us as he drove away though.
So ended another day of seeing a Beatle. I’ll never forget those two Mondays. I’m still waiting to wake up and find that it’s
all a dream. What a way to end a trip to
Merry Ole England!
By Laurie Ross
It was great! I saw
him 18 times in all, the most I’ve ever seen him by far. He was always nice to us and he looked so good. The hair may be turning gray in places, the crow’s-feet
are getting deeper, but he’s still utterly gorgeous He’s got more charm in his baby finger than
most men have in their entire body! I
sure got spoiled – got my photo taken with him twice, he sign my copy of the
photo I took him with the Koala bear, he shook my hand the last time Is aw him,
and invited me back next year! He said, “I
hope you’ve enjoyed your stay on this corner.
We’re taking reservations for next year, so book early!” It’s lucky I taped everything because all I
can remember is his nice warm hand clutching mine and me staring at his
eyes. I was probably drooling.
In the photo he’s winking at me though I didn’t notice it at
the time. As he was walking out, I asked
him if we could take photos. He said
something like “make it a quick one,” so I literally threw my purse and
shopping bag on the sidewalk. Luckily I
had my camera preset so took it fast as he barely stopped since he was in a
hurry. So it’s nice to know that he
winked at me and that I got it on film.
Linda came with Paul most of the time. I don’t think she
cared for me too much. She ignored me
except to comment, “What a terrible photograph” as Paul was signing my
photo. James was there a couple times;
he’s a doll. Saw Heather, too who
actually smiled and said “hi” to us before we even recognized her. She looks quite decent now, better than he
mother, anyway. The only time I noticed
Linda was when she’d take James out for his supper. She always looked a sight. She sure likes wild socks. So do I --- under my jeans. She wears them with skirts – pink ones, pink
and white ones, and green ones (bright – two days in a row!), more or less
ankle length, complete with straggly hair, strange tops. She wore the same blue canvas shoes as last
year only with her green socks instead of purple ones – a real prize!
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