The Aerovons meet Paul McCartney at the Speakeasy

The Aerovons was an American rock band established in 1966. After a Capitol Records representative listened to their 1967 demo, the band was offered a recording opportunity in Los Angeles. However, they held out for the chance to record in London, the base of their idols, The Beatles. Their persistence paid off when, in 1968, they received recording offers from both EMI and Decca during their visits to London.

In August 1968, during their first visit in London, The Aerovons, including their leader Tom Harman, had the opportunity to meet Paul McCartney at the Speakeasy Club. They also managed to see The Beatles recording “Yer Blues” on August 13.

Capitol pointed the Aerovons in the direction of Roy Featherstone, the Beatles’ A&R man at EMI. With just the “thinnest of leads”, the band set off for London in September 1968, armed with their Beatlesesque demo, World of You.

“Looking back, it was so easy,” says Hartman. “He [Featherstone] just went, ‘You’re from St Louis and you wanna come to record here? That’s great!’ It was like something out of the movies.” EMI courted the band not with huge advances, but with a trip to the Speakeasy – the exclusive nerve centre of celebrity swinging London. Among the guests that night were Diana Ross, Michael Caine… and Paul McCartney.

Even now, at the age of 52, Hartman’s voice quivers at the memory. “It was dark, dinner tables. I walked up to Paul and said, ‘Hi, we’re from the States.’ Our band card said, ‘The Smashing English sound.’ He said, ‘Oh, Smashing English sounds – from America. Can I keep this?’ It was the biggest moment of my life to that point.”

From The Guardian, July 16, 2003

Also during that first trip to London, another of the 17-year-old Hartman’s wildest dreams came true when he gained access to the private Speakeasy club, hangout of the stars, where he met Paul McCartney himself. Michael Caine and Diana Ross were also at the club that night, but when he spotted McCartney, Hartman knew it might be his only chance to talk to his hero. “I was being nudged by my bandmates toward Paul, and I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m so sorry, Paul, but we’re from St. Louis. Would you have just a couple of minutes to talk?’ And he leaned back and said, ‘Yeah, sure! Where are you from?’”

When telling these stories, Hartman replicates a spot-on Liverpudlian accent, and he modulates his tone and inflection among the Fab Four with remarkable fidelity. But it was the guitars he wanted to mimic in those days. He recalls, “I was on a mission to find out how the Beatles got their guitar sounds, so I asked Paul if he remembered how they did the guitars on ‘Nowhere Man.’ He said, ‘Yeah, it was a Gretsch with a lot of top put on,’ meaning treble.” McCartney also signed four Aerovons business cards, one for each member, and, according to Hartman, got a kick out of the tag line on the American band’s business cards that advertised “Smashing English Sounds.”

“He was so nice and pleasant and funny,” Hartman remembers. “I still have that card firmly framed on the wall here [at home].”

From After 55 Years, the Aerovons Are Finally the Next Big Thing (riverfronttimes.com), April 18, 2024

You got to meet Paul McCartney at a club called The Speakeasy.  Were you guys believing this was happening?

We had heard it was club where celebrities hung out. When we found out he was there we sat and waited and finally saw him. It was the most unreal experience in my life to walk up and speak with him. Just like seeing a spaceship land in your backyard at night. Fortunately he put us at ease. Very funny, relaxed and kind. I said “No one is going to believe this when we get home” and he said “Ah well, but now you’ve got this!” and handed me back the autograph he was signing. It’s still right here on my wall from that night. […]

Tom Hartman – From Tending The Pale Bloom (wordpress.com), August 14, 2011

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