McCartney Still Dazzles in Wings ( Houston 1976)

 McCartney Still Dazzles in Wings

By Dale Adamson

The Houston Chronicle

May 5, 1976

    It's been over 10 years since Paul McCartney set foot on a stage in Houston. He was a Beatle then. Now he's the leader of Wings, which performed its second US concert Tuesday night at the Summit, but there was still a lot of old Beatle-crazed excitement surrounding the show.

     From the throngs pressed against the glass, waiting for the doors to open as long as three hours before the show, to the ear-splitting communal scream that went up when the lights finally went out around 8:30pm to start the show and rouse the packed-in crowd like a stick stirs up an ant bed.

     But after a tentative mic testing "Hello" and the visual thrill of special effects such as smoke, bubbles, and colored spotlights on a mirrored crystal ball, the concert was underway, and McCartney proved quickly that he hardly needed the rest of The Fab Four to dazzle the audience his own way. 

    The keynote of the show was its variety. A full two and a quarter hours of invigorating and refreshing music, well-paced and so impeccably carried out that only technical flaws stood out. McCartney has immersed himself in Wings so thoroughly that in performance, at least, the band no longer comes off as McCartney's backup group.

     After hard-hitting versions of "Rock Show," "Jet," and "Let Me Roll It" with lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch wrenching out licks powerful enough to justify the band's earlier postponement of the tour when he broke a finger, the band slowly diversified. While McCarthy sang most of the songs with plenty of his familiar echo and the boyish exuberance that has been his trademark since his musical coming of age in Liverpool, he stepped back for guitarist Denny Laine on "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" and McCulloch on "Medicine Jar."

     After a moving "Maybe I'm Amazed" with McCartney on piano and McCulloch duplicating McCartney's early post Beatle lead guitar line perfectly. The band rocked through "Lady Madonna", then pulled back abruptly for the hymn-like " Long and Winding Road", turning the two Beatles songs into their own.

     "Live and Let Die", which was as comically explosive as the James Bond film it was written for and wreaked enough musical havoc to set the stage for a finely tuned, homey acoustic guitar sing along. Sitting on simple cane chairs, McCartney, wife Linda, Laine, and McCulloch harmonized movingly through "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me), then turned about for an impromptu rendition of Paul Simon's chilling "Richard Corey" led with fierce determination by Laine.

     The harmonies soared again on "Bluebird" and Laine handled the quick 12-string lead on the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face" without flinching before leaving McCartney to fly solo on a beautifully finger plucked "Blackbird."  Wings' horn section, (Thaddeus Richard, Howie Casey, Steve Howard and Tony Dorsey) buoyed up McCartney's gentle phrasing on the classic "Yesterday", as the rest of the band returned to the stage.

     Laine helped lead the well deserved thunderous ovation for that one. The show had reached an emotional peak that left songs like "Magneto and Titanium Man" and "My Love" in a lull before drummer Joe English, one of the band's most vital assets, caught fire under "Listen to What the Man Said", "Let 'Em In", and Lane's powerful vocal and harmonica work on "Time to Hide."

     Linda McCartney, whose role in the band is primarily extramusical, was cheated out of one of her few truly vital musical contributions when her microphone went out on the first harmonizing round of "Silly Love Songs", but the band was rolling through the tense  " Beware My Love", the taunt "I Feel Like Letting Go", and the climatic "Band on the Run", during which the giant screen hanging over the stage finally proved its usefulness with a delightful cover photo come to life, film that diverted the crowd's attention through most of the song. 

    There was a full five-minute standing, stomping, cigarette lighter, burning ticket stub, flashlight, ovation before Wings returned for an encore. McCartney donned a cowboy hat, tossed on stage, and kicked off a frantic "Hi Hi Hi."  This led to another ovation and the final turning of rock and roll "Soily" in front of an eerie laser beam spray that cut through the drifting smoke from behind the band. The last thing McCartney said was, "See you next time!" before walking off hand in hand with Linda. Hopefully, it won't be another 10 or 11 years before that next time.

The Night of the Hurricane II

 

On January 25, 1976 Ringo Starr became part of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.  They performed at the Houston Astrodome as part of the Night of the Hurricane II.   This concert was a 7 hour extraviganza that cost $12.75 for a full day ticket.  

The concert was to raise money for Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who was a boxer that had been wrongly convicted of murder.  Carter wasn't released from prison until 1985, after spending over 18 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.  Carter had written a book while in prison in 1974, which Bob Dylan had read and wrote a song about, claiming Carter was innocent.  

The concert in Houston was the second fundraising concert, with the first being at Madison Square Garden in New York City.   I couldn't find how Ringo exactly became involved.  It is interesting because he was not playing the drums publicly in 1976.   

The concert was said to have had a lot of sound issues and concertgoers were very angry about the bad experience. 

Yoko Ono's Screaming Nightmare (1971)

 Regardless of how you feel about Yoko, you have to admit that no parent should go through something like this.  I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been for Yoko during this time.  She had legal visitation rights and Anthony Cox was going against the law by withholding their daughter from her.  Sadly this is something you hear about time and time again with custody issues. 

Yoko Ono's Screaming Nightmare

No Writer Listed

London Evening News

December 20, 1971

    Yoko Ono has been waking up screaming every night for two years. Beatle John Lennon said today. Lennon, talking of the great strain the long custody battle for Yoko's daughter has placed on their marriage, added, "I'm living with a woman that's crying out for her child. Spot on four o'clock every morning, she wakes up with some nightmare about Kyoko. And I'm not kidding you."

     Lennon was talking at a press conference before flying to New York after a vain attempt to see Yoko's daughter. The Lennons arrived in Houston over the weekend after a judge signed a court order giving Yoko's former husband, British filmmaker Anthony Cox, temporary custody of eight-year-old Kyoko, and awarded Mrs. Lennon visitation rights.

     But Japanese-born Yoko said that when Cox put her daughter on the telephone on Saturday, she said in a very unnatural voice, "Mummy, I don't want to see you."

     A week before, Yoko said, Kyoko had phoned her in New York and pleaded, "Mummy, Mummy, I miss you. Why don't you come see me right away in Texas?"

    The Lennons, holding hands at a press conference in the hotel room where they had spent 30 hours waiting to visit Kyoko, said, Kyoko sounded like a 'human machine' when she spoke to her in Houston on Saturday.

     "I didn't come here, all the way to Texas, not to take the opportunity to see her," Mrs. Lennon added in obvious distress. Lennon said how he and Yoko had planned to show Kyoko "all the great local things."

     Lennon's lawyers are expected to go back to court in Houston tomorrow and may seek to have Cox held in contempt  over the court order, which provides for weekend visits and extended visits at Christmas and summer holidays.

Man! I'm a Beatle! (Houston 1965)

 

Man! I’m Beatle!

By Hal Roberts

The Houston Post

August 20, 1965

 

Hal Roberts is 18, a drummer, and a senior at Lamar Consolidated High School.

 

Well, I saw the Beatles, but I only heard them a little bit. Even without the screaming, I probably couldn't have heard them much, but when I could hear them, you gotta admit those guys, they are great. Everything tuned perfectly, and they sound better than on television, on The Ed Sullivan Show.

 When we got to the Sheraton-Lincoln, there were a lot of people out front. We met Mr. Don Cork (manager of the Sheraton), and he was looking like he was sweating it out and having a time at the press conference.

There were a lot of press people going around, testing the lights. Brian Epstein came in (Epstein, or Epstein's organization, handles the Beatles). He is the nicest-looking one of the whole bunch. He had on a pinstriped suit and a tie.

There were a lot of girls at the press conference. I guess they were high school editors or something. Dick Dobbyn of KILT came in and told the girls that if there was any sobbing or shrieking, or any crying or anything like that, they would be run out the door by one of the policemen.

When the Beatles came in, the girls acted very nicely, well-behaved. I guess they were scared they might get thrown out. Maybe they were just scared being so close to the Beatles.

 I've seen them in movies and on TV, and they looked exactly the same. They needed a haircut. I mean, even with long hair, they needed a trim or something. They weren't dressed up. They looked pretty gross, but they looked that way in all of their movies. So I guess that's the way they're supposed to look.

One of the questions asked one of the Beatles spokesman before they came in was sort of silly, but interesting. It was about their hair. Some girl asked, “Do they do their own hair?” The spokesman was kind of amazed and repeated the question. Then he said, “They wash it and grow it themselves.”

 I guess the press conference was okay, but I don't think they care too much for the press. I didn't like their attitude too much. I think they ought to have a little more respect for the press. It doesn't matter how big a person gets; he should feel a little more respect for the press and answer the questions. I guess I thought that Paul McCartney's attitude was worse than any of the others. He acted like he didn't really care much for newspapers. George Harrison, he kind of acted like it didn't make any difference at all. I think he should have taken things a little more seriously. I know they've gone through this 1000 times, but the people who write them up are important to them. I thought John Lennon was the most adult of the group. He answered the press Okay, I thought he said a whole lot. He was married before the Beatles got big, and has written his own book, so I guess he's a little more adult.

Someone asked him if he thought they were good musicians. He said they didn't know music, but they do play it a lot, but they didn't read music like a lot of musicians. But he said that a lot of musicians can read notes, but they are not musicians. They are mechanical.

Someone asked Ringo Starr whether he wanted a boy or a girl. He and his wife are expecting a baby, and he said he didn't care, as long as it was one or the other. I heard a girl next to me say that she read the same thing in a magazine. I think Ringo didn't have much to say unless he already had an answer ready.

I'm just giving my impression of the press conference. I'm really sold on the Beatles. I liked them before they got here. You've got to admit they're just great.

 Everyone sure did tell the girls how to act at the Coliseum. Russ Knight and James Bond came on first. Both of them told the girls that if they started jumping out of their seats or running up to the stage, the show would be stopped.

 Everybody stayed in their seats, but the screaming was loud. I was sitting up high, and in the back, I was right under a loudspeaker. Every now and then, I would hear the Beatles. What I heard sounded great.

 I watched a little girl across the aisle. She was really turned on. I thought she was going to pop. Her lip was quivering all the time the Beatles were on, but she didn't faint or anything. She behaved pretty good, except that every now and then she would jump up on her chair. I kept waiting for somebody to shout, “I love you, George or Paul”, but they didn't. People make too much noise. I really don't think the Beatles should perform. Maybe they should just make people pay to see them without performing. I really don't know why somebody's lip would quiver like that, though.

More Guards

 

More Guards Plea By the Beatles

By Don Short

Daily Mirror

August 20, 1965

    The Beatles ran into mob hysteria here today, and it led to demands for stronger police protection. They were besieged by 1,500 tough Texan teenagers as their plane landed at the city's airport.

     The youngsters broke through police barriers and rushed the plane for half an hour. Paul, John, George, and Ringo were trapped on board as screaming fans climbed all over the plane. The Beatles were eventually rescued by a forklift truck, but they still had to run the gauntlet. 

    Fans showered them with shoes, cigarette lighters, and handbags as they were carried to the waiting car.

     Safe at the hotel later, John Lennon exploded, "We've no intention of being lynched." A shaken Paul McCartney added, "We were petrified. We didn't know what the fans were going to do next."

    The group's manager, Brian Epstein, had demanded stronger police protection for the Beatles' concert later today.

Nearly 300 Beatles Fan Taken to Hospitals (Houston 1965)

 

Nearly 300 Beatles Fans Taken to Hospitals

By George Christian

The Houston Post

August 20, 1965

 

The Beatles created something like mass hysteria on Thursday, when they came to Houston for two performances in the Coliseum. Nearly 300 girls had to be carted off to hospitals from the Coliseum area in 12 ambulances, estimated R.S. Bill, an officer of the volunteer Mercy Corps.

 His vehicle alone handled 65, mostly suffering from hysteria. Bill said some were stretched out in front of the Coliseum, still “bawling and squalling” on Thursday night while awaiting empty ambulances; hundreds of ammonia capsules were given to the fainting fans. Bill said the Beatles were such hot cargo that they had to be carried to their Coliseum concert in an armored car.

 As befitted nine-day millionaires, they will make at least a million from their nine-day US tour. The grinning singers from Liverpool were slipped into the back entrance of the Coliseum in an armored Motor Service Inc van at 4:40 pm. The car was decided as a necessity by the police after the Beatles' boisterous reception at the international airport early Thursday morning. After the Beatles arrived here from Atlanta, youngsters engulfed their charter plane, walking on the wings and wrapping themselves around the windows.

“They were scared to death,” Ira Sidelle, The Beatles' company manager, said later. “They didn't want to go out unless they could have protection.”

 “Terrified”, agreed.Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, at a press conference at the Sheridan-Lincoln hotel Thursday afternoon.

 A quarter of an hour after the armored van brought them, the Beatles went on stage for a 35-minute stint, during which they were pelted with jelly beans, paper, and even keys. (The Beatles are supposed to love jelly beans).

They smiled good-humoredly through it all, but from the minute they stepped out before an audience of about 10,000, they could hardly be heard at all. Youngsters, predominantly girls, stood on chairs and shrieked continuously. Some held up pictures of their favorite Beatle. Others had homemade signs bearing messages of affection. One sign that hung out over a box said, “The Beatles are here. The Beatles are here. Now we have nothing to fear. Sue and Nancy”

 Starr rapped his cymbals on a high platform, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison sang and played electric guitars on the stage below. All of them were wearing dark blue suits and high Black Beatle boots, and Lennon had on a small blue cap.

 Grinning through the din, they sang such favorites of theirs as “Twist and  Shout” and their new number, “Help.” But the real big shrieks came when Ringo joined in to sing, “I Want to be Your Man,” and all four did “A Hard Day's Night”.

 The police blocked off a perimeter around the stage with sawhorses and held the line behind it. When excited youngsters began to push forward, the concert had to be stopped. Once the Beatles fans standing on chairs were asked to sit down, they were back on the chairs again in seconds, Captain Tom Sawyer of the police department said about 185 policemen were on duty.

 After the Beatles sped away, Kathy Bell, 14, was crying happily outside the Coliseum. “They threw a kiss to me,” she wept. “John and Paul. I knocked on the window, and John and Paul threw a kiss to me.”

 Suzette Cloete, 15, of New Orleans, was weeping too. Why? “Because I love them”, said Suzette, as if it ought to be obvious.

 Beetle admirers from as far away as Alabama milled around the Coliseum and the Sheridan-Lincoln. The Beatles slept late Thursday morning. They breakfasted on grapefruit, scrambled eggs, shredded wheat, and tea, and turned up for a press conference, including many teenage reporters.

 At 2:30 pm in the hotel, they smoked and drank water, chatting among themselves, answering a field of questions. A sign reading "The Beatles" fell behind them as they talked.

As for an impression of Texas, Lennon said, “We haven't seen much of it. We've only seen Dallas and here. We nearly got killed both times.” Lennon, who was wearing a white jacket and a black and white striped shirt, said, “You've been reading the wrong books.” When asked if the Beatles had been knighted.

McCartney, in a gray jacket and shirt, dodged questions about marrying the English actress Jane Asher, “It's been reported,” he said, “I never said it.  The newspaper seems to know .”

Starr, the nattiest of the four in a black and white checkered jacket and a red and white jersey, will soon become a father. He says he does not care whether it's a boy or a girl. “I don't mind as long as it's one or the other.”  He said the Beatles agreed that they have the most fans in America because it's bigger.  “We don't know when our popularity will run out”, that they “only hope we're still alive at the end of their tour”, and that they never tired of being the Beatles. “We'd give it up if we did,” said Lennon.

 Other Beatalisms:

 Lennon on space shots:  “You see one Space Shot and you've seen them all.”

 Lennon on musicians:  “We don't read music. A real musician is someone who can play. If he can read it's all the better.”

 McCartney on music:  “We like colored American groups.”

 McCartney on teenage girls nowadays:  “They're about the same everywhere.”

Lennon on Elvis Presley:  “He's still the king.”

 Harrison was in a beige jacket and a white shirt on Press speaking on McCartney's reported engagement: “They'll make it up because they're short of a story .”

After the press conference, one of the teenage reporters was carrying a glass of water out.  “Ringo touched this water”, she said. Another had John's water glass.

 The Beatles reappeared in their armored van to sing for a sell-out crowd of 12,250 in the Coliseum Thursday night. They went on as they had in the afternoon, after an hour's entertainment by the shimmying, Discotheque Dancers, four athletic singers called Cannibal and the Headhunters, the instrumental Sounds. Inc., singer Brenda Holloway, and the King Curtis band.

 Bill Weaver of KILT, which sponsored the show, estimated the total attendance at 22,250 and the total receipts at $111,250. So the Beatles took away about $72,000. After expenses, the Variety Boys Club gets the rest.

The Troop left the airport and headed for Chicago. Immediately after Thursday night's performance, two of the younger fans at the sawhorse barricade near the stage during the evening performance were Pete and Tommy Conrad, sons of astronaut Charles Conrad. Asked if he was a Beatles fan, 10-year-old Pete replied, “I guess so. “Tommy, 8, was asked if he was disappointed that his father's space flight was postponed. “Not too much,” he said. The boys attended the performance with Mrs. Nancy Robbins of Clear Lake City, a friend of the Conrads.

 Overall, observers agreed that the evening performance was more orderly than the afternoon one.  “It was a more mature crowd”, said one of the mob of mostly teenage girls.

Another town ---another press conference

 

Houston -- We Have a Problem

 March 12, 1972 -  Houston, Texas 

Looking for Kyoko in Houston

 

December 30, 1971

Wings over Houston '76

 

May 4, 1976 -  Wings in Houston, Texas

Seeing Wings in Houston

 

The continued story of Doylene following Wings on the Over America Tour of 1976 from the May/June 1976 issue of McCartney Ltd. 

Luckily, the next morning, Cindy was able to find a late flight out of Houston for us with the help of a travel agent, but we had to change planes and couldn't get one later at 11:00 which meant we'd have to leave the concert early, but that would certainly be better than missing it altogether, so we were on our way.  We arrived in Houston just shortly before the concert was to began so we grabbed a bite to eat and some film and then made our way to the Summit.  the three of us were among the last in but somehow we ended up in front of the center stage anyway, so for a while at least after the concert started it was absolute heaven.  I was separated from Mary Ann and Cindy almost immediately by the pushing crowd but luckily the direction I was pushed was close and closer to the stage, so I ended up with my position during the first set with PAul on bass but then things started getting crazy and I was nearly killed but those first few songs were worth death.  

This is where I really noticed how slim he'd gotten and how good his hair looked -- longer on top with it cut just above his ears on the side and touching his shoulders in the back.  He was wearing another new outfit, same pants, but this time with a long-sleeved suit length black jacket which had gold (and silver) sequins across the shoulders, pink satin lapels in the front, and a black knit top underneath.  Plus around his neck was a were a Sings and a Speed of Sound necklace.  I only had the opportunity to take about 18 photos before my arms were pinned down by the very enthusiastic crowd but what I got for fantastically close including a couple of him looking right in my direction. 

Then it was mayhem!  Paul asked if we were having a good time once and I gave him a dirty look!  Then Denny and Jimmy finally asked the crowd to move back, but of course, no one paid any attention; not even when Paul later repeated the request himself.  I also remember yelling "YES" when Paul came to his "does anybody know what a rhythm box is" line but if I'm lucky that was lost in the roar of the crowd.  I really remember visual things from the concert much more than audio, probably because I was lucky enough to get so close for once.  So forgive me if that's what I've tended to dwell on here.  I had to start making my way out of the crowd during "Magneto" or "My Love" bu that was a long tedious process so it wasn't until during "Time to Hide" that we actually went walking out of the building.  I finally got to the lobby and walked the length of it a few times before Mary Ann and Cindy and I finally found each other!  It was so hard to walk out just before "Beware my Love" but at least we'd gotten to come and see most of the show.  Finding the car (where our suitcases were) in that maze of a parking lot was another nightmare though nothing compared to what lay in store for us at the airport.  Between having to go thru security 100 times and fighting with people and forgetting my suitcase on the first plane after it was already locked up, the trip home was a real barrel of laughs.  We couldn't believe all this crap actually happened to us in one night, but as always, looking back, it was worth it...but never would I have gone through it for anyone else!

No problems in Houston

 

August 19, 1965 -  Houston, Texas

There was a problem when The Beatles first arrived in Houston:  Fans all attacked the airplane once it landed and were hanging off the wings.    It was insanity!   Things had calmed down during the press conference 

Houston

Cowboy George in Houston

November 24, 1974 -  Houston, Texas.   I am sorry but that has to be one of the goofiest hats I have ever seen one of the Beatles wear.   It isn't exactly a cowboy hat, but I think that is the look George was going for that night. 

A real nail biter

Zoomed in on Lennon

Memories are fading fast

Live From the Sam Houston Coliseum

the Sam Houston Coliseum

The Beatles in Houston is just one of those venues that we have a lot of information on, which is awesome.     The Houston show was the first Beatles concert bootleg I remember hearing and I loved it!   John was losing his voice and sounded terrible, but at the same time it sounded like he was having so much fun.    There is a book about the Beatles in Houston.  It is called Beatles '65 and was written by Joe Tunzi.  

Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski

Photo from the collection of Sara Schmidt.  Please ask before posting

Photo from the collection of Sara Schmidt.  Please ask before posting

Photo from the collection of Sara Schmidt.  Please ask before posting.

Photo from the collection of Sara Schmidt.  Please ask before posting.

"Quiet!  Quiet!"   Photo from the collection of Sara Schmidt.   Please ask before posting.

Photo by Bob Bonis