The 1975 Wings Over The World tour kicked off September 9th, 1975 at the Southampton Gaumont. From the start, it was a more polished and professional act than Paul had taken out in a decade. The addition of a four-piece horn section added dynamics and color to the sound, the lighting and stage effects were top-notch, and most importantly, Wings now had a long string of chart hits and successful LP tracks to choose from. This meant Paul could have his cake and eat it too, allowing him to sprinkle in a few Beatles tunes without being accused of cashing in on past glories.
The tour passed through Bristol, Cardiff, and Manchester, where Granada TV's Tony Wilson interviewed Wings in their dressing room on September 12th. Three nights later, the band returned to Paul's hometown, playing to a sold-out crowd at the Liverpool Empire. This time, it was German TV's Treffpunkte interviewing Paul backstage. A bit of the conversation was repeated December 6th, 1976 on Phonzeit, which also aired a bit of "Blackbird" from the tour, and the "Letting Go" promo clip (possibly shot September 21st in Glasgow).
Director Tony Palmer had produced a critically praised look at the rock scene back in 1968, All My Loving, which had included interviews with Paul and Ringo. Now he was working on a greatly expanded 17-part documentary series, All You Need Is Love, whose scope included the history of popular music stretching back a century.
Naturally, the Beatles occupied much of one installment, and Palmer filmed a new interview with Paul to sit beside the older clips. It was most likely shot in Liverpool on September 14th or 15th, and the episode, which aired May 14th 1977, closes with a performance of "Yesterday" probably from the Empire show:
The tour wrapped with four performances in Scotland, covering Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee. At one of these stops, French TV interviewed Paul and Linda backstage for the show Vous Avez Dit Bizarre? The report, broadcast December 4th on Antenne 2, included a live performance of "Letting Go", different from the promotional clip for the single (which doesn't seem to be on YouTube anywhere):
Thanks, John. Just a few typos in there. I think Paul's "All My Loving" interview was filmed on 15 September, not 14. The show aired in 1977, rather than 1976 (unless I'm mistaken) and the contemporary name of France's second TV channel was Antenne 2.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the corrections! I just guessed the 14th because it was a day off and it doesn't look like a dressing room. Got to be in Liverpool, though, given the topic of discussion and Palmer interviewing Allan Williams and other Liverpool folks. 1976 was a typo, and I see now that Antenne 2 didn't become France 2 until 1992.
DeleteHi John, thanks for these. I would really appreciate it if you could please post the complete raw tape of the interview Elliot Mintz did with John Lennon on Jan 1, 1976 for Earth Radio.
DeleteThanks
We're going chronologically, and if I were a betting man I'd wager it's coming when we get to 1976 a couple of weeks or so from now...nary a scraplet of Beatledom has evaded this blog thus far....!
DeleteGod bless John Winn!! Man, you must be the Patron Saint of Beatlefreaks! I'm naming my first daughter "John-Winn"!
The internet ain't ever going to get better than this!
Fantastic picture! Does anyone know where that's from?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I never compliment the titles you give to each post! Always spot on, apt, funny....sometimes it's like looking for a needle in a haystack but when you find it, it's like a lightbulb goes off....kind've like watching a movie and then all of a sudden some character speaks the title of the movie and you go "ahhhh".
Just another service you provide!
-mg
Ah, coincidentally, the fantastic "Meet The Beatles....FOR REAL" blog just put up some pics and a story about 3 days with Wings, September 16th in Newcastle through the 18th. Right where we leave off in this post!
ReplyDeletehttp://meetthebeatlesforreal.blogspot.com/2012/11/three-days-in-september-1975.html
-mg