Following their successful Nashville trip, Paul decided to continue rehearsing the new Wings lineup in London, this time in the familiar surroundings of Abbey Road's Studio 2.
With Geoff Emerick engineering and an MPL camera crew filming the proceedings, Paul, Linda, Denny, Jimmy, and Geoff ran through 20 or so numbers. Shooting actually began August 24th with Paul performing a solo acoustic set in the Studios' small garden courtyard. The result was a short film which came to be known as The Backyard:
None of the backyard footage was used in the completed hour-long production, titled One Hand Clapping. Live band performances were shot on August 27th and 28th, including this smoking version of "Soily":
Paul bookended the filming with another solo set on August 30th, this time at the piano:
One Hand Clapping was never screened in finished form, although most of it was included on a bonus DVD with the 2009 Band On The Run remaster. The Yellow Cat CD featuring excellent stereo mixes from these sessions is a must-listen, showcasing Wings at its tightest, performing some of Paul's best material.
Back in America, John was about to begin the biggest promotional push yet for any of his solo albums, and his most concentrated series of media appearances since the Bed-in days. The Walls And Bridges blitz began in Los Angeles early in the morning of September 20th. KHJ-AM was hosting "Superstar Week", with a different celebrity filling in each day for DJ Charlie Van Dyke.
John was the Superstar for the Friday slot, and managed to drag himself to the studio at 6AM (or perhaps he just stayed up all night) to begin the morning shift. His energy level remained high for the next 2.5 hours as he took requests and chatted with callers, did time checks and read local ad copy, and plugged the new album by spinning several tracks and airing a specially-taped radio spot he'd done with Ringo a couple of weeks prior.
Later on the 20th, John spoke via telephone to his old pal Kenny Everett, now working at Capital Radio in London. It would be Kenny's last interview with John.
Whoah! We are fast approaching the Lennon radio appearances of 74 and 75! And George too! This is getting good! (wait, amend that, it's BEEN good since, like, 1963!!!)
ReplyDeleteTwo things: Paul never met a camera he didn't like, and this is probably the closest we'll get to a studio version of "Soily". I never understood why that didn't make an album.
ReplyDeleteHa! You are completely correct, sir! Though, nothing's worse than him singing "Let It Be" straight into the camera, in the movie "Let It Be", makes me cringe every time!
DeleteAh, we're at the edge of our seats! What will happen next I wonder, will the Beatles reunite in '74? Will John get to stay in the country? Will Paul ever play onstage again? And will George be reunited with his ticker tape machine??
ReplyDeleteWill we ever see Ringo sober again?
And what about us, might we be privvy to the elusive Tom Donohue-John Lennon summit from around this period??
Only the Shadow knows!!!!
Stay tuned, Beatlepeople! Same Beatletime, Same Beatlechannel!!!!
(hope you've had a great summer, Dinsdalep!)
Thanks! I've been under the weather the last couple of weeks, but I hope to be back soon to answer all these questions!
DeleteOh my gosh, feel better, John!!! No rush!!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes, John, are you ok???? Please feel better soon, you're the most generous of all Beatlepeople, and your writing is indispensable!
ReplyDeleteI wish there was something I could do. I hope you're not in too much pain or discomfort.
:(
Come back, Shane!
I'm doing much better now, thanks. Just haven't been motivated to start posting again. Perhaps later this week!
DeleteWell that's different..........just as long as you're not laying around miserable!
DeleteTo adapt what Keith Richards said about George....but applying it to you: here's someone of whom can be said-Let no harm come to this man!!
Not much I can add to what has been said above, John. Just want to wish you all the best.
ReplyDelete