Lancaster

Wings had stayed in a hotel at Newcastle the following night, following their concert at Newcastle University. In the morning on February 14, they left Newcastle to Carlisle, but as there was no university there, they continued to Lancaster.

From Hull [sic – Newcastle], we went to Carlisle which, again, had no university so we drove on to Lancaster. We played a nice big hall there.

Paul McCartney – From the “Wings Over Europe” tour book

We all went over to the Great Hall. On the grass, by the Barbara Hepworth Statue, was… a lady cradling a baby, and some guys playing football. Suddently, I could see Paul McCartney, Henry McCullough and Denny Laine. Bloody hell, it’s a Beatle! McCartney asked if it was OK to play tonight and of course I said yes…

… I phoned all the nine ticket agencies I had in the NW and asked them to stick up notices in their windows. I then borrowed a megaphone and proceeded to walk around campus announcing that tonight, for 50p, you can see Paul McCartney and Wings in the Great Hall… I ended up pleading with people to believe me – honestly it was much harder than you would think!

Barry Lucas – From “When Rock went to College: Legends Live at Lancaster University, 1969-1985” by Barry Lucas and Paul Tomlinson

Well, 1100 not too hopeful people turned up… It was a really memorable night, although the band didn’t have a full set to play: they repeated “Hippy Hippy Shake” and “Roll Over Beethoven” three times I think.

At the end of the show, Paul McCartney explained to the audience that they had to finish as they had no more numbers to play. However, there was a great band, friends of theirs, playing in Bowland refectory after the show and he and the rest of the band would be going down.

Paul and the rest of the guys didn’t go down as they were leaving in the minibus straight away. Rachel, Alan and I went to their bus with a brown paper bag full of £550, mostly coins, from the door. Except for the petrol money, Paul gave us the rest back, telling us to put it in the Miners’ Strike Fund.

My outstanding memories of that crazy day? Just what a nice guy Paul McCartney was and I also thought Linda was a terrific, friendly person as well.

Barry Lucas – From “When Rock went to College: Legends Live at Lancaster University, 1969-1985” by Barry Lucas and Paul Tomlinson

This was with Wings on the Students’ Tour doing those crazy, crappy little gigs was hairy. Nottingham, Lancaster, any of those gigs. Those were mad. We only had like 11 numbers and we had to repeat ‘Lucille’ to pad out the show by saying ‘We’ve had a request from Willie from the languages course, he wants to hear ‘Lucille’ again’. We just made it up; 50p on the door, no hotels booked, no gigs booked, no nothing booked. Even the lowliest group throughout history has had a hotel booked for them, but we were just mad.

Paul McCartney – From “Back In The World” tour programme, 2003

They let us in at 9pm and my friends and I wormed our way right to the front of the stage. Everybody was sitting on the floor and there was a lot of space just before the stage. Then at about five after nine he walked on stage. He wore a fair isle pullover, a pink checked shirt, which looked tangerine under the light and grey trousers. Linda wore a wide-brimmed hat and shapeless blue and white midi-dress. After the interval when they came out into the hall again and posed just for me.

By a friend of Pat D. From the April/May/June 1972 issue of McCartney Ltd. – From Meet the Beatles for Real: News of the University Tour of 1972

It was a complete happenstance ‘right time, right place’ situation for me, so I can’t claim any credit whatsoever, but it’s a great memory that I helped to make this gig happen.

I was a student at Lancaster University in 1972 and was emerging from the Union Office when a guy arrived on Campus and said he’d been told that I was on the Social Committee and asked if there was a chance we could put on a band that night…?

I said possibly, but why? He said he had Paul McCartney’s new band ‘Wings’ in a van round the corner and that they’d like to play here that night if we could make it happen.

“Oh yeah?” I said “pull the other one” (or words to that effect).

He said “Come and say hello if you don’t believe me”. So of course, I did. I was soon convinced!

It turns out that ‘he’ was Denny Laine, previously of Moody Blues fame – which had been one of my absolute favourite bands – though, to my everlasting shame, I didn’t recognise him in the flesh!!

I contacted Barry, our Social Secretary – who checked that the ‘Great Hall’ was free – and he then found a megaphone from somewhere! – so we both then went round the college bars shouting that Paul McCartney and band would be playing that night – entrance only 50 pence! What a bargain…!!

I guess we expected the band to include a few Beatles numbers in their set – but in fact, there wasn’t one! Unexpectedly for us at least, their material nearly all comprised R & B standards like ‘Lucille’ and ‘Great Balls of Fire’ for example… In fact, they seemed a bit short of material, as they played both those numbers twice…!

At the end of the gig, the band members went off to stay the night in Lancaster, ready for the next leg of their (pretty impromptu) ‘university tour’ – on which they simply continued to roll up and offer to play without any advanced bookings.

Ah, brilliant times! This was a rather special one amongst so many memories of the bands we put on at Lancaster – I still have some of the event posters – but sadly not one for our Wings gig, as there just wasn’t time to do anything but a few rather scruffy handwritten flyers. Never mind, it was a great night – and even better as a fond memory, because it came completely ‘out of the blue.’

Lancaster University alumni Peter Howarth (see the comments below)

After the show, Linda McCartney was interviewed by the Melody Maker – her interview was published on February 26, 1972.

They spent the night at Lancaster and would leave the following day to Bradford. Linda McCartney wrote the following notes in her diary summarizing this day:

Off next morning to Carlisle
(no univ) on to Lancaster
football then fix up gig in
Great Hal. Hotel in Morecombe
Midland (pay in advance – up yer)
Find small Coniston hotel (puppies
and fat girl) good gig. Interview
student newspaper interval
Back to Coniston. Henry’s room
good night

Linda McCartney’s diary – From “Wild Life” deluxe edition book, 2018

The fan who almost failed to recognise Beatles Paul

It seems incredible that a pop enthusiast could chat with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney without knowing it.

But that is exactly what happened to Roy Spencer, 21, of Yardley Avenue, Warrington.

They met on the lawn at Lancaster University, both looking for the offices of the Students’ Union

“We discovered that we were both playing in pop groups at the university that night, but it was not until he smiled when I asked the name of his group that I realised I was talking to Paul McCartney”, says Ray, a member of the Warrington based Brother Lover Travelling Rock Group.

“I felt a bit of a fool but who would expect to bump in McCartney just like that?” asks Ray.

“He was very pleasant and concerned that his concert with Wings should not clash with ours.”

Later, Paul, his wife and children, and members of his group, enjoyed an impromptu game of football on the lawn while waiting for refreshment.

From Liverpool Echo, February 18, 1972

About the setlist

The exact setlist for this concert (and for most of the concerts of the Wings’ university tour) is unknown. Only two audience recordings surfaced on bootlegs (one for the first concert of the tour, in Nottingham, on February 9, 1971; the other one for the concert in Hull, on February 11, 1971), even if all the concerts had been taped by the band.

The gigs were pretty much the same. We taped them all.

Denny Laine

We didn’t have many songs. To be precise, we had eleven, which – at about three minutes a song – is a 33 minute act. They wanted longer so we repeated things. ‘We’ve had a request to do Lucille. We did it earlier but now we’re gonna do it again for Jenny Babford on the science course’. Whatever. We just repeated things, especially our new single Give Ireland Back to the Irish. The gigs went quite well but it’s funny to look back and realise that we had such little material.

Paul McCartney – From “Wingspan: Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run“

The setlists were a mix of new songs, oldies and some blues jams. Paul McCartney made sure to not play any Beatles song. It’s likely the setlist of this concert was similar to this:

• Lucille
• Give Ireland Back To The Irish
• Blue Moon Of Kentucky
• Seaside Woman
• Thank You Darling
• You’ve Got To Help Me Darlin’
• Some People Never Know
• The Mess
• Bip Bop
• Henry’s Blues
• Smile Away
• My Love
• Wild Life
• Long Tall Sally

Lancaster University

This was the 1st and only concert played at Lancaster University.

Going further

Sheryl Walmsley • 4 years ago

The PaulMcCartney Project • 4 years ago

Peter Howarth • 2 years ago

Peter Howarth • 2 years ago

The PaulMcCartney Project • 2 years ago

Elaine • 1 year ago

The PaulMcCartney Project • 1 year ago

Sheryl Walmsley • 1 year ago

The PaulMcCartney Project • 1 year ago

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