Friday, February 11, 1972
Hull
Concert • By Wings • Part of the Wings University Tour
Last updated on February 15, 2022
Friday, February 11, 1972
Concert • By Wings • Part of the Wings University Tour
Last updated on February 15, 2022
Location: Hull University - West Refectory
Article Feb 10, 1972 • "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" banned
Concert Feb 10, 1972 • United Kingdom • York
Concert Feb 11, 1972 • United Kingdom • Hull
Article Feb 12, 1972 • Wings take a day off from their university tour
Interview Feb 12, 1972 • Wings interview for Disc and Music Echo
Next concert Feb 13, 1972 • United Kingdom • Newcastle upon Tyne
Wings had spent the night in York, following their evening concert at the York University. After breakfast, they took the road to Hull, to see if they could play a gig there.
From York we went to Hull where they seemed to be sort of expecting us. We played in a theatre-type place. Henry went off his nut during his solo in ‘Mess I’m In’ and leapt around. I wore my baggy trousers for the first time. It felt better being on a stage than in a dining hall.
Paul McCartney – From the “Wings Over Europe” tour book
They performed in front of an audience of 800. An audience recording of the concert is available. From Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation, July 30, 2020:
The only other extant audience tape is from Hull University on the 11th February – two days after Nottingham. The recording is still poor by modern commercial standards, but better than that of Nottingham and only clips the very beginning of the opening number, Lucille.
After give Ireland Back To The Irish, Henry McCullough launches into a curious acapella version of the American traditional song Turkey In The Straw, which is identified on some CDs as Your Wee Tobacco Box, for some unknown reason.
We also get to hear Seaside Woman, introduced by Paul McCartney as “the first song she’s [Linda McCartney] ever written”. At this stage, the song is lacking the instrumental introduction that appears on the recording credited to Suzy and the Red Stripes in May, 1977. The track had been written by Linda McCartney during a family holiday in Jamaica in December 1971.
Seaside Woman is followed by a blues jam generically identified as Help Me on the unofficial release. It is in a major and Denny Laine’s harmonica work can be heard in the recording. Laine would later make a name for himself as a harmonica/blues harp player on such as Time to Hide on Wings At The Speed Of Sound (and later recorded live on Wings Over America).
This is followed by Some People Never Know; one of the best tracks from Wild Life. The verses on Wild Life are marked by close vocal harmonies, shared between Paul and Linda McCartney. These are, at the very least, attempted; but due to the quality of the recording, it is hard to know how effectively they were delivered. The gentle acoustic riffs in sixths on Wild Life sound rather clunky when transferred to electric guitar for this performance.
After Bip Bop, the band perform one of the weaker tracks that was to be recorded in the Red Rose Speedway sessions; Thank You Darling – rather lame outing around the standard I – vi – iv- V doo wop chord progression. This is redeemed by the subsequent performance of Smile Away, one of the grittier numbers from the 1971 Ram album. It seems to work well in this live setting. A soundboard recording of Smile Away the 28th August in Berlin from the 2018 Wings Over Europe boxed set confirms this view. My Love follows next, after a “one, two, three, four” count-in. Linda McCartney’s answering vocal phrases are more apparent than in the recording from Nottingham.
My Love is followed by a short tongue-in-cheek acapella rendering of The Grand Old Duke Of York. This leads into a rather meandering blues jam in A major. After Wild Life, Give Ireland Back To The Irish and Lucille are repeated from earlier in the show. McCartney proudly announces that Give Ireland Back To The Irish has been “banned by the BBC” and is to be released the following week.
After the concert, they stayed at the Hotel Pearson Park and would take a day off on the following day. Linda McCartney wrote the following notes in her diary summarizing this day:
$50 to union
Linda McCartney’s diary – From “Wild Life” deluxe edition book, 2018
after gig which went well
we had smoked salmon
salad sandwiches etc…
This was the 1st and only concert played at Hull University - West Refectory.
Written by Richard Penniman / Little Richard, Albert Collins
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Give Ireland Back To The Irish
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Written by Traditional
Listed under the title "Your Wee Tobacco Box" on some bootlegs
Henry McCullough : Vocals
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Written by Wings
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Encore
Give Ireland Back To The Irish
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Written by Richard Penniman / Little Richard, Albert Collins
Album Available on Wings First Flight
Wings Live - On tour in the 70s
This is the first detailed study of Paul McCartney's Wings on tour in the 1970s. It covers every single concert from the University Tour of 1972, ending with the abandoned tour of Japan in January 1980. A wide variety of primary sources have been consulted, including all available audio and video recordings; press reviews; fan recollections; newspaper reports and tour programmes.
Maccazine - Volume 47, Issue 1 - The birth of Wings
"Maccazine is a hard copy magazine (a bound paperback) about Paul McCartney. It is published twice a year. Due to the fact that the Internet has taken over the world and the fact that the latest Paul McCartney news is to be found on hundreds of websites, we have decided to focus on creating an informative paper magazine about Paul McCartney."
"In this issue we take you back to the early days of Paul McCartney’s solo career when he decided to form a new group. With Wings he proved there was life after The Beatles. This Maccazine features a detailed timeline of ‘the birth’ of the band with interesting entries including many new facts and unpublished photos. Follow-up timelines will be published in the upcoming years."
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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Andrew Lynch • 4 years ago
This show contains Help Me in addition to Help Me Darling.
The PaulMcCartney Project • 4 years ago
Thanks @andrew. Isn't "Help" and "Help Me Darling" the same song (I've also had it listed as "You've Got To Help Me Darlin'") ?
Which is different than "Thank You Darling", performed also in this concert.
Steve Green • 1 year ago
Good to read this. I was front of house for the Hull gig. Remember the yellow A4 posters announcing "Wings Surprise dance" which the band brought. Lots of suspicion when we put them up, "pulling our legs etc, its a rag stunt etc" sold out fast.
The PaulMcCartney Project • 1 year ago
WOW, thanks Steve. Awesome memories!
Andrew Lynch • 2 months ago
"Help Me" and "You've Got To Help Me Darlin'" are not the same song. "Help Me" was in Hull with Denny singing. "YGTHMD" was Henry in Nottingham. Neither of these are "Thank You Darling". Confusing, right!?
The PaulMcCartney Project • 2 months ago
Thanks Andrew - indeed confusing :) Thanks, will fix it when I revisit the '72 tours (should be next year, I guess)
