Meeting Macca

Wings performance in Philadelphia in 1976

 

Meeting Maca In ’76 & ‘77

By Marina Sharpe

 The McCartney Observer

Summer 1977

It happened like a dream, meeting Macca for the first time on Friday, May 14, 1976!  I, along with my friend Peggy, were going crazy with anticipation of seeing Wings in concert at the Spectrum.  We met two of our friends, Karen and Darlene, in Philly, and we all got in Karen’s car and drove to the Spectrum.

The concert was so fantastic, the first of four Wings concerts I saw.  I thought for sure I’d be cool during the show, but I went wild at my first glimpse of Paul.  I screamed so much my voice was hoarse later in the evening.  I knew after seeing Paul on stage I HAD to meet him!

When the concert ended, we four – Peggy, Karen, Darlene, and I stood with the crowd waiting for Paul’s limo to leave the Spectrum.  Karen got a great idea of following the limo since the parking lot was right next to the ramp where the limo would come out.  So we all got in and sat waiting for the big moment.  When it happened, we were ready!  Paul’s limo came out, followed by three others and two police cars.  Karen was beeping at the crowd to move and managed to squeeze around the crowd and follow the limos.  What a chase it was!  We were scared the police would stop us because we were going 90 miles an hour in a 60-mile zone! We got past the police, who stopped a few cars by the small airfield. Karen parked across from the limos.  They were lined up in front of the gate where a plane was waiting in the airfield.  There were a few people looking in the window of the first limo, and we had a feeling Paul was in it.  We were right!  My heart was beating so fast as I walked towards the limo and looking in the window I saw him —Macca!  Linda was sitting next to him, Jojo next to her, and Denny in the opposite seat.  Time stood still as I looked into Paul’s eyes; even in the dark, his eyes are so bright and expressive.  We were all staring at him and smiling and he was smiling at us.  We all say “Hi” and Peggy (the bold one) said “Hi Macca” and told him how great the concert was.  When Linda asked where we were from Peggy said, “New York.”  Paul nodded and said, “Yeah,” like he knows New York!  We all shook hands with Pau, Linda, and Denny.  Paul’s hand is so soft and warm, with a strong grip.  I could’ve held his hand forever!  His bodyguard came over and told us to move and he stood in front of the window to block our view.  So I went around to the other window, and the goon came over and tried to block my view again, but Paul saw I was trying to get a picture of him, and he leaned toward the window and smiled.  What a beautiful picture it is!  Macca had on his nice leather jacket, which he wore throughout the Wings Over America tour.  The limos drove into the gate, and we looked through the gates watching Paul and the group board the plane.  It was after midnight by then when the plane took off.

We were all so “high” on meeting Macca.  We were up till 4 a.m. talking about him.  Until Wings’ last concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York, I caught glimpses of Paul going between the hotel and the Garden.

 

Practically a whole year passed before seeing him again – on Saturday, April 30, 1977!  I got to the Stanhope Hotel early in the morning – around 10 a.m. and met some of my friends from “The Harrison Alliance” who were already there.  There were about 10 people hanging around, quite a relief compared to last year’s 50 or more people hanging around the hotel during the concerts.  The doorman was very nice to us, said Paul would be out in about 15 minutes.  We all got our cameras and things we had for him to autograph ready.  I started to get those nervous butterflies in my stomach feeling.  Karen came running down the block to the hotel; she was so excited when I told her Macca is really in the hotel.  Suddenly Mary and Stella appeared then ran back into the hotel.  Then Linda, Heather, Mary, Stella, and Paul came out.  20 people appeared from nowhere.  Then the next five minutes happened so fast; some obnoxious girls pushed everyone out of the way to kiss Paul and get his autograph.  Paul had an annoyed, surprised look on his face when the girl kissed him, but he smiled and said “hi” to the other fans.  It was impossible for me to get near him.  The crowd seemed to carry him off.  Linda was standing alone, so I went to her and asked her for her autograph.  She said “Sure” and signed.  I could see she was pregnant even though she held her coat in front of her.  She pushed through the crowd to the waiting limo and got in.  Paul had to tell some eager beaver fans to let him get the kids in the car before signing for them.  They kept pushing closer to him, so he got in the limo, and I got up close to the window and waved. He waved back, and the limo took off.  I took two pictures, but unfortunately, they came out dark.  Luckily, Karen’s photos came out beautifully!  He looked gorgeous that day, with a short-waisted length jacket showing off his beautiful buns!  And those eyes – for the second time, he’s looked at me with those eyes!  I hope there will be many more times that I can look into those eyes.