The story from the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends continues. In this installment, our heroes make it to the press conference/party in Oxford after the show. See what happens when only one girl is allowed inside and a drunk Macca is interviewed.
Oxford Press Conference
As I explained before, Paul’s tour manager, Dave, told me
that all five of us could attend the press conference to be held at the Randolph
Hotel in Oxford. He said to mention his
name so we could gain entrance. When we
arrived, there seemed to be millions of people waiting in the lobby. When we
tried to get into the conference room, no one seemed to know who “Dave”
was. There were a lot of hassles, and I
was really getting annoyed. Finally, I
got fed up and decided to go right to the source – namely Paul. His nobody employees (if you want to call
them ‘employees’ – they were only there one day) think they’re something else
just because they’re connected with Paul McCartney for a day. (He’s just a regular person, folks). Eventually, we saw 10,000 flashes going off
so we knew that Mr. Mac was coming. As
he walked by me, I sort of grabbed his arm to get his attention. In the confusion, he just looked at me and
smiled. After he struggled into the
elevator (he kept saying “I have to go upstairs first”) I finally got his
attention and said, “Paul, can you get us in?”
He said, “Yeah” I don’t think Linda appreciated that very much, so a
second later he said, “I’ll try. Maybe.”
In any case, we were better off – at least there was one
foot in the door. Then guess who
arrived? Dave! Suddenly everyone who
didn’t know him before knew him now. He
said he’d talk to me in a minute. Oh,
just before that, Paul’s press agent told me I could go in, but not the
others. I just couldn’t do that. I told Sarah about it and she told me if I
had another chance to go n it. In the
meantime, people were getting thrown out.
This included my four friends. I was
allowed to stay because Dave told me to wait.
He told me to go on it. I asked
the press agent about the others and he said to forget it.
I walked into a large room, and there was another large room
adjourning. For some reason, I expected to see a huge
table with microphones on it where Paul would be sitting. But it wasn’t that way at all. It was a party. By this time, my nerves were really playing
Hell. I was especially nervous because I
was alone and my stomach started feeling like it should have felt. I hadn’t eaten in 2 days! I saw Denny Laine being interviewed and then
decided to get up and mingle. I was
happy to see a familiar face – Valerie!
She had managed to get in with a photographer. It certainly was a relief to be with
someone. There was a table with food and
cookies and other pastries on it and my first impulse was to take some. I just
completely lost my appetite (nerves do funny things to one’s stomach) However,
I never refuse a drink, so I had a Scotch and Coke. That was really intelligent of me – drinking on
an empty stomach, but who cares?
We were
talking to Denny Seiwell for a while. I
can’t remember what was said just that he was nice. His wife, Monique, and I were laughing for
some dumb reason and holding our drinks up – Cheers! I congratulated Denny and he said thank, “we
need all the encouragement we can get!”
He was really nice and super tall.
Suddenly those flashes went off again, so you know what that meant. Can’t understand why that man doesn’t have
closterphobia by now. He noticed us in
the crowd and smiled. A few minutes
later, Dave came over and announced that we would have to leave because Linda
didn’t want us there! Just one look on
our faces and he told us to bury ourselves in the crowd. So, we buried ourselves in the crowd. Eventually, Paul moseyed on over to a waiting chair
and was immediately swarmed again. In
the meantime, I had another Scotch and Coke.
After 45 minutes of catching an occasional glimpse of him, I got nervy
and got closer. And closer and
closer. I was still hiding myself
pretty well, but for some reason, people decided to keep pushing me and I ended
up right next to him!
You probably know
that when you come face to face with him, you develop a silly disease called “I
can’t stop staring at him.” He was
chattering away but his voice was like a hum in my ear. Finally, I decided to get myself together and
listen. Everyone was taking pictures, so
I took a few. I could have taken more,
but I don’t particularly like flashing at him.
The reporters were driving him absolutely insane with that dried up old
question, “Are The Beatles going to get back together?” God!
They don’t know when to stop. Just
then, the man had put on an absolutely fantastic concert with a great band, Wings,
and all they cared about asking was Beatles, Beatles, Beatles. I don’t know where he gets his patience. It drove me crazy, and I haven’t heard that
dried up old question half as many times as he did.
Anyway, he explained over and over that The Beatles WERE a great thing, but NOW, TODAY it’s WINGS.
Sure, they’ll get together every now and then, but not like before. By the way, Paul was wearing the same jacket
that he wore in the pub scene from the James Paul McCartney special. They kept asking about John and if he had
seen any of the “others” recently. About
John, he just looked over to the side and said “not physically.” He’s great at telling stories. Every now and then you’ll hear “I’ll tell you
a little story.” One unparticular was about
this little old man they became friendly with in Jamaica. After a few days, they were talking about music,
and the little old man, not recognizing Paul said, “You know, I really love the
Beatles!” Paul was really proud and let
him know that he was once one of them.
Well! The little old man nearly
had a heart attack. I can’t remember
everything he said, but if I read an article about the interview, I remember
then. When someone asked what he thought
about the girls waiting outside and screaming at him – he said he didn’t like
the screamers, he didn’t dig that too much.
He said that Heather liked David Cassidy and little Mary liked Donny
Osmond. He calls him “Dommy”. “All you hear in the house is Dommy this and
Dommy that.”
I kept being pushed against Paul and then noticed Linda was
looking at me. I caught her once and she
smiled and said hello. I spoke to her
for quite a while, but more about that later.
I managed to get a half-hour tape so I’ll print what I got.
Q: Artistically do you
think, I mean obviously, you did tremendous things with The Beatles, John Lennon…
P: The thing is (pause),
that you get to know the people in the
band, like you do in a football team, like anything, you get to know the
people in the band and you get to play often and the more you know them, the
better you play off them. Any band that’s
been together like 10 years is known to do it.
And like with Wings, like, we’ve been together a short period, like compared
to The Beatles, it’s like nothing. I
mean, The Beatles hadn’t even made a record when they were going together this
long. Umm, so umm I can’t be bothered
with the details.
Q: How much do they criticize
you?
P: Well we get
criticism, I don’t mind. I like it! It’s cool!
You see, the thing is, it’s only to be expected, we’re gonna get criticism. It’s the whole bit, you know. But, umm, it’s really ok! For the first few months, I thought “Oh
Christ, this band’s never gonna come together because people are gonna be so
critical. They’re gonna say you know
every time they see me, they’re gonna say ‘He should be with The Beatles!’” but I don’t think if you check out the audience, there would be an awful lot of people who went home who said, “oh, we
shouldn’t’ have come” but there would be more people who said, “I really dug
that.”
Q: How many people
thought that in the beginning and changed their minds (about not liking Wings).
P: But you see the
thing is now we know more than you know because we’ve done a few tours
together. We’ve gone through all
that. You’re coming in on it cold and
any British audience that’s seen us for the first time doing that. Now we know that part, so we keep cool, and
we play. And we know that by the end of
it you’ll think it’s a new thing, it’s different you know, and you’ll go away
and think the next time we come to into town you’ll be wanting to see
Wings. And gradually, the whole thing…as
I say gradually 1950 begins to go away. But
you start to think 1950 was ok.
Q: When you were with Wings surely John Lennon must have
criticized you an awful lot. I mean it
must have sort of rubbed off on you. You
must have thought all the time…
Paul wasn’t paying attention to such an asinine question. He just sipped his drink and said, “I’m drunk.” He said that a few times during the evening
and I said “You’re not the only one”
Q: What does L 7 mean
in C Moon? I don’t understand that.
Paul: L 7? Do you know Sam the Sham’s record Wooly Bully
baby? It was on the radio today, and ah, that record
says “Let’s not be L 7” in the lyrics.
And, at th eitme, I ah said “what’s L 7 mean?” You know just like you. I thought that on that
L 7 is (making his left thumb and forefinger into the L shape) “L” then “7” (making his right thumb and forefinger into a
7) He made sure everyone saw it. L 7 is a square. L 7 is slang for square. Sam the Sham says “Let’s not be L 7 “ -- Let’s not be square.
Q: What about C-Moon?
P: C-Moon is (again
demonstrating with his fingers) is C-Moon, round, it’s a circle.
Q: Someone thought it
was Carolina Moon.
Paul was talking to someone on the side. I really couldn’t catch onto everything he
was saying.
P: A lot of people
don’t like sex the way most people do.”
Then he was talking about Linda Lovelace and Deep Throat. But I’m not certain of what he was
saying. Then a Greek reporter came
along.
P: Yes, well, I think
Greece is a very lovely place. Very nice
people, the weather, yes, I like zaszuki very nice.
I like the dancing too, a Happy Christmas to all the Filippos may it be
a festive one and a wonderful one. This
is a message. This message for all our
Greek listeners goes something like this “a lenik das” (pronounced that way. I have no idea of how to spell it). This is Paul McCartney speaking to the
listeners of Apollo in Fini: Hello and
Happy Christmas.
Another reporter came along…
P: Hello Dave, do you mind if you sit over there for just a
second?
During this pause; I asked Paul if he thought he’d tour the
States. He grinned and said they wanted
to. I said “Great! They’ll love you there, really!” He said, “I hope so!” I said, “They will, I know they will.” Then Paul was interviewed by Dave.
Q: It’s been a long
time, eh?
P: Since what?
Q: Well, since I last
saw you.
P: Yeah, it’s been a long time. When did I last see you Dave? That’s
right. And ah, I should be, it was a
good year for babies! And ah, you know I
just think. I listened to the Billy
Cotton Band Show and I dug it. Nothing
wrong with ole Billy as far as I’m concerned.
And I listen to Paul Whitman played with my Dad. I listened to my Dad! So I naturally have all those kinds of
influences, you know. So you know, I don’t
ahh, personally, I never got ‘round to thinking “well, that was a dumb period
and this is a good period” I like it all.
Then Dave rambles on for a while about what makes a record
sell, and then asks Paul what inspires him to write a rock song or a love song.
P: It’s just what I
feel like at that particular moment. I can sit down and just happen. I mean this is the way songwriters do it, no
matter what anyone tells you. You sit
down and you hit a chord. Or you hit a sequence
of chords. And if you happen to be hitting
them kind of slow, and lamented type chords, you know, then you’ll probably write
a ballad. If you happen to sit down and
plunk out a kind of blues riff, then you’ll write a blues thing. And, that all I do, you know, I just sit down
and whatever kind of thing comes out, comes out and then I use it if I think it’s
good. So, I mean I really can’t answer
for the fact that it might be kind influenced by 1940 or whatever, you
know. I say you know, I just kind of
write it, and then if I like it, I think that’s good enough. You know I write this “Gotta Sing, Gotta
dance” you know on the telly show we did.
You know that thing, that was written specifically was Twiggy, who was
gonna do a film called “Gotta Sing, Gotta dance.” And it was written with her in mind, you
know, the big production number and Twiggy swinging away with 60 white horses,
all nuns. So, I wrote that kind of
number you see. See, so I came to do it
myself. I don’t bother me, this kind
of work. I’m not kind of into that-this
is what I do, one specific thing. You know
I’m worried, I sometimes I just sort of think, you know maybe I should just
sort of get it all together into one kind of music. I’m not like that that’s not me, you know. It never ends up like that. It always ends up a touch of this, a touch of
that. Come on, let’s have a laugh, get
your hands together, and we’ll have a touch of that.
Dave: Doesn’t that sort
of musically persecute you?
P: No, it doesn’t
persecute me, or percussion me. You know
I don’t look at music like that. You
know music’s just kind of something you sit down at an instrument and you plunk
away. And whatever happens, to come out is what comes out. Sometimes “My Love”
will think “that’s a nice example of his songwriting” or whatever, you
know. Sometimes “Smile Away” will come
out and “Smile Away” is a whole different kind of thing. It’s not anything like what I do -or I’ll
pick up a newspaper and I’ll notice that the British paratroopers are like shooting
some Irish plains of mine, and I’ll think, “Hey man!” It’s time to write an Irish song, you
know. You can’t hear too much of what he’s
saying cos I was blabbing to Linda – but he said “cut it out, give it back to
them and do something about the Protestants in the North.” You know, that’s my opinion about it, so a
song comes out like that, you know I don’t have to have any background in
it. It’s just what I feel at the time. And I don’t mind if people say, “Oh that my
country is virtually at war with them over Northern Ireland scene and has been
for 800 years.”
Dave then carries on again about Wild Life and music in
general.
P” I’ll tell you a little story, Dave. I was in Jamaica recently, and filming there
was Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
They’re filming a film called “Pappy Young. Soon to be released film. It should be good. And we went around to Dustin Hoffman’s and
you know, he invited us round. And we
got to know him a little bit, and we were sitting around a few days later with him,
and he was saying, you know, talking about songs --- about movie songs, if they
become great, they become great, if they become lousy, they become lousy. He was talking about a song that went like
this “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink anymore.” They were talking about some old guy. Turns out he couldn’t drink. He’s an old bloke, you know the doctor advised
him not to drink. So, I got these words
together and (singing) “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink
anymore, da da da drink to me…” And
Dustin’s flippin, he’s knocking and “Yeah baby, this is a soul number, yeah! “Alright! And he’s rockin’ alright, so there’s an example
of how it happens. It just comes out of
the air, you just sort of do it, with the people you’re with, you know.
Dave starts talking about Paul’s musical experience with the
Beatles.
P: The Beatles? Yes, the Beatles, yeh. I can agree yeh,
Dave. But as far as I’m concerned, the
first kind of phase of my musical thing was concerned with coming down from
Liverpool with four lads who never kind of had their photo taken. So that is the whole of the thing of the
phase. You know we came down from
Liverpool. We did it just like Sweet,
Dave Bowie, Slade, all those grounds. (I
was talking to Linda again, and I can’t hear what Paul is saying – sorry).
Paul: You know, you’re
8 or 12 then you become 15, then 18, then 20 and then maybe you get married cos
then you kind of look back on when you were kind of 12 through 20 and think it
was all just a phase you know.
Paul: We’re talking
about Malcolm Brown, who was actually an old school mate of mine. He used to try and play trumpet and he was
terrible. Terrible, Malcolm if you’re
listening! Absolutely! And ah, he was just an old mate of mine. I still remember him.
Then Dave asked what he called a “gentle question” and asked
Paul how he felt when he gave Denny Laine a “beat” in Maybe I’m Amazed when the
original one was with George? (Paul
started laughing and I was ready to fall on the round from that winner!)
P: Well, you’ve
actually picked a number that George didn’t play on. “Maybe I’m Amazed” I was the ONLY ONE. I played all the instruments on that
one. “Long Tall Sally” is the only one
you could actually say that on. You know,
because we played that with George. I
can sit around and moan and think “Oh yeah, I should have George on it – it would
be so much better, OR I can think ‘I dig the way we’re playing it with Denny.” I like what’s happening now.
Dave: Have you seen the
other 3 recently?
P: No, I haven’t. (He did mention before that he had gone to
Apple with Ringo). Yeah, but you know,
as friends.
Dave: You’re still
seeing them?
P: And you’re
wondering why Dave? Well, ah, what
should I say? I mean, as far as I’m concerned,
you know, the main thing I’m like interested in is you know, working the main
thing with this band at the moment. And
ah, for instance, a lot of people I know aren’t really involved with The
Beatles. I mean a lot of people, younger
people I know, you know, think ‘ah well, the Beatles were a great thing” but
there’s no kind of reason to kind of go potty over it. You know, it was great, it was good, you
know, but let’s get on with what’s going on.
And that’s really where I’m at, you know I just think that what we’re
doing now is as good as anything I’ve ever done. You know I’m still singing “Long Tall Sally”
like I sang it. In fact, I think I’m
singing it better! So I mean that’s as
far as I get into it, you know as long as this evening captured it – that’s it
for me. You know I think you’ll find
kind know. Isn’t that so kinds? People listening now on their little
trends. They’re going yeah yeah, we’ll
try.
Dave asked him what his plans were after this.
P: I haven’t got any future
plans and this man knowns because he switched off his tape recorder. And that’s about it, we just planned this
British tour. We’ll just kind of leave
it to that. Let’s go off because we’ve got
almost 2 weeks to run. And so…we’ll get
on with whatever we do after that.
I spoke with Linda for quite a while and she was really
nice. We just talked about normal things
like was she nervous on stage? “Just a
little bit – but not really,” I told her
everyone loved the shows and she was glad and said that she could feel that the
audience was enjoying it. I asked her
what made her cut her hair like that, and she said, “Paul cut it. I cut his too!” She said that she saw me the night before in
Bristol. The subject of Lilian Roxon
came up and Linda said that she didn’t understand what her “problem” was. She said, “Tell her I personally feel that
she must not have ever really known me.”
She wanted to see the review Lillian did on James Paul McCartney so
Linda W. sent me a photostat and I gave Linda a copy a few weeks later. I asked if she’d like to do the States. She said she’d love to and she can’t wait to
get back. She’s especially interested in
New York and Arizona. I asked if Paul had gotten his visa. “No, we haven’t gotten our visa yet” (I don’t
understand why she’d need a visa because she’s American). Anyway, she was really quite nice. In the end, I asked her to tell me honestly
if it really bothered her that we were there.
She thought a second and said (as she took my hand). “No…it’s all under the water now.” (What a relief!)
It was 2am when they left and I went back to our guesthouse
to sleep before we left for Cardiff.
I was born in London,but I have lived in Oxford since I was over a year old. I didn't know they visited there. Thank you for sharing. My Auntie and Uncle got married at The Randolph Hotel in 2002.
ReplyDeleteMy Auntie who had her wedding at The Randolph, shares the same birthday as Paul.
DeleteLillian Roxon's "problem" was that Linda completely dumped her after Lillian helped her meet Paul
ReplyDeleteThey lost contact, yes. But things like that happen, especially when you move to a foreign country, start a new family and find yourself in a situation where your new husband is involved in a acrimonious break up with his friends and business partners and reacts by getting depressed and developing a drinking problem. Roxon was a journalist and like a bit of gossip as well. And if you read the article she wrote about the visit of John and Paul to New York in May 1968 you would know that she was not too fond of Paul to begin with ( possibly out of jealousy).
DeleteYeah life changes but here in nyc we knew how close Lil & Linda had been for a long time; Lil tried to keep contacting her but she never responded back. Lil was an ok person really.
Deletelove the part where linda said that paul cut her hair and she cut his. what a beautiful love they had
ReplyDelete