WINGS FUN CLUB - recollections?
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Claudio Dirani:
Thanks for that. So there is no stories about getting the bass on that issue? It's a pity
Unfortunately,the only info is from the caption beneath the photo which says that the bass is Paul's favourite Christmas present from Linda,that it once belonged to Bill Black and that Paul plays it on 'Love In Song' and 'Cook Of The House'. As 'LIS' wa recorded in November 1974 I guess Paul received the bass at Christmas 1973. Unless it was an early present for Christmas 1974 as Linda couldn't find anywhere to hide the wretched thing? I wonder if she wrapped it up?
Claudio Dirani:
If, by any chance, you have the chance of scanning the mag, I'd love to see it! thanks again
Sorry,I don't have a scanner.
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Wogew:
Never got any offers to attend UK events like the shooting of the Take It Away, even though I would gladly have flown over to attend. I used to be very envious of the UK members who were invited to things like these. I got postcards etc from the club, but I didn't have much correspondence with them. Every issue of Club Sandwich was a real treat. I also loved that Mark Lewisohn became involved, and started writing about the old (and new) promotional clips (or music videos, as they are now called). I went by MPL every time I was in London and begged for freebees, and usually I would get a postcard or a pin or something. Great memories...
They are great memories indeed. I too loved it when they discussed the old videos and promotional stuff.
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There's just too much infomation available far too quickly these days. A lot of the mystique and the anticipation has gone. Oh for the good old days?
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Are there any more Club Sandwich members here?
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I was a member from 1990 until the end. Still got all the Club Sandwiches and collected most of those from before I was a member - 12 to go. You also used to get promotional postcards for each record released.
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Fun Club was a help to me in getting a ticket to see Wings in Liverpool in 1979, I think it was the beginning of their UK tour, something like 5th row if I remember right. Those were the days - seeing Paul in a theatre instead of an arena or stadium.
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Was it the fanclub in the Sussex? I'm not sure if i understood. Was it directed by Linda? Other question i want to ask you : Who want to be involved here in creating a new magazine?
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cyrille17:
Was it the fanclub in the Sussex? I'm not sure if i understood. Was it directed by Linda?
The Wings Fun Club was mainly London based until the very later years when its mailing address changed to Westcliffe in Essex. Its origins can be traced back to 1972 when it was an unofficial fan club (based I think in Merseyside,but I'll need to check my old newsletters to confirm that) and as such went through various name changes based around the titles of Wings / Paul McCartney & Wings and the words fan club/fun club. By 1973 it had become official and London based. A lot of fans think that the Club was formed at the time the 'Club Sandwich' newspaper issues began in 1977 but in reality the Wings Fun Club had already been successfully active for four years before then.
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Yes I was a member. Didn't join up until 1990 when I got an application form in the World Tour programme. We got reduced rate tickets to tours, plus quite a few freebies. My daughter was a member as well, so having two memberships we did really well as sometimes we got different invites to stuff and opportunites to get more tickets. I guess living in London helped as well. Events we went to for free included the Mean Fiddler in 1992 (televised for New Year's Eve), we were extras in the Hope of Deliverance video, the Docklands 'dress rehearsal' for the New World Tour in 93, the Town Hall Meeting at Bishopsgate in 1997. We also got tickets to the Run Devil Run launch party in Leicester Square, even though the Fun Club closed just before that. Those were the days!
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Fiona M:
Are there any more Club Sandwich members here?
Here! I'm one
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Vale!! Anyone else? Any great recollections to add to this thread?
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I was a member from 1978 onward, I still have all the membership cards in storage someplace. I remember the goodies, the russian album, etc. I looked forward to the paper everytime it came. One memory, I did get concert tickets in 1989-90 thru the Fun Club...New York and Montreal, you were only allowed four tickets total, I got two tickets for two shows. It was a great time! In February Paul came back to the States and played in Worcester Mass, at the Centrum. My friends who lived near me got their Fun Club offer for tickets, but I waited and did not. I wrote a letter to MPL in NY, and Eastman and Eastman. Surprisingly, within days of sending the letter I got a phone call from Lee Eastman's Secretary offering me tickets to the Worcester shows. I never forgot how generous and caring that was. I had tickets to both Worcester shows. In the summer, when Paul came to Foxboro again they let me have tickets for one of the two shows...they were awesome tenth row center field seats. An awesome show! I was also able to attend the filming that was between the two shows, Paul's shows were on the Tuesday and Thursday from what I remember, and the special filming was on the Wednesday night. The filming was terrific! We had to all sign acting forms, and were given penlight flashlights as compensation. Someone afterwards said they were required to compensate us. I remember the filming went on from around 7pm till around 1am...they would film a song, then there would be about 15 minutes for them to change reels on the camera. Paul would joke around, at one point doing a Scottish accent short bit. It was very fun. A great moment was after the filming leaving the stadium, a small car passed us (only a few feet away as it passed) as we were walking, not a limo, just a regular small car. As it passed, Paul was leaning out the front passenger side window waving to us! It was a surprise, and very memorable. Podgie (aahhhh...the Fun Club Days!) Monkey
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What lovely memories Podgie!! You are so lucky to have had all those experiences via the Fun Club We went to see Paul in Birmingham via the Fun Club in 1990 and we were about 12 rows from the front, it was great because it was the first time we had seen him those were the days
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On one of my first trips to London in 1977, I went to the old MPL office in London. Didnt know what to expect...there wasn't any internet in those days. I knew the address..walked up to the building about 8am. The MPL office was on the 2nd floor in this old building, so I walked upstairs..saw the door with the address and knocked. Nobody answered...I tried the handle..the door opened and I walked in...wow...nobody was there...I could here a vacumn running in a distant room. So i walked around...lots of desks...lots of Linda's photos on the walls...since I could hear the vacumn on the left, I walked to the right...saw a door..opened it..it was the boardroom...a long table...about a dozen chairs...a big black leather chair at the end...all of Paul's Gold Record awards on the wall..amazing!!...went back to the office area...saw a table by the door with a cardboard promotional display for the Wings Over America album..oops...the cleaning woman came out...a look of shock on her face...told her i was there to see Sue(fan club sec)...she told me to come back at 10am...so i did...Sue said fans werent allowed in the office...she gave me some old Wings/McCartney buttons...and I left...COOL!!!!!
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can we start a campain to bring back club sandwich and the fun club
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thatsmytoy:
On one of my first trips to London in 1977, I went to the old MPL office in London. Didnt know what to expect...there wasn't any internet in those days. I knew the address..walked up to the building about 8am. The MPL office was on the 2nd floor in this old building, so I walked upstairs..saw the door with the address and knocked. Nobody answered...I tried the handle..the door opened and I walked in...wow...nobody was there...I could here a vacumn running in a distant room. So i walked around...lots of desks...lots of Linda's photos on the walls...since I could hear the vacumn on the left, I walked to the right...saw a door..opened it..it was the boardroom...a long table...about a dozen chairs...a big black leather chair at the end...all of Paul's Gold Record awards on the wall..amazing!!...went back to the office area...saw a table by the door with a cardboard promotional display for the Wings Over America album..oops...the cleaning woman came out...a look of shock on her face...told her i was there to see Sue(fan club sec)...she told me to come back at 10am...so i did...Sue said fans werent allowed in the office...she gave me some old Wings/McCartney buttons...and I left...COOL!!!!!
I bet security was tightened after that - if the cleaning lady confessed to what had happened I'm sure that couldn't happen nowadays. Martin
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Kestrel:
Its origins can be traced back to 1972 when it was an unofficial fan club (based I think in Merseyside,but I'll need to check my old newsletters to confirm that) and as such went through various name changes based around the titles of Wings / Paul McCartney & Wings and the words fan club/fun club.
Paul and Linder started the Fun Club as a result of getting lots of fan mail without having the time to answer it. They gave the job to Angela and Ruth (Paul's stepmother and -sister), who answered mails and sent out newsletters until it bacame too big for them to handle. So it was relocated to a London office, the address was printed on Red Rose Speedway and the rest should be well known.
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^ I do have a letter dated February 1973,sent from a Merseyside PO Box address and signed by Lucy who I guess was part of the chain which began with Angie/Ruth and eventually led to London. Thanks for the info,I hadn't realised the club pre-dated even Lucy's involvement.
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I didn't join until around the end of 1982, at which point it was Sue that dealt with all the communications. And she was really helpful I've got quite a few messages she wrote to me when I enquired about various things.
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I was a member....I think we had decimel currency at the time.....I remember earning a tidy sum running a little racket, sorry enterprise at school drawing Wings symbols/backgrounds etc and pictures of Paul onto people's art folders and haversacks etc .....got a few groats for that.