Wings Fun Club newsletter #5 published

About

The Paul McCartney and Wings Fun Club was formed in late 1972. Between 1973 and 1976, the club issued some newsletters which would later evolve into the Club Sandwich newspaper. These early newsletters were either in the form of typed foolscap folio (20.3cm x 33cm) sheets or A5 (14.8cm x 21cm) booklets. Most of these were quite amateurishly done and sent out irregularly. Various MPL employees compiled them, Lucy then Nicky then Sue Cavanaugh, without forgetting Claire who launched the idea of an unofficial Wings fan club, wrote a first unofficial newsletter and contributed to the very first official ones.

My sincere thanks to Andy Weal, one of the early members of the Wings Fun Club, who helped us put together the club’s history and provided copies of some artefacts.

From Record Collector – June 1997:

[…] Club Sandwich grew out of the plain, typewritten newsletters issued by the Wings Fun Club in the early 70s, which itself developed from an unofficial fan club run by a long-forgotten McCartney devotee known only as Lucy. A girl called Claire took over the Wings newsletter in 1973, and with the blessing of McCartney’s MPL company, she launched the Paul McCartney and Wings Fan Club via MPL’s Soho Square address that year. The inaugural issue coincided with the release of “Red Rose Speedway”, and the initial membership fee was just 50p, for which fans were promised a newsletter every four to six weeks.

The first despatches were foolscap-sized, mimeographed affairs. Back in ’73, the innovation of photographs had yet to be adopted, but members were kept informed about such subjects as the James Paul McCartney TV special (the report on which suggested that “The Long And Winding Road” was edited from the final version), the recording of “Red Rose Speedway”, Wings’ first tour, the group’s visit to Marrakesh, plus a candid report on Paul’s bust for growing marijuana plants for which, revealed Claire, the ex-Beatie was fined £100. Early club offers included an exclusive Wings badge, which featured a red bird on a white background. Yours for just 12p.

For the second issue of the newsletter, MPL’s address was replaced with a more discreet P.O. box number, and the title of the organisation was amended on McCartney’s recommendation to Wings Fun Club. Official news was bolstered by fans’ letters and comments, plus a personal ads section in which eager readers requested back issues of The Beatles Book (“will pay 8p per copy”), and McCartney’s soundtrack LP for The Family Way (“will give £1”). Bootleg tapes of Wings’ 1972 university tour were also avidly sought after, and adverts soliciting them were frequently published.

By issue five, the newsletter had become an A5-sized magazine, edited by a surname-free girl called Nicky. It was still produced on the cheap, and although photographs had started to creep in, the magazine remained black-and-white. The editorial content too continued to be frank: after the unexpected departure of Wings’ members, Denny Seiwell and Henry McCulloch, Linda McCartney revealed that there had been “no row” between them and the rest of the group. “We didn’t really know Henry,” she observed, “and he didn’t know us.” The mag proved its point by reporting with some dignity on the deserters’ post-Wings activities. Among the new Club offers was a selection of Wings biros available in red, green, blue, mauve and pink – priced at 6p each.

In 1974, the Fun Club magazine turned more professional-looking, with a glossy, black-and-white cover, and generous offers to buy 10″ x 8″s of Wings’ floating line-up. At this stage, editor Nicky was joined by American MPL employee, Sue Cavanaugh, and to this day, Sue remains – notionally at least – in charge of Club Sandwich.

The last A5 Wings magazine was produced in December 1976, and was stuffed with reports of that year’s American tour, plus a multitude of club offers including a “Helen Wheels” poster at 55p, T-shirts at £1.70, and a trio of tour programmes: Europe 1972 at 30p (now worth £10), U.K. 1975 at 50p (now £25) and U.S.A. 1976 at £1.50 (£30). […]

From Record Collector – June 1997

In late 1973, the fifth newsletter was sent to the members of the Wings Fun Club. Lacking some interesting news, as Wings as a trio (Paul, Linda McCartney, and Denny Laine) had spent the previous months recording their new album, “Band On The Run“, the newsletter reproduced an interview of Linda about her love of horses.

This newsletter is to make up for the one you missed out on a few months ago …. sorry it’s a bit late, but at the time there really wasn’t much news. Before Paul and Linda left for Lagos to record Band On the Run they did lots of interviews. The following article appeared in a horsey mag.

Paul and Linda McCartney like so many popsters these days retreat to the peace & quiet of the country whenever they can.

Linda has loved horses since she was small and she started taking lessons at a local stable when she was 9, “I was instructed by a very good teacher, I always dreamed of having my own horse but my parents weren’t struck on the idea.” Right from the start, Linda showed a natural gift for riding. As a child, she competed in many horse shows and won lots of ribbons and trophies. “I didn’t jump though, I rode mainly in equitation classes.” Just about the biggest show venue she attended was Madison Square Garden in New York. “It was a great thrill, but I didn’t win anything.“

Apart from riding Linda says her other hobbies are photography, music, cooking and life. But it was not till she and Paul bought their farm in Scotland that she was at last able to own the horse she’d always wanted. And not just one horse either, but five. Two of which are ponies.

Linda’s favorite horse is Cinnamon. She’s a cheastnut mare, and although well schooled, she’s certainly got a mind of her own. The first time she demonstrated this was the day after Linda bought her, “She was very nervous and didn’t fell at all at home. Paul and I went for a ride along an idyllic river and decided to tie the horses up and sit in the tall grass by the river, just like in the movies. However Cinnamon broke her reins and galloped off towards the main road. I jumped on Paul’s horse and rode after her. We finally found her in someone’s garden. She jumped the fence and all the the Dutch gardener there could say was ‘Clean jump. . . . she made a clean jump!“

As Linda lives in such a beautiful part of the countryside, we asked her whether she had any favorite places where she liked to ride. “My favorite ride is a race up what we call the green hill, and over a dirt road to the other side of our Jarge hill – I call it a mountain – and down to the sea. I also enjoy checking the sheep on horseback and cantering along the beach“.

Paul hadn’t done any riding before he met Linda but she found him very easy to teach. “He’s a natural, his horse responds easily to him. He can ride her with no bridle or saddle.” Paul’s favorite horse is Honor, an exshowjumper with a very kind temperament. One thing which never fails to excite and impress Linda is the sight of Paul riding Honor bareback with no bridle. There seems to be some kind of telepathic communication between Honor and Paul for she responds to him without the usual aids. Linda describes one particular instance of this: “One night after a drive to town and a bit of wine, we returned home to the horses who were waiting at the gate. Paul jumped onto his horse and galloped her up the field, guiding her with just the halter. What a beautiful sight that was!“

Although there is plenty of land around the farm to ride on not all of it is suitable for riding, as Heather, unfortunately, found out a while ago. Heather was on Coconut, and riding over boggy hills behind the farm, suddenly Coconut sank shoulder-deep in mud. Heather had to jump off and pull the startled pony out.

Most winters the horses are boarded out of a very friendly stud farm in Churt, Sussex owned by Susan and Guy Bach. Besides the horses, Paul & Linda have 10 chickens, several cats and kittens, 4 dogs, 5 puppies and a pet lamb.

Last updated on August 18, 2022