When ex-Beatle Paul McCartney arrived in Newcastle out of the blue and looking for work
It's 50 years since Paul McCartney with his new band, Wings, and family in tow turned up unexpectedly at Newcastle University asking to play a gig there
When an Avis van full of unknown musicians rolled up at Newcastle University asking if they could play a gig there this week 50 years ago, they were met with all-round shrugs of the shoulder.
That was until the identity of one of the long-haired ensemble was rumbled.
It was February 13, 1972 and, nearly two years after the acrimonious dissolution of the The Beatles, here was Paul McCartney – one of the most famous individuals on the planet – touting for work.
The 29-year-old superstar was going back to basics.
Having turned his back on the excesses of life with the Fab Four, McCartney had loaded his wife Linda, his eight-year-old step-daughter, assorted pets, and a group of musicians and their instruments into a van and hit the road looking to play music at whichever university venue would have them.
Their first port of call was Nottingham University, then York, then Hull, then Newcastle during a run of 11 impromptu UK college dates.
McCartney’s new band was called Wings and their first single Give Ireland Back To The Irish would just about scrape into the UK top 20 later that month.
But these were early days and Wings would go on to become one of the world’s most successful groups during the 1970s, with a string of huge albums on both sides of the Atlantic spawning hits singles such as Jet, Band On The Run, Listen To What The Man Said, Silly Love Songs and Mull of Kintyre.
Back in Newcastle 50 years ago, someone at the university tipped off our sister title The Journal about McCartney’s presence and a photographer was hastily sent along to record the occasion.
Steve Dresser, chairman of Newcastle University’s entertainment committee, told us: “I couldn’t believe my luck. Paul asked if a spot could be found for his new band at the hall. They just turned up out of the blue in a big van full of equipment. We were only too happy to oblige.”
In the event, this was only the fourth proper gig McCartney had played since The Beatles’ last ever show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park back in August 1966.
If 25,000 fans had seen that momentous outdoor concert, this was a more modest affair.
The 400 in the audience at Hancock Hall – a university hall of residence – sitting in readiness for their regular Sunday night folk gig did a collective double take when McCartney and his band ambled on to the small stage.
Admission to the 9pm show was 50p with proceeds being split equally among band members who included Denny Laine on guitar and Denny Seiwell on drums.
With Linda on keyboards and kicking off with a version of Little Richard’s Lucille, the set was a mix of cover versions and new self-penned numbers. The show was noticeable for its total absence of Beatles’ songs.
The Journal reported: “The audience sat on the floor, applauding generously at the end of every number, but above all they were just plain curious.
“McCartney himself was boyishly inscrutable, restricting himself to the odd ‘thank you’, but at least he seemed to be enjoying it.”
Clearly Paul and the band felt at home on Tyneside. The night before the gig, McCartney and his entourage were seen in the Queen Victoria pub on Gosforth High Street, and later enjoying a meal at a nearby Chinese restaurant.
After the Newcastle University show, Paul McCartney’s new band was on the run once again, heading west in their van to Lancaster University on their very own 1972 magical mystery tour.
