Wings at the Birmingham Hippodrome (1975)

 Wings at the Birmingham Hippodrome

By Randall Northam

Birmingham Daily Post

September 15, 1975

    Paul McCartney was, I am sure you remember, a member of The Beatles and as such one of pop music's major figures; he was the most accessible of that legendary group. He still is. 

    He is the only one to have formed a working band, kept it together, and toured regularly in this country, but sadly, it is only an ordinary band. Sustained on Saturday by McCartney's charisma and Denny Laine's enthusiasm on returning to his hometown. He used to be in the Moody Blues, and his "Go Now" was one of the concert's highlights.

     It was surely no coincidence that the best appreciated numbers of the night were not the songs McCartney has written recently, but old Beatles numbers such as "Lady Madonna", "Long and Winding Road", "Blackbird ", and above all, "Yesterday", the latter title just about sums it up.

     Wings rock, pleasantly enough, but no more than that. Linda McCartney owes her place in the band to the fact that she married Paul, not any talent she might have, and she doesn't have much. I doubt she could get a place in any other named group. And two newcomers are anonymous. 

    One would expect more from a man with McCartney's background; in the end, it boils down to the fact that if you like John Lennon, you tend to dislike McCartney. Let's hope Lennon gets his problems sorted out soon so he can come to Britain and perform.