PAUL McCARTNEY 1979
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Anybody seen this??
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jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
Parts but not all of it. Hard to find good quality '79 tour footage but I'm always looking! I loved that tour. Thanks for the link!
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jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
Very interesting. Thanks.
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That concert was filmed at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool where most of the concerts for BeatleWeek were held last August when I was there!
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Nancy R:
That concert was filmed at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool where most of the concerts for BeatleWeek were held last August when I was there!
Yes. There were 4 shows at the Royal Court to open the tour.
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jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
_______________________________________________ When I look back at Paul's Post Beatles' career, the 1979 era is probably the most puzzling to me as a huge fan. His decisions for disbanding Wings just seemed so odd. Here is what I mean: *The 1979 tour (with the additions of Laurence and Steve) seemed to be coming along well from seeing videos of the various shows. Paul's voice was in tip top shape and they had plenty of good new rocking songs to play. *While Back to the Egg had not done great commercially, a full tour in the US would have given "Egg" a 2nd life. Wings were playing quite a few songs from the album. Beyond that, a new live album (with Paul adding a few new Beatle songs that had never been done live) would have sold very well similar to Wings Over America. Despite single handedly destroying the Japanese leg of the Tour (getting busted at the Tokyo Airport and ending up in jail for 9 days or so), I never understood why Paul/Wings didn't just carrying on and tour heavy in the US Post Japan. While London Town and Egg had lackluster results, Paul would have still "sold out" in every city. It would have been hugely successful and he would have given some of the songs (e.g. Goodnight Tonight, Mull of Kintyre, Old Siam Sir, Arrow Through Me, Coming Up etc. ) new life. I was very fortunate to meet Steve Holly (Paul's new drummer on "Egg") at the AROTR Festival in the Louisville KY area over this past Memorial Day Weekend. I was staying at the same hotel as Steve. He was very friendly and personable so I was comfortable asking him this same question about Paul's reason for disbanding Wings. Steve's answer was quite emphatic saying that Paul desperately wanted to work with George Martin again. Steve seemed to be quite assured that this was the "reason" that Wings' disbanded. Besides being a convenient answer, I can also see that there was probably a lot of truth to Paul's answer to Steve, Denny and Laurence. Paul always loved working with Mr. Martin and he most likely wanted a new direction. As we know, Paul is always working on new songs and he probably felt they were highly suited for George's type of production. In retrospect, Paul's gut decision was successful in the short term as Tug of War was a big success. I just think there was more to it than just that one answer. Being in jail might have changed Paul's ideas about his (and his family's) lifestyle. I believe that Linda stated that being in jail really shook Paul up. Maybe he might have felt that he needed to decrease his drug intake. Maybe with their children getting older, he might have felt that he and Linda needed to cut down on their touring. While Paul loves the audience and touring, something no doubt happened in Paul's mind to change his direction so drastically. In retrospect it was a huge decision. You have to think that his jail time (albeit a short one) had a pretty significant effect on Paul.
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BJ, I agree with your assessment. Also, after John was killed, no way was Paul going to tour! He and Linda decided to stay home and raise the kids for most of the'80s. Oh, and it's spelled "Holley."
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Nancy R:
BJ, I agree with your assessment. Also, after John was killed, no way was Paul going to tour! He and Linda decided to stay home and raise the kids for most of the'80s. Oh, and it's spelled "Holley."
_________________________________________________________ Nancy, You're right. I was thinking about that too. In retrospect, even if Paul would have done a full US tour in 1980 for example, Paul/Wings touring (and the band itself) would have probably ended after John's murder. Hindsight is always 20/20. What happened, happened and it is useless energy to dwell on the what if's etc. I do feel especially bad for Steve Holley and Laurence Juber. Think about it...they were so close to getting world wide fame and obviously a lot more money with a full US tour. On the whole seeing them and spending a little relaxing time with them (especially Steve) they don't seem bitter. I'm sure it bothered them big time when Japan happened, but at this point, they seem to have taken it in stride and continue to do what they love...play music. Both Steve and Laurence seem to be doing fairly well economically and have continued to play music with other bands over the last few years. Musically, I still think many of the songs in the Back to the Egg/London Town era are terribly underrated and unknown to the masses. Unfortunately, Paul has not played them since (with the exception of Mull of Kintyre in England and Canada) throughout all his subsequent touring years. That to me is a crying shame. As big fans, at least we can still enjoy them on CD's.
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Paul was never happy with the 1979 UK tour and even in the lead up to the Japan dates, he thought Wings were under rehearsed. As has been stated, John's murder meant that Paul wasn't going to chance going out playing live again for some time and as Wings was primarily a vehicle for Paul to play live, its not surprising they broke up. Had John not been killed, I think Paul would have toured 'Tug of War' with Wings in 1982
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Kestrel:
Paul was never happy with the 1979 UK tour and even in the lead up to the Japan dates, he thought Wings were under rehearsed. As has been stated, John's murder meant that Paul wasn't going to chance going out playing live again for some time and as Wings was primarily a vehicle for Paul to play live, its not surprising they broke up. Had John not been killed, I think Paul would have toured 'Tug of War' with Wings in 1982
I think cancelling the US tour may have also had something to do with Paul possibly having problems getting a visa for the US after the Japan bust. I vaguely remember hearing some discussion about that at the time. I personally loved that UK '79 tour and the shows that I saw, so I don't know why Paul thinks they were underrehearsed.
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i figured the whole japan thing made him rethink what he was doing. then John ... but he could have kept wings and worked with GM. I've wondered what GM produced wings lp would have been like.
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jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
another great share!
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B J Conlee:
jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
_______________________________________________ When I look back at Paul's Post Beatles' career, the 1979 era is probably the most puzzling to me as a huge fan. His decisions for disbanding Wings just seemed so odd. Here is what I mean: *The 1979 tour (with the additions of Laurence and Steve) seemed to be coming along well from seeing videos of the various shows. Paul's voice was in tip top shape and they had plenty of good new rocking songs to play. *While Back to the Egg had not done great commercially, a full tour in the US would have given "Egg" a 2nd life. Wings were playing quite a few songs from the album. Beyond that, a new live album (with Paul adding a few new Beatle songs that had never been done live) would have sold very well similar to Wings Over America. Despite single handedly destroying the Japanese leg of the Tour (getting busted at the Tokyo Airport and ending up in jail for 9 days or so), I never understood why Paul/Wings didn't just carrying on and tour heavy in the US Post Japan. While London Town and Egg had lackluster results, Paul would have still "sold out" in every city. It would have been hugely successful and he would have given some of the songs (e.g. Goodnight Tonight, Mull of Kintyre, Old Siam Sir, Arrow Through Me, Coming Up etc. ) new life. I was very fortunate to meet Steve Holly (Paul's new drummer on "Egg") at the AROTR Festival in the Louisville KY area over this past Memorial Day Weekend. I was staying at the same hotel as Steve. He was very friendly and personable so I was comfortable asking him this same question about Paul's reason for disbanding Wings. Steve's answer was quite emphatic saying that Paul desperately wanted to work with George Martin again. Steve seemed to be quite assured that this was the "reason" that Wings' disbanded. Besides being a convenient answer, I can also see that there was probably a lot of truth to Paul's answer to Steve, Denny and Laurence. Paul always loved working with Mr. Martin and he most likely wanted a new direction. As we know, Paul is always working on new songs and he probably felt they were highly suited for George's type of production. In retrospect, Paul's gut decision was successful in the short term as Tug of War was a big success. I just think there was more to it than just that one answer. Being in jail might have changed Paul's ideas about his (and his family's) lifestyle. I believe that Linda stated that being in jail really shook Paul up. Maybe he might have felt that he needed to decrease his drug intake. Maybe with their children getting older, he might have felt that he and Linda needed to cut down on their touring. While Paul loves the audience and touring, something no doubt happened in Paul's mind to change his direction so drastically. In retrospect it was a huge decision. You have to think that his jail time (albeit a short one) had a pretty significant effect on Paul.
I dont think Paul has said anything positive about the BTTE album, from 1979 to today. He seemed to have put a lot of effort into the album - a new band, TV special, videos, touring - but the album got lousy reviews and didnt sell well (for Macca). While it did have a "harder" sound he strived for, it just didnt work, imo. Sub-standard melodies, some songs go on far too long, too repetitive, etc. No wonder Paul hasnt played any song from the album on any tour since 1979.
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JoeySmith:
B J Conlee:
jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
_______________________________________________ When I look back at Paul's Post Beatles' career, the 1979 era is probably the most puzzling to me as a huge fan. His decisions for disbanding Wings just seemed so odd. Here is what I mean: *The 1979 tour (with the additions of Laurence and Steve) seemed to be coming along well from seeing videos of the various shows. Paul's voice was in tip top shape and they had plenty of good new rocking songs to play. *While Back to the Egg had not done great commercially, a full tour in the US would have given "Egg" a 2nd life. Wings were playing quite a few songs from the album. Beyond that, a new live album (with Paul adding a few new Beatle songs that had never been done live) would have sold very well similar to Wings Over America. Despite single handedly destroying the Japanese leg of the Tour (getting busted at the Tokyo Airport and ending up in jail for 9 days or so), I never understood why Paul/Wings didn't just carrying on and tour heavy in the US Post Japan. While London Town and Egg had lackluster results, Paul would have still "sold out" in every city. It would have been hugely successful and he would have given some of the songs (e.g. Goodnight Tonight, Mull of Kintyre, Old Siam Sir, Arrow Through Me, Coming Up etc. ) new life. I was very fortunate to meet Steve Holly (Paul's new drummer on "Egg") at the AROTR Festival in the Louisville KY area over this past Memorial Day Weekend. I was staying at the same hotel as Steve. He was very friendly and personable so I was comfortable asking him this same question about Paul's reason for disbanding Wings. Steve's answer was quite emphatic saying that Paul desperately wanted to work with George Martin again. Steve seemed to be quite assured that this was the "reason" that Wings' disbanded. Besides being a convenient answer, I can also see that there was probably a lot of truth to Paul's answer to Steve, Denny and Laurence. Paul always loved working with Mr. Martin and he most likely wanted a new direction. As we know, Paul is always working on new songs and he probably felt they were highly suited for George's type of production. In retrospect, Paul's gut decision was successful in the short term as Tug of War was a big success. I just think there was more to it than just that one answer. Being in jail might have changed Paul's ideas about his (and his family's) lifestyle. I believe that Linda stated that being in jail really shook Paul up. Maybe he might have felt that he needed to decrease his drug intake. Maybe with their children getting older, he might have felt that he and Linda needed to cut down on their touring. While Paul loves the audience and touring, something no doubt happened in Paul's mind to change his direction so drastically. In retrospect it was a huge decision. You have to think that his jail time (albeit a short one) had a pretty significant effect on Paul.
I dont think Paul has said anything positive about the BTTE album, from 1979 to today. He seemed to have put a lot of effort into the album - a new band, TV special, videos, touring - but the album got lousy reviews and didnt sell well (for Macca). While it did have a "harder" sound he strived for, it just didnt work, imo. Sub-standard melodies, some songs go on far too long, too repetitive, etc. No wonder Paul hasnt played any song from the album on any tour since 1979.
________________________________________________________ This is another Paul album where we will have to agree to disagree. I don't see BTTE as a subpar or even terrible (as some might say) Paul album at all. To my ears, it is mid-tier Macca with a bunch of terrific songs. Like many Paul efforts, it could have been better (more on that later) but I don't dismiss it at all. And I certainly don't see it as a collection of sub-standard melodies, too repetitive etc. Could BTTE been better? For sure it should have been. But with Macca, you rarely get "album perfection". He tends to be too eclectic as an artist with all of his different styles that don't always mesh. I do agree that Paul Solo often needs a Nigel Goodrich type to rein him in. This is the case for BTTE in my opinion. But the good stuff here is really good. Some of my personal favorites include: *Getting Closer - hell of a rocker (before the Beatles channel, Sirius was playing it on their 70's channel *Spin It On - one of my favs and a great response to the Punk and New Wave scene going on at the time *Old Siam, Sir - another great rocker *Arrow Through Me - love it *To You - words may be meaningless but this is raw, freaking Macca *Again,Again & Again - my 2nd favorite Denny Laine song just behind Time to Hide * Winter Rose/Love Awake - I just love this song...the melody and feeling just speaks Winter (similar to Footprints on Press to Play) * We're Open Tonight - like it as a short little melodic acoustic interlude between full songs. The album could have been titled "We Open Tonight" and would have fit perfectly as an opening track. * So Glad to See You Here - another good rocker With this many very good to great songs, I don't dismiss BTTE at all. There are some average to mediocre tracks I don't love. And as with other Solo albums, side 2 does tail off in comparison. I just wished he would have included Goodnight Tonight and Daytime Nightime Suffering which could have made BTTE one of his very best. He could have left off "After the Ball/Million Miles (as a Macca geek I still like the gospel/bluesy vocals) and Baby's Request which just didn't fit the album. And the "Rockestra Theme" despite all the guest rockers is also not a favorite of mine. I normally don't care for album "jams" which this song kind of represents. But all in all, I like BTTE Egg a lot. You mention about the "lousy reviews". I also dismiss many of them especially at the time. I remember clearly how some of the music press simply adored John Lennon so Paul to them represented the anti-John. You could see that bias with some critics. Funny thing is that I have read a couple fairly recent reviews (from younger critics) of BTTE that in retrospect give it much higher marks and really like most of BTTE. And as far as Paul not saying anything positive about BTTE, that is rather true about most of Pau's solo albums and career. Paul seems obsessed about his "Beatle Days". He only talks about Solo albums/eras if it became part of his "Archive Series" reissues/remasters. In summary, I view BTTE as one of Paul's most underrated albums. Definitely not perfect but full of Macca treats especially if you like the "rocking" side of Paul.
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1979 was the year I saw wing Live
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B J Conlee:
JoeySmith:
B J Conlee:
jimmix:
Anybody seen this??
_______________________________________________ When I look back at Paul's Post Beatles' career, the 1979 era is probably the most puzzling to me as a huge fan. His decisions for disbanding Wings just seemed so odd. Here is what I mean: *The 1979 tour (with the additions of Laurence and Steve) seemed to be coming along well from seeing videos of the various shows. Paul's voice was in tip top shape and they had plenty of good new rocking songs to play. *While Back to the Egg had not done great commercially, a full tour in the US would have given "Egg" a 2nd life. Wings were playing quite a few songs from the album. Beyond that, a new live album (with Paul adding a few new Beatle songs that had never been done live) would have sold very well similar to Wings Over America. Despite single handedly destroying the Japanese leg of the Tour (getting busted at the Tokyo Airport and ending up in jail for 9 days or so), I never understood why Paul/Wings didn't just carrying on and tour heavy in the US Post Japan. While London Town and Egg had lackluster results, Paul would have still "sold out" in every city. It would have been hugely successful and he would have given some of the songs (e.g. Goodnight Tonight, Mull of Kintyre, Old Siam Sir, Arrow Through Me, Coming Up etc. ) new life. I was very fortunate to meet Steve Holly (Paul's new drummer on "Egg") at the AROTR Festival in the Louisville KY area over this past Memorial Day Weekend. I was staying at the same hotel as Steve. He was very friendly and personable so I was comfortable asking him this same question about Paul's reason for disbanding Wings. Steve's answer was quite emphatic saying that Paul desperately wanted to work with George Martin again. Steve seemed to be quite assured that this was the "reason" that Wings' disbanded. Besides being a convenient answer, I can also see that there was probably a lot of truth to Paul's answer to Steve, Denny and Laurence. Paul always loved working with Mr. Martin and he most likely wanted a new direction. As we know, Paul is always working on new songs and he probably felt they were highly suited for George's type of production. In retrospect, Paul's gut decision was successful in the short term as Tug of War was a big success. I just think there was more to it than just that one answer. Being in jail might have changed Paul's ideas about his (and his family's) lifestyle. I believe that Linda stated that being in jail really shook Paul up. Maybe he might have felt that he needed to decrease his drug intake. Maybe with their children getting older, he might have felt that he and Linda needed to cut down on their touring. While Paul loves the audience and touring, something no doubt happened in Paul's mind to change his direction so drastically. In retrospect it was a huge decision. You have to think that his jail time (albeit a short one) had a pretty significant effect on Paul.
I dont think Paul has said anything positive about the BTTE album, from 1979 to today. He seemed to have put a lot of effort into the album - a new band, TV special, videos, touring - but the album got lousy reviews and didnt sell well (for Macca). While it did have a "harder" sound he strived for, it just didnt work, imo. Sub-standard melodies, some songs go on far too long, too repetitive, etc. No wonder Paul hasnt played any song from the album on any tour since 1979.
________________________________________________________ This is another Paul album where we will have to agree to disagree. I don't see BTTE as a subpar or even terrible (as some might say) Paul album at all. To my ears, it is mid-tier Macca with a bunch of terrific songs. Like many Paul efforts, it could have been better (more on that later) but I don't dismiss it at all. And I certainly don't see it as a collection of sub-standard melodies, too repetitive etc. Could BTTE been better? For sure it should have been. But with Macca, you rarely get "album perfection". He tends to be too eclectic as an artist with all of his different styles that don't always mesh. I do agree that Paul Solo often needs a Nigel Goodrich type to rein him in. This is the case for BTTE in my opinion. But the good stuff here is really good. Some of my personal favorites include: *Getting Closer - hell of a rocker (before the Beatles channel, Sirius was playing it on their 70's channel *Spin It On - one of my favs and a great response to the Punk and New Wave scene going on at the time *Old Siam, Sir - another great rocker *Arrow Through Me - love it *To You - words may be meaningless but this is raw, ****ing Macca *Again,Again & Again - my 2nd favorite Denny Laine song just behind Time to Hide * Winter Rose/Love Awake - I just love this song...the melody and feeling just speaks Winter (similar to Footprints on Press to Play) * We're Open Tonight - like it as a short little melodic acoustic interlude between full songs. The album could have been titled "We Open Tonight" and would have fit perfectly as an opening track. * So Glad to See You Here - another good rocker With this many very good to great songs, I don't dismiss BTTE at all. There are some average to mediocre tracks I don't love. And as with other Solo albums, side 2 does tail off in comparison. I just wished he would have included Goodnight Tonight and Daytime Nightime Suffering which could have made BTTE one of his very best. He could have left off "After the Ball/Million Miles (as a Macca geek I still like the gospel/bluesy vocals) and Baby's Request which just didn't fit the album. And the "Rockestra Theme" despite all the guest rockers is also not a favorite of mine. I normally don't care for album "jams" which this song kind of represents. But all in all, I like BTTE Egg a lot. You mention about the "lousy reviews". I also dismiss many of them especially at the time. I remember clearly how some of the music press simply adored John Lennon so Paul to them represented the anti-John. You could see that bias with some critics. Funny thing is that I have read a couple fairly recent reviews (from younger critics) of BTTE that in retrospect give it much higher marks and really like most of BTTE. And as far as Paul not saying anything positive about BTTE, that is rather true about most of Pau's solo albums and career. Paul seems obsessed about his "Beatle Days". He only talks about Solo albums/eras if it became part of his "Archive Series" reissues/remasters. In summary, I view BTTE as one of Paul's most underrated albums. Definitely not perfect but full of Macca treats especially if you like the "rocking" side of Paul.
i really like it too. funny you dind't mention baby's request which i'm not a big fan of...
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It's pretty clear that Paul does not remember the last couple of years of Wings happily. He NEVER plays songs from London Town or BTTE, never talks about that period and gave it minimal attention in the Wingspan compilation. We may never know why unless Paul writes an autobiography, but for whatever reason the thrill was gone, even though some of the music was pretty good. FYI, I like BTTE -- not my absolute favorite Wings album, but it's got a wacky charm to it -- but Paul seems to want to pretty much want to forget 1978-79 ever happened.
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Didn't he write a diary while he was in jail? I wouldn't expect him to ever publish it, especially if he was honest with himself. But maybe after he's gone, someone can give us a glimpse into his frame of mind at the time.
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HaileyMcComet:
Didn't he write a diary while he was in jail? I wouldn't expect him to ever publish it, especially if he was honest with himself. But maybe after he's gone, someone can give us a glimpse into his frame of mind at the time.
He wrote a 20,000 word book after he got out and gave copies to his kids. Stella recently mentioned it.
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Bruce M.:
, I like BTTE -- not my absolute favorite Wings album, but it's got a wacky charm to it -- but Paul seems to want to pretty much want to forget 1978-79 ever happened.
Shame. I love BTTE, it is one of my favorite albums.
