Focal Point

 

Focal Point performs at the Cavern Club 

I read this article about the Apple Records group, Focal Point, in the Beatles Unlimited Magazine from January/February 2007 and found it to be really interesting. I thought I'd share it with all of you here on MTBFR.   I was part of the "Ditz' Column," which was written by Rene van Haarlem.

Until now, the story of the Focal Point has not been too clear, rumors that Brian Epstein chose their name is one theory, sadly the group only recorded one single and like so many bands no more was heard.  It's time for Paul Tennant to tell us the story. 

(From this point on, it is Paul Tennant speaking)

In 1960, I began playing guitar seriously, having dabbled for a year or two.  My school was very close to the old Casbah in Liverpool and my best friend at school was a guy called Dave Aspinall, brother of Neil.  We would go to the Casbah and watch The Beatles at their birth.  During the following years, I followed them around Liverpool at all the documented venues, learning how they could control an audience.  They were quite phenomenal.  Since then, I have seen many bands live:  The Stones, The Who, The Move, you name it.  I have seen them, but The Beatles were the best rock and roll band I have ever seen.  Second to none.

From 1960 to 1966 I played around Liverpool in various bands, me going one way and The Beatles going another.  I lost contact over the years with Dave Aspinall.  I then met with Dave Rhodes in a club called the Labamba in Liverpool, and we quickly became friends.  He was in a band called the Maracas, and I was with somebody else -- whose name escapes me.  We decided we should begin writing songs, which we did.  The first efforts were pretty pathetic, but we kept on going, and in the end, we felt we had some acceptable offerings.  He left his band, and I left mine, and we formed a band called Obsession.  We played around Liverpool at most of the big venues.  We were like most of the bands at that time. We played all the old classics with one or two of our original songs.  The band did not last too long, as Dave and I spent most of our time writing and chasing women.  We then formed another band called The Big Lox Blue Band, an ambitious effort really.  We had a full brass section with keyboards, bass, two guitars and drums, and Dave and I.  I spent some time at the disbanding of this band with a band called The Almost Blues, which was formed by a good friend of mine called Alan Peters, but I did not stay for long.  Dave and I carried on writing.  It got to the point where we needed to move on to the next stage, but we did not know what the next stage was.  Where do you go with your songs?  Studios and four-track machines in those days were out of our league. 

It was then in the summer of 1967 -- early May, to be exact that we decided to take a holiday in Torquay with a couple of days in London.  We hired a car and set off for the big smoke.  Purely by accident in the car on the way down the conversation got around to Paul McCartney and where he lived.  There was an article in a magazine that showed pictures of stars and their houses, and there was Paul's house with a lovely picture, saying it was around the corner from Lords. Well, as we were driving into London, we saw a sign that said "Lords Cricket Ground," so off we went looking for Paul's house.  It took us about 2 minutes to find, there are not too many houses backing onto it.  We knew which house Paul lived in due to a large amount of girls hanging about outside.  So there we sat, looking and taking it all in.  We had never seen this much grandeur.  Then all of a sudden the gates opened and a Mini shoots out and away.

Without a second thought we were on his tail, and there in the back of the car was a large sheepdog, but we couldn't see who was in the front seat.  Now I was holding onto the Mini, thought lights, round corners I never let it out of my sight, and then before you could say Jack Robinson we were at Hyde Park.  The Mini stopped and out stepped Paul -- let the dog out and waved to the drive -- Jane Asher and he was walking the dog. Well, Dave looked at me, and I looked at him, and we both looked at our other friend, Peter McKenna (a childhood friend of mine), and we all reached the same conclusion.  We would follow him and tell him about our songs.  It was just like that.  We abandoned the car and went off in hot pursuit.  We caught Paul and up we shouted to him and he turned around.  We then told him our story-- we were writing songs and didn't know what to do with them. Could he help?  Could he help?  This is an understatement.  He could have done anything at that time.  The Beatles were like gods.  After about 5 minutes of talking to each other, he said to us, "I could get you a recording contract just like that," and flicked his fingers, "But why should I?"  It was then that he proved to be a human by planting a finger up his nostril.  Dave laughed, and he laughed.  Dave then said to him in answer to his question, "Because we are good.  Our songs are good."  It was just like that.  Paul then wrote down on a piece of paper a phone number and gave it to us.  "Phone this guy and tell him I sent you," said Paul, and he was then gone, carrying on walking the dog.   The phone number was the number for Terry Doran.  

To cut a long story short, we then drove to Torquay and spent a week in the sun, met some girls, and had a ball, but we did not have the bottle to make the phone call.  Eventually, when we got back to Liverpool, Dave and I phoned Terry.  Terry listened and told us Paul had told him we were going to ring and when could we go down to London.  We arranged to meet him in a couple of days. 

The address was Curzon Street.  Dave, Peter, and I then went down on the overnight bus from Liverpool and went to the address.  Our first meeting with Terry Doran was amazing, really.  The office of Apple was tiny, just one room.  On the door there was a cardboard notice just with the word "Apple."  They were in the same building as Radio Luxembourg.  Dratleaf and Abigail Publishing occupied their next-door offices.  They both handled the Bee Gees and The Cream.  Terry was the original hippy with a haircut like Bob Dylan, and he had on a lime green suit.  We were quickly put at ease and surprised to learn he was a Liverpudlian just like us.  We told him the story, and he said, "Let's hear what you have written." Out came the guitars and we sang four of our best songs to him, just like that.  He asked us to play them again, and we did.  He said he liked our songs and would like to get an acetate done of them. 

He picked up the phone and phoned a small studio on Denmark Street called Central Sound.  We then went for some lunch and then jumped into a taxi and went along to the studio.  Dave and I put down four songs all in one take, just two guitars and both of us singing.  The results were excellent, and we were really surprised.  Terry was over the moon, saying how he liked our stuff.  We went out for dinner to Flannagan's, a restaurant on Baker Street, and then back to Terry's house in Esher.  This was quite amazing, really. On our drive back, he told us about Apple and how The Beatles were forming this company, and it was going to change the world.  Terry was in charge.  We were the first artists he had, and he was very excited.  Back at Terry's house, which was owned by John Lennon, we sat and had some drinks, and then Terry started smoking a joint.  This was all new to us, but we took to it like a duck to water.  Terry then got on the phone and started raving on about our songs to whoever was on the other end of the line.  He was really going over the top.  After he hung up, he said he was going out and taking the songs around to John's house for his opinion.  "Make yourself at home.  I'll be back later.  Do whatever you want, drinks are over there."  Well, we got as high as a kite and sat back listening to Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album, and before you knew it Terry was back.  "John loves your songs.  He is absolutely going mad over them," said Terry.  We were again gob-smacked.  He was the greatest songwriter in the world, and he was saying he liked our songs and was raving over them!  "He wants me to play them to Brian."

It was now about midnight and Terry then got on the phone to Brian Epstein.  We could hear him telling the story to Brian, about the songs and what John had said.  "Brian wants to hear them now," said Terry.  With that, he was gone at that late hour.  Well, we all crashed and were awoken in the morning with Terry Doran making tea.  He was in a pillar-box red suit and again was going on about Brian's reaction.  "Brian agrees with John, your songs are fantastic; he loves the one called 'Miss Sinclair's Courtship.'  John likes the one called 'Except Me'."  Again to cut a long story short we were then driven to Euston Station, this time Terry was driving a black Mini.  We later found out it belonged to George Harrison.  It had blacked-out windows.  It was really the ultimate poseur's car.  He gave us a ten-pound note - a lot of money then and told us to phone him.  We got back to Liverpool and told the story to everybody.  Ultimately we were now in with the biggest clan and clique since Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack.  Terry phoned and told us he had spoken to Brian and John and they wanted to sign us to a five-year publishing deal with Apple Publishing.  Brian also suggested that we should form a band. He wanted to call us Focal Point.  At that point, Focal Point was born, named by Brian Epstein, and Terry Doran suggested he manage us.  More importantly, when were we going back down with more songs?  Terry said not to bring any guitars as he would sort something out for us.  Terry booked some more studio time, and we went down.  Again the same scene, into a studio, back to Terry's house, more conversations with The Beatles and Brian.  We borrowed guitars from The Beatles for the session, quite amazing.  This time, we stayed about a week, meeting loads of people who dropped into Terry's house.  These included Graham Nash, Mick Jagger, Jenny Boyd, Geroge Harrison, Mal Evans, Pete Shotton, and John Lennon himself.  It was pretty amazing, really.  I told John and Goerge how I used to follow them around Liverpool.  We now firmly had our feet under the table. 

Then, out of the blue, Brian Epstein dies.  We thought things would change, but nothing did.  It was pretty bad, really, because Brian was beginning to take an interest in us in a big way, and he said he wanted to get us moving just like he did with The Beatles.  We were just like "the boys" as he called The Beatles. 

Apple moved to Baker Street, and the company really started to move.  Dave and I signed long-term contracts and continued to look for musicians for our band.  We continued going back and forth from Liverpool to London.  The same each time we'd stay with Terry, get stoned, go out to dinner, out to the Speakeasy, meet people like Jonathan King, The Hollies, Marty Feldman, The Animals, Alan Price, Stevie Windwood, Keith Moon, The Walker Brothers.  Apple sent us to Vidal Sasson for hair styling and then down the Kings Road to a shop called Dandy Fashion -- where the Beatles bought all their clothes.  We were now like two little pop stars, and when we got back to Liverpool, it showed.  We found the guys we wanted in our band.  Dave Slater -- bass played with a band called The Top, Tim Well - keyboard - from the same band, and Ted Hesketh - drums from Dave's old band, The Maracas.  After they heard our story, they were all in, and quickly, we were off to London.  The other guys all signed deals with Apple.  Terry was working on getting us a recording contract. 

We were then introduced to Lionel Morton, who was with The Four Pennies.  He had been employed by Terry as a producer at Apple.  Focal Point then spent several months recording at the studios in Apple with Lionel Morton recording us.  Terry agreed that he and Lionel would manage us jointly as he was getting involved with another band that had arrived on the scene, Grapefruit. 

We would spend hours into the night putting down all our songs, and sometimes, late at night, Terry would come back with John Lennon.  Well, we would give him some sick, some real Liverpool banter.  John would love this.  He also always showed a liking for our music.  He loved some of the songs Dave and I had written.  The band moved to London and Apple got us a house in Highbury.  We were recording every day.  Whenever we needed equipment, we would take a taxi over to Abbey Road and borrow anything from The Beatles.  They had a room in Abbey Road where they would keep everything and guess who was given the key?  We would help ourselves -- there are some stories here which I will leave for another time.  Terry secured us contracts with MGM, Liberty, EMI, and Deram.  We had the choice as to whom we would sign with.  In the end, we decided on Deram, mainly because Wayne Bickerton -- the chosen producer was Liverpudlian.  A stupid decision, really.  We could have had Terry Melcher or Glyn John producing.  No disrespect to Wayne, whom I see for lunch about once or twice a year.  We were also at this time working with Jackie Lomax, as a backing band for him, rehearsing at Apple for an album Jackie was making.  We became good friends and did the album at -- though the memory is a bit smoky -- either Trident or Olympic Studios.  We had Klaus Vormann on bass, with me and Jackie on guitar, Tim on keyboards, and Ted on bass.  Glyn John was producing.  We got to meet with so many people. 

We could however see at this time the beginning of the end of Apple -- in the format, it had become.  Terry was becoming more distant, spending more time with Grapefruit.  

We recorded our single for Deram.  Four tracks were recorded, "Never Never, "Girl on a Corner," "Love You Forever," and "Sycamore Sid."  The one we all wanted out as a single was "Never Never," but the really tacky Decca committee decided on the safe bet.  "Never Never" was a really psychedelic piece of music with a Boeing 747 taking off at the beginning and end of this fantastic song.  Brian Epstein always wanted us to record "Miss Sinclair's Courtship", but we never did.  I do know Alan Price recorded it and at the last minute decided to do "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear".

Apple and Decca put on a fantastic launch party in the West End.  It was attended by hundreds of people, with us playing the four songs.  Apple kitted the band out with all new clothes and new equipment courtesy of Vox.  We were bitterly disappointed that Terry Doran -- who was there right at the beginning never made the reception.  Lionel attended with his wife, Julie Foster, who was making quite a name for herself in the movies.  Half a Sixpence with Tommy Steele and Alfie with Michael Caine.  We felt like stars that night, with a million cameras pointed at us.  We then signed a management deal with NEMS, moved to another house in East Dulwich, and carried on recording at Apple.  We then could see the bubble definitely beginning to burst.  Mike Berry had been brought into Apple and Jack Oliver was making himself seen, and Terry was spending less and less time with us.  We would see John Lennon and George from time to time at the Baker STreet offices, also Paul and Ringo, but things were different. 

Focal Point then went on a tour up north playing with such people as Stevie Windwood, Peter Frampton, and the New Yardbirds - to become Led Zepplin, Alan Price, and Chris Farlowe.

The band then decided they had had enough of London, the record was not a success.  It sold reasonably well but not what we expected.  On June 29, 1968, I remember the date because it is my birthday, we deiced we would not go back to London until they spent more time with us.  Our road manager, a guy called Brian Rooney, phoned Paul McCartney up and was told it best to stay away for a time, as there were problems.  This we did.  We took Paul at his word and the rest as they say...

The band split up in the summer of 1969.  We had been there and done it, seen it, bought the T-shirt, and more.  I am in business with Tim and Dave Slater with Focal Point Music Publishing.  We have an extensive catalog with several other writers signed, and we hope to go on from here. Dave Rhodes is a lecturer in mental nursing up North ni Morpeth.  Ted Hesketh disappeared after a spell with the Merseybeats.  He had never been seen since.  Our road manager, Brian Rooney, went with Ringo for a while and then with Tina Turner and then Donna Summer, but I have not seen him for a long time. 

You will appreciate there are lots of things that I have had to leave out due to time and space and I feel our story could be a small book in its own right.  I have seen Terry Doran on several occasions, just to have a pint with him and talk about old times.  In the 80s when he was working as George Harrison's PA, I did go and stay at Friar Park for a few days with Terry and met George once again.  I have not seen Lionel Morton since 1987.  That is the true -- condensed version of Focal Point. 

George Harrison interview 1988

 George Harrison interview

This is an interview with George for the “Countdown” program in Holland. 

February 23, 1988

 

Q:  You once said you couldn’t imagine being a rock star when you were forty.  So here you are.

G:  I wasn’t a rock star when I was forty.  I waited until I was 44.

Q:  This is your first album in five years.  Why did you keep us waiting for so long?

G:  Well, I don’t think I kept anybody waiting really.  Realistically, I had records out in the past which people didn’t even notice.  So because I haven’t had one for five years, everybody’s saying “Why did you keep us waiting for five years?”, but if I had brought out a record in 1981 and 1982 and 1983, maybe it wouldn’t be so interesting.  I think the main thing was I got a bit tired of making records on my own.  I feel I’ve got a lot of music in me, and I’ve got the desire to get that music across.  But sometimes it doesn’t always work out right.  And I found that in retrospect, working on my own was not the best situation.  So I waited a few years to have a rest and to find somebody I thought I could make a good record with.  With Jeff Lynne it worked out very well; he’s really good.

Q:  Why didn’t we notice all those previous records?  Was that your fault or ours?

G:  I think it is a combination of both.  My fault inasmuch as I got tired with working on my own, and maybe the mixes weren’t as good as they could have been.   But also, because the music at that time – everybody wants you to change and become the flavour of the month, and I refuse to do that.  And also, I put a record out and I’d say: “well, there’s my record, that’s what I do.”  I make records.  I’m not good at interviews. I don’t like to do that.  It’s 25 years of doing that sort of thing, so I don’t feel really at ease about going out, doing television and interviews, and promote myself.  I’m very bad at promoting myself.  So, I’d put a record out, give it to the record company, and they would think, “Well, if he’s not promoting it, we’re not gonna work as hard on it.”

Q:  But now you have to do all this promoting.  How difficult is it for you to go back into the limelight?  Do you hate it?

G:  I don’t like talking about myself, but if people are gonna know that there’s a record out, I have to do a little bit.  And so, I decided I’ve had a rest, and if I’m gonna do it I should do it now.  Now is the time I feel good about it.  So, I do these interviews.  But basically, all we’re doing is talk about a record.  I wrote songs, make records, and if the record’s good then people will like it, and if it’s not they won’t.

Q:  It should not be necessary.  Is that what you mean?

G:  It should not be necessary, but it is because there’s so many other people out there doing it that the question is:  is the disc jockey gonna play my record or is he gonna play all those other records?

Q:  Does the title “Cloud Nine” have any special significance to it?

G:  I don’t really think so.  IT became called “Cloud Nine” because after the photograph was taken for the album sleeve, we had all these clouds on it.  I was trying to find a title that didn’t have anything to do with a song title.  For a while it was called “Fab,” but the word “fab” had to be seen as sort of a joke and I didn’t want people to get the wrong impression.  Then I saw the photograph and we decided to call it “Cloud Nine.”

 

Q:  One of the songs, “Devil’s radio,” is an assault on gossip journalism.  In what way do you feel victimized by that type of journalism?

G:  It’s not just gossip journalism.  It’s gossip in general.  The idea for that came from a church.   I was at the traffic light in my car, and there was this little church with a sign on the side of it that said, “Gossip:  The Devil’s radio.  Don’t be a broadcaster,” and I thought it would be a good idea for a song.   It says in the song:  gossip is in the magazines, it’s on the radio, it’s people talking, it’s in the films and in the clubs.  It’s everywhere, not just in the press.  I may be more sensitive to it because maybe there’s more gossip told about me and The Beatles than generally, but gossip is not a good thing.  It’s a negative thing, and I don’t want to know all those twisted little stories.

Q:  But you don’t feel victimized by gossip journalism then?

G:  No, because I kept out of it.  There was a period when I hated it, and then I spent a lot of time keeping out of the press.  And now, particularly in England, they’re quite nice to me.  Even the paparazzi, the worst of them, have a nice relationship with me.

Q:  But you lead the most extremely normal kind of life you can imagine.  You do a lot of gardening….

G:  Well, I haven’t been gardening very much because I’ve been making films and records, but I don’t’ go to nightclubs, and I don’t hang out.  I’m not the kind of person who fits easily into a gossip column.  They try to put me in occasionally and to make me like one of them, but I’m not really one of them.

Q:  Of Ringo Starr, who played on your album, you said, “He is like myself, only on drums.”

G:  We’ve grown up together for so many years, and I know Ringo as a great drummer, but he doesn’t practice.  It doesn’t seem to matter.  He just picks up the drumsticks.  For my songs, he’s very good.  HE listens to the song once and he knows exactly what to play.  He is the kind of drummer who never likes drum solos, so he just plays.  He keeps good time and instinctively knows when there 's a little piece that needs a fill.  It’s the same with me.  People call me a guitar player and in a way I am.  But I never practice.  There’s years and years in my life when I never picked up a guitar except to make a record.  I know I could be quite good, but I don’t practice enough.

Q:  Do you get the feeling that the older you get, the better you become?

G:  Yes.  For me, because when I was younger and with The Beatles with John and Paul it was hard for me to come to and get my confidence.  And I think a lot to do with playing and writing songs and singing, particularly vocals, is hard if you’re very very nervous.  Because your voice chokes up.  Now I’m getting older I don’t’ care what anybody thinks, and consequently, it comes over better.

Q:  Being the youngest member of The Beatles, did you have any particular difficulty establishing your own identity in the group?

G:  I wasn’t even trying to identify, or make an identity.  I was just in the band really, and every so often I thought I would like to get my tune in.  That was difficult in the beginning, and maybe more so after The Beatles split up.  That’s why I had so many songs.  It was difficult at times, but I didn’t mind.  I accepted being that member of the band that was in the middle.  I didn’t mind being that person.

Q: At the time of the split you were only 27.  You had a lifetime of experience; you had been through everything imaginable.  Can you describe who you were at that moment?

G:  In no less than 25 words?  I don’t know.  At the time when we split, we’d had too much input.  All that being close together, touring the world, mania, everything like that.  We needed a rest from each other, and we needed space to grow.  I think it’s important because we’re growing all the time.  That situation is just like a family.  You’re so close together, and then you grow older and you want to move and go into your own house and have friends.  And that was necessary.  I don’t have any regrets over the Beatles splitting up.  I think they did a fantastic thing in that short time.  But everybody wants them to get together again, and that’s impossible.  I think it’s better left as it is.

Q:  But you lived so extremely intensively.  Was there anything left to accomplish by yourself?

G:  Well, at the time The Beatles split up the first thing I had to accomplish was to record all the songs I had written during The Beatles days which never got onto vinyl.  That was “All Things Must Pass,” that for me was good.  It was like unburdening myself with all these songs that were basically from the past.  I wanted to get back into the present.

Q:  Nevertheless, you spent the majority of the years after the breakup of the Beatles avoiding publicity.  Can you say that you essentially have a private nature?

G:  Yes. I’m a private person.  I realize that having been in The Beatles, it’s not easy to be private all the time.  But even if you’re not in The Beatles, I think everybody needs some space, somewhere they can go to be quiet and get away from the day job.  That’s important for everybody.  And for me, The Beatles was like a day job.

Q:  You had the privilege of meeting Mr. Kissinger once.

G:  Yes, me and Henry, we’re great buddies.  Somebody told me he wanted to meet me when I was in Washington.  So they took me over to the State Department, and when I got there they brought me to his office, and he shook my hand and said, “Why did you want to meet me?”  I didn’t know what to say, because I was going there because he wanted to meet me.  I don’t know what I said, but I waffled something to get out of it, and he said, “Do you want to have a photograph taken?”  I said “OK” and he pressed a button, a photographer came in and took our photograph.  And that was it.  The Great Henry.

Q:  In what way was having a child changed your life?

G:  Well, it’s made me want to not kill myself too soon, you know.  Sometimes we go too fast in life.  And he makes me realize my responsibility.  I want to have the time to enjoy that relationship.  And I think everybody who is a parent knows that when you have a child you also can be that child and be the parent and your own father at the same time.  It puts you into three different periods of time.  Three generations can be experienced in one.  It’s a nice experience.

Q:  How crazy were you?

G:  Crazy.  You know, rock and roll is crazy.

Q:  What’s your son’s favorite type of music?  Yours?

G:  No, not mine.  He likes this album.  He actually thought the single should be the single before we finished making it.  But he likes Chuck Berry.  The thing he wants to do most is play “doo-doo-doo-doo-dang-dang-dang” I’m glad he likes that.  HE heard the Beach Boys doing “Surfin’ USA” so I played him Chuck Berry doing “Sweet Little Sixteen.”

Q:  And your favorite music, apart from your own?

G:  My own is not my favorite.  Not really.  I like it when I’m doing it.  But I like all kinds of music.  Ravi Shankar, Hawaiian music, Django Reinhardt, Robert Johnson.  All kinds of music.

Q:  Someone said that your home, Friar Park, is somewhat like Disneyland.

G:   In a way.  It was just a big old Victorian mansion house that was decaying, all broken.  They were going to knock it down and building a housing estate there.  I bought it because it was a great example of Victorian craftsmanship even though it was broken.  And I fixed it up because it was interesting.  It was like the National Trust in England, who preserve nice old buildings.  I like old buildings, so I wanted to do it like that.  But it does have a few crazy things to it.  We’ve got the Matterhorn in the back garden, the Blue Caves of Capri under the lakes.  They’re all bust up, really, not worth coming to see.

Q:  But the house is very important to you.  You’ve been celebrating it in two songs.

G:  Yeah, it’s a place where I can get privacy.  It is nice when you go into a house and you feel it’s a nice room to be in because it makes you feel good and it’s conducive to writing songs or feeling happy.

Q:  But was it exaggerated to say you’re doing a lot of gardening there?

G:  Yes, because the gardens were beautiful back in 1900, but then they were neglected and they got all overgrown.  And I just try to fix them up again, take the ivy off the trees and tidy up a little bit.

Q:  It’s a well-known fact that you believe very firmly in reincarnation.  What can you this firm conviction?

G:  Just by studying the Vedic script, or even reading was Jesus Christ said.  Jesus taught all about reincarnation, except in Constantinople in 441 AD they decided to get rid of that.  The Romans were then starting to feel there was something good about Christ, but they didn’t like some of the things he said, so they fashioned it to suit themselves.  And at that point in time, they cut out what he taught about reincarnation and the law of karma, which is, as he said “God is not marked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.”  Christ taught the law of karma and rebirth.

 

Ringo Starr at Tower Records

On October 20, 1998, Ringo Starr held a CD signing for his Vertical Man and Storytellers CDs at the Tower Records in New York City.     I find this to be really interesting because we all know Ringo has the "anti-autograph" Beatle.  I found this story about some fans that got the rare opportunity to meet Ringo and get his autograph in the Beatles Unlimited Magazine. 

Ringo Starr at Tower Records New York

By Frank C. Branchini

Beatles Unlimited Magazines

September/October 1999

 

Jorge Bernardo, President of the Drive My Car Fabulous Beatles Fan Club organized a trip to New York to see Ringo at the autograph signing at the Tower Records store at 66^th Street and Broadway.  Nine fans went, including Michael McKee, who runs McKee’s Beatle Museum in Virginia Beach, VA, USA.  There was virtually no traffic on the highways and we arrived in New York shortly before 3am.  To my surprise, the street of Manhattan seemed largely deserted.  The city that never sleeps, appeared to be largely asleep.  We drove by the piers on the West Side.  We passed the Circle Line Terminal, the new passenger terminal, and the aircraft carrier intrepid.  We arrived at Tower Records at 3am.  There were four people in line:  a woman from Franklin, MA who had arrived at 11pm, two men from Roanoke, and a man from Long Island.  Since the line was so short, and since several people in our group had never been to New York we drove by the Dakota and stopped very briefly before returning.  It was a beautiful night.  During the night the temperature dropped to 52 degrees but the sky was clear it was possible to actually see Orion almost directly overhead.  When the staff opened Tower Records people began questioning them about whether or not they would give out wristbands.  The person who appeared to be in charge spent virtually the whole morning standing on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes.  We were told:  There will be wristbands, there won’t be, the manager says they don’t work, they don’t have any but might get them from another store, they will make a decision at 11pm, 1pm, not before 2pm.  Soon after the store opened, some of the store workers ordered the waiting fans to move the line off the wide sidewalk on the Broadway side of the building and onto the narrow sidewalk on the 66^th Street side.  The problem was that there was a construction site on the corner.  The sidewalk was all torn up and there were heavy construction vehicles belching diesel fumes.  Halfway down 66^th Street was another construction site.  For a large part of the morning jackhammers and backhoes were in use and the noise was deafening.  The people who work at Tower claimed there were complaints for the next-door hotel about the line being in front of their building.  We were directly in front of a subway entrance.  Hundreds of people streamed in and out of the subway.  There must have been a school nearby.  Hundreds of kids poured out of the subway.  Throughout the day people asked what we were waiting for.  When we told them some laughed, some didn’t seem to know who Ringo was, and others seemed excited.

 

Around noon, someone who was using the bathroom at the Barnes and Noble store across the street announced that Sting was having lunch in the café.  Several people ran over and I heard that Sting was surrounded by a large group of people requesting autographs.  At lunchtime, I walked over to the Dakota and Strawberry Fields.  There were some flowers and photos on the Imagine mosaic lighting a candle.  Around 5pm they began constructing a stage in the center of the main floor of the store.  There was a raised platform with a table.  Behind the table was a huge “Ringo Starr” sign with raised white letters on a white background. On each side of the stage were large color photos of Ringo from the cover of the “Storytellers” CD.

Around 5:30pm store personnel suddenly began handing out wristbands.  They announced that anyone who was not present would not get one.  Two people from our group, which had been waiting for 14 hours were missing.  Two other people from our group ran off to find them.  Meanwhile, the Tower people giving out the wristbands were arrogant and obnoxious.  The people who had been waiting for so many hours closed ranks.  The people in front of and behind our group confirmed that we had been there since 3am and they, the people from Tower, eventually agreed to give the missing people wristbands, but not before one of them had been reduced to tears.   By around 7:00 people were packed around the building and down 66^th Street.  Someone said they counted 350 people on line and there was a crowd of press people (or people pretending to be with the press) in front of the door.  Inside the store, CD racks were used to block off the area in front of the stage.  When Ringo arrived the press people were allowed to take photos.  They were playing “Vertical Man” and Ringo asked people to sing along.  The people in the autograph line were told they could not take photos.

Ringo looked great.  Short hair, round sunglasses, trim beard, black shirt, and pants.  It’s true:  Ringo is the only Beatle to get better looking as he gets older.  I offered him my hand and he shook it.  I told him that I’d heard he was a vegetarian and he responded that he was “about 360 days a year.”  I went upstairs to try to take some photos from the balcony.  I watched as Ringo turned and smiled at each person as they approached.  Some people posed for photos.  Someone handed him a small child who he hugged.  Many people offered small gifts.  I gave him an SPCA pin.  Michael McKee gave him a T-shirt from the opening of the Beatle Museum.  Jorge gave him a Drive My Car fan club shirt.

Roy Young, who played with The Beatles in Hamburg was a guest at the Washing Beatles Celebration sponsored by the Drive My Car Fan Club.  Roy is working on a new  CD and wanted to ask Ringo to play on it.  One of our club members who talked to Roy told Ringo that Roy would like to talk to him and gave him Roy’s phone number.  Ringo said he would try to call Roy Young.

There was nothing to prevent anyone from going up the front of where Ringo was signing, so many people were standing there snapping photos.  Eventually, some of the Tower people ordered every one to leave.  One woman began to cry when she got to Ringo.  He took her hand in both of his and said “tears of joy.”  Every one in our group wanted to touch a Beatle and be touched by a Beatle.  WE all wanted to shake Ringo’s hand.  And we all did.  And we all wanted to say something to him that would require him to respond to each of us individually.  Every one said something to Ringo that he responded to.  As we departed for the long 4-hour drive back to Washington, we were all tried, but we were in ecstasy.

I heard that someone has a report on the internet which says that Ringo left the store at 8:15pm with many people still on line.   No announcement was made that Ringo was leaving.  Many people who had purchased “Vertical Man” and “Storytellers” tried to return them.  At first, Tower refused to take the ones which had been opened but later relented.

The person who put this on the internet attacked Ringo.  The person said he took off from work and had been there since 4pm.  Ringo should only have signed one CD to make the line move faster.  He said he had bought both CDs and returned them to the store.  If he is such a devoted fan, why hadn’t he already bought “Vertical Man?”  By and large, it got excellent reviews.  I think it is one of his best.

If this person had the whole day off, and if he is such a huge fan, why did he go to the store so late?  There were people in the line beginning at 11pm the previous evening.  At 4pm some people had been in line for 20 hours.  We had been in line for 16 hours.  We went that early because we wanted to be sure to get to meet Ringo and we did.    I understand the disappointment of not getting to meet Ringo, but I can’t comprehend the anger directed at him.

It was very gracious of Ringo to sign two items and to personally greet each person coming through the line.  It did slow things down.  It could have moved faster.  He could have signed autographs without even looking at the people in line.  That’s what many celebrities do at signing.  But it is not such a wonderful experience for the fans.  And it would be particularly disappointing to wait on line for 16 or 20 hours for such minimal interaction.

Thank you, Ringo, for being so gracious with us and giving us the experience of a lifetime!

Ringo Starr in Holland

 Ringo Starr in Holland

By Fenno Wekman

With a Little Help From My Friends

October 1977

 

One day Erik Bakker of Beatles Unlimited magazine phoned me and told me that Ringo Starr was coming on October 1, 1976, to Holland to promote his last record.   Erik asked me if I would like to come along with B.U. and to take some photos of Ringo at Schiphol airport.  I said yes and he knew that Ringo would arrive at 17.30 PM.  From Polydor, I heard that Ringo was going to promote his new long-play record, Rotogravure.

On October 1^st Erik and I went to Schiphol at 17.00 PM.  I went into the tax-free shop of Schiphol and found Ringo with two girlfriends while he was waiting for his luggage.   I went towards Ringo and told him that I was a fan of The Beatles and asked him for his autograph.  He gave me his autograph on a promotional paper which I carried with me.  I had more promotional papers with me and I gave them all to Nancy, who is Ringo’s girlfriend at the moment. 

I talked with Ringo for some moments and after that, Ringo stood up and went into the arrival-hall where Erik was waiting.  HE offered Nancy a bunch of flowers and Ringo a bottle of Dutch gin, and also gave him the B.U. magazines.   Ringo thanked Erik and went to his car and drove to the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.  We followed him.

When we arrived at the Okura Hotel some people were waiting for Ringo:  Henk of B.U., Jan and Raymond of The Beatles Work Group.  They all asked Ringo for his autograph and some other things. Then Ringo went into the hotel and we followed, meanwhile taking pictures of Ringo and Nancy.  They went upstairs. B.U. offered Ringo’s driver a drink and we asked him what Ringo was planning to do during his stay in Holland, but the driver knew nothing about his plans.  B.U. informed the others and me about Ringo’s plan though.  I went home but the B.U. staff stayed behind in the Okura hotel.  Erik asked if B.U. could get an interview with Ringo.  The answer was yes – but not now!  One of the reasons for this answer was that the name of the magazine was wrong.  The word “Beatles” was not allowed as part of the name of the mag.

On Sunday evening Ringo went to The Hague to visit the Hollie’s concert.  I knew that, and phoned a friend of mine named Jos of The Beatles Work Group and asked him if he wanted to go with me to the Congrewgebouw where the Hollies’ concert was held that evening.  We went there, to the artists’ rooms.  When we arrived there, a guard was standing in front of the door and told us we were not allowed to go in.  But after 15 minutes of talking to him we persuaded him to let us in.  We had to wait for about 15 minutes for Ringo, then he arrived with Nancy.  Jos asked for an autograph and gave Ringo a huge colour picture of Paul McCartney which I took at the Wings concert in Rotterdam.    Ringo liked the picture but he couldn’t take it with him, so he asked us to bring it to his hotel.  I asked Nancy about an interview and she said it would be all right.  To take this interview, we needed a tape recorder, but the only one we knew who had one was Erik in Amsterdam in the Okura Hotel.  I phoned Erik to ask him if we could borrow the tape recorder, but he wasn’t there.  That was a great disappointment for me, but there was nothing I could do about it.  We sat for about two hours with Ringo and he was singing old Beatles songs (like Octopus’ Garden) and had a lot of drinks.   After that Ringo went into the hall where the Hollies would sing.  When he saw the Hollies, he shouted a lot of funny things to them like “we want the air that you breathe!”

During the concert, Jos and I sat right behind Ringo and when the concert was over, we went back to the artists’ room and went to the bar where we had another drink.  I was sitting there for about 10 minutes when Ringo’s friend Hillery Gerrard came towards me and asked what my opinion was about the Dutch record company.  He talked with the manager of Polydor-International and told him that he wanted him to help us with the promotion of Ringo’s records, so this man gave his word that he would do so.  Hillery gave us a sort of sheriff’s star, the same Ringo was wearing.

 

In the meantime, Jos went home because he had to work in the morning.  I stayed behind.  When Ringo went to the Bel Air Hotel in The Hague, I went with him.  I the hotel I talked with Nancy, Hillery and Ringo for about 15 minutes.  Ringo gave me a drink and said to me that he would like to see me the next day and that I could go home to sleep and develop the film I made that evening and that’s just what a did.

The next morning, I took the train to Hilversum where Ringo was going to give an interview for the Dutch Radio between 12.00 and 12.30 pm.  I had to wait for about 20 minutes and then Ringo arrived.  So did Erik.  I was wearing a star so all the people who worked for the radio station thought that I had come there together with Ringo.  I said nothing about it because everyone would let me follow him.  The radio programme was live and the disc jockey was Joost den Draaier.  He welcomed Ringo and friends and started the interview, and I started filming and taking pictures.

After the radio programme Ringo went to a press conference in Bussum.  Erik gave me a lift to the Okura hotel.  We went to the lounge waiting for Ringo.  I was writing a letter to Paul McCartney because Ringo had promised me he’d give it to Paul with the colour photo from Rotterdam.  After 30 minutes Erik said to me that he would phone Henk, fellow editor of B.U.  As he went to the phone booth, Ringo suddenly came back into the lounge.   I went to him and reminded him that he had promised to give an interview to Beatles Unlimited mag.  Ringo asked if the name had already been changed.  I told him yes and he agreed to give the interview to Unlimited.  Nancy told me their room number, so Erik and I followed.  We went into the room where Ringo was waiting for us.  While Erik started the interview, I continued my letter to Paul.  Erik was very angry with me because he couldn’t understand that I was writing a little to Paul in the same room where Ringo was.  My task was to take pictures and he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t doing so. 

 After the interview, I went home, and the next day Ringo did a TV program which was his last in Holland.  Unlimited was there of course.  After the interview, I went home.  The promotion activities of Ringo for his new album had almost ended.  He only visited on Tuesday evening the only Dutch talk show and had his talk again.  When the talk show started with the opening tune, Ringo played the drums in the orchestra.  Besides the promotion talk, a promo film of one of the songs (made for Germany) was shown.  Unlimited was also present and took many pictures and films.  But their activities also stopped because Ringo went holidaying. 

Ringo stayed another week in Holland to rest from the very tiring weeks he had promoting his album all over Europe.  His children visited him one day.  After this week, Ringo went away very silently and nobody noticed him again.

 

Wings in Australia

 Wings in Australia

By Christine Fisher

Beatles Unlimited

January/February 1976

 

Wings in Australia.  I wish I had had more tickets, but I only had two for the two Melbourne concerts.   The other cities are hundreds of miles away and I wasn’t able to visit them.

 

Wings arrived at our airport Tullamarine.  I saw the cars and waited until the group arrived.  When they were there, I took pictures madly but none of Paul!  Five shielas were jumping up and down in Paul’s open window wanting autographs, so I only saw him for a split second.  Linda was laughing at my homemade T-shirt though and I knew she would remember me again if only the T-shirt.   Some of my friends were standing on the other side of the car and took pics of Paul.  Only 10 or 12 fans were there, but Paul said, “We have to go now” before I could do anything (smile, wave, press a shutter, etc.).  The car started to roll and I had to let go.

I was up early the next day to park myself in the queue outside the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.  Around the back, 3 T.V. trucks were setting up.  One guy was very friendly and let me see their equipment.  IT was very impressive, to say the least!  He told me Wings would arrive for the soundcheck at 1 o’clock.  I was used to waiting a whole day due to the day before at Tullamarine, so the wait was only a hardship due to the burning Australian sun beating mercilessly down on the gathered fans.  First ten fans but as the hours passed it reached 50-100 fans.

The brass-section arrived at one o’clock with Joe (English).  He walked right past me and I was the only person to recognize him it seemed!  I took a bad photo just for posterity.  Later he strolled back up the driveway and talked to my Armstrong Studios friend, on the other grass-island from me.  He walked back down.  We could hear one of the security guys' walkie-talkie and Paul would be one hour late and arrive at two.

At ten past two Jimmy arrived with a lady a d a 6-7-year-old girl.  I got one picture of Jimmy looking right at me and yet another one that’s decent.   Paul arrived at 3.10pm (2 hours and 10 minutes late).  Buy this time there were too many fans around the back of the bowl.  Paul was sitting on my side and Linda came out after him.  I shot out from behind the rope to give Paul a present (which had always been my dream).  Some girls were screaming and I had to repeat myself to be heard.  “A present,” I said simply.  Paul was surprised, “Thanks!” and walked toward a lady and talked to her.  “Linda, Linda, a present,” I called.  She looked ever so delighted and I am sure it must have been her first Aussie present by her expression.  I know British fans give them flowers so to be different I gave her some expensive nail polish.   I was knocked out by her delighted expression!  I could tell she remembered me in my grubby little Wings T-shirt and London badge (sent to me by an American).  It was as if her face said “So this is what that kid was buzzing around for at the airport.”  She said no words but had an expression that said it all.  They both talked to this lady and I took a good pic of them both looking back at me.  A girl in a light blue t-shirt is also in the photograph and with her mouth open in mid-question.  I was later to learn that the lady was from the television news and that it was filmed.  The film showed just how little time I had and the girl in the blue t-shirt was the one who shook Paul’s left hand.  She had to ask twice because he turned around to wave to everyone.  One of my photographs had the door’s window in the way which reflected one of the “heavies” instead of photographing the gorgeous Paul who looked so much better one foot away from me than on TV. I was so disappointed about that shot!

In the concert, the bowl had only a limited number of seats and I was so unfortunate as to have a ticket for the lawn section.  But I picked my way through people and ended on the very front of the lawn and in the centre to look at the stage.

The heavies ordered all fans with lawn tickets to get out of their queues and go to the centre-queue -- one hour before the gates opened.  What lunacy!  14,000 fans all running to the one queue!  Just so that seat ticket owners (a very small number, maybe 1,000 but no more than that) could enter in style.  It was just a struggle to breathe, so there was no reason to worry about originally having 20 people ahead of you changed to 2,000!  One girl not owning a ticket fell out of a tree and was put in an ambulance.  The bowl was crowded when I eventually got in, but I managed to squeeze myself to the choice lawn spot.  It wouldn’t have been possible if the concert hadn’t been filmed because a camera platform was my saviour.

We weren’t allowed to stand up or dance and I was so upset by that.  I sneaked down the right-hand aisle and tried to shout up to Linda to tell the blue meanies (the security) to back off.  She couldn’t hear me as far as I could make out but she could see me.  I was almost crying as she smiled down at me especially as I was sheering woefully from between iron bars as if I was the Band on the Run.  Blue Meanies told me to go back to my section or they’d kick me out, so I crawled back to my camera spot.  My roll of film had run out and I didn’t take the camera to the front what a sin.  I left near the end of Band On the Run because I wanted to see them leave.  I could hear the two encores and I saw all but Paul from the drive-way as they walked between party and stage.  Paul was doing a TV interview.  But the Blue Meanies were being very offensive.  Each time they came up the drive, we would whisper “here come the Blue Meanies” and we would jump behind the rope and try not to get into a fight.

Because I’m only 14 and my father had been waiting 3 hours to take me home, I had to leave at midnight.  

 

The next day, Friday, I was exhausted but still arrived at the bowl early in the morning – especially as I had to be quick before public transport went into their strike.  I wasn’t going to be stuck 10 miles out of town!

When I got to the bowl one guy was ahead of me in the second queue (three entrances) and I went and got two rolls of film developed at a special place while I waited 3 hours for the work to be completed.  Without transportation I had to wait in the shop for the whole time.  I walked back to the bowl and had no idea of the time.  I found the guy in front of me had disappeared so I was FIRST in the queue!!!  I went around the back and met a girl from interstate who was attending her 6^th Aussie concert.  She said she saw me the day before.  I wish we had met before because she was very clued up and really had her wits about her.  She was wearing Paul’s guitar strings given by a roadies – Aussie bodyguard actually.

The cars drove right down to the bottom of the drive.  Paul got out of the other side this time and had his own movie camera.  I know both Paul and Linda waved to my friend who was a long way behind me (I had sneaked more than that halfway down the drive with a heavie in front of me).  Paul was cute with a camera, but I am not sure he filmed me because I was out of place and not on the two sides of the walls (The drive went into a hollow).  There were only about 20 fans this time which was good.  I shouted to Linda, “Good shot of you Linda!”  

It was fun to spend the sunny afternoon listening to Wings doodle musically but we couldn’t see a thing because the bowl was fenced and covered with blankets – including blankets on the gates!  Occasionally the wind would blow a blanket and we could see Paul playing some very catchy rhythms on the drums but later let Joe bang on them.

Joe was great on those drums in concert, and Jimmy played one or two good guitar bits. I took some photos from near the front in an aisle but ran out of film again.  I couldn’t get their attention either.  We were able to dance a whole lot better the 2^nd night and we all filled the aisles.  I squeezed myself up to the front.

 

There was the stage then 10’ drop, a fence and then the seats.  Linda threw an apple during “Go Now” and the guy next to me caught it.  He had to put it down his pants to stop everyone from killing him.   I missed everything the group threw, but I got a red and yellow balloon, a red and yellow candle, a Wings packet of matches, a roadie thrown a cap of Paul’s from top of his piano, a flower and someone’s Polaroid throw-away part.   I wanted one of the three sweaty towels
but missed.  Joe threw three pairs of drum-sticks too. 

Cards with pictures were thrown, but I missed.  I couldn’t afford any of the Paul scarves on sale.

I had bruises all over and could hardly walk afterwards but it was worth it.  I loved being in the front, legs stuck in the railing and all!

 

Wings Over Holland (Part 4)

 The 4th and final part of the story of when Wings came to Holland in March of 1976 from the point of the writers for the Beatles Unlimited Magazine (March/April 1976 issue).   This last part tells what happened after the concert and the next morning.  

I Can’t Tell You How I Feel

Paul was going to do an interview for the press and television after the concert.  After we had recovered from the concert, we drove to Alphen to get some more sets of Beatles Unlimited.  We planned to give these sets to Paul when we could.  At ease, we drove back to Amsterdam to the Hotel and we arrived there at about a quarter past midnight. 

We parked the car and started waiting again.  At one o’clock Koos came back and to our surprise, he said that Paul and company had already gone to sleep!  It seemed the interview was done right after the show and that the group had hurried to the hotel to get to the showers.  A big disappointment we went to bed.

Every Morning Brings a New Day

The next morning, we were back early at the hotel again.  We talked to Koos for a while and to Jan, the head of the security services.

As nothing happened at 10 o’clock and it didn’t look like something would happen, we went away to do some shopping for a ballpoint and flowers to give to Paul and company when they would leave the hotel.

When we came back to the hotel at 10.30, it appeared that the departure had been delayed again.  They would take a plane later and if they would miss that one too, the whole arrival in Paris would go wrong.

At last, a few minutes before 12 o’clock they seemed all in the hall of the hotel, and also the limousines were ready.

And there they came out:  First Denny and wife.  I gave him a bundle of flowers and he thanked me and shook my hand.   Then Paul came.  “Oh, this is wonderful!” he said as I gave him the flowers.  “Thanks for the very good concert,” I said.   “Thank YOU, sir,”   I said the same thing to Linda as I gave her the flowers.  “I’m glad you liked it,” she said.

“Joe, thanks for the very good concert yesterday.”  

“You liked it, ey?”

Jimmy said he would give his flowers to Linda, but when I told him she’s already had flowers he gave them to Myra Amiel, one of the fans outside the hotel and a subscriber to Beatles Unlimited.

 

Ride On My Fast City Line

Quickly we jumped into the car (again) and followed the limousine through Amsterdam to the airport.  Near the motorway, I passed the car Paul was in and drove ahead of the limousine to Schiphol Airport.  I stopped in front of the first door of the departure hall, but unfortunately, the limousine stopped in front of the second door.  Jan ran outside to the second door to shoot some pictures, while I went into the first door and ran across the hall.

It took some time before they entered the hall, so I was ready when at last they entered.  I took a pic of Paul coming through the door and as he passed me, I said, “Paul, I have another present for you.”   I gave him two sets of Beatles Unlimited and said, “Next issue will be called Wings Unlimited.”  “Are you publishing this?” he asked.  “Yes.”

Then I heard a female voice beside me: “You should do a Wings special now!”  It was Linda.  At that very moment, I was standing between Paul and Linda.  Apparently, she hadn’t heard what I said to Paul, and I told her we would do a Wings special now.”  “Here’s Jimmy, you should take a picture of him for the special,” Linda said.  But I tried to make one of Linda, but I had some trouble focusing on her.  I said something and Linda noticed that.

“Is it too close?” she asked and she stepped backward and gave me the possibility to focus.  At the same time the Wings party was walking slowly to the customs.  We were making pictures all the time and took a shot of Paul walking with Mary, holding the sets of Beatles Unlimited in his hands. (see cover of this issue)

Before they walked through the customs, they waved at us, and then they walked around the corner and disappeared.  Exactly 43 hours after they entered Holland they left again.   They left some very happy people behind who are proud to have experienced this. 

Wings over Hollard (part 3) - Concert Review

Here is part 3 of the Wings in Holland story from Beatles Unlimited from March 1976.   In this section, the BU Crew are at the concert and telling what happened.   Apparently, they are not fans of Linda's singing.  

 Sitting In the Stand Of The Sports Arena

The show was due at 20.00 hours, so at half-past seven we walked into the Ahoy Sports Palace, and with the house lights on we could take a close look at the impressive equipment Wings had on stage.  

The cruel, sadistic, mean, vicious security men of Acket-Mojo (the agency that promoted this gig) were already flocking together in front of the stage ad telling any photographer with a flash to watch out as flashing was not allowed during the show.

We were glad to notice Paul’s bodyguard Koos right in front of Paul’s place on the stage.  He apparently seemed to be in charge of this gang of bouncers, but he knew us and had a nice chat with us once again.  

As our seats had not such a favourable position as promised (some 20 metres away from the stage) we decided to sit in the aisle right in front of the stage and stay there for the rest of the show.   At ten past eight the moment was finally there:  the house lights went down and the electronic score-board of Ahoy read “Paul McCartney and Wings.” 

There they were:  Paul in black trousers and silk yellow and black jacket, Linda in what seemed to be an undergarment that had been put together in the wrong way, Denny in a white suit, and Jimmy and Joe in unpretentious clothes.

Tuning of guitars, plunk-plunk, and some deep bass notes – boom boom – then the intro of “Venus and Mars” with Linda on synthesizer.  When Paul started singing the first line the audience cheered and clapped loudly.  As on record, this song went straight into “Rockshow.”  Paul seemed to be a little bit hoarse but that didn’t matter.  The band was really cooking.  Paul’s bass was very prominent and those deep sounds went right through your body.   “Rockshow” went into “Jet” without pause.   Loud cheers again.  Paul crooning as if he were 22 instead of 33.  “Yeah yeah yeah” he screamed into the mic.  The harmonies were not always as tight as on record (Linda?), but it sounded great, it sounded real!

“Thank you, how are you doing?  Alright?” Paul said after this long first number.  Then the intro of “Let me Roll it.”  Paul’s voice had a lot of echo, but his voice didn’t sound half as much like John Lennon’s compared to the record-version.  After the first chorus, something seemed to go wrong, for Paul looked angrily at Jimmy and Denny, and the latter walked to the mike grinning and said “That was different.” 

The brass section sounded very good in this song.  Denny introduced the next song: “Rotterdam, nice to see you again.  This is a song from Venus and Mars and it’s called ‘Spirits of Ancient Egypt.’”

 

Followed by the first alteration of the programme as compared to the British and Australian tour:  Medicine Jar,” in the other tours played in the third part of the show.  Jimmy introduced it as an “a song I wrote” and they rocked away with some great guitar-solos by Jimmy.

Paul went to the piano and went into “Maybe I’m Amazed” with Jimmy beautifully soloing around Paul’s original solo. Paul sounded a bit “husky” again, but sang very soulfully.  Denny whispered some indistinguishable words into the mic and introduced “Call me Back Again.”  Paul switched from bass to piano again and said, “Listen, if anyone wants to clap their hands or stomp, or…here’s a good tune to do it to.”

And the audience went completely berserk as they heard the song “Lady Madonna”.  Beatlemania revived around me and in me.  The Beatleiest Beatle singing “Lady Madonna.”  After the song the people shouted and stamped until the band did a small encore of the last bit.

Jimmy, who had played bass on “Lady Madonna” stayed on bass for the next song, again a Beatle song:  “The Long and Winding Road.”  Again, thunderous reactions from the audience.  Although Wings are a very good band.  It is clear that the majority of the audience had come to hear the old Beatles songs, sung by the mast himself.  “Like to hand you over to my wife over here, Linda,”  Paul said after this beautiful song.  Loud cheers.  “Thank you very much,” Linda said.  “This next song I guess you all know.  It’s from the James Bond movie.  It’s called ‘Live and Let Die.’”   This song was truly one of the highlights of the show.  Not only was it a perfect rendition, but the show element was also very prominent:  smoke bombs exploded perfectly time and in that fast instrumental interlude the stage lights went out and a stroboscope lighted the group.  Denny (on bass this time) made all sorts of movements, which gave an odd effect. Sometimes it looked like an old silent movie.  Great!

The audience got the chance to recover from this spectacle for a few moments, for full stage lights went on and the band exchanged electric instruments for acoustic guitars.  Denny sang lead on the first lines of “Picasso’s Last words.”  Again the harmonies were not always perfect, but Paul’s showmanship and the musicianship of the rest of the band gave the overall impression of the most professional band I’ve ever seen.

“Drink to me” went straight into “Richard Corey” which still seems an odd choice for Wings, but Denny’s vocal was great and everyone enjoyed it, so why bother?

“Speed of Sound” someone called.  “You’re a bit too early,” Denny said.  “Hasn’t been released yet!”  “Ja ja schon” Linda said, probably trying to speak Dutch, but ended up in German.

“Have you heard a rhythm box?”  Paul asked.  “This is a rhythm box” and through the huge speaker, you heard a soft Latin-American rhythm.  Jimmy joined in on the guitar It was the introduction to “Bluebird.”  This version, although again not perfect in the vocals, sounded much better than on the record!  Howie played a wonderful solo and got a thunderous ovation for it.  “That’s Howie Casey on saxophone!” Paul said.   And introducing the next song: “Listen, do you wanna stomp your feet?  D’ya wanna do that?”  you just clap your hands, stomp your feet, you just rock away.”  Skiffle rhythm and cheers from Linda and Denny: it’s ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face,’ the oldest Beatle-song in the show together with “Yesterday”.  Denny played the solo on twelve-string guitar, standing up from his chair, Jimmy played bass on this one, while Joe came back to add a bit of drums.

The band left Paul alone on the stage who exchanged his twelve-string acoustic for a six-string acoustic, played a few riffs, and went into “Blackbird.”  After the first verse, someone broke the silence with a loud scream, followed by other loonies who started clapping along And Paul the eternal crowd-pleaser even joined in by stamping his feet, which altogether ruined this beautiful song.  Enormous crowd reaction again, Paul strumming his guitar a bit, saying “Thank you!”

 

Then the long-awaited highlight of the evening: “Tell you what, see if you remember this one.”  The first chords of “Yesterday” followed by the first line caused an indescribable roaring ovation of the 8000 in the hall.  Paul was appropriately accompanied by a string ensemble (a keyboard sounded like lots of violins) and the horn section   A beautiful song, and as far as I’m concerned, the show might have ended here.

 

But the show must go on and the band returned.  Pau went to the piano playing the intro of “You gave me the answer,” getting what sounded like a rather luke-warm applause after the reactions to “Yesterday” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”  The horn section played the parts just like on the LP, which made this rendition almost perfect, but for me, the spirit seemed to have disappeared.

“Are you having a good time anyway?”  Paul asked the audience.  Of course, we did.  Then Denny introduced the next song “Magneto and Titanium Man” a good clap-along song.

Paul stayed behind the piano for the next song, which was received with loud applause:  “A song for the lovers in the audience.  I hope there’s lots of you out there, alright?” and then he sang “And when I go away….” It was “My Love.”  Jimmy again HAD to play the solo Henry McCullough HAD to play on the original record, but he improvised some nice licks around this solo.  And although Paul’s introduction to the solo “O.K. Jim” sounded sympathetic, it would not do Jimmy much harm if he had the freedom to play his own solos, he is very capable of that, I’m sure. 

The next three songs were actually the most interesting for those who knew the British and Australian concerts, for here were three new songs from “Wings at The Speed of Sound,” put together in one block.  The songs they replaced were “Junior’s Farm”  “Go Now” and the “C’moon/Little Woman Love” medley.

“We like to do a couple of tunes now, from our new LP.  And its’ call, the LP is called “Wings at the Speed of Sound” and uh this here tune is called “Let ‘em in.”  Paul said.  And there was the ding-dong bell, just like on the new LP.  The song was played well and especially the horns sounded very good, with Tony on trombone and Stevie on flute. For the show-effect Denny played drum-band tympani, which was inaudible at the back of the hall.  I heard from people who sat at the back, not strange since Denny was not standing near a mic.  But close to the stage you could hear him drum a military-like rhythm.

Paul came from behind the piano and took up the bass again.  “This one’s from the new album.  Wanna shake your bum?”  Paul murmured, “Get up and let’s see you.”  Linda shouted, “This one’s call ‘Silly Love Songs’” Paul said and off they went with a very prominent bass-sound.  After the song Paul and Linda urged the audience to stand up and dance.  Denny introduced the next song as “Beware my love” and at last there was some real action in front of the stage.  The bodyguards had to allow the people a bit closer to the stage and dance to the rocking “Beware my love.”

It was strange to see the two groups you could divide the audience in:  people of over 20 or even 30, obviously the “original” Beatle-fans, but also many teenagers, the new Wings fans.   But it didn’t matter, everybody was shaking now, old or young.  Jimmy was almost pressing his wah-wah pedal through the floor.  Joe almost broke his ticks and Denny played a great rock n roll piano.

The Paul introduced the horn section: “First of all, starting first on the left over there we have Mr. Thaddeus Richard (Dixieland Sounds).  And then coming this way from the banks of the Mersey in Liverpool we got Howie Casey (Rawhide western tune).  And then swinging to our right a bit, we have from Texas, the one and only Slow Steve Howard (Thirties music and a low ‘Thank You.’).  And then last but not least we have Mr. Tony Dorsey! (church-bells).  OK we’re gonna play a little tune which is entitled “Letting Go.”  Jimmy played a great guitar again on this one, unfortunately, Linda was not capable of a controlled vocal (again…).  The next song “Listen to What the Man Said” was played a bit too fast but Thaddeus’ soprano-sax and Linda’s synthesizer sounded great.

“Listen, we got one more song, so thank you, you’re a nice audience, Rrrrrrrrotterdam” Paul said while Jimmy was fooling around in the back playing “Blackbird.”  The last song was “Band on the Run.”   Alas Linda sang out of tune again, but things got better as the song got faster.  There was a nice film projected on the screen behind the band, first showing the cover-photo of “Band on the Run,” which later had the people on the picture moving.  IT was just a short film of the photo-session for the LP.

“See you, thank you, bye bye” Paul shouted after finishing “Band on the Run,” but everyone knew that after a few minutes of clapping and “more more more” the band would return.  And yes, there they were “Do you wanna rock a bit” and Jimmy played the slide-guitar intro of “Hi Hi Hi.”

Again, the band left for the dressing room but returned some minutes later for another encore.  “Alright you got on more,” the Maestro said.  That song was the expected “Soiley,” a very heavy rocker and a great closer for the concert.

Although the house lights didn’t go on, the audience didn’t massively ask for more, but the preservers knew Paul would return with flowers if they kept shouting after a few minutes the clapping, stamping and shouting got louder again and finally the group returned:  “We haven’t got any more songs, but we got some flowers.  We’ll see you next time!”  And they threw flowers and pictures into the excited audience.

The end of a very memorable concert, great music, great show.  But I must say one thing:  although Linda turned out to be a very charming woman, who acts very natural to the fans, I still don’t’ understand why she is in this band.  Especially her singing is below par.  Sorry, but it’s true. 

Wings Over Holland (part 2)

 This is the 2nd part of the story from  Beatles Unlimited (March/April 1976) about a group of fans that spent the time Wings was in the Netherlands following them around and talking to them.  

I’ll Be Waiting For You Baby

The next morning we were there (Jan had been to the Neil Young concert, but had not seen Paul, who probably stayed backstage).  First, we went to buy some more film (in total our team shot over 800 photographs in two days!)

Back at the hotel, we talked to the day-porter who could give us no more information than that Paul was intending to leave at two o’clock.  Some time later we talked to Koos, who said Paul had been to see Neil Young, while he himself had gone to see Rory Gallagher.  He said Paul would be leaving at 2:30. 

As I went to the tobacconists to buy some chewing gum, Joe came out with Steve Howard who walked to walk to Amsterdam’s major shopping street the Kalverstraat as Steve wanted to buy a leather bag.  We still don’t’ understand why they didn’t talk a taxi or one of the hired limousines.

BU: “Hi Joe.  Do you think we could have a short interview with you?”

Joe:  “Well we’re going to be leaving at three-thirty and we’re not going to be back until about midnight tonight.”

BU:  You’re going to have a soundcheck in Rotterdam?

Joe: Yeah.

BU: Well, we’re going to Rotterdam, we’re going to follow you.  Do you think you could squeeze it in?

Joe:  Well, if it’s possible…if there’s time, yeah, who are you with?

BU:  Beatles Unlimited.

Joe:  Well, if there’s time, yeah.  I’ll do it, we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

Of course, I didn’t get a chance to talk to Joe again, which is a pity for I had some interesting questions in store, like “Are you a hired musician of Paul, paid a regular salary, or are you a member of the band with all financial risks involved?”

Joe and Steve went in the direction of the city, returning some minutes later wet from the rain and “not feeling like walking.”  Steve took a limousine and went to town and Joe went inside.

In the same period, Bob Ellie returned with a pile of pictures, but he answered my “Got any pictures?” with a hysterical “Nooooo!”

Thaddeus went out by taxi to have his instrument fixed at Dijkman’s musical store at the Rozengracht in Amsterdam.  We also talked to Henri Audier of Bovema again who said Paul had to be in Rotterdam at two thirty which we were sure they wouldn’t make, judging from Joe’s words.

In the afternoon, the minutes seemed to creep.  At about two – Paul, Linda, and the children were in the bar having a drink.  They went upstairs some time later and Joe, Jimmy, Denny, and other members of the band came down and waited in the lobby.   Koos came outside at about half-past three and ordered the limousines to be stand-by.

 

If I Ever Get Out of Here

It seemed according to Koos, that Joe and Jimmy were fed up with waiting for Paul and they decided to leave for Rotterdam. Thaddeus, tony Dorsey, Steve and Howie Casey came out, followed by Jimmy and Joe.

I went up to Jimmy to tape some more statements.

BU:  “Any new songs in the show?”

Jimmy:  Yeah, off the new album.

BU:  New songs by you too?

Jimmy:  Yeah..

BU:  Wino Junko?

Jimmy:  That’s right….

BU:  So no more Medicine Jar?

Jimmy:  Sorry???

Jimmy was called away by someone and left me with the problem of Wino Junko, which was not in the show.  The next car was for Brian and his companions, while Steve Ellis was called back to take another car (“Every minute counts!” he murmured). 

And then there they were:  Paul and Linda.

Paul came out with his hand folded as if in prayer, saying “Achtung, Achtung” (which is German for attention).  As a girl wanted him to sign a Venus and Mars cover I walked up to Linda, so said:

Linda:  Hi again.

Henk:  Hi, how were the Danish and German gigs?

Linda:  Beautiful, really nice…

Henk:  Any new songs?

Linda:  Three new songs…

Henk:   From the new LP?

Linda:  Yeah ….

Henk:  I heard it on Luxembourg

Linda:  Do you like it?

Henk:  Yeah, it’s great…

Linda:  Great …

And then Paul (who was fooling around with a little boy who shouted “It’s the Beatles!”) and Linda were ordered into one of the limousines.   Paul and Linda were in the back, with Denny and his wife in front of them.   We ran to Erik’s Daf ready to start the race to Rotterdam.

 

And When I Go Away

We managed to keep up with the limousine quite nicely in Amsterdam (incidentally passing the Amsterdam Hilton where John and Yoko spent their Bed-in in 1969), but as soon as we were on the motorway, we lost them in the busy traffic.

We managed to get quite close to them again once, but then their driver drove past a red traffic light at a very busy roundabout about halfway to Rotterdam   When the light went green again, Erik did his utmost to overtake them in the suburbs of Rotterdam and Linda waved at us.

We went in the direction of the Ahoy Sports Palace, but they suddenly overtook us, and the driver took a very strange sideway.

We managed to keep in touch, though Erik almost fainted behind the wheel as a result of the great pressure of driving 80km in a town and 125 on the very busy motorway.

When we got near the hall we were joined by two more cars with fans and when we got to the artist entrance about 20 fans were waiting there.  The driver used an old Beatles trick to get the fans away from the entrance:  he drove past the group of fans and then seemed to be heading for another direction.

The group of fans followed the car (as we and the other two cars did, Erik driving backwards very fast) and then in the parking ground the limousine turned around and went back to the entrance.

The three cars (including ours) following the Mercedes almost collided but Erik stopped.  We quickly got out and ran to the entrance.

I managed to say some words to Paul and Linda about the drive from Amsterdam, but it was too busy to tape interesting quotes.  After they went in, we went to have our dinner before the concert.