Two Days of Madness in 1968

 

Two Days of Madness in 1968 or How to have a nervous breakdown at the age of 15

By Robin Titone and Goldie Friende (Brooklyn, NY)

McCartney Lovers and Friends

1973

    It all began on an ordinary, dull day, when, while glancing through the local TV section of the newspaper, Robin came across the guest list for the upcoming Tonight Show: four words, John Lennon, Paul McCartney-- pandemonium. "But that's taped here!!"  Conclusion: John and Paul are coming to New York!

     First point, in case: We have to look good for them. After all, they may see us from 400 feet away, waving from the observation deck--crash diets and exercise programs. After 10 minutes of that, we were off to point 2.  Point two:  check out arrival time and  hotels. Unfortunately, we didn't get the hotel information, but we did find out the flight time of arrival, and that was enough for now. The plane was due in at 3:30 pm, so, of course, we were at good old JFK at 9:00 am. Great. No one was there. We would have them all to ourselves. Well, after five hours of sitting downstairs, self-assured and confident, we moseyed up to the observation deck to find what seemed to be 1000s of people crowding the rails. Where they all came from, God knows, but sure as hell, there they were, and we were in back of all of them.

    The plane was landing. We knew this because we heard someone up front say so, Now the decision where was  the best place to stand as thrones of people ran from side to side? The plane slowly taxied in. God, was this really it? It really was!  And after climbing over people and pushing our way through, we finally got to the front of the rails, only to see the plane change direction and watch the crowd change with it. By the time it stopped, we had a great view of 14 rows of people in front of us. The Screams started and the waving broke out, and there we were in back of the crowd.

     By now, Robin was standing on a boy's back, screaming and crying, and Goldie was somewhere on her knees, trying to crawl through. But alas, to no avail. When we finally met at the rail, there were no Beatles; we had missed them. While contemplating jumping off, Robin, the girl wonder, yelled, "Customs!" We ran like hell and made it just in time to see an entourage of people walking through. And lo and behold, Paul, he looked like a walking picture. Hysterics broke out. But where is John? We knew he was there, but couldn't see him at the time. His hair was longer and blonder than we had ever known, and we didn't recognize him!  They walked through a door downstairs and were out of sight.

     Everyone ran to meet them downstairs. Robin and another girl went running,  but wait, where's Goldie? She looked around at the surging mob. Where is she? Shit!  We're going to miss them! We had to find her first. We started calling her name. After a while, we had all the passengers and airport employees doing the same. Meanwhile, back under a bench up at customs, Goldie wakes up. We still haven't figured out whether she actually fainted or was just dazed. She finds herself alone after hearing a stranger calling her name. She gets herself oriented and catches up with her friends. Now we join the mob downstairs when the police decided to get into the act. Well, it seems Goldie was not satisfied with her first screw up. Now she decided to lose her sandal in the mob. There was no way to bend down, and so there we were kicking around for it. The cops are getting rough and pushing us back. In the midst of all the pleas from the fans, they couldn't realize that we were only pleading for a shoe, incredible as it may seem. 

    Well, in any case, John and Paul escaped. Goldie found her shoe, and we went home. The next day was May 12, the Carson taping. The NBC building is huge with several entrances. The same old mob was there, and to make a long story short, we missed them again. This time, we were determined with a few others. We managed to sneak backstage. We saw everybody except guess who. We saw Simon and Garfunkel, the Bee Gees, Soupy Sales, Tony Bennett, and nasty old Tallulah Bankhead, but no Paul or John. We hid in the bathroom for a while, but were soon kicked out. 

    We found out that WMCA was to play an interview with them that evening. We were still in the city and couldn't hear it. Robin called home and asked her mother to tape it. When she came home after a totally miserable day, Robin found one question and answer on her tape recorder. Her mother thought that was the entire interview! That was it, the straw that broke the camel's back. We just started crying, and Robin threw a tantrum. 

    For some reason, her mother felt sorry for us and agreed to call Mal Evans to see if he'd tell her where they were staying. He was very nice and understood what we were going through. Then they started talking about the problems of parenthood. He told her they'd be leaving the next day and that they were not at the St. Regis Hotel, as everyone thought; he couldn't provide more information.

     The next day, we did find their whereabouts. They were at Nat Wieses. The mob was there as usual, but this time, there was no escaping us. We had them cornered. After seven hours of waiting, with an occasional glimpse of Paul peeking out of the window, the limousine pulled up. It was 6pm. Flashes went off, and out they came. John was in his white suit, and Paul was in black. It was incredible. They were right there, no more than two feet away. Now, those of you who have been lucky enough to see them know that seeing a Beatle does funny things to a person. For example, it aids in the deterioration of the mind. Robin became very athletic in order to get a better look, jumping over a car using no hands. Goldie, standing right next to them, suddenly got temporary amnesia and could not think of their names. They were sitting in the car with the door open, and the idiot kept yelling, "Beatles! God bless you. I love you. Beatles!"  They kept nodding and smiling politely.

     Well, that was it. In two minutes, they had come and gone, and we somehow found our way back to the train station silently, not knowing how to digest what had just we've just been through.

Paul McCartney and Wings in Berlin 1972

 

Paul McCartney and Wings

By Margit Oettinghaus

McCartney Lovers and Friends

March 1973

     Hello, everyone!  I finally got myself together to try and point out some of the most fantastic moments of my life. That means meeting Paul!

     I had finally made it. I was in Berlin after a 30-minute flight, and couldn't wait to find the hotel Paul was staying in. My friend Silvia, who lives in Berlin, was concerned as well as to where to find him! Finally, there we stood, sure that he was inside, unsure of what to do to get a glimpse of him, and nervous as hell! Then this super idea hit us. 

    We thought that he might be having lunch or something inside. So both of us went in and asked if we could have dinner up in the restaurant. We acted all snobbish and kind of rich, and having had such a great teacher for pulling those bored-to-death faces, we seemed to succeed quite well. The porter told us that the restaurant was still closed and suggested we go to the bar instead, but we went out again because money wasn't one of our stronger sides. 

    There, we noticed two boys sitting at the entrance of the hotel. Apparently, they were waiting for someone. Well, I swung open the door (the store swung both ways), and that's indeed what it did. And according to the boys, we went out on the right side and on the left side, the whole McCartney family came in. Trust us! Whenever will I learn to really see the things I'm looking for? They had taken the kids to the zoo and asked the boys not to follow them. (Congratulations, monkeys! At least Paul is allowed to give you a nice long look from those eyes!) We had missed him. So what!  Didn't we all learn to wait at London's Abbey Road? 

    After some hours, they all came out and headed for the white Mercedes standing outside the hotel. With all, I mean, the McCartneys and the rest of the group. Paul had some clothes packed over his arm. They filled two cars. Paul did us a great favor and posed for some pictures. His charms were still the same as in 1968, if not more charming than ever. Linda was showing us the peace sign. Our photos later assured us that she did indeed give us a peace sign, and it wasn't the other way around (you know the FU sign that she usually charms us with). We were surprised.

     God, I felt so sick standing there right in front of Paul. I didn't know what to do. Anyway, as I woke up again, the Mercedes had gone in the direction of the Deutschlandhall where the concert took place. Is is hard to guess where we went? Yes to the Deutschlandhall!

     Silvia and I had three cards instead of two to make sure we had a seat where we could put our cameras and other things. My poor nerves were playing hell, and I moved up and down on my chair. And of course, I had forgotten that it was one of those chairs that go up and down when you don't sit on them. So I stood up and then sat down again. That was it. As the seat was up, I fell right down on the floor and bumped my head against the chair legs. Everyone hearing that noise stared at me. They didn't seem to understand the state I was in, which was making me do stupid things like that.

     The concert began half an hour later than planned. The audience began to get more and more impatient, all that time, the top 20 stuff was being played through the loudspeakers. I felt so hot and sticky that I thought I couldn't take it anymore. When I looked around, I saw Paul's secretary walking in with Heather and Mary, who were both dressed like poor gypsy kids. They jumped behind the stage and came back shortly, and Heather's face was full of glitter. They disappeared somewhere among the audience, which was not too numerous. 

    Then after a few minutes of nerves, hot cheeks, and excitement, the curtains went up. I was shocked! There was Paul just in front of us, singing away with a mask on his face --a mask of an old man! (see photo)  I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Was this what I had waited for? "Please take that thing off!" I began to pray. I was really desperate, but then he grabbed it and threw it away. 

     Don't any of you ask what I felt then, because I don't know --that's the truth! I was going daft or something. My God, that face!  But do I have to tell you the details? It was all too much!

    He wore pink trousers and a white jacket with glittery embroidery, and under it, nothing but skin. The group sang quite a few songs, or better, he did, and then one song came from Linda. It's called "Seaside Woman", which caused some applause, though I didn't think much of it, but that's another story altogether. 

    Paul tried to get the audience going. He wasn't very satisfied with all the people standing there like lumps of ice, and in lovely German with a fantastic English accent, he asked us all to start clapping hands. There were some voices shouting out for "Yesterday", "Michelle", etc, but he completely ignored that. When someone asked for "Backseat of my car", he said, "Thank you very much!"

     After the break, he came out dressed all in black with tight-fitting trousers --a smashing sight, as you well might imagine. The concert was finished before I got used to the thought that he was standing just in front of me. During the concert, Linda kept staring at us, and then she said something to Paul and pointed at us. She couldn't have forgotten that we had the nerve to wait for him at Cavendish this past summer. Of course, he then looked as well, which wasn't the worst thing in my life, but a bit more than I could stand. 

    In the end, they gave two encores, "Hi, Hi, Hi". They did a good job. (If I could have understood the words at that time, I would have died) and" Long, Tall Sally." There he stood, singing, screaming, and bouncing away like in the old days. Even though he does not like to be called a Beatle, I'm sure he felt like it, as I've never seen him look happier during the concert than in those final minutes when everyone in the audience was getting with it.

     Hundreds of balloons and tons of confetti came down on the group and all of us standing so near the stage.  It's amazing how he still has the whole audience under control. Only one scene reminded me of long-ago Beatlemania. It was when a girl threw her camera onto the stage, and there it smashed into hundreds of pieces just in front of Paul's feet. He saw it and just kicked the pieces away with a raised eyebrow and a short grin.

     We walked out of the hall in a complete daze, but managed to catch a taxi back to the hotel, and we arrived just before he did. He came out of his car with a glass of Coke in his hand, and I nearly knocked it over. He smiled with such a great grin-it was killing me! Some boys asked for an autograph, and Linda watched eagerly to make sure that no one got more than one. I asked for his signature on my Wings poster. Any of you who stood in front of him, watching him write, know what I mean when I tell you about the feeling as if lots and lots of butterflies were swarming in your stomach? Incredible!

     Linda was staring at us, yes again, and pointed at me and said, "I've seen you in the audience". And this was said in a halfway normal voice too. This was a big change for us. For usually she was shouting. The only thing I could say was, "Oh, really?" She forced a slight smile and continued, "We are friends, aren't we?" Believe me. That was when I almost flipped over. I replied, "Certainly." And then asked her for her autograph as well. She was obviously very pleased about that, and she signed it. "Love Linda."

     "Paul, when are you going home tomorrow?" I managed to ask. "We're going back home tomorrow morning, back to England." And then he said in German, "Good night everyone. Sleep well."  But he didn't go in the morning. He went in the afternoon. They had stayed in bed until midday.

     As they were leaving, Linda thought that it would be wise to bring out some of her German as well, and shouted, "Arrivederci!" (which is Italian). I called Mary, who was walking inside the hotel on Heather's hand, and there she turned around and waved. She's so cute with her huge eyes and brown hair. Paul smiled when he saw that. And then they all disappeared.

     For Sylvia and I, one of our greatest days of 1972 had ended. I wouldn't mind living through it again and again. 

St. Regis Hotel 1971

 

October 17, 1971

St. Regis Hotel

By Barbara

McCartney Lovers and Friends

March 1973

    John and Yoko came bopping out of the hotel, and Linda strolled over to him and told him to watch himself on TV that night. It was a repeat of an early Sullivan Show. Well, you could just tell that John was thrilled to death and said something like, "Oh, is it that roobish with us on again?" And Linda said, "It's not roobish."

     As John was getting into the car before we went in, he smiled at us and noticed Emma was filming, so he did a little dance like he did in A Hard Day's Night. There was a Columbus Day parade going on Fifth Avenue, so the traffic was tied up in front of the hotel, so we all went over to talk to him.

     Suddenly, a crowd assembled in the middle of the street. "Look, it's that Beatle with that Yoyo woman!"  "I remember when they first came here 20 years ago, and the park was filled with those screaming teenagers." "Wasn't that at the Plaza darling?"

    

     This cute little old lady came running up to John and said, "Oh my god, I can't believe it's really you, John! Dear, I'm so happy to see you. How are you, darling?"  John gave another act from A Hard Day's Night and started talking to her like he did that dancer. You know the "you don't look a bit like him." Remember?  He said, "Is it really you? Oh my god, I can't believe it.! It's really her! I'm so happy to see you, too. Que pasa, que pasa. " That was really cute. 

    

    Some guys came along and asked John to sign some autographs, and one handed him $1 bill. So John started to put it in his pocket,  making eyebrows at everyone. Linda said, "Give it to me." The guy said, "No, no sign on it!"  He had a thick Spanish accent. John was smiling and winking at everyone and carrying on with the usual nonsense chatter. Linda started harping on about how sorry she was that she couldn't make it to Syracuse. John looked at her like, "Well?" Then she started to say she was watching them on Channel 13 the other night, and when Yoko started her screaming and howling, she fell off the bed. I couldn't believe she said that!

     John asked why the traffic was so tied up, and we told him it was because of a parade. So he said, "Why don't we turn around then?" So we advised him that since it was a one way street and there were 100 cars behind him, that couldn't be done. Eventually, they were able to go on their way, and he waved goodbye to everyone. 

    In the meantime, Barbara and a few others were waiting in a taxi to follow him. Here is what Barbara had to say:

     Well, at the time, they were fooling around with him in the car. Lyn, Sagi, Debbie, and I got into a taxi to tail them. Well, after 10 minutes of the parade, we took off. As soon as he got on a really busy city street, he saw someone he knew, and had the car stop right in the middle of the road with us behind him. So he sticks his entire body out of the window and yells "Freeman!" over and over in an attempt to get Freeman's attention. Then Yoko opens the door and yells, "Freeman!"  And finally, the driver starts doing it too. Picture this:  two cars in the middle of a busy city street with John Lennon hanging out of the window. The funny thing is that nobody really paid attention, except for the honking cars trying to pass us.

     Two girls, as soon as they saw John, grabbed each other and yelled, "John Lennon!" After about 15 minutes, they got back into the car and turned a few corners. Then, when we lost sight of them. We kept on going down the street. When we saw the car parked outside a theater (The New York City Center, where Jane had played in Romeo and Juliet in 1967). We sat outside a while, and the driver told us that he was just inside for a few minutes. Debbie left to find George, and Jamie came. 

    About half an hour later, John came out. Yoko wanted a pretzel from a pretzel cart, and John reached into his pocket for some money, but couldn't find any! He tells Yoko, "No, we'll have to get one later." He came toward us, noticed us standing there near the carts, and pointed at us and yelled, "Get a cab!" and laughed. 

    We do get a cab and follow him to a run-down tenement in the village. He came back out after a bit, looked at us, and said, "Stupid birds", and then said to Yoko, "No, it's only two blocks we can walk". So they go on with us a half a block behind them, Jamie was whistling "Rock Around the Clock", and John kept looking back smiling. 

    One man stopped Jamie on the corner and said, "Do you know who that was?" Jamie said, "No. Who?"  The man said, "That was Yoko Ono-- that Japanese woman." And Jamie said, "No!
 The man said, "Yes, it was." And Jamie said, "Oh, my God!"  It was a fairly quiet area in the village. and John heard all of this. He looked back and kept smiling.

     He walked into another dirty, rundown building. We sat on the ledge of the door and waited. He came back out, and I looked up, and he smiled. He went down the steps and checked everything out, and did the taxi bit again. "Taxi! Hurry, get a taxi!"  He was holding his finger in the air, looking down the deserted street. Lyn said, "You've got to be kidding, a cab around here?"  He was obviously enjoying himself, yelling, "Taxi!"

     They rode back the two blocks to the original broken-down building. Jonas Meekas went back into the building, while John and Yoko were pecking in the back seat. We waited across the street, debating whether or not we should go over to the car and start a conversation. But before long, Jonas came back out with the driver and they left. Since we were out of money and there were no cabs in sight, anyway, this was the end.

Sunshine, Music and Ringo Starr

Note:  Photo just for reference.  It was not taken on the day of the story. 

Here is a story of a fan encounter found in the March 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends.


Sunshine, Music and Ringo Starr
By Sher


During our trip to London in 1970,  Sarah and I were lucky enough to see John, George and Ringo at various times while they recorded at EMI.  This particular day was extra special to me as Richie was so nice to us and it was also my 20th birthday.    And so on October 3, 1970, Sarah and I arrived at the studios at about 5pm and met up with Valerie.  Soon after 3pm some of our English friends (who were at one time known as Paul's baddies), Marion, Adrienne, and Eileen came and we tried various ways to pass the time.  One of those ways was to try to sneak in by the side entrance.  This didn't work so we just stood outside the gates directly in front of the opened studio doors.  Every once in a while we'd see Ringo or George pass by in the hallway.  Ringo was recording his single, "It don't come easy" and George was helping him. 

George had on a gray-ish blue shirt, orange pull over, and faded blue jeans.  Mr. Starr wore a dark suit jacket and a pink flowered shirt.  Plus, as was the style of the day, George's hair was in a ponytail.  During one break in the recording, we watched our English friends went to pull a joke on George just to see what would happen.  They went to a phone booth nearby and called the studio saying it was Pattie wanting to talk to her husband.  Sarah and I had stationed ourselves so that we could see George when he came out to get the phone.  He picked up the phone, looked towards the street where we were, and seemed to be having quite a nice chat.   The girls had never really thought he'd believe it was Pattie after hearing the voice and they thought that he would appreciate the fact that it was a joke.   Well, he seemed to be enjoying himself from what we could see of him, and he kept leaning on one leg and then the other -- looking out towards us.  After about seven minutes he got off the phone and the girls came back from the booth.  They told us that he'd really taken the joke well and kidded around with them on the phone.  Little did we know what was really going on inside his head.

AT 10:15pm George came out with Richie by his side.  They both carried guitar case and small amplifiers.  WE around to the gate to George's car as he began to load the trunk with the guitars.  Richie would hand stuff to George and then give him suggestions on how to pack it.  He would tell George, "Put the bigger one in first," which was obvious anyway, so George would just nod.  Then Val said, "Uhh George, I've got a letter from your fan club president but I haven't had a chance to give it to you and I didn't bring it here because I didn't think you'd be here."  He replied, "Well, don't worry about it, they usually write me a lot of old rubbish."  (Then he laughed).  Our mouths fell open in shock because we thought George was fond of the fan club president.   Sarah and I both said, "Ohhhhh" and George looked at us as if we were nuts.   Then, to try to change the subject, I asked him when the album would be out (All things Must Pass).  He looked up at me as he loaded the trunk, "I think the first or second week in November."   Then Richie shook George's hand and said, "Well, thanks for everything," and went back inside. 

George went to his car door and then stopped short.  Here is comes.  He turned towards Sarah, Val, and I and snapped at us, "Who are the ones who made the call?"  They had left about an hour before, so we told them this.  Well, he glared at us so intensely that I finally said, "We're not lying George!!"  With that, he got into the car.  Obviously, he didn't find the joke as funny as he had when the call was first made.   He spoke to Carolyn Mitchell at the car window for a while and then roared off.  Not five minutes later he came back, this time with his beautiful hair down around his shoulders.  He ran inside the studio, picked up some albums he had forgotten, and raced off again.  After George had gone most of the people waiting around left.  It seemed so rotten that no one bothered to wait for Ringo so we decided to be the ones.  Once more, the three of us Sarah, Val, and I sat in front of the doors.  This time inside the studio grounds.  We'd see Richie go by in the hallway and he'd look out at us every time.  It was obvious by his expressions when he still sees us sitting there when it was nearly midnight waiting just for him.  Not many "Beatle people" do that over there.  We felt happy that he'd realized we were waiting for him.  Only problem was that Val and I had to go to the bathroom so badly that we were doubled over with hysterics.  I'm sure it wasn't hard for Richie to guess what was wrong when he'd see us without legs crossed and laughing our heads off.  Finally, at the ungodly hour of midnight, Richie, Mal, and Richie's driver and another guy came down the steps.  Richie had a guitar in his hands and he was singing and playing!   We got a private impromptu concert!  He kept looked at us as he approached the car, which we were standing next to.  We walked up to meet him and he stopped playing.  For a minute there was sort of a nervous silence and Richie just said "Goodnight."  I panicked for second thinking after all our waiting he would just get into the car and zoom away, so I said, "Wait a minute!"  He looked up at me with a big smile and I felt sort of embarrassed at having given him a command.  Val said, "Can I talk to you, Ringo?"  He said yes, and she said, "I wanted to say I bought your album (Beaucoups of Blues) and it's fantastic!"  He smiled again and said, "Thank you very much."  When she asked for his autograph he jokingly answered, "Anybody who bought MY album deserves an autograph!"  He signed it while leaning on the neck of the guitar.   While he signed it, I asked him how Maureen was (she was pregnant with Lee at the time).  He replied, "Fantastic, thank you."  I said, "When is she due?"  "Six and a half weeks," he answered and I told him that was great and Val said, "Hope it's a girl."  Richie turned from the car door and said, "Well you never can tell."   Then we said goodnight again and we walked out of the gate and watched as the little car sped down the road with Richie waving at us from the back seat.

The Missing Glasgow Wings Concert

If you've been following along with the posts about the American girls that followed Paul McCartney and Wings around the UK in May of 1973, then you will know that most of the girls in the story did not see Wings perform in Glasgow because they thought they might get stabbed and because of issues with the train.  One girl went ahead to Glasgow and wrote her story in the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends.


Since most of the girls didn't make it to the Glasgow concert (primarily because their train passes had run out), and I did, I thought this would be a good concert to report on.  Of course, being a glutton for punishment, I couldn't let myself miss out on even one concert!  The songs he sang and the clothes he wore were the same as the other concerts, and since I'm sure you've already read the full details on such matters elsewhere in this newsletter, I won't go into it all over again.

We picked up our reserved tickets at the box office and the seats we had were fairly good (left center) -- but we used Marie's tickets instead since they were a lot closer (front left).  While we (Madeline and I) were waiting for the concert to start, two groupies with tight silk pants and lots of makeup kept wandering up and down the aisles.  They were obviously stoned out of their minds and of all things one of them came over to me and sat right down on my lap!  I nearly died!  Then she said, "May I sit on your lap?"  I imagine I had a look of my face like Iw as going to be ill and I tried to push her off, but by that time one of the security guards came over and got her.  That's the first time anything like that had happened to me at a concert! 

I think this was one of the liveliest audiences of all.  It was like a time bomb waiting to go off.  But the security was very tight.  If someone even stood up (Paul got a standing ovation when he came out) he or she was in trouble.  They were pushed down immediately.  Later I found out from a boy how much trouble they've had with concerts in Glasgow so that was probably why.   I read in a newspaper that performers in Glasgow that did anything on stage that was dirty -- even words to a song, would be arrested.  Good thing we didn't have to visit Paul in jail!   I guess what we'd heard about the people being rough was true.  The same guy said, "So you can imagine with someone like Paul doing a concert why security was so tight."

During the first part of the show, a girl sitting right behind me yelled, "Paul!"  That got his attention and he looked over and pointed.  I Was right in his line of vision, so that was nice.  Once Paul walked over to Linda while still playing his bass and whispered something to her.   That got a shriek from the audience and a skipped heartbeat for me.  "Hi Hi Hi" -- people were screaming for that song all night.  "This is the one that got banned so anyone with sensitive ears out there better get out -- fast!  (Just for the record, no one left).  Up until the end of that song, people were still being forced to stay in their seats.  But during "Long Tall Sally" there was no holding the crowd back, though they keep on trying.  The whole theater went insane and I had a lovely view while standing on my seat.  Then Paul, seeing that the audience only had the chance to unwind during one song did "Long Tall Sally" one and a half more times.  It was really beautiful.  Oh, the way that man moves -- that brings to mind that he did a nice little swivel before "Hi Hi Hi" again -- God!  Also, raised his arms several times exposing quite a lot of "midriff" which I didn't enjoy at all. 

When he went off stage that crowd just wouldn't calm down so he came out again and the announcer said, "They say he's the greatest so let's let him know it!"   They really brought the roof down and Paul looked so proud.  Then he thanked everyone again and said he'd see them next time.  The police would not let us wait around the theater so we walked to the hotel we heard he was staying.  however, we'd been misinformed and two Scottish boys took us over to the Albany Hotel where he was staying. 

He was already inside but we were lucky enough to get there just as he was walking out from the elevator to the dining room.  We had a perfect view of him from the glass windows and he waved to us all.  At one point a man came out of the restaurant and asked us if we were waiting for Paul and we said yes.  So then he said, "Well, you're going to have a long wait because he hasn't even had his soup yet!"  One of the Scottish boys tried really hard to get me in but it didn't work.  Finally, we gave up and decided to leave around 1:30am.  (The police had made us move across the street anyway).  Then two Scottish girls helped us make our way back to our hotel.  Before I end this fabulous bit of writing I just want to add how really great all of the concerts were.  Paul had never sang or played better and I came home a real believer in Wings also.  Paul is really on top again -- this time with Wings -- and this is only the beginning for them!

WIngs fans head to London 1973

More fun times with the American fans from the McCartney Lovers and Friends club found in the Summer 1973 issue of the fanzine.


Paul flew down from Scotland on May 26.   Sil, Angela and I saw Paul at his house. He said hello and all that and he looked really tired.  Sil made this huge blanket where she had embroidered "Wings" -- it was really beautiful.  She gave it to Rosie who gave it to Paul.  He didn't see it until the next day but really flipped over it!  He was going to put in on the organ that night, but for some reason, he didn't. 

I came out with a real winner:  "Are you as tired as we are? ha!"  He said, "Tired as YOU are??!! Tireder!!"  The show was fantastic.  We were just about in the middle.  For some odd reason, I was the only one in the section that got up and clapped.  It was okay though because Paul pointed at me and grinned.  Three of us saw Paul again the next day.  I gave him some flowers from all of us.  This went on for a while and he said, "Hey!  Thanks for the flowers, Luv!"  We were walking down the street and Linda was driving.  They beeped the horn at us all the way down the black and as they turned the corner.  Paul had his head hanging out the window, waving at us. 

That night the three of us got in to the pit, which was the best place to be because it was directly in front of the stage and you could move around and not get killed.  It was the photographers' pit and you needed a pass to get in, but we just made like we belonged.  Goldie and Robin (our friends from New York) had arrived that morning and they were there too which was lucky for them since it was their first concert!   Anyway, it was really great, because you could bop around without worrying if you were going to get smashed. 

At the third and final concert in London, we were al lin the pit again and this time Ann came and also Sarah and Vicki.  It was a great ending.  As I told you, Sarah is a real comic and when Paul went into his bit about "My Love" he looked directly at us and shrugged his shoulders and smiled as if to say "can't do anything for you up here!"  Well Sarah puckered up and his eyes nearly popped out of his head and he was laughing really hard.    By this time, we were really desperate!  During "Live and Let Die" Linda would sort of raise her arm in the air to the beat so we did it to -- only on time.  Talk about raised eyebrows! 

So much happened, it's hard to put it all down on paper.   At the end of the show, Robin came over to me and told me there was a party.  I was really out of it,. and I do not remember this happening.  She told me later that I just kept saying, "I know, I know, but I'm going backstage."   Some of the girls saw Paul from this window later.   But that night we all went to the Cafe Royal on Regent Street near Piccadilly where the party was.  Around 1am, who should come walking down the street but Paul and Linda.  Paul sporting a yellow suit with short sleeves and Linda with a halter top and Frankenstein shoes.  Oh yes, Paul had his pants tucked into his brown suede boots.  Anyway, this weirdo stopped him as he went in, telling him about this "beautiful place" somewhere.  It was very strange with PAul that night -- he's a true Gemini.  Oh yeah, to complement his outfit, he had gone home and painted his thumb yellow and had put on red, while on a few others he painted them half red and half dark blue (By the way, Linda usually wore red on a few fingers, blue on one, and green on the other).  I'm sure this was to impress the other people at the party.   He stood at the door for a while, talking to John Entwhistle from The Who.  Denny Laine got Goldie and Robin and some of their friends into the party at midnight.  We got there late.  If we had only arrived earlier we could have gotten in too.   I hope that Goldie and Robin will write a column about the party. 

Paul's chauffeur was there.  We were pretty aggravated by this time, so I said, "Well, you want to take us home now?"  Much to our surprise, he said yes!  He was really a nice guy.  Paul had hired him just for the weekend.  He usually works as David Bowie's chauffeur and bodyguard.  He showed us Paul's "Macca" jacket, which was in the trunk.  We all loved that jacked and were certainly excited to see it!  Each of us even tried it on.  That was nice.   Well, that was the en f our few weeks in heaven.  None of us know how quiet to digest the whole thing.  I just can't wait for the next tour! 

Wings head to Scotland in 1973

Our friends from McCartney Lovers and Friends now follow Wings to Scotland on the 1973 tour.  This was published in Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends 

We were in Scotland for two days -- the countryside is really beautiful.  It was strange to really see the fog come from the ground.  I was quite disappointed with the city of Edinburgh.  It was really gloomy and the "castle" was a big let down.  The people are very strange and obviously don't like intruders.  there were two concerts that night.  

We saw Paul arrive on the bus, looking particularly gorgeous as he was unshaved.  He had a radio with him and he bent down and looked at us and started dancing off the bus!  He hopped off and got swarmed by the autograph hounds.  Linda gave us a big smile and a hello.  Paul continued to bop on in, and Linda stopped to sign autographs.  He looked back to see where she was and saw her signing and said, "Linda!  Come on!!"  She went in fast.  

That night we had front row seats in the balcony for both shows.  At one point during the "dance" part, this girl started to faint.  So, a guard picked her up and put her on the stage.  She started dragging him over towards Paul instead of going off to the side.  Suddenly she gained consciousness and she grabbed Paul from the back, digging into his chest and making him fall back.  He pushed her off then the guard and Dave picked her up by her hands and legs and dragged her off.    We saw her later talking with friends and the "poor girl" was so excited that she had to sit down and cry all over again.

We saw Paul at the hotel that night.  We were the only ones there, but when the bus arrived, out of the nowhere 20 people arrived and he was swarmed.  There was a show in Glasgow the next day, but our train passes ran out, so we had to get back to London.    We were hesitant about Glasgow anyway because we hear a lot of stories about it being rough.  If they don't like you there, they get you with razor blades!  I was going to ask John (one of the roadies) to give me a ride down to London from Glasgow, but he arrive din their van with the other roadies and some groupies, so I didn't.  (If any of you are wondering about groupies and Mr. Mac-- forget it!  No chance!).   

We got back to London the next day.  One of us went to the show in Glasgow, so I will leave it to her to review it.   

More of Wings on Tour 1973

Let's continue to journey along with those kooky Americans as they keep attending all of the Wings concert in the UK in the Spring of 1975.    As with the other installments, these were all from the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends  

The next day, we had a DAY OFF and Sarah took us on the old tour of Liverpool.  We went to the Cavern -- which was torn down the week after -- it was moved across the street I hear.   We visited Paul and George's old school and John's art college.  We then went to Paul's old home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton -- it was beautiful.  I don't know whoever gave us the impression that they were poor, because it's as gorgeous there!  It wasn't a mansion or anything, but it certainly was a nice area.   Sarah also took us to see Paul's father's house and Mike MC's house  (VERY NICE!).  The countryside around Liverpool is really breathtaking!

The next concert was in Leeds.  This was the place where you go on a "first come, first served" basis.  Sher and Vickie decided that they wouldn't be able to hack that, and thought it best that they skip that concert.  However, so of us are gluttons for punishment and can't miss out on a thing.  So we took off in Sarah's car.  We were traveling along, minding our own business when Sarah comes out with, "I don't want to get funny or anything, but there's this strange-looking bus in front of us."   We all went "Aggggg!" at the same time.  Sure enough, it was THE bus.  We passed them, and Linda was sitting at the window.  I looked back and saw them sitting there.  Paul sat up in his seat and looked just as we were speeding on.  We passed them again, and this time, both of them were waving and giving the thumbs-up sign.  Paul was going absolutely insane, waving, grinning, and carrying on.  he was talking to someone about us and pointing (love to know what he said!).  It was really great.  We felt like we were friends.  What was really weird was that I was wasting my time staring at this picture that appeared in that day's newspaper when Sarah spotted the bus.   

We went on our way to Leeds.  After a while, we got in line and naturally were the first ones.  I had some more roses for Paul.  When were let in, we ran like hell and sat in the first row -- namely the floor.  There was a line of roadies to keep everyone in line.  Brinsley came on first as always, and at one point, he said, "this song is for all our friends in the audience" and looked directly at me.  I wondered what brought that on.  Then he pointed at me and said, "especially you!"  So I buried my head in the roses.  When the novelty act came on, that stupid gorilla woman tried to attack me and my roses.  I nearly kicked her!

The MC kept saying that the concert was being filmed for TV.  Paul came out and we got a lot of special attention.  Just before "My Love" Henry opened his big mouth and said, "C'mon get up!"  And with that, we were thrown around and smashed against the floor.  I was a bit more fortunate than the others, and the only person in front of me was a roadie.  For some unknown reason, he was having more fun looking at me, so I figured, what the hell, and asked him to let me stand in front of him, which he did. I now had a great view, right in the front.  

Meanwhile, during the concert, the others were having a terrible time being crushed and some slobs were pinching them.  I threw the flowers on stage and then, Linda, Denny Laine and Henry threw them back and forth and looked at them a while.  They made their way back and forth in the audience as well.  At one point, I saw them at Paul's feet -- except no more roses  -- just stems!  Haha!

We drove back to Liverpool, drinking Coke -- our bottles had Scotch mixed in with them.  Yum!  We had been drinking before the concert too, so we were kind of zonked out.  When we got back to Liverpool, we stopped at Sarah's C's house to see her cat named Fred who thought he was a dog and retrieved bones!  Ann was really gone and could not get out of the car.  Meanwhile, a dark looming figure came up and stood near the car where Ann was resting.  Slowly, it started opening the car door, and successfully scared Ann half out of her drunken sits.  It was a bobby who wanted to find out why the car lights were on!  

We had another day to spend in Liverpool. I really liked it there.  Our next stop was in Preston.  Everything was so screwed up there.  I named to walk into a rehearsal.  I wasn't expected it, because I just walked in and there it was.  I was only there for five minutes, having a nervous attack because of the others who I thought would be able to come in too, but that's another story.  Paul had on the same white shiny jacket that he wore in Manchester and the whole group was looking at me.  Dave walked over and tells me that he told me at the "other" rehearsals that I wasn't supposed to be there.  He turned out to be a real bastard.  Anyone who was there will agree with me.  I asked him WHAT other rehearsals he was talking about.  Maybe I forgot I got in to them?   Meanwhile, there were two ladies sitting behind me and he told them the same thing, but their little trick was that they had no place to stay that night, so could he help them?  So he said that he'd arrange it so they could stay at the same hotel.  However they had to leave too, but then he told me I could stand behind an amplifier or something.  I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know what was going on with the others, so I just walked out.  

At the concert, we managed to obtain lousy seats, sort of in the back.  I couldn't hack a seat so far back, so Ann and I mossied on down to the front and perched ourselves in front seats.  Eventually, the rightful owners claimed their seats and I ended up sharing a seat with a friend and Ann sat on the floor.  There were people behind the stage as well.  Paul and Henry were joking around about how the people sitting behind the stage got shipped so Paul turned to each side and kept saying, "How's that, can you see me now?"  

We were in the second-row center and we were really in bad shape.  You see, there was this "person" on stage staring at us.  And when I stare, I mean stare.  This went on the first half of the show, constantly.  We kept pinching each other and saying, "He's not staring at us too much is he?"  At one point, he saw Ann all crushed up on the floor, looked at us, then pointed at Ann and laughed and kicked at her.   

We were preparing ourselves for the end of the show when everyone would get up and dance.  As soon as he starts his little spiel, I started to sort of get up.  He noticed what we were doing and that we were half standing and half sitting, just withering away waiting for him to finish.  He dragged it out on purpose.  Finally, when he started, we just loomed up to the stage.  It was really embarrassing because Ann and I soon discovered we were the only ones who got up.  But we didn't care b because Paul smiled at us, as did the rest of the group.  All of a sudden everyone else joined us, and Ann was pushed and thrown around by the crowd.  I was prepared for it, so I was ok.  Ann ended up someplace.  My friend nearly had all her hair pulled out and they just kept pulling it.  Linda saw us getting messed up and gave us a really sympathetic look.  Meanwhile, my dress was being yang and pulled down.  It was quite embarrassing, especially because Paul McCartney was there.  

Anyway, there was this nutty girl who kept screaming at me to get his microphone.  I told her to buzz off.  She kept jumping over me to try and trap his legs.  So I grabbed hold and pinched her until she stopped.  The whole floor just shook and you didn't have to move your feet and you'd still be dancing.  We were really getting pushed around and my friend was really in pain since they were jerking her head back and pulling her hair.  By this time, the whole group noticed our predicament.  I think Pau was under the mistaken idea that we were having a good time.  It's great being right in front of him, but the hell you go through for it.  I don't understand why the people just can't get up and dance and have a good time.  They all want to get up on the stage and it really ruins it all.  Of course, we've forgotten the pain we went through and just remember how fantastic it was to be right in front of him.  

Paul pointed to the people behind us and told them to move back.  We thought that he was doing it for us -- really, it seemed that way because he pointed directly to the ones that were crushing us.   The reason was because the place was beginning to fall down!  They didn't cut the show sort, as the newspaper said.  Anyway, we went to the hotel, which was about two blocks away from the hall.  You could see the hall from there, and we knew when was coming because we saw the bus waiting, and the flashes and screaming.  

The four of us were the only ones there with the exception of two girls, about the age of 15.  When he arrived, they immediately began to leap in the air and got their little autographs.  There was an alleyway sort of leading to the hotel entrance, and he's still signing when he got there while they jumped up and down around him.  It was so stupid.  All of a sudden, one of them literally attacked him, pulled his head down to her and kissed him on the mouth.  She wasn't satisfied with just one.  She kept doing it while Paul was trying to pull himself away.  I remember my mouth hanging open because I just could not believe it.  Paul didn't like it at all.  You can just imagine how well it went over with Linda.  I couldn't get over it.  They were squealing away and he's yelling "Girls!  Stop it!  I'm married.  I have three children!  Girls!"  When they were done, they just screamed and ran away.  It's people like that that you could sock in the mouth. 

Manchester & Liverpool Wings 1973

More stories about Paul McCartney and Wings Spring tour of the U.K. in 1973 from the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends.


The next morning, we left for Manchester.  It turned out to be the longest, dragged out ride of the whole trip.  Normally a 6-hour ride took 8 hours because the engine broke down!  We were sure that we were going to miss the concert.  When we finally did get there, it was about a half-hour before the show.  We jumped in a taxi and speeded off to the Manchester Hard Rock.  While we sat and worried, I happened to notice a white bus.  It was Valient Silverline.  "Valient Silverline????!!!!!"  A second later I looked up and there was Paul leaning his head against the window as if he were bored stiff.  He had on a black and red checkered jacket.  It all happened so fast, I couldn't open my mouth. I just grabbed Ann's arm and said, "Do you know I just saw Paul!?!?!" and started muttering it out.

He was going in the opposite direction, so we assumed the taxi driver was jipping us.  We merged onto a main and sure enough, just in front of us was the bus.  The taxi driver was a maniac and proceeded to pass the bus.  We were dying.  It was like something you see in the movies.  We passed the bus and Paul was resting his head against the seat, with his arms folded, looking straight ahead and sulking.  It was weird that he was just as bored with the rotten traveling as we were! 

We beat him to the theatre, and just got done paying the taxi when the bus pulled in.  He sat up and looked at all the people in disbelief.  When we got in the theatre, we discovered that we had the rottenest seats in the house.  Sure, they were close to the stage, but there were stacks of amplifiers blocking our view.  We couldn't believe the theatre had enough nerve to sell those seats.  In any case, I was definitely spoiled by that time, and it was in the front or nothing for me.  so I just went and stood right in front of the stage.  The night before, his press agent had given us some "Red Rose Speedway" buttons (like Paul always wore) and stickers, and I just made like I belonged there.  I'll tell you, a Pentax does wonders also!  You'd be surprised what a 35mm camera can do for you.  Sarah and Ann stayed more over to the left -- which was good also. 

This was the crappiest audience yet.  I was the only one clapping, and I turned around and looked at the people like "aren't you gonna get up?"  By the end, a lot did, but they were really a dull audience.  Just sat there and gaped at him.  There was a girl standing next to me, and this big roadie came along and threw her down and told her if she got up again, they throw her f'ing so and so out.  Well, I figured I was next, but they looked at me and smiled.  I couldn't figure that out.  But who cares


  There was another concert in Manchester the next night.  During the day, we went into the city.   We were buying some musical papers and I asked the man if he knew of any magazines with any articles on Paul.  He checked for me and said, "oh, did you know he's upstairs?"  "What?"   He then told me that Paul was in the Picadilly Hotel, which was in this mall.   Roger Moore was upstairs visiting Paul. 

At the show that night, I again made my way to the front of the stage.  Paul change his outfit!  (shock!).  He wore a shiny gorgeous white jacket with pictures of  Marilyn Monroe on it.  At one particularly beautiful moment, Paul looked at me, opened his eyes real wide, winked, and shot at me.  (My big trill of the day)  This time, the audience was normal and everything went well.


Now, onto Liverpool.  I always expected Liverpool to be a dirty, scruffy place but it wasn't.  It was really nice there!  We all got a hotel near the theatre.  You wouldn't believe these little boys that were following us around -- real punks.  They were trying to steal things from us, but we gave them a proper warning and they left us alone.  You wouldn't believe it, they must not have been more than 7 - walking down the street smoking. 

James left his jacket on the seat by mistake and they stole 100 pounds from him!  (About $250).  We had seats in the 7th row this time.  All of Paul's relatives were in the audience, including his father.  It was really great.  While waiting for the show to start, these characters were yelling out things like "Hey Macca!"  and give me a "W" give me an "I" give me an "N" and give me an uhhh oh "G" give me an S!"  W-I-N-G-S!!   Claire, a girl that used to run his club in England, got on stage with the gorilla!  The show was fantastic, and Paul said it was really strange being up on stage there because the last time he was there he was "up there" (pointing to the balcony) watching Cliff Richard.

Linda, by the way, also changed her outfit from her black dress to an orange one.  The audience went wild at the end.  Good old Sarah was there and she had forgotten to get us all tickets to the second show, but she did get some off some crook outside for $25.  Since our seats were not all together, we decided to stand up in the back (This theatre was really small, so we weren't really that far away).  We stayed there, and there were these lights on us and they could see us.  We were up there bopping around and in general, making fools out of ourselves, and once we clapped loudly for Denny and Denny said, "Thank you, girls, in the back!"   During "Say you don't mind," I decided to get myself down to the front of the stage for when Pau would do "The Mess".  I ran down and then it began.  It was really fantastic for awhile because was directly in front of Paul, who by the way, had changed his jacket again and wore the black and red checkered one.  It was really great, but suddenly about 1000 people decided that they wanted to be where I was.  I stayed right where I was, but kept being pushed against a rail.  I was sure that I would be sawed in half.  James was behind me waving flowers in the air and Paul noticed this and grinned at James first and then me.  It was like a private joke.  James threw the roses on the stage and Paul kicked them.

Suddenly, everything started going black.  I was passing out.  I couldn't breathe and I was so scared.  If I had passed out there, I would have been crushed to death by the crowd.  It was definitely the most frightening thing that ever happened to me.  I really got hurt.  There was a roadie in the pit next to me and I screamed that I was going to pass out.  He tried to lift me up, but I was so crushed he couldn't.  I don't know how I managed to keep myself up, but I did.

Paul sang the encore of Long Tall Sally again, and the others started walking off.  Paul told them to wait and Linda asked him what he was going.  He just told her to wait a minute and then went into Long Tall Sally again! 

After the show, I was like a zombie.  I couldn't even walk and conked out of the floor.  Didn't know where I was -- nothing.  After I went hysterical for a while at the hotel, we went back to the theatre.  Oh, we heard this big roar so we knew that he had come out of the theatre or looked out the window and sure enough, we found out he stuck his head out the window.  Luckily for Paul, he got wise and snuck out by the front entrance in his rented car.  (A yellow Ford with a black top)

Onto Cardiff and Bournemouth!

Continuing one with the journey of the Americans following Paul McCartney and Wings around the U.K. in May of 1973 from the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends



Now, onto Cardiff.  Would you believe we had to stop off in Bristol again to catch a connecting train?  Anyway, we finally did make it to Wales and registered in a hotel right across the street from the theatre.  You had to lean out the window to see anything, so while I was writing a letter, I kept sticking my head out the window every two seconds.  All of a sudden I saw the bus (arriving hours ahead of time for rehearsal) and naturally I missed Paul by a split second.  I saw everyone else going in, but brother!  We met a friend for the first time outside the theatre and since then, we become traveling buddies and went nuts on the train together.   She and Maddy and front row seats and our seats were awful.   They were off the side, and not being six feet tall, I was having a hard time seeing anything.  I was having a nervous attack when Ann spotted two beautiful, gorgeous empty seats in the second row - center!  Luckily enough, we snuck over to them about 10 minutes before Paul came on, but God, we were so nervous that the proper owners would show up and kick us out.  John Eastman was sitting right near us.  The show was great, and I loved our seats.  god lots of nice looks from Mr. Mac, which didn't bother us at all.

At the end, when everyone was up, Ann and I decided to make ourselves noticeable and stand up on our chairs.  Well, it worked!  Especially when we both fell through the seats at the same time!  It was so funny!  We were both dying from laughter that we hardly noticed the pain.  I pulled a cutie and tried to get back up on the chair, and leaned all my weight on the let that was stuck behind the chair.  I was sure that I had broken my ankle.  I had a black and blue mark half the size of this page which didn't go away from about 5 weeks.  In order to balance ourselves, we threw our shoes off.  It was hysterical, really.  We kept having visions of Paul seeing our heads and then all of a sudden "where'd they go?"  Ann got stuck so bad that she just let her foot stay behind the seat and danced on her one remaining foot.

Guess who came and sat in these3ats were ere so happy to give up?  Mary McCartney and Paul's manager, Vincent Romeo (They say she fell asleep during the show).  Mary was right next to Sher -- so Sher was happy.  We went to the stage entrance behind the theatre, where the bus was.  Linda stuck her head out and throw some frisbees.  Oh!  I almost forgot -- at the end of each show, the roadies would come and throw hundreds of frisbees into the audience and at times, Paul would throw them too.  They were blue and red and said "Paul McCartney and Wings  -- Red Rose Speedway".

Picture from Tracks 

Anyway, the bus went out to the front entrance.  the night before in Oxford, I asked Linda where the kids were.  She told me they'd be there, and sure enough, they were!  When Paul came out, he was swarmed again, and yelled, "Dave!!"  He looked at Ann and rolled his eyes as if to say, "their assholes..."  Vincent was carrying Mary and everyone was pushing.  Some nut was heading right toward Mary, so I pushed him away from her and said, "Don't push!"  Mary was SO CUTE.  She looked at me with the cutest little smile.  I could kidnap that kid.  We went over to the side where Paul was .  Linda was sitting at the window and someone gave her Stella.  Linda waved and then started Stella waving at us.  this went on for 10 minutes.  Stella is so cute -- she's got his features in her coloring.  She was so cute and happy, waving to us and we kept waving back.  It was hysterical.  We just kept waving on and on for 10 minutes!  Paul was devoting his attention to the hysterical side of the bus but were having all the fun with Stella and Linda.  Mary was next to Paul and all we could do is drop our mouths as we compared profiles -- exactly alike.

Finally, Paul decided to give us poor creatures standing over there alone some attention and waved and gave the thumbs-up sign.  Stella was still waving at Sher, Ann and I and Paul noticed and starting singing to her.  Ann swears he said "You're a bad girl" because she read his lips.  He was waving and smiling and gave some mucho nice looks.  After the bus left, we went back to our hotel and the owner opened the closed bar for us so that we could have some drinks.   Ann and Sher and I had a little theme song going, which went to the tune of the song Paul sang at the end of the special (before Yesterday) "so here we sit at the end of another day, end of another day..."  Our words were "so here we sit at the end of another concert, end of another concert... 

Bournemouth is on the southern coast of England -- on the English channel.  That was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.  It was incredible -- very clean, parks with gardens all over the place and water was nearby.  It was gorgeous.  If you ever go to England, plan that as one of your stops.   One of their restaurants had the best lasagna in the word (and by the way, John Aunt Mimi lives there).

We were there for a total of 2 days since there was a day off.  We went to the Winter Gardens early so that we could take some photos of the theatre as well as the surrounding area.  Sher and I were taking photos of the front when we noticed this person on the roof.  It was Henry, who was practicing on his guitar.  There were some nice guys around who wanted to get some photos of Paul -- later on, they were talking to Henry and Henry said that once Paul arrived they, including me could go backstage, providing it was alright with Paul.   Naturally, Paul arrived too late, so that flopped.  Anyway, we sat around and waited a few hours.  I had gotten some yellow roses for Paul and the bus arrived.  It was only us, and Denny Laine spotted us and therefore, proceeded to stand up and wave and smile.  Paul noticed us, and jumped up and started waving and grinning and before long, everyone was waving at us.  I went around to the side where Pau was because they were opening the gate for him and he followed me around to that side.  He was smiling and I held the roses up and he went "Oh!  OK!" nodding his head.  I pointed to the front of the bus, and he nodded his head ok, so I went to the front to meet him.    I had this big plan to ask him to sing the "Hold me Tight" medley.  He came off the bus, looking like a little kid at Christmas time.  He had this huge grin and an expression like "ok! Can I have my flower now?"   I handed him the flowers and said "They were living once"  (they had sort of wilted during out vigil).  He said "Thank You" and walked in, so I never did get to ask him about that song.   It's better that he never did sing it because, with those words, we would not have been responsible for our actions.

We had second-row center seats that night which were fantastic.  I was talking to this particularly gorgeous guy next to me before the show.  he couldn't understand what we saw in Paul that would make us follow the tour around.  Well, after the show, all he kept saying was "Now I know why you're doing this!  Fantastic!  Absolutely fantastic!  That was the best show I ever saw!"  When the show began, I immediately had a heart attack when I saw my flowers sitting in Denny's drums!  The show went along beautifully, as always, with a lot of special attention from Paul.  At the end, however, the stage got rushed and we just about died.   Something like that makes you want to run up and punch those silly people.  Paul saw it coming, dropped everything, and ran like hell!  I was so frightened my heart was in the my throat.  When they cleared everyone off, he did come back out.  Linda was so scared that a roadie put his arms around her as if to protect.  She put her hands over her face and she was crying. I really felt sorry for her -- that really scared me too!  None the less, it was a good show, except for that scene near the end.

We waited near the stage door and were joined by 100 other people, so we separated ourselves from that.  We were very tensed up and afraid of what would happen when he came out.  As usual, he was swarmed, flashed at, and had to sign a lot of autographs and smile at the same time.

Oxford Press conference

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