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Circa September 1974

Wings Fun Club newsletter N°2, 1974 published

Last updated on August 1, 2022


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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

Circa September 1974, the following newsletter (labelled as “No. 2. 1974“) was sent to the members of the “Wings Official Fun Club“. It features an article about the recent Wings sessions in Nashville, and some various news.

The newsletter makes reference to the following events:


WINGS IN NASHVILLE

On July 17th Wings arrived back in England after seven weeks of rehearsing and recording in Nashville, Tennesse. The McCartneys had rented a 133 acre ranch near Lebanon from songwriter Curley Putman, who wrote ‘Green Green Grass of Home’. Most of their stay was spent rehearsing Wings and jamming with local musicians, including Chet Atkins, country pianist Floyd Crammer, fiddle player Vassar Clements, banjo player Bobby Thompson, and the Cate Sisters. Among the tracks recorded was a song called ‘Eloise’, written by Paul’s father twenty years ago. Also recorded was a ‘country flavoured’ song called ‘Sally G’, written by Paul after visiting a country music club in Printers’ Alley. He was impressed not only with Nashville, but with the musicians and the ‘Sound Shop’ studios where he worked, usually from 6 p.m. to midnight.

“We had great fun using pedal guitars, fiddles and banjos. The musicians out in Nashville are a great pleasure to work with because they are so sharp and professional.”

In an informal press conference held on the front porch of the ranch Paul said:

“I came here, because Nashville is the music centre; I hope to return sometime in the near future to do an American tour. If it does develop, there are definite plans for a Nashville concert. We just couldn’t skip Nashville, we have too many friends here. The trouble is that since I’ve been here I promised a lot of people that I would write songs for them. It’s amazing the people who want songs, like Johnny Cash and Charlie Rich. You’d think they’d have plenty of material but they all tell us they don’t have enough good songs.”

During their stay, Paul and Linda visited the new Opry land, an enormous park with four or five stages, each with different kinds of music being performed – folk, Dixieland, country etc. They attended a fiddle contest, and saw Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner and Gordon Stoker, lead singer with Presley’s backing group The Geordinaires. Also they frequented their favourite local restaurant ‘The Loveless Motel’, and a few drive-in movies. One evening Roy Orbison came over for a supper cooked by Linda.

Linda told reporters:

“One of the best times we had in Nashville was on Paul’s birthday. I’d bought him a lighter from Rivergate, and in the evening we had a barbecue down on a lake, but the next day we were back to rehearsing for possible future tours and recordings. Most of the time we rehearsed in a garage next to the house.”

Among the thirty pieces of luggage loaded into the rented car and truck en route for New York, was a Honda motorcycle.

Paul’s immediate plans are to do a follow-up album to ‘Band on the Run’ in the near future.

“Beyond that, I don’t know. I could, for all I know, write a great rock and roll epic. And then I could do nothing.”

WINGS IN FLIGHT?

To set straight the many erroneous reports in the press recently of a split in the band, we turn to the New Musical Express (17th August) interview with Denny Laine:

“In the last two months Wings put in six weeks of rehearsals and recordings in Nashville. During this time there were various discussions, the outcome of which had become a more stable band and a more equal position all round. In one sense the band has more strength – in another more fluidity, since it was agreed that McCartney can bring in any other artists he chooses without causing any bruised egos among the resident musicians. Otherwise relations couldn’t be better.

Also it seems a turnabout from the early days of Wings, and perhaps even a turnabout in McCartney band-running philosophy. Previously Wings have always been notable for a certain casual, free-wheeling attitude initiated right back on their first tour of Europe – undertaken aboard a double decker bus. Now Laine says he’d like to see Wings move towards the tour-album-tour-album ritual undertaken by the more average, run of the mill bands. It appears some of the earlier light-heartedness has been exchanged for what one might hesitantly call professionalism.”

NEWS FLASHES

Mike McGear’s single, ‘Leave It’, written by Paul and Linda and produced by Paul, to be released in U.K. by Warners on 30th August, the album appearing on 27th September…. No release date yet on Peggy Lee’s record of Paul’s ‘Let’s Love’ on Atlantic …. ‘John, Paul, George, Ringo… & Bert’ opened 15th August at the Lyric Theatre, London, to rave reviews. Paul hopes to see it soon…. Denny’s JoJo gave birth to their second child Heidi on August 13th…. Contrary to what was said in Melody Maker (August 17th) by the Beatles international Fan Club, our comment: ‘It’s a load of rubbish!”…. Paul thanks you all for your birthday cards and gifts …. No schedule yet for proposed US or U.K. tour. […]


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