Chateauvallon Interview

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Backstage interview conducted by Michael Wale at Wings’ first European concert in France, on July 9th 1972. Transcript from bootleg “Chateauvallon – Interview and Live Music” by StoneAge Music (SAM004).

Q: I think, I think the first question l’d ask you out here in the middle of nowhere, is why did you start here?

PM: (speaks french) well actually, we wanted to start at, sort of, quite a smallish place to play in you see, so this is quite a small, out of the way place, but still get quite a reasonable audience – that’s the truth Michael!

LM: you sound a bit hoarse after your performance tonight, darling…

PM: (clears throat) I am, just a touch (speaks french to person requesting autograph)

Q: autograph, yes, yes, he wants an autograph I think there

PM: (speaks french) you see that? command of the language!

Q: yes, I thought “Prochaine chanson” meant “Prussian song” actually from at the back!

PM: someone told me, ah next one, I never took French you see!

Q: Linda, did you feel very nervous before tonight?

LM: first half, second half – had a great time! I was nervous first half – definitely

PM: definitely!

LM: but, er, (laughs) definitely – we had no soundcheck, no rehearsal, no nothing, we had to go on “cold” you know?, so I had to warm up a bit – we were very hot second half.

Q: do you find it a great strain working, you know, with someone like Paul, I know he’s your husband, but… ?

LM: easy! really, I find it very easy… totally, you know, I’m just still learning, but, erm. It’s, it’s fun, it’s like life you know, it’s just another thing in life…

PM: yes, she does get very nervous, of course, you know, but she’s getting better all the time as they say in the song.

Q: Melody Maker this week had a very hard headline saying that “Wings snub England”…

PM: oh well, it’s crazy – thats crazy mister Charlesworth, who wrote it, who’s a nice chap sometimes, but he’s a little bit crazy, you know… someone, you know, you know how they are at the papers don’t you Michael?

Q: now what about, will you be touring in England? 

PM: yes, the reason we didn’t do… we’re not playing in Britain is because we’re playing in France, that’s the only reason, you know, we happened to be doing a tour of Europe… alright Georgio!

LM: we did one in Britain… we did one english tour…

PM: blimey – OK! erm, yeah, we’ve done a little thing round the universities in England and we’re planning to play in England, but at the moment we’re doing a European thing to sort of play the band in – it’s a very new band you know – and if you go and play sort of Britain or America with a very new band, you’re really on the spot, you know, you’ve gotta be red hot and it takes a little time for a band to get red hot. you know, it’s a question of, sort of, it’s almost like living together for a little while, bouncing off each other and stuff, you know. this is what we’re learning to do on this tour at the expense, I suppose, of the Europeans!

LM: but we did Britain once…

Q: yeah, you did universities, but you didn ‘t actually, kind where people could…

LM: oh yeah, oh we’re really looking forward to that one…

Q: when will you do that do you think?

PM: well, you know, as soon as it turns up – I dont know really – next year hopefully… and Hamburg was like sort of the way to play it all in you know and, er, working like eight hours a day there, you know, was great for the band, you know, it really works you in, you get to know each other and it’s really great you know, you can… if something goes wrong on a show kind of thing, you can just. (someone interrupts – words are not clear)

PM: no… no… no… yeah… yeah… (another question – about songwriting – but words are not clear)

PM: I do them either on my own, or with Linda, or she’s actually written one we did tonight on her own. That was actually to prove a point to Sir Lew Grade when we were having frictious times with him… .’cause he was saying she, she, she couldn’t write…

Q: which one was that?

LM: Seaside Woman…

PM: anyway, that’s all over With this… Seaside Woman, yeah, I sat her down and said, “OK, look, you know, they don’t believe you can write – better write a song“… .you know, ’cause they were saying, you know… .they… I mean… I don’t know, they were suing us for a million dollars in New York and a million pounds, actually a million pounds in New York and in Britain simultaneously because they thought I was cheated…

Q: because of the joint ones?

PM: yeah, I was saying, I was saying “well, er, I’m finished with The Beatles, finished with John as a collaborator, er, I’d like to have Linda now if you don’t mind” – and they said “I’m afraid we do” bang, bang!, and a couple of law “suites” came out

Q: you played several tunes tonight from your next album…

PM: yeah..

Q: when will that be out?

PM: err, don’t know really, we’ve recorded about half of it now, we’ll finish it off… er… winter sometime, so hopefully at the end of the year… Michael.

LM: (laughs)

Q: ho, ho, ho, he says…

PM: here we are folks…

Q: here we are folks, yes indeed…

PM: … this is live from Chateau boulin (?)

Q: … we keep being blinded by flashes…

PM: yes

LM: yes, you’re not the only one…

Q: … yeah… erm… do you, do you have feelings now that it’s ten years since the great event…

PM: which… ?…

Q: … if I can ask the 64 thousand dollar question…

PM: which, which great event?

Q: … of, well The Beatles in the charts? does that mean anything anymore?

PM: it’s ten years? oh, The Beatles were in the charts less than ten years ago, weren’t they?

Q: no, it was ten years ago.

PM: the Beatles… .oh first were in the charts, well that’s wonderful! you know, that’s good, I mean, you know? what do you mean?

Q: well l’m wondering, that, do you still have any feelings for those days or not, no?

PM: course, yes! I mean I have feelings for my school days, you know, like many things, you know, school days, Beatles days – it’s great you know, I dug it… I loved it, you know, but it doesn’t bother me, it’s over… got to move on in life Michael, you know – got to keep rolling on, you know, you can’t just stop.

Q: will you take this band to America?

PM: yes, hopefully, yeah – they might take me actually!

LM: (laughs)

Q: ’cause I was in America recently, everybody asked about Paul McCartney

PM: oh (laughs) wonderful! what do they ask?

Q: well, er, are you dead? (laughs)

PM: yes, well (coughs) I can definitely deny that rumor… .here and now!

Q: do you write a lot together now, Linda?

LM: yeah – yeah! (laughs)

Q: Seaside Woman, I think… recalling that…

PM: yes, no Linda wrote that on her own, that’s her, she’s written that one completely on her Jack Jones…

Q: which was a reggae number… ?

LM: yeah, I love reggae – my favourite.

Q: when did you first hear reggae?

LM: erm…

PM: (whistles)

LM: I just got, we just got some reggae albums and then we went to Jamaica and.. fantastic, ’cause they’ve just got like singles down there, it’s like the fifties, you know, ifs just fantastic music and all the kids, you know, are so loose down there and all the kids they blast it like in Montego Bay every corner they’re playing reggae… great… I love it.

Q: do you write together much?

PM: yes, a bit you know, on our own or together, or whatever…

Q: yeah…

PM: … Michael.

Q: have you finished this next album that you (words not clear) in broken french?

PM: no, ’cause I mean… you may not believe it, but, I mean, we’re really getting off on kind of things – daft things – like “Carolina Moon” – the kind of thing that you only sing when you’re really drunk and (sings) “ahh, Carolina Moon…” but I mean, you know, you sort of mean those ones, they can really be like… heart rending, you know, just something you can really… it’s amazing, I mean, I’m not saying we’re going to be doing stuff…

Q: Ray Davies does this with, er, “Mister Wonderful he sings and all these sort of…

PM: does he? that’s what I mean, I love all that stuff, I mean, you know, I don’t, I don’t, you know, I don’t hate anything that’s gone just ’cause it’s gone, in fact, it tends to be the opposite with me,
you know, I get, you know, I dig it, you know, I love the stuff…

Q: you’re getting to be an old nostalgic!

PM: I always have been, you know, I mean, I am pretty Iike nostalgic, you know, like I say… I think most people are, you know, I think Iike, in fact, when you get down to it, as I say, you know, you get a dru.., you get a party where everyone’s drunk and, I mean, like a new year party kind of thing in Liverpool, you get a new year party where the whole family’s reunited and, er, you’ll get some fantastic singing, I mean, ah, we had one this year, that’d got my uncle Joe there and he’s got his, er, son-in-law and they’re standing in arms and shoulders, you know, just fabulous, you know, everyone just right in there, you know, I like all that stuff, you know, l’m… .you know, it’s easy to sort of say, •well, you know* , er, “it’s not… you know, “it’s Old, innit?…

Q: mmm…

PM: … but, er, I Iike what it does, you know, I like a…

Q: would you ever do an Old Beatle number like that, in that framework?

PM: maybe, maybe, I don’t know. The Beatles things a bit close for me to do Beatles numbers at the moment, you know… I don’t feel like it… .but, erm,…

Q: ’cause the public sing them, very much…

PM: yes…

Q: … they love those – it’s nostalgia in a way, short term and stuff…

PM: we were just on holiday, we were just on holiday recently and, I mean, we’re, you know, I was rediscovering •yesterday• I mean live never played that for years, you know, I was just playing it on a little acoustic and stuff and, a few little things, you know, ahh…. I love ’em, you know…

Q: which is the, which is the Beatle project they’re giving you trom this (word not clear), do
you think?

PM: oh, I don’t know, you know? er, it’s difficult – you can’t sort of get into all that stuff, you know, I mean, you know, The Beatles, l’d… I enjoyed it all, you know, it’s a fantastic thing while it lasted, you know, it was great what we done, wasn’t it? a.• mmm… (laughs)

PM: it’s fantastic, you know, but I mean for me, you know, I don’t Iike the idea of just, you know, having been in the world cup and you all stick around living on your laurels forever, just ’cause you won the world cup four years ago or whatever, you know… I like to… I Iike football, kind of thing, you know, the analogy, I Iike to keep truckin’, you

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