McCartney Backstage Full of Enthusiasm (Toronto 1976)

 

McCartney Backstage Full of Enthusiasm

By Peter Goddard

Toronto Star

May 10, 1976

    "I recognize this place", said Paul McCartney, looking at his dressing room ceiling in Maple Leaf Gardens last night. "I remember its shape."

     He looked at his wife, Linda, and smiled. He was last in the hall 10 years ago when he was a Beatle and hadn't performed live anywhere in North America before starting his current tour last Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. 

    But as tired as he looked after his two-hour appearance, he seemed pleased at being backstage once again on the road. Yet only he and Linda were enthusiastic. Ignoring a table full of pastries in front of them and a roast that was quickly carted out the door, they talked about how much they loved the tour. Everyone else in the tiny room, from friends to tour helpers, seemed slightly in awe.

     How did he find the Toronto audience last night? Wasn't it a bit subdued? "Well, perhaps we could have played a little louder," he said, "but it was all right. We've always heard that audiences here had good taste."

     When he said that, you felt, just for a moment, that his Beatle days weren't all that far behind. There was something sly, mocking in everything he said, as if none of it was to be taken all that seriously, as if rock and roll was still a bit of a giggle. 

    He certainly wasn't worried that his band Wings might not be met with a strong reception. "We knew that our record sales had been good," he went on, "and we knew that if our records sold well, that there were several million people who bought them, and they'd be there to see us."

     McCartney merely shrugged when asked if he had heard that other ex-Beatles may be in his audience. He seemed more interested in talking about things that mattered, like songwriting. "I don't know how songs come about," he said. "They come out of the blue. You might just be sitting down plunking some chords when an idea comes. Once you got the first line, it's easy."

     And what were his influences in the days when he was growing up in Liverpool, when he met John Lennon at the Liverpool Art Institute, and the pair won a contest as the British Everly Brothers?

     "Oh, he said, Buddy Holly and...."

     "Wayne Cochran," added Linda.

     "and Gene Vincent."

     Suddenly, a road manager let it be known that they all had to get in their limousines to head for the airport and back to New York. Otherwise, McCartney might have gone through the entire history of rock and roll.

Yesterday with McCartney Reflected the Good Times (Toronto 1976)

 

Yesterday with McCartney Reflected the Good Times

By Peter Goddard 

The Toronto Star

May 10, 1976

    "And yesterday came suddenly...." sang Paul McCartney. Only the occasional flicker of matches gave any indication that there were over 18,000 people listening to him sing the melancholy line in Maple Leaf Gardens last night.  He sat alone on stage, cradling his guitar as a spotlight cast a glow around his dark hair, and there was such silence that it seemed everyone was holding a breath lest the song end too soon. 

    The song was "Yesterday", one of the five Beatles tunes McCartney included in his two-hour performance. It was, in its way, the dead center of calm in the middle of the thrusting, rocking, glossy concert.

     It was what the evening was about, not because it was an old Beatles song and there was an ex-Beatle singing it live for the first time in 10 years, but because it so aptly reflected McCartney and what he was trying to do on stage. Last night was a bit of yesterday. 

    It started 40 minutes late due to a delay in the flight plan for the 33-year-old singer, his wife Linda, and his band Wings. But once underway, the concert became pure sensory pleasure. As dry ice filled the stage at one point and green laser beams blinked in a strobe so spectacular at another, all its surfaces, both visual and aural, became charged and sensual. 

    Outwardly, it was designed like any other large-scale rock show to play the Gardens. Certainly, it was anticipated as the biggest of shows. Scalpers had a field day outside the Gardens, getting up to $300 for a pair of tickets, and $1 McCartney posters were being hustled as fans rushed in, hoping that the rumors around town were true, that the other ex-Beatles, John, George, and Ringo might get up on stage with McCartney. 

    No one seemed disappointed, however, when the others didn't perform or even show up, for that matter, for there was no reason to be disappointed. McCartney and Wings recreated the essence of an old Beatles show, this time with a first-rate sound system and for an audience willing to listen more than scream. Yet this show was unlike many of the recent big Garden efforts, both George Harrison's show and Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review of last year attempted to be something more than just a concert, like The Rolling Stones' appearance. They were seen as events. They tried to be meaningful in a way that went beyond music. 

    The Wings concert was music pure, if not so simple, because the band was still fresh after playing only four dates on its 31-concert tour, estimated to earn $5 million. Each song sounded far more alive and had far more presence than the same songs on McCartney and Wings' various albums. Concentrating on tunes from the Venus and Mars, Band on the Run, and Wings at the Speed of Sound albums, the group meshed as a tight-knit unit. 

    Lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch was allowed only a few brief solos; otherwise, the work of drummer Joe English, guitarist Danny Laine, and McCartney himself on bass and piano was integrated to the point of being self-effacing. Linda McCartney's keyboard playing and what passed for singing were mirror-window dressing. 

   Only one non McCartney song was included. Paul Simon's "Richard Cory" performed by McCartney, Linda ,McCulloch and Laine with acoustic guitars. Everything else, from "Lady Madonna" to the last song "Soily" (as yet unrecorded), was not just sung by McCartney, but through his presence, reflected all the yesterdays of The Beatles.  The yesterdays when rock was self-indulgent, giddy with good times and fun. 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Here is a photo of Ringo with his Mum in the 1980s (I would guess 1985 when Ringo shaved his beard to play the Turtle in Alice in Wonderland).

Wishing all of the Mothers out in Pepperland a happy day!  

Back at an airport

 May 10, 1971 

Paul McCartney Magic Still Lives (Detroit 1976)

 Paul McCartney Magic Still Lives 

By Anthony A. Rocha

The Saginaw News

May 8, 1976

    "A living legend." Few people can live up to such praise in today's music. Under the generic term of "rock", Paul McCartney stands out as a giant. His two-day stop in Michigan, Friday and Saturday, was met with an enthusiastic response in the manner given to the original mopheads, the Beatles, in the mid-1960s. 

    Wings, his group, and the Wings Over America tour brought to Detroit's Olympia Stadium a musical entertainment package matched by very few groups in today's rock concert scene. More than 18,000 fans, both nights, jammed into the hockey arena for a glimpse of their hero. That the McCartney influence on music stretches more than 12 years was evident in the program, which offered the tunes of McCartney and Wings along with classic standards from the McCartney-Lennon era. "Yesterday" and "Lady Madonna" are examples. 

    It was the magic of one of the top performers in today's music industry on the concert stage, complete with effective lighting and pyrotechnics, a songwriter and showman, McCartney recaptured the Beatlemania fans and drew a sizable number of younger people without memory of the mid 60s. Its musical quality has given rise to a wide range of acceptance since it is not simply limited to rock and roll. 

    The experience of the weekend has to be noted in terms of total impact: the more than two hours of performances and the Wings appearances around the country until June 22 will go a long way toward giving added stature to McCartney. Speculation is right for a reunion of the original Beatles. Multi-million dollar guarantees are being offered and considered. McCartney's position can only be strengthened with the success of his American tour.

     The 1976 edition of the Wings concert is total entertainment. When the lights went down after a film of poetic images on an overhead 40 by 20-foot screen, complete with classical music  (Beethoven, Bach, etc), the crowd was ready for the appearance of McCartney. The electronic guitar sound and vocals of McCartney were balanced with the talented brass instrumentation of musicians gathered for many quarters. The tasteful trumpet work of Steve Howard in "Long and Winding Road" will lend many such McCartney touches evident throughout the performance. 

    McCartney worked between his guitar and piano on selections ranging from " Jet " to  "Lie and Let's Go " [sic]. The acoustic guitar (non-amplified) selections were masterful, giving way to a showcase of McCartney's enduring talent. His solo renditions of the classic " Yesterday " gave way to a rush of memories for old Beatles enthusiasts and produced a crowd response at once overwhelming and appreciative of McCartney's work. "Band on the Run" was the album highlighted during the performance of the closing selection.  The album's title cut was set to an interpretive film of band members dressed in black, with the prison spotlight; the interesting camera close-ups of the individuals were coordinated with the song. 

    McCartney's prime situation centers on his family and Wings; the spokesman for the group would neither deny nor confirm the possible reunion talks.

     It's difficult to predict the impact of the concert visit of such a powerful show and the subsequent pressure of the high-rise tag on the entertainment. A local FM radio station offered tickets and trips for the McCartney show at the special rate of $30 per person; the expense appears obviously unbearable for some, despite the "it's worth it" notion. In the future, will major concerts drive such special rates even higher? Station officials were not available for comment.

Wings Hands

 May 9, 2001 - Cannes France 

Fans meeting Paul in Berlin

May 7, 2001 
 

A Day of Golf

 May 7, 1971 

At Kinfauns

 May 7, 1966 - Kinfauns 

On the House For Ringo! (1986)

 

I know this is a light-hearted story from 1986, but I can't help but feel a little sad reading it and knowing what we know now about Ringo and Barb's alcoholism during this time in their lives.  If they kept drinking like this, neither one of them would be with us today -- or if they were, Ringo wouldn't be able to keep up with touring and jumping jacks on stage.  So let this be a cautionary tale to Beatles fans everywhere—if you're struggling with addiction, get help!  Ringo did, and look how great he is doing today! 

From the Daily Record

May 8. 1986