An online Beatles fan club for and about Beatle fans
I think this a great photo of early Wings. I bet they all wore black and red to promote Red Rose Speedway and purposely sat on the red chairs, but they look so cool! Why does Denny S. have "Red Rose Speedway" (is that a sticker?) on his boot? Check out Linda's heels!
If you watched the Man on the Run documentary at the theaters over the weekend, and stayed until after the credits, you would have seen this sweet little interview with Paul where the director of the film shows Paul some memorabilia from his Wings days. One of the items shown was this Wings jacket that Paul wore in concert. Paul tried it on and it was a tad snug, but it fit him. After scouring photos of Wings from 1972-1973 for over an hour I spotted one concert photo of Paul wearing the jacket! I thought you'd like to see it. Anyone know the venue?
This review has been a year in the making. I bought TheMcCartney Legacy Volume 1 at Beatlefest in April 2023. While I had good intentions of reading it, I never got around to it because of the size of the book. It is a very big, heavy book, which can make it physically difficult to read, especially for me, who read a lot at airports, airplanes, and hotel rooms. But when it was recently announced that Volume 2 is available for pre-orders, I realized that I better read Volume 1.
Authors Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair wrote an amazing volume documenting Paul McCartney's life from his wedding in 1969 to the end of 1973. The research was amazing. The quotes, the dates, the details. If you are a fan who wants the details, then this book is for you! I was completely blown away by the amount of research these two men put into this book. I read nuggets of information that was completely new to me and had some rumors cleared up. I did not find a single error in the book, and they document each quote, so you can look things up on your own.
In reading the book, you can't help but feel sad for Paul as the Beatles ended. He was the odd man out and he was hurt. He turned that pain into creativity and recorded some of what is now considered classic McCartney songs. But as you read, you just can't shake that overall sadness of the Beatles breaking up.
In the book, Paul is a controlling, bossy musician who seems very out of touch with how "real" people live. At the same time, he also comes across as the sweet, charming Macca that we all know and love. I feel that Paul had forgotten how "regular" people lived. The members of Wings were barely scraping by and were having a hard time making ends meet. While much of Paul's Beatles money was tied up in litigation, he wasn't hurting for funds. Denny, Denny, and Henry had to take odd musician jobs on the side, which I don't think Paul liked very much - he expected them to be on call whenever he needed them. Paul also used his time in the studio much like he did with The Beatles. You all have seen Get Back and know how the Beatles jammed for a long time and goofed off with their instruments. They then recorded some of the songs they were working on and then jammed more. Out in the non-Beatles world, people have schedules and don't have time to jam or goof around. I don't know if Paul ever realized how inconvenient people were around him. However, because he is Paul McCartney, they didn't want to speak up (except for Glyn Johns).
I loved seeing that John and Paul's relationship during this timeframe wasn't as vicious as we all thought. Paul and John might have taken jabs at each other through songs and letters to the editor, but they were still talking on the phone and communicating. One thing I had never heard before was that John asked Paul and Wings to perform at the One to One concert in NYC for the children of Willowbrook, and Paul considered it. With the issues with Klein still in the air and Paul was a little ticked off at John, he decided against it. But the mere fact that John asked him and he considered it was mind-blowing to me. As a matter of fact, I was surprised just how often Paul says that there would be a time when John, Paul, George, and Ringo could appear on a stage together -- not as The Beatles -- but as four musicians. Paul wasn't as ready to throw away his Beatles past as I was led to believe.
Linda comes across as a loving wife who supports her husband and children. She knows she is the butt of the joke when it comes to her keyboard playing and singing but continues with the group because Paul wants her there. At the same time, Linda also can be seen as someone with a hot temper, a little stuck up, and obviously dislikes any woman being around her man. She really dislikes Jo Jo (Denny Laine's girlfriend at the time) and treats her very poorly right after she gives birth to her baby. She sees Jo Jo only as a groupie who is trying to sleep with her husband and not as Denny's girlfriend and mother to his child. That was disappointing and also made me realize why so many fans disliked her -- that was the only side of her that they saw.
I think I could go on and on about this book. It was just so good! It was one of those books that I didn't want to read too fast, because I didn't want to miss anything. I would read a chapter and then digest what I just read.
The question I have, though, is that the book has been heavily marketed toward the general public. This book is in major bookstores and museums. I don't know why. What casual Paul McCartney lover would want to spend money on a huge book that details the animals Paul and Linda had at Cavendish? I really see this book really for those of us who are hard-core fans. And I know you all don't like it when I talk this way because a fan is a fan is a fan. But really -- I don't agree. There is a difference between those of you who visit this site every day and will spend over $1000 on John Lennon's Mind Games box set and those of you who like to hear "Hey Jude" and "Band on the Run" on the radio. I don't see how this book would appeal to both groups. When you publish a book, they say you have to know your audience -- who exactly is this book for? And let me be transparent. Maybe I am just jealous. My book is not in bookstores and has barely sold. I know it is a niche group of people that will read it, and I have to be fine with that. I would assume this book was the same way, but perhaps I am wrong.
This is the Amazon affiliate link to purchase The McCartney Legacy Volume 1. Any purchase made through this link will give this site a small percentage of the purchase. The money made during the year from the Amazon link is used for the annual fees to keep this site online. Thank you for your support.
Paul wearing the Macca strawberry silk jacket and that funky striped shirt -- wow!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
