The 1972 Wings Tour bus

A few weeks back I posted a photo of the tour bus Paul and the rest of Wings used to tour Europe in 1972.   It is a really groovy bus.  According to everything I have read, it was painted by Paul himself and used in 1972 to transport Paul and his family and the rest of the Wings group from gig to gig.   What ever became of this amazing bus?   Well...as of 2011 it was listed for sale on Craigslist!    Craigslist of all places?    I am not sure who was selling it exactly or who bought it.   You would think something that awesome would be sold by an auction house and bought by some rich museum or something?   I don't get it.   Anyhow, one of the readers of this blog, Roland, said that there was a friend that rode on the bus and Roland was awesome enough to get the information about that "Magical mystery ride."    

I was 15 and we had been hitch-hiking to Örebro early in the day, barefoot, bell bottoms, with an Indian tunic, and long-hair. It was sunny, I remember. We went to Idrottshuset where it would be, and there we saw the BUS! We were there much too early. Paul’s and Linda’s children were there with some personnel, roadies? And we had the great HONOR to get INTO the bus and ride a short distance in the parking lot as they would move it a little. We had been there sooo long waiting ;)  The experience was amazing for us; I was completely overjoyed, found it difficult to believe that I was there! Later during the show I was dancing like crazy, and we got the spotlight on us for a while - my moment in the limelight. A magical evening, totally. Have seen him several times after that, but Örebro was special.

I have also included an article from the local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda from the day.

Nerikes Allehanda, 9/8 1972

WINGS CONCERT

Idrottshuset, Örebro August 8, 1972,

Paul McCartney and Wings in Örebro was a pop event that surely will never be repeated. Faced with well stocked seats in Idrottshuset he and his pals entertained for just over two hours. Because of all requirements there was a delay of the show for about a half-hour. But when they finally got started it was full out.

There he was in his baggy pants and with his special McCartney bend in his hips. When he then struck his bass guitar with his left hand there was as a shiver through my body. Is it really Paul McCartney who is here? He is such a sought after catch in England and the United States — and here he is in Örebro ...   

Having heard the last Wings single "Mary had a little lamb" one can easily be led to believe that the band is getting soft but the live show immediately demolished the preconceived notions. Although the soft singel hit was on the repertoire the difference between disc and live is huge.  It was quite different andso was the rest of the material which was mainly taken from the "Wild life"-album.

But there were also new songs such as "Henry's blues", a finely balanced blues with the distinguished guitarist Henry McCullough at the front. The other guitarist, Denny Laine, also did a few solo numbers. In his "Say You Don't Mind" he had ample space to exhibit what an exceptionally good singer he is.   

As expected, Paul McCartney stood for most of the song, and on songs such as "Smile Away", "Mumbo", "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" and "Wild Life" he sang himself properly sweaty. His bass playing was also something odd, and together with drummer Denny Seiwell was a nice rhythmsection and formed a good basis for the two guitarists.   

If Paul's wife Linda has a place in the band has been discussed. It took nearly half an hour before I even discovered her on stage. She sat behind the keyboard and not only looked pale, her playing was too! When the end came together for a little more difficult piano playing it was her husband Paul who took over. It was in "My Love", a finely balanced McCartney ballad, and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" both getting a much tougher treatment in Idrottshuset than on disc.   

It was almost full to capacity in the hall. Yet there was never any real atmosphere despite the fact that Paul repeatedly had the audience dancing in front of the stage, but it was clear that there was a world star who was here. The performance was not only a major event for all Beatles-fans. Paul and his buddies  played temselves considerably sweaty and were well worth the two bottles of whisky, which had been promised to wait in the dressing room.

Paul McCartney, gitarr, bas och sång
Linda McCartney, keyboards och sång
Denny Laine, gitarr, bas och sång
Denny Seiwell, trummor
Henry McCullough, gitarr

Other songs performed:
Bip Bop
Smile Away
Mumbo
Give Ireland Back To The Irish
1882
I Would Only Smile
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
The Mess
Best Friend
Soily

Jumping in

I have always read stories about fans who jumped into the water when the Beatles were on a boat ride in Amsterdam in June 1964, but I had never seen photos of the fans.  So I started looking for some, and stumbled upon this one.  john seems to be getting a kick out of this.

Not the Magical Mystery Tour

I think the Wings 1973 tour bus is just as if not more groovy than the Beatles Magical Mystery tour bus.  I wonder if they were both painted by the same people?   Can you imagine seeing this parked in the parking lot?  (Much thanks to Guus for posting this on the solo forum this week)

Leaving for New Zealand

Paul leaving for New Zealand. Photo taken by (are you reading for this?) Greg Swan! :) I don't know what made me happier when I found this photo in an old issue of Beatlefan, the happy look on Paul's face for the fact that Greg took the photo.

Beatles pilgrimage 1970's style

Pat Kinzer sitting at a desk at Apple

A fan visiting Paul's childhood home in Liverpool in the 1970's

Photo taken by Clive Sawyer in 1978

The door at 3 Savile Row in 1978
This photo is for sale at www.clivephotographer.com

Some photos Beatles fan took of Beatles sites in the 1970's way before any official Beatles tours were offered.

Beatles New York Walking tour

Not part of the tour...just me being a dork and trying to do the John Lennon pose at the Statue of Liberty

The Dakota building

Imagine....

Myself with my cousin and mom at Strawberry Fields

Radio city Music hall

Ed Sullivan theater

The Plaza hotel

I enjoy traveling and being the Beatlefan that I am, wherever I go, I like to find the Beatles connections to the places where I visit. This year I went to visit my cousin who lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved from southern Illinois to the east coast 15 years ago for work. She is someone that I grew up and it meant a lot for me to come visit her. My mom wanted to come along as well, so we flew out to see her. She promised us a few days in New York City (where she works) and a Broadway musical. When she said that we could go into New York city, there was one thing on my mind: The Beatles!

The Beatles history is rich in New York. Not only did John Lennon live there for almost 10 years, but it is where the Beatles first came to when they arrived in the United States in 1964. I wanted to see those places that I have watched so many times on newsreel footage. And so through the fest for Beatle fans, I found out about Susan Ryan and her Feb 4 walking tour of New York.

The tour was a lot of fun (well maybe not for my cousin who isn't a fan, but oh well). I was able to see a lot of the places that were connected to the Beatles (Ed Sullivan theater, Warwick Hotel, Radio City Music Hall) and hear the stories behind the places. I think I was the most excited about see the Plaza Hotel, where the Beatles stayed in February 1964. It looked just like it did on in the video and photos that I could almost still hear the sounds of "We love you Beatles" being sung outside. Like any good Beatles New York tour, it ended with a trip through Central Park and a stop at the Imagine Mosaic at Strawberry Fields and the Dakota Building. It was very special for me to go there (even though I had already visited those spots in 2000), because I knew John Lennon enjoyed living there and walking in that area so much. I chose not to dwell on John's awful death that occurred at the Dakota, but instead on the enjoyment of meeting his fans and taking Sean for walks through that doorway.

Susan is a great tour guide. Sure I already knew 99% of the things she said, but it still was great to hear her personal stories that went along with the places and just to be re-reminded of things while you look at the actual building. I was disappointed that we didn't see Paul's offices in New York. She didn't want to stop by because Paul might be in town (more the reason to stop by if you ask me....but oh well) although she did point out where it was located and said that is something we could do on our own. I also would have liked to have seen John and Yoko's Bank Street apartment, but even I realize that you can't do everything in a Beatles tour in one block of time.

All in all this tour was well worth the time and if you enjoy seeing Beatles history in person like I do, then you should book a tour with Susan the next time you travel to New York City.

George in Japan

I had scanned these photos of George during he and Eric Clapton's tour of Japan just a few days before the awful tragedy struck that county. My heart really goes out to the people of Japan as they work on re-building their lives From what I read, George really seemed to enjoy the tour of Japan. Sadly, I read that the reason why he wanted to tour again was because he thought it would help him quit smoking.

Tom's amazing meeting with McCartney

August 14, 2010 is a day that Tom and his son are not soon to forget. On that day, Paul McCartney played to a packed crowd of fans at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And on that day Tom and his son had the good fortune to be called up on stage after the sound check that day by Paul McCartney. Here is the wonderful photo of that event! This shows Paul signing Tom's shirt. I am sure that I everyone here at this blog can't help but be a little jealous of Tom while being happy for him at the same time. Way to go Tom!!! by the way...this photo was posted with permission!!

Heritage Auctions

The Heritage Fall Auction is currently going on. They have a few interesting items but what caught my eye the most was the items that belonged to Susan Sky. Susan worked for the NYC Beatles fan club and has an amazing story about her time there! She got to meet the Beatles in 1965 (where John cheated in a Scrabble game! LOL!) and again in '66. She is auctioning off her photographs, autographs and other memorabilia. She also wrote up a very charming story about her time working at the Beatles fan club. What a fun job that must have been!

George live in 1974

These pictures were taken by someone on flickr's aunt. Really good for fan taken concert photos! They were from the Detroit show.

Not really fan photos....(Tours)

Paul in L.A. in 1964


Arriving in Cincinnatti, Ohio in 1964



Backstage at Shea Stadium 1965

These three photos belong to Tony Bramwell (I believe) and show the Beatles backstage before the Portland, Oregeon concert in 1965

These three photos were taken in the backstage trailor in Cleveland Ohio in 1966 by the sponcering radio station. They were sold to fans through the station

John backstage at Candlestick Park 1966

Here are photos that are "snapshots" taken by folks on the crew or close to the Beatles. These people aren't "Fans" but their photos still have that "fan feeling" to them....