Thursday, July 30, 2020

The Missing Glasgow Wings Concert





If you've been following along with the posts about the American girls that followed Paul McCartney and Wings around the UK in May of 1973, then you will know that most of the girls in the story did not see Wings perform in Glasgow because they thought they might get stabbed and because of issues with the train.  One girl went ahead to Glasgow and wrote her story in the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends.


Since most of the girls didn't make it to the Glasgow concert (primarily because their train passes had run out), and I did, I thought this would be a good concert to report on.  Of course, being a glutton for punishment, I couldn't let myself miss out on even one concert!  The songs he sang and the clothes he wore were the same as the other concerts, and since I'm sure you've already read the full details on such matters elsewhere in this newsletter, I won't go into it all over again.

We picked up our reserved tickets at the box office and the seats we had were fairly good (left center) -- but we used Marie's tickets instead since they were a lot closer (front left).  While we (Madeline and I) were waiting for the concert to start, two groupies with tight silk pants and lots of makeup kept wandering up and down the aisles.  They were obviously stoned out of their minds and of all things one of them came over to me and sat right down on my lap!  I nearly died!  Then she said, "May I sit on your lap?"  I imagine I had a look of my face like Iw as going to be ill and I tried to push her off, but by that time one of the security guards came over and got her.  That's the first time anything like that had happened to me at a concert! 

I think this was one of the liveliest audiences of all.  It was like a time bomb waiting to go off.  But the security was very tight.  If someone even stood up (Paul got a standing ovation when he came out) he or she was in trouble.  They were pushed down immediately.  Later I found out from a boy how much trouble they've had with concerts in Glasgow so that was probably why.   I read in a newspaper that performers in Glasgow that did anything on stage that was dirty -- even words to a song, would be arrested.  Good thing we didn't have to visit Paul in jail!   I guess what we'd heard about the people being rough was true.  The same guy said, "So you can imagine with someone like Paul doing a concert why security was so tight."

During the first part of the show, a girl sitting right behind me yelled, "Paul!"  That got his attention and he looked over and pointed.  I Was right in his line of vision, so that was nice.  Once Paul walked over to Linda while still playing his bass and whispered something to her.   That got a shriek from the audience and a skipped heartbeat for me.  "Hi Hi Hi" -- people were screaming for that song all night.  "This is the one that got banned so anyone with sensitive ears out there better get out -- fast!  (Just for the record, no one left).  Up until the end of that song, people were still being forced to stay in their seats.  But during "Long Tall Sally" there was no holding the crowd back, though they keep on trying.  The whole theater went insane and I had a lovely view while standing on my seat.  Then Paul, seeing that the audience only had the chance to unwind during one song did "Long Tall Sally" one and a half more times.  It was really beautiful.  Oh, the way that man moves -- that brings to mind that he did a nice little swivel before "Hi Hi Hi" again -- God!  Also, raised his arms several times exposing quite a lot of "midriff" which I didn't enjoy at all. 

When he went off stage that crowd just wouldn't calm down so he came out again and the announcer said, "They say he's the greatest so let's let him know it!"   They really brought the roof down and Paul looked so proud.  Then he thanked everyone again and said he'd see them next time.  The police would not let us wait around the theater so we walked to the hotel we heard he was staying.  however, we'd been misinformed and two Scottish boys took us over to the Albany Hotel where he was staying. 

He was already inside but we were lucky enough to get there just as he was walking out from the elevator to the dining room.  We had a perfect view of him from the glass windows and he waved to us all.  At one point a man came out of the restaurant and asked us if we were waiting for Paul and we said yes.  So then he said, "Well, you're going to have a long wait because he hasn't even had his soup yet!"  One of the Scottish boys tried really hard to get me in but it didn't work.  Finally, we gave up and decided to leave around 1:30am.  (The police had made us move across the street anyway).  Then two Scottish girls helped us make our way back to our hotel.  Before I end this fabulous bit of writing I just want to add how really great all of the concerts were.  Paul had never sang or played better and I came home a real believer in Wings also.  Paul is really on top again -- this time with Wings -- and this is only the beginning for them!


7 comments:

  1. Not withstanding Paul's excellent performances for sure, but there seems something hollow about his life on the road moving from one run down town and hotel to another in the seventies. The vibrancy of the sixties had gone and the regeneration of cities was yet to come. It's almost as if he was looking for the lost excitement that he had with the Beatles in Hamburg and the early years. It's rather sad. Perhaps it was his way of dealing with his emotions after the Beatles broke up? That's how it appears to me anyway. He never talks about these years much.

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    1. I agree with you, anonymous 7/31. I think he was trying to find his way witih Wings and while it was fun at times, Paul wasn't finding what he was looking for during that time. He doesn't ever talk about it, so that is why I enjoyed sharing these stories from the May 1973 tour.

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    2. agree with both

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    3. Good perspective, Sara. Anon 31/7

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  2. I do not agree. He was breaking in a new band and to tour and play live was a logical step for that purpose. And he took his family with him - what is hollow and sad about that?

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  3. Just my 2 cents: I sense Paul got a tad burned out in that period. He admitted that the early Wings period suffered sometimes from him trying to run many aspects of the band. Since Paul was often a tad "controlling" when it came to working with fellow musicians, would not be surprised if he loved Wings because he could control the band a bit more effortlessly, which he could not do in The Beatles. Not a huge Wings fan, but you have to give the man credit. He worked his tail off, and he did so with a growing family. Hats off to him.

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