On This Day 11/09/1975 Wings

On this day, 11 September 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre as part of their Wings Over The World Tour. It was the third date on the tour following concerts at Southampton and Bristol.

The world tour followed the release of Wings' bestselling album Venus and Mars (1975), while the follow-up album, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976), was completed after the band's Australian concerts.

Both Venus and Mars and Band on the Run (1973) were well represented in the setlist for the two 1975 legs. Songs from Speed of Sound were then introduced into the set in March 1976, and McCartney is known to have remarked: "Everything I have done since The Beatles split has been leading up to this."

Wings' line-up for this tour was Paul McCartney (vocals, bass, piano, acoustic guitar), Linda McCartney (keyboards, backing vocals), Denny Laine (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion), Jimmy McCulloch (electric and acoustic guitars, bass, vocals) and Joe English (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They were joined by brass and woodwind players Howie Casey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard and Tony Dorsey.

Setlist:

Venus and Mars/Rock Show

Jet

Let Me Roll It

Spirits of Ancient Egypt

Little Woman Love

C Moon

Maybe I'm Amazed

(Paul McCartney song)

Lady Madonna

(The Beatles cover)

The Long and Winding Road

(The Beatles cover)

Medicine Jar

Soily

Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)

Richard Cory

(Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Bluebird

I've Just Seen a Face

(The Beatles cover)

Blackbird

(The Beatles cover)

Yesterday

(The Beatles cover)

You Gave Me the Answer

Magneto and Titanium Man

Go Now

(Bessie Banks cover)

Junior's Farm

Letting Go

Live and Let Die

Call Me Back Again

My Love

Listen to What the Man Said

Band on the Run

Hi, Hi, Hi

On This Day, 01/03/1969 Mary Hopkin

On this day, 1 March 1969, Welsh Songstress Mary Hopkin was interviewed to publicise her debut LP titled Postcard, produced by Beatle Paul McCartney.

It was also on this day that Mary Hopkin went into the studio to record her follow up single Goodbye, again with McCartney producing.

Mary Hopkin hasn’t changed much since she came up from the valleys for Opportunity Knocks.

She’s very quiet to the point of shyness - even after a number 1 hit.

Sitting in a room at Apple’s office whilst her new album “Postcard” Mary brushes her blonde hair out of her eyes and when she speaks you have to listen very closely because her Welsh voice is very soft.

“I don’t like singing without my guitar because I hide behind it,” she says, “it gives me self confidence, I’m a bit more use to it than I use to be, but I won’t stop using it on stage.”

The telephone rings with an invitation for Mary to go to the opening night of the Merry Widow. “ it’ll be nice Mary “ says publicist Derek Taylor.

“But I don’t have anyone to go with.” Derek promises to ring back and tells Mary he knows someone nice to take her.

Mary really is a shy girl and you think she would have changed with Beatle Paul producing “Postcard” , Paul’s girlfriend taking the photographs and with Donovan writing three of the album tracks.

“It’s great to sing his songs. I’ve been an admirer of his for a long time. They’re a very different kind of song to others on the album but they match in quality.

“He accompanies me on ‘Lord Of The Reedy River’ and ‘Voyage To The Moon’ “

The album consists of many songs from past decades. Why had she chosen songs from the Twenties, Thirties and Fourties’ ?

“Paul had the idea and I like the thought of trying them. My favourites are ‘Show Business’ and ‘ Love Is The Sweetest Thing’

“ I think I had the most trouble with George Martin’s song ‘The Game’. I thought ‘Show Business’ would be very difficult but it turned out the easiest. It is a very well constructed song.

“I didn’t have anything in mind, the album turned out like it. The songs are what I want to sing.. I don’t know who the bulk of my fans are - I get letters from all ages but it’s probably the mums and dads mainly.”

The album will have immense appeal to mums and dads. Has Mary thought about concentrating on the older market by having a show of her own or going cabaret?

“Oohh no,” she says, pulling a face, I don’t think so, I’ll carry on what I’m doing, just singing the songs I like.”

What about a new single, a follow up to “Those Were The Days,” ? “ We’ve a few songs in mind for a new single but nothing definite .”

As we leave Mary warns of the loose carpet on the stairs. “Someone’s going to fall down there, I expect it’ll be me. Goodbye.”

As Apple say, “she’s only eighteen and her accent and attitudes intact”.

On This Day 07/11/1964 The Beatles

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On this day, 7 November 1964, music legends The Beatles played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

it was the 24th date of The Beatles’ 1964 British tour and a return to the Capitol.

The group had previously performed at the venue on 27 May 1963, and returned for their final UK tour date on 12 December 1965.

They performed two concerts on this night, for which they were paid £850. Their set throughout the 1964 tour contained 10 songs: ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Things We Said Today’, ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’, ‘I Should Have Known Better’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

The support acts on the tour were The Rustiks, Sounds Incorporated, Michael Haslam, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly and Mary Wells, and the compère was Bob Bain. The evening’s two shows began at 6.30pm and 8.50pm.

Mike from Newport on the BeatlesBible website had this to say about the memorable evening - “I remember going to see this concert with my sister ( from Newport by train),it was the 6 .30 pm show.

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I remember Mary Wells singing ‘My Guy” The Beatles opened with ‘Twist and Shout’. they were were dressed in light grey ‘Beatle jackets’ near the end of the song, John Lennon took his tie off and threw it into the front row !,

It was a loud, crazy night. I still have the ticket stub, and one from the Bob Dylan 1966 show !

Footage from the visit in 1964 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PknnUXESgSI

On This Day 11/09/1975 Wings

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On this day, 11 September 1975, Paul McCartney’s Wings played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings (consisting of his wife Linda, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English, together with a brass section led by Howie Casey) performed the third of 66 shows of the Wings Over the World tour at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff Wales, following concerts at Southampton and Bristol.

The Wings Over the World tour was a series of concerts in 1975 and 1976 by the British–American rock band Wings performed in Britain, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada. The North American leg constituted band leader Paul McCartney's first live performances there since the Beatles' final tour, in 1966, and the only time Wings would perform live in the US and Canada.

The world tour was well-attended and critically acclaimed, and resulted in a triple live album, Wings over America, released in December 1976. In addition, the tour was documented in the television film Wings Over the World (1979) and a cinema release, Rockshow (1980).

BAND Interview - https://youtu.be/oW8K_dn4AN4

Setlist:

1. Venus and Mars

2. Rock Show

3. Jet

4. Let Me Roll It

5. Spirits of Ancient Egypt

6. Little Woman Love

7. C Moon

8. Maybe I'm Amazed

   (Paul McCartney song)

9. Lady Madonna

   (The Beatles cover)

10. The Long and Winding Road

    (The Beatles cover)

11. Medicine Jar

12. Soily

13. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)

14. Richard Cory

    (Simon & Garfunkel cover)

15. Bluebird

16. I've Just Seen a Face

    (The Beatles cover)

17. Blackbird

    (The Beatles cover)

18. Yesterday

    (The Beatles cover)

19. You Gave Me the Answer

20. Magneto and Titanium Man

21. Go Now

    (Bessie Banks cover)

22. Junior's Farm

23. Letting Go

24. Live and Let Die

25. Call Me Back Again

26. My Love

27. Listen to What the Man Said

28. Band on the Run

29. Hi, Hi, Hi

On this day 11/09/1975 Wings

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On this day, 11 September 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre as part of their Wings Over The World Tour. It was the third date on the tour following concerts at Southampton and Bristol.

The world tour followed the release of Wings' bestselling album Venus and Mars (1975), while the follow-up album, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976), was completed after the band's Australian concerts. Both Venus and Mars and Band on the Run (1973) were well represented in the setlist for the two 1975 legs. Songs from Speed of Sound were then introduced into the set in March 1976, and McCartney is known to have remarked: "Everything I have done since The Beatles split has been leading up to this."

Wings' line-up for this tour was Paul McCartney (vocals, bass, piano, acoustic guitar), Linda McCartney (keyboards, backing vocals), Denny Laine (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion), Jimmy McCulloch (electric and acoustic guitars, bass, vocals) and Joe English (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They were joined by brass and woodwind players Howie Casey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard and Tony Dorsey.

Cardiff - interview - https://youtu.be/oW8K_dn4AN4

Setlist:

Venus and Mars/Rock Show

Jet

Let Me Roll It

Spirits of Ancient Egypt

Little Woman Love

C Moon

Maybe I'm Amazed

(Paul McCartney song)

Lady Madonna

(The Beatles cover)

The Long and Winding Road

(The Beatles cover)

Medicine Jar

Soily

Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)

Richard Cory

(Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Bluebird

I've Just Seen a Face

(The Beatles cover)

Blackbird

(The Beatles cover)

Yesterday

(The Beatles cover)

You Gave Me the Answer

Magneto and Titanium Man

Go Now

(Bessie Banks cover)

Junior's Farm

Letting Go

Live and Let Die

Call Me Back Again

My Love

Listen to What the Man Said

Band on the Run

Hi, Hi, Hi

On this day Paul McCartney 26/06/2010

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On this day, 26 June 2010, rock legend Paul McCartney played Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on his Up and Coming tour. Support was provided by the Manic Street Preachers.

McCartney had announced shows for Europe, including his first appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival, and his first show in Cardiff, Wales in over three decades.

The tour required 31 trucks to transport all its equipment and employed a full-time crew of over 150 people to make it all work.

The total weight of all the tour's equipment was 125,000 pounds (57,000 kg).

The indoor concerts on the tour used 90 speakers, and the outdoor stadium shows used 130.

Backstage at each show there were 14 touring offices and dressing rooms.

The catering department served approximately 480 vegetarian meals a day to the crew.

The tour ended on 10 June 2011 with a show in Las Vegas.

“I’ve had my eye on it for a long time – since it was built. I’ve often said to my promoter, ‘What about Cardiff and the Millennium Stadium?’ but it’s always been booked. So it’s been a long-term ambition of mine.”

Paul McCartney

McCartney began the Millennium Stadium concert with Venus And Mars/Rock Show, before performing a mixture of Beatles, Wings and solo songs. He appeared in good spirits, thanking the crowd in Welsh (“Shw mae Cymru! Croeso Stadiwm y Mileniwm!”), spoke of how he and George Harrison had hitchhiked to Harlech as teenagers, and jokingly referred to Liverpool as the capital of Wales.

After performing Foxy Lady he spoke of his admiration for Jimi Hendrix, and how The Beatles had been flattered when Hendrix performed Sgt Pepper’s title track in concert. He paid tribute to Linda McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon, and performed ‘Paperback Writer’ using the Epiphone Casino which he had used to record it in 1966.

The setlist contained one extra surprise: an unscheduled performance of Ram On, in response to a placard request held up by an audience member. McCartney performed the song on George Harrison’s old ukulele prior to playing ‘Something’.