Interview for dopeYEAH talk

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So, the first kind of big success as an artist was probably Average White Band. Was that your first big step?

Hamish Stuart: Yeah. The band I went to Glasgow with did a couple of singles for Decca. Nothing major—the first one was just outside the Top 20. Funny story: the song was called I’ll Be Home in a Day or So. They were going to use it for Apollo 13’s return, but things changed, and they dropped the idea. That would have pushed the record into the charts, I’m sure. But yeah—Apollo 13 killed my first single!

A couple of years later, the Average White Band idea came along. The guys had already got together—it was people I knew, and wanted to work with. Particularly drummer Robbie McIntosh—another Robbie McIntosh! I’d heard him when he was only 16, and he blew me away. I just knew I wanted to work with him.

I’d never worked with horns before, but the timing was perfect. We were all in London, from different parts of Scotland, but we had the same vision. It really locked in quickly and developed fast.

And after Average White Band, what was the next big move?

The next big move was having kids! My son was born just before AWB broke up at the end of ’82/’83. It was the first time in my life since I was 15 that I wasn’t in a band.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was drinking quite a lot, watching TV, and thinking: What am I going to do with my life?

I decided I had to do something, so I became a full-time songwriter. We were living in Greenwich, Connecticut, but moved to L.A. I started writing songs full-time. That’s what I did until about ’87… when I got the call from Paul.

Amazing—Paul McCartney! That must have been ridiculously exciting.

Yeah, that was the next phase. One morning at breakfast, I got a call from Paul’s manager, Richard Ogden. He said, Paul’s putting together a band. He’s working on a new album, then a world tour. He’s got a drummer — do you want to come over and play?

It was like: Are frogs waterproof? (laughs)

Two weeks later I flew to England, went to Paul’s studio in East Sussex, and spent the afternoon playing with Paul, drummer Chris Whitten, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and me. We made up a little song, sang harmonies, just jammed.

Then I went back to London, met Paul and Linda for lunch a couple of days later, and afterwards went up to Scotland to visit my family. That weekend they called and offered me the gig.

We started rehearsing in February ’87 with songs Paul had written with Elvis Costello.

From being a kid listening to The Beatles to suddenly being in Paul’s band—it must have been pinch-yourself time.

Absolutely. The excitement was incredible. Learning the old songs, the new songs—it all came together so well.

Recording with Paul was amazing. His craftsmanship is unbelievable. Flowers in the Dirt — I listened back years later when the reissue came out, and remembered all the little ideas as they were built. Layer upon layer — such a sonic picture. It’s a great record, full of craft and art.

And people sometimes forget what a brilliant bass player he is. Maybe Beatles fans don’t, but still — he’s an incredible musician, and a great singer.

I loved singing with him. It was a real treat doing backing vocals — sometimes just me and him, later with Robbie. On stage, it became a really solid unit.

And you got on well with Linda, too?

Yeah, Linda was great — very funny. I know there was a lot of “anti-Linda” stuff, but from the start it became clear she’d be part of the band.

I remember one day early on, Linda wasn’t at rehearsal because of a photography exhibition. The chemistry was different — it felt off. Linda was such a key part of the balance, and of course she and Paul were lifelong partners.

When she passed… it was shocking. I didn’t call Paul during that time — I felt it was private. I honestly expected her to recover, so it was a huge shock.

She was a brilliant photographer, and she really pioneered the vegetarian side of their life. I’m a vegetarian now, still eat her vegetarian sausages! But back then, Paul and Linda were way ahead.

I remember them saying — when they had sheep near the farm — that one day they thought: Hang on, we can’t eat lamb, that’s Fred — we can’t eat him! It was that kind of moment of clarity.