POP AKTION – STAR MEETING (1976)

Photos by Bob Ellis

 POP AKTION – STAR MEETING

POP Magazine

1976

I used ChatGPT to translate this article from German into English.   I apologize for the translation if it  doesn't make sense.  It is my first time using ChatGPT for translation.  It sure made things easier than the way I have done it in the past.   

POP AKTION – STAR MEETING

**That was really close!

Super star meeting with Paul & Linda McCartney**
Eight POP readers met the ex-Beatle in Berlin

Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, March 23, 1976.
After the Wings concert, Paul and Linda McCartney finished an interview with German television. Now they were in a hurry. After all, eight POP readers were waiting for them. And so they went ahead.

But he didn’t have much time anymore. Because outside the door, eight POP readers were waiting for him. And so they went on.

Ten thousand Berliners were inside the Deutschlandhalle after the stunning Wings concert. But for eight boys and girls, this concert meant even more. Because POP fulfilled their biggest dream: meeting Paul McCartney.

Nervous and jittery, they stood in the anteroom, taking turns hopping from one foot to the other. The excitement was enormous. The photographers, cameramen, and reporters pushed themselves around in the tight space. Everyone tried to get as close as possible to the big dark-haired man in the sheepskin coat. A second passed for each fan before he reached out his hand:

“Hello, I’m Paul — what’s your name?”

“That’s my Hello,” Paul says, and laughs, Linda beside him, and asks, "How old are you?"

The fans are stunned. So uncomplicated was the encounter with the star that they forgot how famous he is. But Paul knows exactly how to put people at ease. Every source later confirms: Paul is a first-class charmer. (Did you get that too? How old are you? “Sixteen,” said the shy Denise.)

Paul usually doesn’t like signing autographs, but on this evening, he made a big exception.

Everyone is happy that there are girls among the eight POP readers, and flirtation breaks out cheerfully. Somebody asks Paul if he was happy that girls were there because it was just like that 10 years ago with the Beatles. And nothing has changed about that until today.

Quietly, Paul answers all the autograph requests and thoughtful questions. One of them: whether his daughter Mary and Stella are sometimes on tour with Wings, and whether he is allowed to see a concert again?

Paul laughs and refers to Linda: “She’s responsible for that.” And Linda explains: “Yes, the children come along on tour. But sometimes it’s too loud for them, so they stay at the hotel. Or the rehearsal runs long — and then it’s too late for them in the evening.”

The two of them are accompanied by Denny Laine and David Cassidy (????) from Wings. David and the two children are totally enchanted.

Then comes the question everyone has been waiting for: “Will the Beatles perform together again on July 5?”  Paul smiles and squints his left eye. “Maybe, perhaps — we’ll see.”

At the moment, he can’t and doesn’t want to say anything definite. He would very much like to work with John, George, and Ringo again. But this summer, with certainty, it won’t be for financial reasons. And money will not be the reason for a Beatles comeback. "We simply have to feel like it." Instead of a temporary reunion of the Beatles, nothing stands in the way of Wings.  That is clear.

Other voices have heard from the best possible source that millions are being offered for a Beatles comeback. But it will not happen — at least not for money. For Paul, it is only possible if it feels right.