Paul McCartney begins his journey back to London

On June 21, 1968, Paul McCartney attended the Capitol Convention in Los Angeles and presented The Beatles’ vision for their new label, Apple, to the Capitol Records executives. He was joined by Tony Bramwell, Ron Kass, and Ivan Vaughan. To Paul’s surprise, the day after, Linda Eastman, whom he had contacted upon his arrival in the USA, was waiting for him at his hotel suite.

After spending a couple of days with Linda, June 24 marked their final day in Los Angeles. In the morning, Paul performed impromptu versions of upcoming Beatles songs for fans outside his hotel.

By noon, Paul, along with Linda, Ron Kass, Tony Bramwell, Ivan Vaughan and Capitol’s national promotion manager Ken Mansfield, headed to Los Angeles airport for a flight to New York. At the airport, Linda caused a stir among the group. A bomb threat necessitated the inspection of all luggage, and Linda’s bag contained a significant quantity of marijuana. Fortunately, she avoided detection, and they proceeded to New York.

Upon arriving in New York, they bid farewell to Linda and boarded a connecting flight to London, arriving back on June 25.

Paul would reunite with Linda in September 1968, having invited her to London. Meanwhile, his four-year relationship with Jane Asher ended when she learned of his affair with Francie Schwartz.

The next day, evening more fans turned up and mobbed the hotel. Crowds of fans were milling in and around the main entrance, lobby and grounds, while Paul and Linda were still in bed making love. Finally, to thank them all for coming, Paul got up and sat on the steps of the bungalow, playing his guitar and singing to them – I think it was ‘Blackbird’ – while Linda kept quietly in the background, not wanting to be seen.

Tony Bramwell – From “Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles“, 2005

The next day I drove Paul and Linda to LAX. They were flying to New York together, and then he was going ahead on to London. After we had checked in and secured tickets and seating arrangements, Paul announced that he was hungry and opted for a hot dog (he was several years away from being a vegetarian] from one of the little stands LAX used to have at the top of the escalators. Linda passed on the “decomposed cadaver tube on a roll” and opted to spend her last few minutes before takeoff capturing the sights of LAX with a new camera she had purchased on the trip. These hot dog stands were short-lived but were strategically placed close to the gates so that people in a hurry could grab a quick bite to eat. We ordered a couple of dogs and stood at the stand and ate them. Paul McCartney caused bedlam wherever he went, yet no one was even aware that they were standing elbow to elbow with a Beatle while they were grabbing their fast eats.

We were starting back toward the gate when we were gathered up by a group of airport officials who advised us that there was a bomb threat on the plane. They explained that they had set aside a special room for our comfort so that Paul wouldn’t be mobbed by the crowds during an extended wait. The wait did become extended, and a couple of hours soon passed by. I later found out that the bomb scare was a ruse and they were going through Paul’s luggage, searching for drugs.

The airport officials found no bomb (or drugs!), and it was finally time to board. During the long wait, we talked about England, and I told him how much I was looking forward to my first trip to London. At that time, I was acting in the capacity of Capitol’s national promotion manager and director of the Artist Relations Department. I didn’t know at that point how involved I would be with the Apple venture. Before leaving, Paul took a medallion he had worn during the trip from around his neck and put it around mine. I had admired it earlier in the week because of its uniqueness. “You’d better be wearing this the next time I see you,” he said. He started boarding, stopped, turned around, and said, “In London!”

Ken Mansfield – From “The White Book: The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider’s Look at an Era” by Ken Mansfield, 2007

Late that afternoon, we checked out of the hotel to return to London. Paul and Linda were like Siamese twins, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes all the way to the airport. In the VIP lounge, they sat apart from us on a small group of seats in a central aisle, the kind of seats that are back to back with another row. Suddenly, the doors burst open, like the sheriff and his men at the big bad saloon.

‘FBI!’ one of them barked, flashing a badge. ‘There’s a bomb warning on your flight. Do you know of any Caucasian male with a grudge against you?’

Paul looked surprised. This was years before stars were assassinated and needed bodyguards. He said, ‘No, nobody.’

‘Do you mind if we search your baggage?’ they asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Linda very swiftly aiming a neat little backward kick with her heel. Her square vanity case, which she had placed on the floor beneath her seat, skidded to the row of empty seats and, fortunately, came to rest exactly underneath one of them. Casually, she stood up. ‘Well, guys, I guess this is goodbye,’ Linda said. ‘I’d better check on my flight.’

‘What flight are you on?’ one of the agents asked.

‘New York,’ Linda said. I’m not travelling in Mr McCartney’s party.’ She smiled at us all and sauntered off through the door of the VIP lounge as if she had all the time in the world, and as if there wasn’t enough marijuana packed into her vanity case to get a herd of elephants stoned.

We all wondered if Linda had managed to sneak back for her vanity case, or if it remained there. Who knows? I never asked.

Tony Bramwell – From “Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles“, 2005

It was also Linda Eastman who accompanied Ron Kass and Paul back to New York and brought with her a bag filled with marijuana. This was the first of many of Linda’s pot follies, which would lead to numerous ugly scrapes with the law. Marijuana, it turned out, was one of Linda’s favorite vices. Ron Kass became aware of this while the three of them were waiting in the VIP Ambassador Lounge at the Los Angeles International airport. It was announced over the public address system that because of a bomb threat all carry-on luggage would have to be searched.

Kass immediately turned to Paul and said, “Do you have anything in your bag that would embarrass us?” Paul shook his head. Then Kass turned to Linda Eastman. She seemed surprisingly complacent as she informed him that she had “a couple of kilos” in a Gucci bag sitting at her feet. Kass went to the airlines supervisor and complained that searching Paul McCartney and his friend in public would cause them great embarrassment. […] However, to avoid embarrassment, Paul and Linda could be searched in a private office. When Kass went back to the Ambassador Lounge to collect them, he kicked the Gucci bag underneath a long row of plastic turquoise chairs and left it there. It went unnoticed during the general search. After Paul, Linda, and Kass were politely searched, Linda retrieved the bag and carried it on the plane. Kass was so furious with her he couldn’t wait until they got rid of her in New York before he and Paul caught a flight home to London.

Peter Brown – From “The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles“, 2002

When we took him to the airport to catch his 1:15 flight to London, there was a 3-hour delay because of a bomb threat on his plane. So we stood by the elevator and ate hot dogs and admired pretty girls and blew every one’s mind. I mean, how often do you see Paul McCartney standing at a counter putting mustard on a hot dog???

Ken Mansfield or Larry Delaney – From Capitol Records – Quoted in Meet the Beatles for Real: Paul McCartney where?

We had a great weekend together, but then he went back to London, I went back to New York, and we didn’t speak for what seemed like a long time.

Linda McCartney – from “Linda McCartney’s Sixties“, 1992

It didn’t take long at all for Linda to phone [her best friend and journalist] Lillian Roxon when she returned to New York to tell her that she and Paul had entered into (hopefully, she said) a true sexual relationship. Lillian quickly made sure the whole town knew about it as well, but Linda didn’t mind. When I called her to say, “I hear you finally scored, congratulations,” she replied simply, “I really am in love with him, you know; it’s not like anyone else, it’s kind of like the first time.“

From “Linda McCartney – A Portrait” by Danny Fields, 2000

WITH PAUL TO HOLLYWOOD (by Tony Bramwell)

[…] On Monday the ever-active Ron woke us up with Capitol people to say “Goodbye” to and photographers who were there to do their last pictures. A couple of hundred Beatle People, teenyboppers young and older, had gathered about the hotel by this time.

NEW SONGS

So Paul sang them a few songs. New ones which are going on the next album the boys are recording right now. So several hundred American fans were used to get first-hand reaction to some of The Beatles’ very newest material. Imagine how they felt about THAT!

We got to the Los Angeles International Airport around noon but found our homeward flight had been delayed. So we waited in the TWA lounge and, while we were sitting there, the rumour started going round that there was a BOMB HIDDEN SOMEWHERE ON OUR AIRCRAFT!!! Indeed it became clear that the authorities were taking it seriously when we were asked if our luggage might be searched. We gladly gave our permission and bought some more insurance!

After nearly four hours the FBI people interviewed us, took names and addresses and asked if we knew any “30-year-old Caucasian who might put three phials of nitro-glycerine on board the plane”! To fill in time we went round the hot dog stall, lunch being long overdue. Inevitably here and in the airport gift shop Paul signed another hundred or so autographs along the way. Still, the delay was worthwhile because we had time to buy gifts we’d forgotten all about. Ivan bought quite a few presents for his children — toy trains, tee shirts and so on.

Wish the visit could have been longer. By chance we’d bumped into no lesser person than Colonel Tom Parker outside our hotel on the Sunday night and he’d given Paul a little bundle of very precious tickets for Elvis’ NBC colour television show due to be filmed the following weekend. And we’d have liked to see Tiny Tim who was doing concerts in Los Angeles when we were there.

FREAK

Tiny Tim is probably the biggest freak rave thingy on the American scene at the moment. You hear his life-story and his voice on every Top 40 pop station you tune to in California. And we missed a Ravi Shankar concert too. At other times Paul would have stayed for: these three occasions but he had to be back for his “Thingumybob” recording session in Bradford with The Black Dyke Mills Band. So home we came, still very tired but feeling the trip had been more than worthwhile. So has this bit of story-telling and thank you for wacching this space!

Tony Bramwell – From the Beatles Monthly Book, N°61, August 1968

June 25^th — Tuesday. At Paul’s house the housekeeper told us he would be out shortly (this was at 3:00, he came out at 7:30), in the meantime Mike came and went in. Then Paul came out in his green mini, he tore out into the street, backed up, then Mike yelled at him and he drove back in really fast. His car was leaking and so they were trying to fix it. Fast service and he was out in the street again. Our friend Susan was taking movies, and Paul practically ran us over. He hoped out of the car, and said, “Did you get it all right?” Then he got in on the passenger’s side and Mike got in to drive. Then Paul looked up and pointed at me and said, “Hey, I met some of your friends over there, a whole mob of them. They asked me if you still had your hair curled, and I told them no.” Paul and Mike both did the thumbs up sign and drove off.

At midnight we decided to have one last look at Paul’s house. The light in the back room was on, and all of a sudden Paul started singing “Step Inside Love.” We decided to ring the front door. Footsteps, lights go on, door opens, and who should be standing there, but Paul himself dressed in red velvet jacket, pink shirt, and his grey slacks. He said hello, and asked how we got in, we told the truth the front gate was open. We asked about our friends again. He said five were ours. “You do have friends in LA don’t you? What was your name?” Lorelle, I said twice. “Ah, yes Lorette, that’s it.” He said he still wanted me to get him a pair of moccasins like I had, size eight Martha came out and we talked about her. Cindi said he should brush her, and Paul said, “tried to tell her that, but she just won’t seem to do it.” I asked him if he was alone, and why he was up at this hour. “No.” he said, he wasn’t alone, he had Martha, and he was listening to the King Family Album! For that hour and everything, he was ever so sweet to us. He told us to have a nice trip back to the States and I said, “I’ll probably never see you again.” He said, “Oh, you’ll be back next year.” And he explained to Cindi how to open the gate. He came out after we had gone out the gate to say good night again.

Beatles fan Lorelle – From “The Write Thing”, November 1977 – From Meet the Beatles for Real: June 1968

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