Old Beatle Looks at His New Career (1976)

 Old Beatle Looks at His New Career

By Brad Balfour

The Cincinnati Post

May 28, 1976

    Paul McCartney denied Time magazine's suggestion in the recent cover story on him that he was afraid of snipers. McCartney cleared the air about this in an interview backstage after his appearance at Riverfront Coliseum with his new group, Wings. 

    "Snipers? I'm not afraid of them. Unfortunately, Time magazine writes its own articles, and I don't write them. I actually didn't say that, but the researchers think it's true. I've got my idea where they got it from. I was just on stage joking, saying to someone, 'Oh, this is it', and I was joking, and there was probably some Time magazine researcher just lurking about."

     Paul's wife, Linda, suggested this would make the situation bigger, saying, "That's sick, because it starts you asking questions about a fantasy that isn't, and then you write about it, and then everybody starts to know about something that isn't."

     To that, McCartney added, "Let's not make it any bigger, folks, it's just a mistake."

     If anything else, the McCartneys strive to be just natural folks (even down to Linda's unshaven legs) and downplay the sensational, but the sensational can't be helped, considering the significance of former Beatle McCartney's return to touring with Wings. The significance that carries a $50 million price tag for a one-time Beetle reunion.

     Was Paul insulted at such commercial value being placed on their creativity? "It's not an insult. I just think it's life. Before that, Sid Bernstein made a couple of offers, though not quite as seriously. They were big offers, but this fellow has just made a massively huge offer. I don't think it's a real offer at all, but even if it were, it's nothing that the four of us would want to do at this time. That's not because of any lousy reason; it's just not anything anyone is interested in."

     For Paul and Linda, Wings is just fine. They are filming a couple of the shows and plan to do a live record, as Paul says, "If it's good enough." Wings is being defined with this tour, just as the McCartneys are relaxed and unassuming, Paul in his Hawaiian shirt, and Linda in her simple jacket and muslin skirt.

     The show is assertive with rock energy. The band comes through completely live and is still uncertain on the recordings --that has been said. "I think it's true to an extent. I think it will be remedied with the next recordings we do. I think it does come across stronger on stage. All the live things do," McCartney said.

     The McCartneys' approach to the live show has been simple and direct, having let it develop naturally. "We could do a lot more slower numbers, but the truth is this is what we ended up with after a few weeks of thinking about it. It's what we like to play. We just put it into order, and the nice thing about that is that when we've got a show around it, it all seems to mean something. We just take a bunch of songs in order and go up and sing them, but it all comes out as a show."

     Does live performance influence work in the studio? "Sometimes you think about that, but sometimes you think, well, however, we're making a record, and that shouldn't be the consideration. We're trying to make an audio trip, so maybe we'll want to do something we wouldn't be able to get, but mind you, we're able to get stuff most of the time. 

    "If you work with tapes, you can get anything. We use a Mellotron, on which you can have sound effects that simulate strings. It's a keyboard instrument. You hit a key, and any given tape will click for you; you can select all kinds of things."

     Linda added, "On 'Live and Let Die,' the strings are actually a keyboard, or on 'Silly Love Songs'. I've got some great sound effects, Bugs Bunny's on the tape. You can switch to a keyboard with sound effects, and you have 40 sound effects to choose from."

     "So we use those in the shows as sort of links," Paul said. "I'm successful at the moment, which is great, but I think the others all make very good music. It all depends when they want to do it. At the moment, we're touring, so it looks very consistent, but if we take three months off and John has got out a new  one or  George, everyone looks that way."

     Finally, I asked Paul if he was weary of questions about the Beatles. "It depends what kind of questions. If they harp too much on the sort of legendary bit, I mean it's a bad vibe question. I'm weary of those."

Paul McCartney and Wings Exhibit at the R&R Hall of Fame -- A Review

 

I had the amazing opportunity to attend the "Paul McCartney and Wings" exhibit and VIP gathering (don't get too excited -- I just bought a ticket like everyone) at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio last weekend. 

If you are a Paul McCartney / Wings fan you have to see this exhibit!  I was just completely knocked out by all of the amazing artifacts that were on display.  

This display occupies space on the 6th floor of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It is a much smaller space than I anticipated, and one of my few complaints is that I wish it were located in a larger location than the small exhibit room on the 6th floor, because if you get more than 20 people up there, it gets hard to see the items on display.   If you are going to visit, you might want to know that you have to take an escalator up to the fourth floor, then walk the stairs to get to the 6th floor -- but there are really great Wings decorations in the stairwells that you don't want to miss.   If stairs are an issue for you, then get on the Wings decorated elevator.  The elevator is large enough to fit 2-3 wheelchairs and people.  

The exhibit has a Wings compilation video showing in a loop while you are there and a big Wings logo on the ceiling. 

This is on the ceiling -- very cool!

The exhibit starts with McCartney and ends with McCartney II.  There are guitars, clothing, ephemera, and other artifacts from every Wings era represented.  Things were donated by Paul, Denny Seiwell, Denny Laine's estate, Jimmy McCulloch's estate, Laurence Juber, Steve Holly, and John Hammel and others as well.  

Highlights for me included:  the original drawing of the Wings logo, Paul's handwritten lyrics to Maybe I'm Amazed, the red "gown" Paul wore in Morocco,  the outfit and guitar Paul used on Top of the Pops for the performance of Junior's Farm, Paul's see-through guitar and handwritten lyrics for Helen Wheels,  all of the items from the tours,  John Hammel's Back to the Egg pin,  Laurence's Japan 1980 jacket and Rockestra scarf.  

But my two favorite things were:  Robbie the Robot and the sweater Paul wore in the Waterfalls video.  I stared at those items for so long and even took a selfie with Robbie.   

The Junior's Farm outfit and guitar

The see-through guitar

Robbie!! You are still with us!

If this wasn't under glass and heavily secured -- I might have taken it -- just saying. 

In the middle of the room is the "Rude Studio" sign, along with a place to listen to and view various songs, live recordings, and photos.   Also in the middle is a replica of the McCartneys' kitchen in Scotland, with Linda's photographs, and Linda's camera is on display!  So amazing. 

I would have liked to have seen more representation of Linda as a member of Wings in this exhibit.  I loved that her camera was on display, but seeing one of her tour dresses, her keyboard, her lava lamp, or something that represented Linda as a band member would have been great.   

But that is really my only complaint (besides I wish it was in a larger space) about the exhibit.  It was beautifully done and it made me proud to be a Wings fan.  

While I was there, I visited the Beatles section of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  And let me say that I was extremely disappointed.  I have been to the Rock Hall 5-6 times since it opened, and the Beatles part is always really cool.  But this time -- not so much.   Four of the Beatles' guitars were missing, with a sign saying "this item has been temporarily removed."  I understand that things get removed, but 4 out of 5 guitars at once?   All of the handwritten materials -- letters, lyrics, and even John's green card are replicas.  I can see a photo of these items online -- I go to a museum to see the real deal in person.   They had Paul's grey, collarless suit on display, but when I read the description more closely, I realized it was the suit made for the Paul wax figure in 1964, and Paul himself never wore it.   The only thing that I thought was cool in the display was John's "This is not here" t-shirt.  

The VIP party was fun.  Steve Holly and Laurence Juber were interviewed, and then they played some Wings songs.  That was really great.  I watched some of the Rock Show film and did some shopping in the gift shop.  They had a ton of Wings stuff for sale: t-shirts, sweatshirts, books, postcards, stickers, buttons—it was heaven!  I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt, a button, and a postcard.   

I was also fortunate to meet many of the fans whose stories are on this site.  A group of fans who went to many Wings concerts in the 70s and met Paul outside the studios during the Wings era held a gathering, and I was able to sit and listen to their stories in person.  I met many fans whom I only knew of by name because I  have typed it up many times on this site over the years.  

The Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit will be in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a full year and you need to make your way out there to see it!  You will love it.  

McCartney Returns in Bubbles & Strobes (Cincinnatti 1976)

 McCartney Returns in Bubbles and Strobes

By Steve Konicki

Dayton Daily News

May 28, 1976

    Paul McCartney has the rare kind of magic that seems to follow him from recording studio to concert hall, almost unnoticed. It turns everything he does into a golden circus.

     Thursday night at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum proved no exception. The mere appearance on stage of McCartney and his band Wings brought a three-minute standing ovation. There were swooning teenage girls, a barrage of balloons, fluorescent glow lights, and 1000s of soap bubbles that rose from beneath the stage. 

    Some in the audience of 30,000, it seemed, had been waiting to see McCartney since June 1966 when the Beatles played their last concert together at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. A teenage girl in a white halter top asked a friend named Debbie, "Do you think he'll do, 'Michelle'? What about 'Band on the Run'?" Though the teenager was barely seven in 1966, she seemed straight out of the days when what was known as Beatlemania swept the land.

     "Oh, Debbie, I can't stand it," she said.

     Wings responded to the energy of the moment and broke into an impressive medley of "Venus and Mars", "Hollywood Bowl," and "Jet." McCartney, in a black and white satin cowboy suit, carefully directed the band from center stage in front of his bass guitar amplifier and from his elevated grand piano. The surprisingly tasteful use of the standard for a rock concert-- smoke bombs and strobes was complemented by a newer gizmo-- a blue laser beam.

    The music, not the flash, ruled, however.

     The teenage girl begged to know whether McCartney would play any old Beatles songs. "Debbie, is this going to be it?" she said. "Debbie, this is going to be it, isn't it?"  But Wings played the Beatles' "Blackbird", and although Debbie never told her friend whether this was "it," the teenager complained no more.

     Skipping skillfully from the Beatles era to the Wings era, the band allowed the pace to slow only briefly. The second and third standing ovations came back-to-back after McCartney's rendition of "Lady Madonna" and "The Long and Winding Road."

     Linda McCartney's harmonies blended perfectly with her husband's voice. Denny Laine bounced from his rhythm guitar to the bass and then to a piano, filling in wherever he was needed. Laine also provided some rock star hip wiggles.

     McCartney participated in much of the stage craziness. He egged the crowd into a roaring applause at the end of each song, while playing his current top 40 bonanza "Silly Love Songs." He sighted a balloon falling to the stage and kicked it back into the audience without missing a beat on his bass guitar, a feat that brought enthusiastic applause from the audience.

     In a more intimate moment, McCartney sat alone on stage with his six-string Ovation guitar. He drove the crowd to near madness when he said, "See if you remember this one."  He began the classic Lennon McCartney song "Yesterday."

     Several songs, two encores and one near miss with a bottle rocket later McCartney was gone. Daytonian Steve Klein, 24, had waited for nine hours with his date since 11:30am Thursday to get a seat to the 8pm show. "Hell with the Beatles getting back together," Klein said. "McCartney is making it on his own. He doesn't need those other guys." Dorothy Garrett, 19, Klein's date agreed.

Lennon and Dylan

 May 27, 1966

Piano practice

 May 27, 1971 

Paul McCartney World Record Holder

 May 26, 1986

55 Years since Claudio's visit

 If you aren't familiar with the truth behind Claudio's visit to Tittenhurst Park on May 26, 1971, please follow the tags and read the story.   We were misled to believe that he was a Vietnam Vet, which isn't true at all.  

Still -- John saw a man in need and welcomed him in for some food, which was the kindness that touched us the first time we saw Claudio in the Imagine film all those years back.  

So Long New York City

 

May 26, 1976 

Paul and Linda pack up and leave New York City -- ready to tackle the rest of the Wings Over America Tour 

Flower Show

 May 26, 2006 -- Ringo and Barb at the Chelsea Flower Show 

John and Yoko Are a Hit (1971)

 

John and Yoko are a Hit

From Women's Wear Daily 

The Houston Post

May 31, 1971

    There was a private party in Cannes for French director Louis Malle, but John Lennon and Yoko Ono showed up and stole most of the spotlight. Malle's new film, Le Souffle au Coeur, was the big flick of the day at the festival.

     But when John and Yoko walked in, he was nearly lost in the rush of photographers. John's 16-minute short feature, Apotheosis, and Yoko's The Fly were shown later in the evening, and the couple was promoting them. 

    John, not one to be shy about finances, wore a big placard around his neck advertising their book, Grapefruit. Yoko looked a bit plump in a very tight black hot pants with a black turtleneck and boots. She hid behind her huge brown shades, and John peered out with his best bored expression from behind his yellow granny glasses. He was regally attired in faded blue jeans and jacket. 

    He, Yoko, and Malle talked while the cameras clicked. About half the crowd were young students and journalists dressed in scruffy hippie garb, while the establishment crowd showed up in dinner clothes. Buck Henry, promoting the official American entry in which he stars, Taking Off, was in his navy blazer with a red lining and his new reddish beard. The ubiquitous Rex Reed wore little blue sneakers, a red-and-white bandanna shirt, and his shoulder bag.

     Some little French urchin girls sneaked past the guard and wandered through the crowd, selling plastic dolls for a franc. They crushed barefoot over broken wine glasses without a change of tired expression. 

    Jenne Moreau was nearly mobbed when she arrived in a red Citroen to call for her old friend Malle. She stepped out on the boulevard in a long, brightly flowered dress, and the delighted crowd rushed toward her. The police got her and Malle safely into the car and away, along with Yoko and John, while the crowd finished off the free wine and food.