Wings Fun Club newsletter #4 published

Dear Friends,

This will be the last newsletter you will be receiving from me, as I am leaving the club shortly. I’d like to thank all of you for joining the club, especially those of you who participated in the club by writing bits and pieces. It’s always so much better if we hear your views as well as giving ours. I have now been running the club for over a year, as those of you who joined the unofficial club I began will know, and now I feel it is time for me to move on to something else, and pass the club on to someone else. A girl named Nicky, who I know will do her best for everyone in the club.

I guess a lot of you saw the gigs on the Wings mini tour, naturally a great success, like the last. Birmingham I particularly enjoyed, but the Newcastle gig was quite special; as well as being the last show, it was Denny Seiwell’s birthday, which everyone celebrated by bringing him a cake on stage. “Happy Birthday Denny”. And good luck to all of you.

Smile away and get on the right thing,

Clare.

Thank you Clare, and best of luck in the future for whatever you decide to do.

Here’s a run down on the latest Wings activities:

Since the end of the tour, Paul and Linda have been up in Scotland writing material for a new album which they will be recording this September, in Nigeria. The rest of Wings flew up there last week. Their tour of Australia set for the beginning of next year will have most of its songs based on this new album.

One super story I read in one of the teeny magazines tells how Paul and Linda recently went shopping in Fortnum and Masons – they were besieged by old ladies trying to get autographs, apparently, all the staff left their counters to join in the scrum. Eventually the manager had to come and rescue them.

Also a bit of news that some of you might not yet have heard yet is that Poppy, Paul’s labrador, had 7 puppies about 2 months ago. Paul and Linda besides having Poppy and the puppies, have a dalmatian – given to Paul last year for his birthday, called Lucky, Poppy’s puppy, Captain Midnight and the famed old English sheepdog – Martha.

Denny Laine’s new single was released last Friday, the 5rd. I expect most of you have bought it already, and those of you who haven’t will no doubt be rushing down to your record shop as soon as you’ve finished your newsletter. It’s taken off his new solo LP, and is only the fourth record to be released on Roy Wood’s Wizzard label. The A side “Find a Way Somehow” is a slow melody, with a lovely talking bit in the middle. The B side is a much faster track ‘Move me to another place’ – give it a good listen. I1m not sure which side I like the best, which just goes to show how good they both are.

Some of you who after hanging around long enough after the gigs managed to meet some of the group:

Liverpool

It’s a pity whoever wrote about the Liverpool gig, didn’t see the second show. The atmosphere was even better. Before the shows we met Denny, Henry and Denny going in, but they said we’d missed Paul and Linda so we waited outside after the second show and once more we were talking to Denny, Henry and Denny, but Paul had gone out of another door, so after seeing the coach go, we made our way to the taxi stand, on the way down the coach passed and Henry waved to us. A little further on the coach stopped outside the Adelphi Hotel, so we were talking to them again, but we didn’t get to see Paul and Linda at all, the two roadies said he’d gone to his dads.

The next day I read in the paper that Paul and Linda had been to Forthlyn Road, where Paul used to live, but I didn’t think to go. I had been waiting outside the Cavern for about half an hour in case they went there, and then I went back to the Empire and watched the roadies loading all the equipment in, they said that half of it was the Beatles stuff.

K Kelly

Newcastle: 10 July

We were sitting watching BS, when we saw Henry dancing at the side, we decided he looks much nicer live. Following BS were some acrobats. Tension was building up, the announcement “Paul McCartney and Wings” was very welcome. We clapped when Denny, Henry, Denny and Linda appeared but when Paul came on the sound was tremendous.

I couldn’t believe it was real, we were sitting in the second row. I wasn’t able to see Denny Seiwell ‘cos of his amp but I did when he got up and took the giant birthday cake. Henry played Happy Birthday and also sang a lovely little folk song after drinking a cup of Scotch.

Thanks a million Wings for extending your tour to come and see us in Newcastle. I have never enjoyed myself so much. We waited outside in the rain for over an hour just to have one last look at you.

Louise Partridge

Manchester:

…too much. I stood there with my mouth open, there was actually Paul, only a few yards away. I had waited ten years to see him, and finally made it, not only did I see the concert but…

There I was in Piccadilly, when who should walk by, but Denny Seiwell. He went into a cafe. I plucked up the courage and went in after him, and actually spoke to him. Then, ended up with having a meal with him. Later on, I went into the hotel they were staying at, and who should I see, but Denny Laine. It was worth travelling from Ireland for, but hope against hope, I didn’t just manage to bump into Paul. So near, yet so far away. Tell you the truth I don’t think my poor heart would actually have stood up to that. I was excited enough, talking to people that actually came into contact with Paul.

Billy Carrol

Bristol:

Steve Bane took lots of lovely photos of Paul and Linda, when he met them backstage at the Bristol Hippodrome.

Steve: Hi there Paul

Paul : Hi

Steve: Great show on the tele last night Paul, I enjoyed it very much. Have you had many comments about it from other people?

Paul: Yeah, and a lot have said the same as you, they liked it as well.

Steve: I know you’re very interested in reggae music so I have brought you a little gift which has been made by my mother for your youngest child, it’s a small golliwog.

Paul : Oh it’s great. I’ll have to show it to Linda, thanks a lot and don’t forget to thank your mum for me will you?

Steve: Would you mind if I took some photos of you and Linda holding the golly for the family album?

Paul : Of course not, carry on.

So I did.

If any other fans would like to send in any negatives of prints they managed to get of Paul and Wings I’d really appreciate it – they’ll be returned to you within 9 days. […]

Martin Lewis sent in a fascinating biography of the Wings bus. Martin you’d done so much research I just had to print your letter.

“Paul McCartney and Wings Over Europe”

After searching through my collection of Buses magazines under the ‘Eastern National’ heading, I noticed that WNO 82 the Wings bus but one, had been sold by Eastern Counties which put me on the trail of WNO 481!

WNO 81 was built in 1955 for the Eastern National Omnibus Company by Bristol Commercial Vehicles of Bristol and Eastern Coachworks Ltd of Lowestoft. In the list of ENOC (Eastern Omnibus Company) vehicles it specifies the vehicle to be Bristol KSW5G with ECW open top double deck bodywork (33 top deck/28 lower deck). It was number 2385 until it left that company in 1968 and went alongside WNO 82 to ENOC. Eastern Counties numbered the pair LKO238/239 (WNO 482/481) and placed them in service on seafront routes. In mid 1971, WNO 481 was withdrawn from service awaiting sale but it appeared alongside WNO 82, (which had been withdrawn from service shortly before WNO 81) at Epsom on Derby Day.

Just under a year later WNO 481 was sold to Hall Coaches and was painted in the Red and Grey livery associated with this company. A couple of months later WNO 81 was adapted with such changes as coach seats, fridges, stereo, a play pen etc ready for a contract that could take it away from London and its home counties of East Anglia. The bus now a psychedelic ‘seaside promenade open deck bus’ was to take “Wings Over Europe”.

Henry: the Bus was really amazing it had a top speed of 38 mph… there was a couple of gas fridges built into it stuffed full of cheese and beer, if there was a bit of steak there’d be a row, so we stuffed ourselves with what was there. After touring most of Europe the bus returned to its Hounslow owners, and appeared at Brunel Universities Community festival, Brunelzebub. Valliant Silverline had entered it in full ‘Wings’ livery and showing Zurich as its destination. It provided a very good photographers platform at the rally. […]

Well, that’s about it for this month. One thing I must tell you before I say goodbye is the good news that EMI are going to present Wings with a gold disc for Red Rose Speedway, it’s sold over one hundred thousand copies. They also receive a silver for RRS from the British Phonographic Institution, and another gold from the States where it was number one for ages.

Live and Let Die is now soaring up the American charts – and looks destined for the same placing as My Love.

Sgt Pepper, the Beatles album which took over four months to make, and was reputed to have cost over £25,000 to produce has been made into a stage musical. It opens in New York very shortly and will then tour the States.

As the club is now open to the rest of the world, I’ll be getting lots of letters from a broad – so I’ll get one of the fans from each country to send me the chart placing of Wings in their country, so you can now start keeping a record of how well the singles are doing and you’ll be able to see how tremendously popular they are outside Britain.

Cos of all this extra mail l’d really appreciate it if you remember to send an SAE when you write, it heIps me enourmously as it means l don’t have to spend hours typing out envelopes etc. If you’re writing from abroad you can send instead of a stamp – an international reply coupon. These are available at your post office.

Thank you to all of you who do write in, it’s really nice to hear all your opinions on Paul, Wings and the club. And I know you won’t hesitate to write in to let me know if there’s anything you’d particularly like to see in the newsletters. Remember this is a Fun Club for you.

Most of the material from the tour advertised in the last newsletter has now gone. There was a great demand for everything and the few things I’ve got left I’ll be sending to fans abroad who haven’t yet had the chance to write in.

A big thanks to those of you who sent cards to Denny Seiwell for his birthday on the 10th July and to Henry on the 21st. Little Mary, Paul and Linda’s second youngest is 4 on the 28th August.

Smile away,

Nicky