- Timeline More from year 1971
Timeline
More from year 1971
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On this day, the Daily Mirror announced that Paul McCartney had formed a new band with his wife Linda. The other band members and the name of the band were not mentioned.
A follow-up article published the day after, August 4, 1971, revealed the full line-up (drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Denny Laine – former Moody Blues member – in addition to Paul and Linda).
New Musical Express, dated August 7, 1971, understood “that it is likely to be named the Paul McCartney Blues Band“. But the name of the band wouldn’t appear to Paul before the birth of his second daughter, Stella, on September 13, 1971.
From McCartney Legacy on Facebook, August 3, 2021:
On this day 50 years ago, the Daily Mirror’s Deborah Thomas got the scoop on Paul McCartney’s new band. Coming just 48 hours after the Concert for Bangladesh, the timing of the announcement was likely no coincidence. Paul had been asked to play the concert but didn’t want to give Allen Klein the satisfaction of reuniting the Beatles on stage – in return, Paul was hammered by the press. This statement was Paul finally telling the world that he was moving on. Not just for one concert but full time. At that time, McCartney’s band was nameless leading the NME to speculate the band would be called “McCartney’s Blues Band.” The rest is history.
I don’t want to say too much about the band. I just don’t want it to be old news by the time we start.
Paul McCartney – From The Daily Mirror, August 4, 1971
The new band has been in the recording studios for some time now and they’ve got a lot of music down, which we hope to get out before the end of the year. They are very excited by the music they’ve been making.
Shelley Turner of McCartney Productions Ltd – From Daily Mirror, August 4, 1971
Linda is expecting a child in the Autumn, and Paul doesn’t want a pregnant pianist on stage. The band has been working very hard lately, and they’ll all be taking a holiday. Paul and Linda are going to the Mediterranean. Paul is also doing his utmost to finalise a contract on paper as to what he is now. He has high hopes of resolving the present problems with the rest of the Beatles in the very near future.
Shelley Turner – From Melody Maker, August 7, 1971
Paul wanted, I think, to recapture the innocence of when bands just used to get together to bang around in the garage. The public relations mistake he made is that he was already well past the point where the critics would accept that from him, but conceptually he had a wonderful idea.
Leslie Fradkin – From “Linda McCartney: A Portrait” by Danny Field, 2000
Paul’s new group is a secret
PAUL McCartney has formed a new group. And one of its members is his wife Linda. The names of the other musicians are a closely guarded secret, but already they have been working in recording studios together. Paul, 29, has also set up a new firm, McCartney Productions Ltd., in Soho, to deal with all his affairs. The news of Paul’s new activities was revealed yesterday – the day after George Harrison and Ringo Starr, two of his old Beatle colleagues, took part in two smash-hit charity concerts in New York.
From The Daily Mirror, August 3, 1971
PAUL’S NEW POP GROUP TO MAKE A BRITISH TOUR
PAUL MCCARTNEY is to take his new pop group, which stars his wife Linda and two top musicians, on a tour of Britain later this year. The ex-Beatle will be the group’s lead guitarist and Linda will play the piano. Both will sing. They will be supported by Denny Laine, one-time leader of the Moody Blues pop group, and American rock drummer Denny Seiwell, who played on McCartney’s new album “Ram”. The group, which had been surrounded by secrecy until yesterday, has yet to be named.
Excited
At his home in the Scottish highlands yesterday, McCartney said: “I don’t want to say too much about the band. I just don’t want it to be old news by the time we start.“
But in London yesterday, Miss Shelley Towers [sic: Turner] the girl who runs McCartney Productions, said that Paul and his group are looking forward to the tour.
She said: “The new band has been in the recording studios for some time now and they’ve got a lot of music down, which we hope to get out before the end of the year. They are very excited by the music they’ve been making.“
From Daily Mirror, August 4, 1971
McCARTNEY’S BLUES BAND DEBUT SOON
AN official announcement that Paul McCartney has formed a new group is expected shortly. Paul has been working on the project for some time, although he has tried to keep his activities hidden. His wife Linda is known to be involved in the new group, as well as several well-known musicians including Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell. The members of the outfit have already been recording together with a view to a debut album being released in the autumn. The group’s output is said to lean heavily on blues, and the NME understands that it is likely to be named the Paul McCartney Blues Band. And it is more than likely that the outfit will eventually undertake concert appearances.
From New Musical Express – August 7, 1971
Now… McCartney forms his own band.
Paul McCartney has formed a group to record and play live gigs – with wife Linda on piano and vocals. The rest of the line-up is Denny Laine, formerly with Moodies and Airforce, on guitar, and American sessionman Denny Seiwell on drums. Seiwell played on McCartney’s last album, “Ram”.
The band which doesn’t have a name yet, recorded last week at EMI’s Abbey Road studios, and Shelly Turner of McCartney Productions Ltd. told the MM that Paul is “very happy with the band and with the tapes they made.“
Live appearances will be delayed several months because “Linda is expecting a child in the Autumn, and Paul doesn’t want a pregnant pianist on stage. The band has been working very hard lately, and they’ll all be taking a holiday. Paul and Linda are going to the Mediterranean.“
Shelly added: “Paul is also doing his utmost to finalise a contract on paper as to what he is now. He has high hopes of resolving the present problems with the rest of the Beatles in the very near future.“
Apple release a single from “Ram” next week. The titles are “Back Seat Of My Car” and “Heart Of The Country”.
From Melody Maker, August 7, 1971
McCartney Plans A New Rock Group
NEW YORK – Paul McCartney is planning to head a new rock group. As yet unnamed, the group will consist of his wife, Linda Eastman, on piano; American rock drummer Denny on drums; and former Moody Blues guitarist-singer-composer Denny Laine. No appearances are planned, a spokesman for the group said, until McCartney ends his legal difficulties with the Beatles.
From Cashbox Magazine, August 14, 1971
Last updated on October 25, 2023
Going further
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"An updated edition of the best-seller. The story of what happened to the band members, their families and friends after the 1970 break-up is brought right up to date. A fascinating and meticulous piece of Beatles scholarship."
We owe a lot to Keith Badman for the creation of those pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - a day to day chronology of what happened to the four Beatles after the break-up and how their stories intertwined together!
The Beatles - The Dream is Over: Off The Record 2
This edition of the book compiles more outrageous opinions and unrehearsed interviews from the former Beatles and the people who surrounded them. Keith Badman unearths a treasury of Beatles sound bites and points-of-view, taken from the post break up years. Includes insights from Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney, Barbara Bach and many more.
Maccazine - Volume 40, Issue 3 - RAM Part 1 - Timeline
This very special RAM special is the first in a series. This is a Timeline for 1970 – 1971 when McCartney started writing and planning RAM in the summer of 1970 and ending with the release of the first Wings album WILD LIFE in December 1971. [...] One thing I noted when exploring the material inside the deluxe RAM remaster is that the book contains many mistakes. A couple of dates are completely inaccurate and the story is far from complete. For this reason, I started to compile a Timeline for the 1970/1971 period filling the gaps and correcting the mistakes. The result is this Maccazine special. As the Timeline was way too long for one special, we decided to do a double issue (issue 3, 2012 and issue 1, 2013).
Maccazine - Volume 47, Issue 1 - The birth of Wings
"Maccazine is a hard copy magazine (a bound paperback) about Paul McCartney. It is published twice a year. Due to the fact that the Internet has taken over the world and the fact that the latest Paul McCartney news is to be found on hundreds of websites, we have decided to focus on creating an informative paper magazine about Paul McCartney."
"In this issue we take you back to the early days of Paul McCartney’s solo career when he decided to form a new group. With Wings he proved there was life after The Beatles. This Maccazine features a detailed timeline of ‘the birth’ of the band with interesting entries including many new facts and unpublished photos. Follow-up timelines will be published in the upcoming years."
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