Paul and Wings Keep on Truckin'

November 1, 1973 - AIR Studios 
 

Word got out -- Paul is at AIR!

 

September 29, 1983 - AIR Studio

Paul signs for some of his devoted American fans

 September 26, 1983 - outside of AIR studio 

Seeing Paul outside of AIR

 September 24, 1982 

Air Studio Interviews

Here are two interviews with Paul when he was working at AIR Studio in 1983


Interview from Musician & Recording World with Paul Ashford (September 1983)

"I'm like all people," declares Paul McCartney in our 50-minute conversation in AIR Studios.  Meanwhile, the cassette recorder is faithfully pirating tracks from the new album which is being mixed down in the next room.  "And the kind of music I like is actually accessible, commercial music.  Often if a song is number one I'll like it, because people got it to number one and I can see why..."

Advance warning had been given that Paul singled out MARW exclusively because he wanted to talk not about sociology, metaphysics, personalities or past history, but about his Green Alpico Amp.

"The thing is, " Paul explains, "in truth, it ends up that most interviews don't mean anything.  You just talk to everyone on earth about anything -- toothpaste, you name it, just blabbing off about anything they want to hear about.  With this magazine I know the musos read it -- it's a bit more satisfying than talking about what soap you use all the time."

"I want to talk about what I'm interested in, which is music.  That's how we started, picking our way from guitars through pianos and basses and various other instruments.  Actually playing the instruments is the important thing and the personality ting is just what happens to come with it if you do your job well.  You never get to like that better than the musician bit."

"This week I've been using (on the new album) the Elpico, which is the first amp I ever bought.  It's a valve amp and I like valve amps.  A little green Alpico and it's brilliant -- really good.   We've just been using it on one of the tracks and it pokes like mad because it's an old valve amp.  Great - it's like an automatic fuzz.  And of course, it's fun using the first one you ever had again.  "

"I will have one of the old Beatles basses, although I'm not sure whether it's the first.  An old violin bass and the great thing about it is that it's still got the running order list taped on with sellotape - it starts off with "Rock n Roll Music" and goes on to "Baby's in Black."  You always have it on the guitar to tell you what's coming next.  I don't' play it now; the Rickenbacker gives a better recording sound and I also use a Yamaha.

Arrangements and embellishments are, by and large, an important facet of the way McCartney thinks about a song.  He's not the only one who has an ear for good interpretation either.

"People notice the arrangement even as something apart from what instruments are playing.  It's funny.  A little while ago we were invited to a Lennon-McCartney tribute concert at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Birds when they took a lot of our songs and did them with the London Symphony Orchestra.  In the interval, we met the Queen and there was an old fella with her -- not the Duke, an older gentleman -- and he said, the arrangements are the same.  These are basically the same arrangements off the records."

"And I was amazed to hear her say that because it's true, they were taking all the arrangements and putting them on cellos instead of guitars, just giving all the lines to different elements of the orchestra, and she actually realised that."

Paul has little inclination to change an arrangement of his once it's been defined.  "I've thought about it once or twice -- maybe because of Dylan's new versions.  But I'm never very happy doing it.  I did a funky up-tempo version of "Silly Love Songs" with Porcaro and Steve Luthaker and Louis Johnson of the Johnson Brothers, but normally I'll stick close to the original.


BBC World Service Interview recorded at AIR Studios June 16, 1983

Q:  Is it helpful using a mixture of musicians for the new album?

P:  I think so.  It's a change really because for ten or so years I worked with the Beatles and then I worked with Wings for another 10 years and now I'm without a group.  I suppose I got to the stage where I thought, 'Well, what I really want to do is make music,'.  I'm not interested in living with fellers in a van -- I've got kids and I want to spend my time with them.  So it doesn't suit me to be in a group at the moment and we'd virtually finished Wings.

Q:  Do you have any time for a domestic life?

P:  I have as much time as most people have really.  Most people work five days a week and take weekends off and mornings or nights off and that's the same as what I do -- and I can even take the odd day off as well.  What happens is I get a project on like this album and you can't leave it.

Q:  So what are the things you would warn you, children, about of your lie and times and experience?

P:  Everything.

Q:  Would you want them to follow you into entertainment?

P:  Not particularly.  It's a tough business.  You've got to be very good or you die real quick.  Somebody like David Bowie if he fails to have hits for one year he's in trouble -- or me.  No matter how big you get you are still loving yourself all the time.  I happen to have been very lucky and happen to have learnt over the years how to do it.  But kids coming into it -- it's very difficult.  The way we're playing it as if one of the kids, when they're 15 or 16, is really keen to get into something like music or stage then we'll help them.  I don't think their heads can handle it before that age.

Q:  Do you think you were all the right age as The Beatles?

P:  I think it was roughly right when we started.  We started about 16 or 17 and so we were looking for something to do.  We wanted out of Liverpool and to see the big world and do something great and earn a lot of money and become famous.

Q:  Thing did happen extremely fast...

P:  We'd been playing in Liverpool for years with a small degree of success.  The first places we played we'd get the normal crowd that any group got, then we started to play at places where we were a little bit more special and they knew us and we'd get a bit more.  Then we'd play another place and get maybe 200 more.  Then to Hamburg where we were back to n nothing again -- we had to build it all up again.  By the time you'd heard of us we'd actually been going about four years.

Q:  do you ever get fed up with the stage "Former Beatle"?

P:  No, not really.  That's what I am.  There was a point when The Beatles had broken up when we thought 'we want to be individuals now, we'll just have our names..' but you realize it's impossible really.  It's like George Martin; until the day he died is going to be "ex-Beatles producer."

Q:  today somewhere in the world someone is going out and buying their first Beatles album.

P:  Yes, it's funny.  You find a lot of young kids hearing it for the first time and seeing connections with today's music.  and they see all the connections and buy it as if it's fresh again.  You get young kids who know more about it than I do.

Q:  Is there a Beatles track which you particularly love?

P:  All of them.  I h ave those rather strong feelings about.  I'll pick out "Love me Do" as the very first one we recorded and I'll remember how I was scared stiff.  We were standing down in the studio and there was George Martin up on the floor at a big glass window at Abbey Road.  We were in a different world. Nowadays we can go in that  big glass control room, but we couldn't then.  It was like it was Them and Us.  If you happen to play "Love me do" listen for the shakes in  the voice -- that's all pure nerves.  Then I can remember "Hey Jude" because that was great fun; "Strawberry Fields" because that was crazy and amazing.  I can remember so many of them.  Some of the tracks I like are the little off beat tracks that nobody has ever heard of.

Q:  Give us an example.

P: Well, not nobody, but a lot of you won't have heard of a song like "She said She Said

Q:  Back to "Tug of War", "Here Today" is an exceptionally beautiful song, were you 'world's apart' as you suggest in it?

P: Oh no, not really.  It's funny with fellers -- unless there's some kind of gay relationship if you just are two fellers and there wasn't, by the way, although some recent books have tried to suggest it.  As far as any of us knew there wasn't any hint of any of that, and pretty much we should have known because we spent nights in hotels and vans and everything.  It's a very funny thing because there is sort of competition going on no matter how friendly you are.  You're telling jokes and each is trying to be funnier than the other,.  You're writing songs and he's trying to get his song better than mine.  So there's always this huge competitive thing going on which we lived with and it was good actually for us because I'd write a song then he'd say, 'I'm going to better that.'  Which would be great and he'd better it and I'd think 'Oh God! He's bettered it' and 'I'd try and better them both.  So it really gave us a lot of incentive.  But because there was the competitive thing, once the Beatles broke up it all got a bit nasty and all the sort of feelings we hadn't told each other, that we'd submerge just because we were mates, started to come out a bit.  We drifted apart a bit.  Then we had business troubles on top of that.  I would say it was more his fault than mine, but it's not very clever because he's not here to answer it, but ... he got suspicious of me.  He didn't believe what Iw as doing and I don't' really think I got too suspicious of him.  Ah, I suppose I did.  It cute both ways.  So we did have arguments, particularly when the business thing broke up.  We had some horrendous things. I'd  be kind of ringing him and we'd be hanging up on each other and swearing at each other.  Al that wonderful friendship doesn't necessarily last.  Even within a family brothers and sisters can get really vicious with each other over an inheritance.  I'm entering that as the 'world's apart' thing.  Then the last phone conversation I had with him was great and we were back to being just talking about our family, talking about friends and enjoying ourselves.  So we didn't' end up on a bad note.  That's something to be thankful for.

Q:  Looking back over the years, is there one hero that's remained consistent for you?

P:  I suppose John would have been one of the heroes.  Although I never would have told him that, but when somebody dies like that -- it's final enough and you can talk it all then, but that's what I was saying about two fellers.  I would never have said, "I think you're great! " You just don't.   But he would have to be one of my idols.

Q:  People were quite surprised that John turned out to be quite mellow in songs.

P:  That was only because his image was tough and like all tough images.  It was because he was frightened behind it; he was insecure.   He was as sappy as the next man, but you'd have to get him drunk for him to be sappy.  He was tough as nails except when you started talking to him,  then he was an old sappy. 

I can feel it callin' in the AIR tonight....

Looking Marvelous (as always!)

Waiting for something

One afternoon on Oxford Street

Here is a nice story to show how truly kind Paul McCartney can be to his fans.  Paul really went out of his way to pose for photos and sign autographs for these girls and they really appreciated it.   This story of meeting Paul in late August 1983 appeared in the October 1983 issue of "With a little help from my friends."    I am excited to read their story all these years later.   It was written by Terry Klemmer and Pam Pritchard. 

It happened on August 26, 1983 at 1:15 and again at 1:30pm.  Pam and I had been in front of MPL when we ran into Barb and Bonnie, two girls form Chicago that we had met previously at Cavendish Avenue.  They told us they had seen Paul earlier as he was going in to AIR Studios  So, bright girls that we are, we deducted, “What goes in, must come out,” so we planted ourselves at a sidewalk table at the café next door to AIR, prepared for an all-day wait.   After only an hour or so, as we were sitting, talking to a woman from Kenya, we caught just a quick glimpse of him as he very quickly came out the door and walked down Oxford Street.  With that, Pam said, “Is that him?”  Catching sight of that familiar bounce from behind, I realized it WAS him and took off down the street.  Pam caught up to me and we caught up to him on one of those little islands halfway across Oxford Street.   Paul was with someone, but don’t even ask what the guy looked like as I haven’t the slightest idea.  Pam said, “Paul, may we have a picture?”  He turned around and said, “Not now—could you hang out a bit longer?  We’ll be right back,” and with that, he touched my arm.  I nearly fell over!  He started to cross the rest of Oxford, turned and said, “About ten minutes.”  What a decent guy!  He certainly didn’t have to give us a time span.  We returned casually, to our table, and the woman from Kenya, and sat down as if nothing had happened (she probably was wondering about us), but we babbled on like fools.  Pam started having trouble with her camera and was getting into a small panic trying to prepare it for his return.  We wondered if he would return as he certainly didn’t have to, and he sure could have gone home or entered another doorway.

But just as she got the camera functioning again, from behind us, we heard this familiar voice saying, “all right girls, let’s make it a quick one.”  I still am not over the fact that he returned from a different direction.  We didn’t see him since we were watching down the street and he approached us!  He was so nice, standing there so patiently while I fumbled with the focus.  He started to laugh and said something like, “Here we are posing on Oxford Street!”  I can’t begin to describe how it felt looking through the lens and seeing THAT face looking back at me.

Pam then asked for an autograph and he said ok, but to hurry as he didn’t want a crowd to gather.  We each had postcards handy that the girl at MPL had given us earlier.  As he signed, Pam asked about the Rupert project.  Pam: “Is your Rupert project still forthcoming?”  Paul:  “Yes” Pam:  “when?”  Paul (laughing) “That is a good question!”  We should’ve said “do you have a good answer?”  But he then added, “When it’s done.”

I didn’t know the title of the new album yet, so I asked him and he told us “Pipes of Peace.”  That when some of his friends arrived, and he went back inside.  Pam and I had retained our composure remarkably well for the circumstances, but after he left, we found ourselves wandering around London mumbling like a couple of mad fools.  

We also ran into some girls from Italy who said that had briefly seen George.  They were not able to speak to him or take photos because they only saw him drive out of his gate, but they said he was all smiles and waved to them.  They think he went to pick up a dinner guest because it was that time of day, and he returned shortly with another man.  Again, he waved and smiled.

From Pam:

The man is certainly handsome, thin, and has quite a bit of gray.  His hair is gorgeous and cut in a nice fluffy, layer “do.”  He couldn’t have been nicer; he was all I expected and more.   I still am touched at how he came up from behind and called us.  He didn’t have to do that and he did return in 10 minutes like he said he would.   What decent, honest, kind man!  Another thought was that he must be very observant of people in order to be able to recognize us as we’d only spoke briefly on the street (in the center traffic island).  There are so many people he meets and we saw him so briefly in that initial time that he must be very keen on his surroundings to be able to pick us out after such a brief first encounter.  We weren’t standing out in front of the studio, either; we were seated at our table at the café.  This is comforting to know – the fact that he is alert and on the watch for and cares about us fans.

Paul in London in 1984

A story about meeting Paul by Petra Zeitz.  I always enjoy reading her stories.  I think her style of writing is just really cute.   This is from the October 1985 issue of "With a Little Help From my Friends."  Photo were taken by Petra Zeitz

London 1984

By Petra Zeitz

It’s been over a year ago now that I met Paul and Linda for the first time in London, but I will try to remember most of the details.

28 June, 1984—It was our first day in London.  We had hoped Paul would be recording at Air Studios, but there were no other fans waiting and his car wasn’t in sight.  We decided to go to his house in Cavendish Avenue, but the chance to see him there seemed even smaller as he spends most of the year at his farm in Sussex.

We arrived at his Cavendish house.  The gate was closed as usual.  We saw that one of the windows in the basement was open.  Still, it looked very much like nobody was in.  We went down the street to see the street sign with all the messages written on it.  When we were on the way back to the gate, two guys who were working in another house in Cavendish Avenue called us.  “Do you wanna meet Paul McCartney?” one of them asked.  We said, “We don’t think he ever comes here.”  “He’s not in now but if you come tomorrow early in the morning, at about 7 a.m., you can see him.  He goes jogging in the morning.  He talks to you…”   Honestly we didn’t believe this guy, but we did come back the next morning.

It must have been 10 to 7 and we were standing near Paul’s gate.  Suddenly a police car came up and stopped.  “What are you doing here?” we were asked.  We were really shocked.  Did Paul call the police because we were waiting for him?  The officer was really nice and as we told him we were just waiting for Paul McCartney, he laughed.  He didn’t even know Paul was living there.  He had thought maybe we would help burglars or something like that because we stood in front of the gate watching the house!

Nothing happened.  The one window was still open.  About a half hour later the gate was opened and two men pointed as us asking, “Are you waiting for somebody?”  We said, “No, not really.”  Then we were asked to move away and not to stand in front of the gate.  The men went in again.

We met our two friends, the workers, again.  And they kept telling up Paul might come out soon.  At 20 to 8, the gate was opened again.  First we saw one of the men coming out, then a little boy with blond hair followed, and then there he was:  Paul!!!  First he looked around and asked the man, “Are they fans?” pointing in our direction.  I couldn’t stand still any longer.  I ran up to him.  My friend and the two workers followed me.  Paul’s bodyguard drove off and I knew I had to say something to Paul, otherwise he’d leave too.  I just felt like I couldn’t speak!  I managed to say a “Good morning.  How are you?”  Paul smiled.  “Good morning girls.  I am fine.  Are you on holiday?”  We said, “We are from Germany.”    Paul was a bit surprised.  He started speaking to us in German.  He knows quite a lot of German words.  It was so funny to listen to him.  We told him we wanted to go to Liverpool a few days later.  He was happy about that.  He still loves Liverpool so much.   He asked us if we were going to see the Garden Festival around there.  After about 10 minutes, we had taken a few photos and Paul had given us each a personal autograph, he said he would have to leave now.  His son was waiting for him.  He jogged up the street.  We watched him until he turned around the corner.  We were so happy; we just couldn’t believe it all!

We waited about 20 minutes and then we saw Paul and James again.  Paul greeted all the people he knew like the postman and an old lady.   Then he said, “hi girls!”  And stopped by us.  He told us how much he enjoys jogging and we asked him about his new album.  He said he was working on the soundtrack for the film, “Broad Street.”  We asked if we could take another photo but he said, “Sorry, I have to hurry now.  The kids are waiting and you know…” We thanked him and he went in.

The next day we tried to see him at Air Studios, but we didn’t see anybody there.  We didn’t want to go to Cavendish again, as we thought Paul wouldn’t like us to do so.  It was his private life and we had to respect that.  We decided to go there again over the weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday the house was empty.  The McCartney’s had gone back to their farm for the weekend I supposed.  On Monday morning it was still quiet.  Then we were a bit worried that we wouldn’t meet him again at all.  We had bought a little present for him.  It was a card saying, “Sorry we’re late for our birthday…” and a book called “Physical Fitness—jogging for men and women.”  He hoped Paul wouldn’t take that wrong as it was just a joke.

It was around 11 a.m. on Monday morning when we decided to go to Piccadilly Circus.  When we came around Oxford Circus, we saw some girls hanging around Air Studios.  I recognized Debbie who is one of the so called “MPL Scruffs.”  That meant that Paul might be coming!  We changed our plans immediately and placed ourselves on the corner of the building complex where the studios are located.   We didn’t have a long wait!  After 10 minutes, I saw Paul Linda arm in arm walking down the street.  They were in a crowd of people but no one recognizes them!  When they arrived at Air, Paul waved at us saying, “Are you the ones on vacation?”  We gave him our little present and he thanked us.  There were many fans around and we couldn’t speak with Paul and Linda as everybody was asking or autographs and photos.  Paul looked around, said, “Alight?” and then he and Linda went in.  “See ya girls!”

Paul is so sweet when he meets fans.  Linda didn’t say much, but she was too busy signing autographs.  

We said that we wouldn’t leave this place again as long as Paul was in.  We did leave in the end, but we were back at 3:00.  We met two very nice Swedish girls.  The English fans couldn’t stand us at all.  They said we’d make Paul angry and he didn’t want to see us.  (Did he want to see them every day?)

In the evening, Paul and Linda came out again.  They were greeting us and as soon as they were standing on Oxford Street they were surrounded by people asking for autographs.  We took photos and I went up to Paul with a really stupid picture of him from the “Linda’s Pix for ‘76” calendar book.  I said, “Paul, would you mind signing this picture?”  I showed it to him.  He laughed.  “Oh, that’s a wonderful picture.”  He did sign it!

Paul and Linda tried to get to their car.  Paul said, “Bye girls!  See ya!” and got in the car.  Then he rolled the window down again.    I took a photo of him in the car and he said, “Oh, very good!” and Linda smiled.  Then he said in German, “Auf Wiedersehen!” which means “goodbye,” and they drove off.the back entrance of Air.  He doesn’t like the crowds too much and Oxford Street is one of the busiest places in London.  Nobody saw him that day.

On Wednesday he had another surprise for us.  First we couldn’t believe that he goes jogging unrecognized every morning, then he was walking down Oxford street, but on Wednesday morning their driver had dropped Paul and Linda off somewhere and came to Air alone.  Later, Paul and Linda walked to the studio.  There were only the “MPL Scruffs” and us.  Paul and Linda had been to Carnaby Street and they both were having an ice cream. Paul had chocolate and Linda had something with raisins.  They said “Good morning” and Paul ask us, “alright? Gut?” (good in German).  They then went in.

We saw them coming out in the late afternoon and on Friday, we met Paul on his own again.  There were people we hadn’t seen before waiting for him.  Paul seemed to know them and he only spoke with them, like they were old friends of his.  He was wearing sunglasses and jeans and a red shit.  He looked really great.  It was our last day in London and we heard that it was his last day in the studio.  We didn’t see him again that year.

Astroid meets Paul

Tonight's story comes from a very gutsy girl from Brazil named Astrid Leon.  I personally don't' think that I would have called after Paul two times or rang the intercom at Ringo's house.   But I guess being a bit gutsy gets you one step closer to meeting a Beatle.   This story is from the July 1983 issue of "with a little help from my friends."

photos taken by Astrid

My Meeting with Paul

By Astrid Leao

I arrived in England on June 12^th (1983) I went through an International Friendship Program of the UNESCO.   I stayed with a nice English family in Chatham, a city an hour and a half away by bus from London.

I was hoping I could see one of the Fab Four while I was there, especially Ringo, ‘cause he’s my favorite.  I didn’t know where they were at the time.  Then my English Grandma told me she had read in a paper that Paul was in London recording his new album!  I had sent him a birthday card in which I told him I was from Brazil and would love to meet him in person. 

On my second visit to London, I went to Air Studios hoping and praying that I could see Paul.  I had to take a bus at 7pm so I waited for him until 6.  I left my autograph book with a nice fellow who worked in the building.  He said he’d get Paul to sign it.

On July 4^th, I went to Oxford Street again.  At 11:20 a.m., Paul appeared, walking down the street like anyone else.  He had his hands in his pockets and was chewing gum.  I noticed he’s a bit thin with some grey hair, but is still very, very handsome.  I tried to convince myself I wasn’t dreaming and thanked God for that moment. 

Paul was extremely nice.  He stopped to say hello to me and to other fans.  He said some German words to two German girls.  I presented myself by saying, “Hi Paul I’m the Aseroid from Brazil!” because that’s what he called me when he signed his autograph (He had written “To Asteroid!! Lots of love from Paul McCartney,” and even drew a little boy’s face, on June 30^th when I’d left my book there).  He shook my hand and I kissed both his cheeks as Brazilians always do.  He talked to us for four minutes and then said he had to go.  I shouted, “Wait Paul!  I brought you some cashew nuts from Brazil!”  He waited while I desperately tried to find the nuts in my bag.  When I gave them to him he said, “Thank you very much.  That’s very nice.”  As he was entering the building, I shouted “Wait Paul!” again ‘cause I wanted to photograph him.  He smiled at me and I took his picture.  I don’t have to say how happy I was!

After that, I went shopping.  At four in the afternoon, I returned to 214 Oxford Street hoping someone could take a picture of Paul and me together.  There were more fans at the time.  I asked them “please” to photograph us when Paul came down.  The German girls said they would.  I really hope they did!  I took six more pictures of him.  I said, “Sorry, Paul, but I’m back because I don’t have any photo of the two of us together.”  He said he couldn’t stay long because Oxford Street gets a bit “tough” in the end of the afternoon.  It was 5:00 already.  Then I followed him to his car.  Other people did too.  When he rolled the window down I told him, “Paul, you’re still gorgeous and beautiful at 41!”  He gave me a big and unforgettable smile.  Then I said, “If you send us to hell, Paul, I will understand because we fans are always bothering you!”  And he smiled and replied, “No, I won’t do that!” He left then and all of us who had that lovely chance of seeing him were so happy.  I still can’t believe that it happened.  I saw Paul twice!

On July 6^th I went to Ascot trying to find out about Ringo.  A man who worked for him told me he was in London.  Of course he didn’t tell me exactly where.  That was a frustrating moment.  I had cashew nuts for him too and a birthday card. I also talked to a woman through the intercom.  She had a very unfriendly voice and was very rude to me.  I returned to Chatham mad and sad.  But maybe in the near future I’ll be able to see that Starr in person.  I’ve seen George four times and I’ve now seen Paul twice.  Ringo is more difficult to find but someday I will meet him too.

I only know that meeting beautiful Paul was the greatest joy of my trip!  Thank you Lord!