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PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS Drummer GEOFF BRITTON: 50 Years on From ABBEY ROAD Sessions
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Oct 29, 2024
50 Years after Paul McCartney and Wings recorded the '𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠' sessions at Abbey Road studios, drummer GEOFF BRITTON -𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙋𝙖𝙪𝙡 - joined Moody to talk about this period and to set the record straight on his relationship with other band members. Hear some amazing stories from their stay in Nashville including "discovering" Dolly Parton, plus the One Hand Clapping recordings, which have now been remastered by Paul and Giles Martin. There's also plenty in here if you're a drummer or music fan in general. The album is out now with some of the cleaned-up video footage hopefully on the way. Please give it a Like 👍 and Share, and Subscribe to our channel for more🔔 Website: http://www.bayradio.fm/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BayRadioInSpain Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayradiospain/
View Video Transcript
0:00
what they wrote was I hate his guts right so I got in touch with I said hang on a minute there's a bit of difference
0:06
between saying someone can be a bit nasty to hate in their guts I don't hate it but now you've printed it the damage
0:12
is done Jeff Britain's been this mystery drama and this sat now thinking that I would have perhaps done a better job
0:17
than the guy that did the live uh stuff and blow my own trumpy I think I would
0:23
have done they were out of order they were irresponsible you know here we are in a in a you know a division gig and
0:30
don't screw it up we always do this it Rift off I need to get it back on back
0:35
on track so we can go out the the one hand clapping
0:40
sessions well Jeff we finally got around to doing it after one or two false starts um welcome in thank you good to
0:47
be here yes we're talking about of course 50 years on from the one hand clapping sessions at Abby Road with
0:53
wings during your uh stint there with them I mean 50 years ago does that seem
0:58
like 50 years well nothing seems like 50 years when you get older everything's like seems like yesterday but it did
1:05
come as a a real surprise um pal phon me up from America assuming I already knew
1:11
to talk about it and I didn't know anything about it so uh yeah very nice surprise okay and I mean the good thing
1:18
is we we've spoken before in front of microphones and the like so I don't have to ask you how you got the job with Paul
1:23
and all of that so relax okay we don't have to go through that story again but
1:28
um you hadn't been in the group that long and it there's a thing you're a bit of a mystery um the fans know because
1:35
they followed maybe they followed both through the Beatles but through through wings as well but um it was quite a
1:41
short stint but you crammed plenty in there including this yes we just come
1:46
back from uh 6 weeks in in America staying on the farm in Nashville uh so
1:54
we were pretty tight we've been uh just like any band would do um rehearsing in
2:00
curly putman's garage he wrote The Green Green Grass of Home and he was buzzing off for a holiday and uh MPL rented it
2:08
and we we just lived there and rehearsed every day just just like a band any any
2:13
band would do with that kind of facility and space so we were pretty tight and um
2:19
we'd rehearse those songs off of uh the wonderful you know Band on the Run album
2:26
and so the idea the the idea behind it was um to be
2:32
filmed as kind of like a band in the studio kind of wals and all and Dave
2:38
Lichfield unfortunately passed recently uh came in to direct it and um literally
2:46
just went in set up Jeff Emerick was the engineer on board and we just played
2:52
that stuff live and what you see is what you get some of it was full starts and
2:58
and did again and but but generally there was no no overdubbing it is literally just the band playing those
3:05
songs yes and now it's officially out it came out um as we talked last month in June um
3:11
2024 and there are bits of it out there I mean I've seen the bit my favorite one is I've told you before is that run
3:17
through of jet from Band on the Run because the just the drums so totally different I mean there the difference
3:23
between that's that's considered sort of live drumming that you're doing there compared to Paul's playing in the the
3:28
studio in Nigeria on the ALB because he played the drums on the on band on the ricles yeah well you see Paul's not a
3:34
drummer's drummer but he's a beautiful musical drummer and they're his songs
3:40
it's like Stevie Wonder plays drums on his songs now if he got a studio guy in
3:46
um it would be good but different and
3:51
yeah he's he's complimenting the songs from a studio to be on on on a
3:58
record and I'm playing the songs as if we're live and usually you up the ante
4:05
when it's live you you know there's a bit more for the bottom end and um you know and that's what you get yeah that
4:11
is the difference I think it's um it was the story with the Carpenters as well because you know Karen could play drums
4:17
very well um but the mother you know it was one of those situations where the parents were kind of overseeing
4:22
everything she had to ask why Karen wasn't playing drums on their albums and it was hell Blain himself explaining
4:29
that there's a differ between cuz she was more of a live drummer she around the kit more of a um live drummer than
4:35
doing the studio recordings which can called for raining in a bit I suppose yeah well H Blain of course is is is
4:42
just just a fabulous session drummer I mean he got a natural instinct uh when he puts a fill in it's just perfectly uh
4:50
uh executed great technique Great Sound now with Karen Carpenter she's very
4:55
technically proficient drummer but I would hesitate that should have quite the bottom end in terms of the power for
5:02
what you need on a record recording it's recording live
5:09
rehearsing such a difference in in how you present it you it's kind of like
5:14
doing sport you know you can be a champion in the uh in your club and then
5:19
you can be a champion in your Province and your state and then there's then there's a national champion and then
5:25
you're European and then you're a world and you're still doing the same if it's football you're still kicking the same
5:31
Ball but every level has got a different intensity and a different set of requirements well drumming in drumming
5:38
live or in a studio is just the same MH and I say you've been doing the rounds
5:44
with interviews with this now this is out officially U mixed by Charles Martin
5:50
right George Martin's son yes and he's done a stunning job it uh I mean I liked
5:56
I had the original acetes which unfortunately I sold older auction and I
6:01
thought they were good CU um Jeff Emer had mixed them and you know he's he got
6:08
a pedigree second to n yeah and and they were good and um but they you know they
6:14
had a roughness and rawness which you know I liked but no doubt about it Charles has done a fabulous job and it
6:23
was I mean there's clips of you in know now you are in your in your booth but uh for me I like the later Beatle stuff I
6:29
like Abby RH when they're were a long-haired Studio band that's that's the Beatles for me and this was kind of
6:35
the next progression this is if you watch this stuff the oneand Clapping sessions that's Paul that is is most
6:40
powerful with the rock especially with the rock songs well I think his voice on it is really is really in the pocket
6:46
with it it sounds fabulous and uh Jeff herck interviewed I think in
6:55
2017 and uh talking about his illustrious recording in past and the
7:01
guy winds up by asking uh Jeff Emer what was Paul McCartney exciting in the
7:07
studio which was a funny question and Jeff refers to the uh one hand clapping
7:12
he says well there was this this thing we did in 1974 names all the band and
7:18
then Jeff Omri said it was I think he said his words were it was amazing and
7:25
absolutely outstanding how the energy and you know and how it was just done live and I thought thank you Jeff
7:32
because I felt you know like Paul and I were the Rhythm Section so I'm you know
7:37
I'm an integral part of that energy yes because you are a bit of a mystery as you say because of the shorsh stint
7:43
within the band so um but also I suppose poly now we're talking 50 years on there
7:48
just you and Paul left from from what was going on know even Jeff emer's obviously no longer with us and as you
7:54
mentioned David Lichfield all gone yes I mean with David it was a real tredy I
8:00
was speaking to him and um he was going to show me around uh the aisle of white
8:05
which is where he was living and I had um some other friends there and um so I turned up at his place uh I went last
8:12
summer whilst I was over in the UK and uh no answer and got the neighbors from
8:18
next door who told me the sad news he' pass and then put me on to somebody else
8:23
who found me and filled me in with the story and uh you know it was just such a shock because you know I was actually
8:29
looking forward to he's a really nice guy really on the ball because he also filmed um the empty hand which is a um a
8:39
Martial Arts Tournament it was the first of its kind where the the British team was competing with uh the Japanese team
8:47
uh in London the Michael soel Sports Center and um Paul did some music for it
8:54
and uh Dave litfield filmed it so Dave and I had an ongoing relationship cuz I was part of of the British team
9:00
competing at that time yeah this is another thing that comes in because if anyone watches this now I think um I
9:06
know we've got the the album we've got the the songs there um but I guess there's some video stuff to go with it
9:11
but also you can see the old grainy footage sometimes you're turning up there in the studio in your G is the
9:17
right right term for the karate soup right yeah what would happen is that uh
9:23
you go into a studio and it's not timeband especially if you're you're
9:29
next Beetle and it's Abby Road you basically you can you know you got cart
9:35
blanch of how much time so I never knew how much time I'd have for training so
9:40
what I was and it's a lovely Parky floor in part of the studio so I would get one of the guys from the tumbridge club to
9:48
meet me there and we we train so I kept up my training and then the band would
9:53
turn up and my uh my Katey mate would hang around meet Paul and probably have
9:58
a couple and then I just keep the gear on cuz it's already wet and uh and just get in the booth and start playing so sort it
10:08
looks a bit strange but that's just how it was in those days but that you doing that um and you'd have been eating right
10:15
and you know watching what you were doing maybe didn't uh sort of gel in with the some of the other members of
10:21
the band it's not exactly what they were doing because all right let's let's name name shall we without without getting too uh you know gossipy but you and
10:28
Jimmy m came into the band at the same time right Jim and I joined yes that's that's um was launched at the same time
10:35
Jimmy was already involved because when I auditioned along with all the others uh he was already sitting in the theater
10:42
with Denny and Linda yeah so he was he was around it hadn't been uh publicized
10:49
so when I they got me on board then it was like the two of us but he was already in in Camp if you like and
10:57
um so you allude in the different say well the problem was
11:02
um back then you know rock musicians were not all but sort of there was
11:09
a an awareness there was a lot of participation in Narcotics and booze and
11:14
uh all the rest of it and it wasn't part of my lifestyle right and I'm not being
11:21
judgmental it's not a question whether you're right or wrong but if you're out of step with your immediate environment
11:27
then you're the odd one out now I thought it really worked well in our favor because when we were in the states
11:34
and Jimmy and Denny would get out of hand and get drunk and legless and put the Lincoln Continental in the ditch and
11:40
got arrested and broke up um buddy killan studio uh Paul obviously hit the
11:47
roof understandably and um so from that point onwards I'd go out with them they
11:54
could get legless but I'd be the straight guy they got busted and that and driving drunk well with me there
12:00
that didn't happen so I actually thought um bit Square way of thinking but I
12:06
thought well that that's cool that's my that's my little role and I'm happy to do that and um you know I don't want to
12:13
be part of the drink and booze it's it's not where I'm at but I you know I'm not judge judging them do it guys but don't
12:19
screw up the gig sure I think I think you've told me in the past that maybe you'd go along to some of these parties
12:25
but just sort of creep off and get your head down for a bit I did it's exactly what I used to do I mean I could only
12:30
stay away for so long and then and and you know when you're when you're
12:36
visiting band of that caliber um you know you're going to parties you know great big mansions and that and I just
12:42
asked the host you know have you got a spare couch or spare bedroom and like bump you know and i' be left alone wake
12:48
me up when the boys want to go home yeah yeah did they feel they had to act like that it was kind of a rockstar thing to
12:53
do and how much did Paul have to ra it in because it's all under his name of course he's the he's the chief figure
12:58
there well to actually give you a quote when he came to me after one this
13:04
particular night in question and he was really he was really upset about it and
13:09
it's my bloody name up there uh and that's that it it's his name up there so
13:15
whatever they do it comes Under the Umbrella of Paul McCartney and you know
13:20
he's very respectful of that you know he's worked hard to be I mean you can't imagine the level
13:27
that he's at I I mean you know Lord grade would be on the phone asking him to do this gig or that gig and you know
13:34
Peggy Lee is going off to do produc she's a jazz singer of that ER buty you
13:41
know and Frank sinart I mean the world you know would know him and want to know
13:46
him and want to have a piece of him for whatever function that was going on up the road and uh yeah it was just it's um
13:54
so of course he he's concerned of keeping that reputation um you know he doesn't you
13:59
know bad enough if he does it that's fine but he doesn't want other people ruining it for him no and they they were
14:05
out of order they were irresponsible you know here we are in a in a you know a division gig and don't screw it up yeah
14:13
I mean there's um it's these D we'd say protecting the brand as far as the name McCartney goes yeah it's his name and
14:21
you know it's his right to be like that and and you know that's a trouble you see you got a few loose cannons and do
14:27
too much dope or too much or the combination of the two um they're not really responsible for their actions no
14:35
right well I mean the thing is it's good to because you're here in person you can you know set things straight a little
14:40
bit because much is written about you know friction within the band that's usually the word that's used um for you
14:46
leaving did you and Jimmy get on most most of the time well I was just reading in my diary here I've got my 1974 diary
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yeah this is extraordinary and uh we um we just finished at Abby Road and and Jimmy and I have gone out at 2:00 a.m.
15:01
in the morning to have a meal together you see the thing is the Press you know
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I got a little bit reluctant to talk to the Press because right Jimmy was was a
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glaswegian and the glaswegian at that time had a had a reputation for having a drink and once the drink was inside them
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they wanted to fight the world so I happened to say being interviewed by the Melody Maker which at the time was was
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the weekly Bible you know it was it was the the goto p I mean all the others were good andme it sounds but the Melody
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Maker for me was the the best and I'm interviewed and IA said Jimmy can be a
15:38
nasty bit of work sometimes which is true but what they wrote was I hate his
15:43
guts right so I got in touch with I said hang on a minute there's a bit of difference between saying someone can be a bit nasty to hating their guts I don't
15:51
hate but now you've printed it the damage is done so you know I bet I bet they were in no hurry to to do a
15:57
retraction or anything listen have you ever seen in the in the national press when there's been this horrible
16:04
insulting story about somebody and then they do print uh retraction and the print the retractions that big on page
16:10
20 and the the nasty story was page two or something you know so and once and
16:17
unfortunately once something's said or a seed is planted there's a lot of people
16:23
that's it it's in concrete they don't care about the of course you'd say that afterwards you don't want the Stick of it yeah so anyway no look he was a
16:32
little hard and when he had a drink and he was insensitive to WS Linder and and
16:38
things like that and and the staff when he'd had a drink I mean as a musician he was a great player enormous talent and
16:45
and a sad loss but you know that that's how it was in the 70s you know and that's and he was a you know he was true
16:52
to the typical rock guitarist of that era yeah I mean background you know maybe where he's from how he grew up and
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uh I don't know if he had the uh the sort of cuz he was quite short quite small small chat whether he had too much
17:04
to prove as far as that went often happens yeah I mean you know and and he was young and I mean at 15 he was
17:11
playing with Thunderclap Newman I mean right that's now you know in those days you could leave school at 15 and and be
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working today you're called a child at 15 so it's a whole different concept you
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know it's uh I mean I can't get my head around it when they talk about you know 19-year-old children and that you know
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in my day BL said had two or three kids by the time they were 19 it's just like where did all that come from sure
17:36
bizarre yeah but what we're on the um the subject of sort of being able to express yourself and you know say this
17:42
is the truth uh you probably don't Embrace social media very much but one plus side of it and there are a lot of
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negatives as well but um even Donald Trump has said it the reason he keeps his account open is because you know
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whatever's reported about him he can actually go on and say look that's not that's not true this is this is what really happened
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they're saying this about me um and I can tell you this is the real story from
18:04
me cuz this is my account yes I mean I think I think with the passing of time
18:10
we can sometimes downplay something or you know calm things down a little bit
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if we've been a bit irrational and a bit over the top with righteous anger or whatever and with the pass in a time you
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think you know but um over the years when I I've um seen Paul and he had the
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the Buddy Holly special dudes in London if I was back there then I always got an invite and uh I got tickets for his Show
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when he played Madrid I think 2016 17 and oh what a show I mean he was
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up there for 3 hours like wow extraordinary he's coming coming back to Madrid of course yes he is and and I'm
18:48
considering whether to um get in touch with n and go and see the show um I I
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just don't like the drive that's all no right yeah who needs that um you mentioned Linda there uh as far as uh
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Jimmy to pop at her occasionally but there have been stories that you and her didn't get on um how yeah I find that
19:12
amazing that she didn't like you that was that's what I read somewhere yeah I read that and and I thought well that's
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really weird because she was really into me about the diet and and the the training and living and she used to say
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oh I really think it's great that you're like that I mean so when I someone pointed that out that she said she
19:31
didn't like you and whenever I'd met them and I met them once with my mom at one of the body Holly things and you
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know they went really went out of their way to be so nice and gracious to my mom so I don't know where that came from and
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of course I can't ask her so but I can understand Jimmy and Denny
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because they were you know hard drinking and hard living guys I can understand them having a a thing about me because I
19:57
wasn't part of their gang if if you like sure um but the Linda thing would be a real surprise because as I say later on
20:04
she had she turned veggie and she had the cycling team so I I don't know where
20:10
that came from I really don't no but she came in for being famously a fair amount of stick herself it's hard being married
20:17
to a beetle as it is uh but then being brought into the band as well um real
20:22
Spotlight on you yeah she really got you know the the the press used to sharpen their knives regular to have her go and
20:29
uh very schneid yeah they because you know she struggled in the beginning with
20:35
uh you know you're talking to you know biggest superstar in the business and
20:41
suddenly you got a semi-pro playing with you but I have to say I think she was
20:47
really Vindicated on the one hand clapping her vocals are spot on a keyboard playing really adds to it
20:53
there's no BL and and that was live that stuff and we didn't go back in and say Linda you got to do that again what you
20:59
see is what you get so in fact i' I've just written Paul a letter and um you
21:06
know old fashion I am I um wrote him a handwritten letter I don't know whether he get it or not I hope he does and I've
21:13
said in the letter you know back in 1974 if we release that then that would have really blunted a lot of the critics who
21:21
really you know had it in for her and really you know gave her a hard time um
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and it would have uh yeah it would have set the record straight because she played her role she kept her end up and
21:32
fine and she kept Paul happy because he went through a really tough time because of Alan Klein and and and
21:40
the Beatles and he got blamed for this set and the other and and and years later he's exonerated and and but that
21:46
that side of the story isn't interesting you know they wanted the story that you know the knives were out for Paul for
21:52
breaking up the Beatles and the his you know the truth is he didn't break up lenon was going to leave first and
22:00
McCartney said it first but Leonard had already said he was leaving and they had
22:05
Alan Klein as their manager and McCartney knew that he was bad news and
22:11
but who brought him in I thought that was Paul that brought alen Klein along no Paul wanted Eastman's lawyers to be
22:16
involved yeah MC Jagger brought them brought Klein in you know and uh you
22:22
know even the stones later on they were quickly to get out of he was a monster you know he was a real go-getter yeah
22:29
and you know his influence really had a this negative effect on this phenomenal
22:35
influential band The like of which we never see again no there's not the opportunity for to arise yeah yeah sure
22:43
but I mean looking back though it's it's it was the right time to finish perhaps but not maybe not in that way could you
22:49
imagine them going on any longer cuz it was kind of drifting aart that white white album was people doing their own
22:56
thing and bringing their own songs in well it yeah I mean Paul really wanted Paul's a
23:01
bit like me it likes the idea of of a group and you know you you're you know solid and it's you against the rest of
23:08
the world as it were and and you know you've got the money coming
23:13
in and you you're enjoying a lifestyle and you've come from relative workingclass sort of poverty some of
23:20
them and um suddenly you got all this affluence this influence you you've you
23:26
know you You' set a whole generation a light and uh like nothing else before
23:31
you know even your moms and dads and Grandma I mean you know they they they covered all angles and back in the day
23:38
their influence in terms of uh what they wore you know they they
23:45
they they they tick so many different boxes it's it's hard to to relate to it
23:51
unless you live through it I mean just to to the degree that the national
23:56
newspapers and in those days know internet and the newspapers sold in the millions and the headline just said
24:03
they're back yeah and you knew who they were you know there was so much of
24:08
everybody's Consciousness you know you got Duke ellon count blazy Frank Sinar
24:14
recording their songs you got I mean just unheard of and um so it's obvious
24:21
they were going to develop and and and move on but I still think that if the client thing hadn't happened quite so
24:28
nastily and they could have got on top of the the the hassle of Apple what they
24:33
took on there for the best intentions but it it proved to be an absolute you know uncontrollable out of out of
24:41
control business Endeavor with the right ideas but they they' moved on you know
24:46
they thought they could keep a lid on it well they were just so their world was so expanding but but whether it was
24:54
intentional or not there is a thing about whether it's TV shows you going on top you know not carrying on and so it
25:00
starts to decline and um go down see leave on a leave on a high as it were leave leave them wanting more I don't
25:07
think they it wouldn't have been an intentional thing no I I don't think knowing what I know of them that they
25:14
even thought like that they were so into their music and their life it wasn't like we're the best let's go out on top
25:21
um they're just part of it and and they were part of of English culture at that
25:27
time they these establishment you know everybody was was in on them you know they got knighted that never happened
25:33
before not knighted but they got recognition from they got MBE didn't they obes yes I think um didn't John or
25:40
someone send it back didn't turn it down no no they didn't turn it down what a lot of people did was send theirs back
25:47
yeah because the Beatles got got honored in that way and this is before now you got you know you got
25:55
artists McCartney Jago Etc Tom Jones they've all been kned uh was in the past
26:02
it was either bastions of industry and business or military or people that have done things on that level yeah and you
26:10
know that's changed over the years as as everything changes MH now we we always do this Rift off and I need to get it
26:17
back on back on track talking about the the one hand clapping sessions um was
26:22
that what we're here for that's what we're here for yes 50 years on it's available now with Jeff Britain on drums
26:28
you can see him there in his little booth uh because that was all live you know you're all playing together there live how long how long were you in there
26:34
how many days was that um we're looking at my diary um we were in sort of um we
26:41
go in at about 2ish and some of the sessions if it
26:46
wasn't happening would wrap up by about 8 or 9 others we send out for take away
26:52
Chinese and we'd be there you know early hours of the morning until we wrapped it
26:58
up um it was three or four days four days if I if I remember rightly right
27:04
and um there stuff on the one hand clapping that was done like when Paul
27:10
went into the backyard in the acoustic guitar that was done on another day not
27:16
when we were all there as the band and the um yeah four days that's it yeah we've
27:23
kind of explained the reason behind it or you did you did answer that but it looks to me like it's almost a rehearsal
27:30
as well For an upcoming tour that was a plan as well yeah it was it was like yeah susing it out getting ourselves
27:36
oiled up for for touring cuz we talked about touring and we talked about obviously uh the uh infrastructure of it
27:44
you know all the stage props and what we were thinking of and you know the money side of things that was all all being
27:51
discussed um yeah unfortunately I didn't have any part of that but uh so you
27:56
didn't play any big shows with them at all no no no as live as I got was Abby
28:02
rad and I feel Vindicated now because you know um some of the uh I've been a
28:08
bit uh bit egotistical really I I've I've listened to some of the reviews on one
28:14
hand clapping and you know someone said you know like Jeff Britain's been this mystery drama and this that finally we
28:20
got him recorded you know and some of them have been really really uh kind to
28:25
me and um and and compar paing me thinking that I would have perhaps done
28:30
a better job than the guy that did the live uh stuff and bl IR trumpy I think I
28:37
would have done but anyway I can say that and that went on to be because it was between the albums wasn't it as you
28:42
say just after Band on the Run vus and Mars coming up which you play on a couple of tunes that made it onto that album but then it was the big tour which
28:49
took in wings over America fantastic yeah so that was a huge stage yes well
28:55
I'd like to been part of that because it would have uh everybody really well out of that and it was just not only that it
29:01
was just fabulous you know to play th those fantastic gigs you know the reception they got tour in America I
29:08
like America and uh you know you gig in America it's I mean I have tour America
29:13
subsequently with other acts and it's it's like everything about America on
29:19
it's on a different scale and that's it especially in those days there was there was a little bit more glamor mystery it
29:25
was all new so therefore it was the energy was there and everybody was super helpful and you know basically you know
29:34
it given the sort of Silver Spoon leather armchair treatment wherever you went yes well as you say where you sort
29:40
of hold up at kie Pam's Farm is it only needed Paul McCartney to ask probably no
29:46
hesitation and say yeah of course come along very welcome the same when you're in Nashville I suppose they looking after you yes yes we we went to Opry
29:54
land and the Grand old Opry in fact um in Opry land they were having the annual
30:01
Fiddlers contest okay and it was packed and Dolly Parton was with paulter Wagner
30:07
she sang with paulter Wagner and it was her farewell gig now we'd seen after
30:13
rehearsing during the day in the garage we sit around at night and watch TV just in the lounge at uh on the ranch where
30:20
we were staying and there was this this program and um kind of like a sort of
30:25
religious tone to it and there was this singer on it that we were all like raving over it turns out to be this
30:31
Dolly Parton and when we came back from there I was saying to people Dolly Parton this do of course nobody knew he
30:37
was talking about you see this is 1974 she hadn't she hadn't in fact they haven't even heard of her outside of her
30:44
state so um to going back to the Opry Land Story so we're going there and our
30:49
host is Buddy killan who had the Sound Shop studio and he used to manage people
30:54
like Joe TCH great soul singer and um and we yeah we recorded in his studio um
31:02
Junior's farm and Sally G with all of the cream of the Nashville session guys
31:09
uh joining in on the session so anyway so we going to Opry land and it's packed
31:14
and it was just like you imagine you know when they talk the Bible about the
31:19
sea opening up and that the crowds just sort of open up and and and and Paul
31:24
sort of spearheaded it and Linda and and we go down D D D D and and and this poor
31:30
guy's competing in the Fiddlers contest he's on stage so suddenly the heads and
31:36
all the people are looking at him suddenly the buzz is there that poor McCartney so all the heads so nobody's
31:42
looking at this poor guy and uh they're all buzzing because he's there and we get to meet this Dolly Parton who how by
31:50
the way how great is Dolly Parton she's I mean you know in in real life as a person she does but musician she's
31:56
fantastic a natural person yeah what you see is what she is she can play guitar as well I don't know how she does it
32:02
with those nails but um it's quite I mean she the voice I mean we were watching
32:08
this sort of religious kind of gospel type program and she was featured singer
32:14
and we were just sitting around as a saying we go God this woman who is she what a voice and um and then we we
32:20
learned a bit about her she'd been singing with this uh paulter wagno was really I think they were involved they
32:25
were in a relationship he he had his own TV show he was gutted that he was losing I mean he had the the pomad door and he
32:33
had the lovely jacket with a great big uh sequin um Cactus and all that I mean
32:38
he was the real deal country guy and um yeah he was upset that she was going and
32:44
that that was that was her moment she was stepping out of that to become the Dolly Parton that she became and if
32:51
we're talking about the one hand clapping session should we bring it back to that we're doing it again we that's
32:58
right uh so but back in ABY Road I mean if you look at this it's like a a double album or triple album or something but
33:04
there's so many tracks there and it's not just him running through the Band on the Run stuff which had just come out there's a few tracks on there of course
33:11
but um songs from his first album which was him solo uh McCartney and I think as
33:17
you said earlier he realized he likes being in a band Paul yes he does yeah
33:22
yeah that's and I get that because I like being in a band you know and if
33:28
it's a band of they they become you know your mates and and you really cover for
33:33
each other then it's a lovely feeling and kind of like you're playing music
33:40
you're a little you I don't ere egg it but kind of you're bearing your you know
33:45
you're you're showing off your your skill and and if you're criticized or you're no you know you're having a bad
33:52
night then you kind of uneasy you a little bit and but if you're in a band
33:57
in the your mates then you don't feel that you're you might feel you're letting them down that night but you
34:03
don't feel vulnerable in the same way there's something special about the
34:08
mentality of of a really good band where you're all close-nit very hard to come by but that's that's my sort of utopian
34:15
dream of life sure but I best I guess coming out of the Beatles he had um he probably had songs to spare by the by
34:22
the bucket load and he wanted to do something without bumping up against other people and put his own stuff out
34:28
um on that album working M Linda of course on there as well but um you ran through a few of those um but there's
34:35
there's all sorts on there the couple of tunes that you ended up on Venus and Mars playing on Junior's Farm Sally G
34:41
though the version on there it's him doing acoustic right it's not you're not on there no no no that was that was done
34:47
on that day when he's just in there on his own it's a nice version of s g actually and I've heard you say that um
34:54
him doing Maybe I'm Amazed which was on that that first album I'm right I think I'm right in saying anyway um that
35:00
version he does on the the one hand clapping it's just outstanding for me the yeah I actually think he sings my
35:08
love the best ever My Love as well yes is on there his voice on that I thought when I listen to my god well I used to
35:13
listen to it on YouTube and I used to say to people check out Paul's version of uh my love on one hand clapping
35:21
because he's just right the top of his game with his voice and that can do
35:26
anything with it and it's so so it's so emotional when it needs to be and it's not it it's got class you see you got
35:33
people now great singers but it's like musical vocal gymnastics you know they
35:39
got to sling it out every verse how good they are whereas a classy guy sings the
35:45
song and if the song needs that little particular embellishment or then they can do it without showing you all the
35:52
time I've got this you know but it as you say it is that feeling emotion you've got to bring to it sometimes like
35:58
like Ringo Ringo played for the song he wasn't showing off Ringo's real class and you know what when in the early days
36:05
they really used to take the mick out of him and I remember seeing Buddy Rich at Ronny Scots and Buddy Rich he
36:12
go and he was he was you know mimicking Ringo and it took there's a a great
36:19
American Jazz drama called uh Jack de Janette and um he just said in an
36:26
interview somewhere just how good ring was and that kind of like for me that indors it yeah and all those Beatles
36:32
song were all songs were all different as well it's not not doing the same thing every time um what did they play on the radio the other day I just heard
36:40
on in my life right yeah and I thought I S I was just doing the washing up and I
36:47
thought hang on a minute I thought beautiful just
36:53
beautiful song's great everybody does the right B I thought God stuff you know
36:58
you you you imagine it's so great and when you listen to it again you realize that you were right it is great yeah and
37:04
if we're getting geeky as well and anaraki it's um I've heard Ringo explain it he's a left-handed drummer playing on a right handed kit yes yeah that's if
37:12
you if you want to see him at his best in terms of his his his his uh ability
37:18
if you look at how he played live at the Sha stadium and cuz they couldn't hear
37:23
each other you know and and no monitor I mean absolute nightmare stuck in a great big bloody baseball pitch and the
37:31
crowd's Bloody under 200 yards away but you his rolls he's really fast and and
37:38
that and because as you say he actually is left-handed but he's playing a right-handed kit
37:46
so come together you know some of the little things you think hang on how did he do that well when you know that he's
37:53
he's leading with his left hand and not his right hand because he's then you can work out how he did some of those things
37:59
but that aside that was that was a challenge in itself which he just
38:05
overcome naturally now going back to the the the wings thing um wings over
38:10
America the Joe English guy he's um a left-handed guy playing a
38:18
right-handed kit but he's playing it left-handed so it just doesn't look right it looks kind of erratic so where
38:25
you would normally play the left hand on the snare drum and the right hand on the symbol yeah he's got the kit set up for
38:32
that but he's playing the left hand on the high hat or the symbol in the right hand on the snare and I don't like to
38:39
see that for me just you know I like to see my drumers as as most drummers are
38:44
yeah is that like Phil Collins though he play cuz he's is he called open-handed or is that a difference he no he he
38:50
plays a left-handed kit right-handed but Ian Pace plays a left-handed kick
38:55
left-handed so he you know he's he's playing the right the right way for a
39:00
left-handed person where the others are playing it um set up as if it's a
39:06
right-handed kit but they're playing it left-handed and Ringo this is complicating thing it's a right-handed
39:12
kit and he plays it right-handed although he's left-handed if that can make S so your right hand should be doing the high heart the left left hand
39:18
should be the snare right that's what he does yeah yeah but naturally it should be the other way around for him yes
39:24
right yeah yeah yeah and and so that makes it unusual now he he starts off
39:29
doing some of his roles and how he comes out of it you think hang on a minute but once you know that he's
39:36
slightly you know the other way around in that sense his hands had his um then
39:42
you can work out how he got there yeah and U you probably don't see as much of him as I do because he's on social media
39:48
but he's doing great and he looks great and he's just fantastic I saw him in a chat show not long ago and I thought in
39:56
fact I was talking to Denny sywell last week now he was the drummer that you
40:02
kind of took over from in Wings yeah he left he left the day they were going
40:08
flying off to do um to Legos Nigeria to
40:14
do the band he would have been playing on that yeah and quite rightly so because he he was really being treated
40:21
unfairly for what what he'd achieved and and the money and all this and others it's all written up in in that book by
40:27
in St Clair and um so anyway they should never let him
40:33
go cuz he was a wonderful drummer so I was talking to him last week and he was
40:39
meeting up with uh Jim Kelner who's a great drummer yeah yeah and they were going to Ringo's party so they're all
40:47
mates you see so which is great to hear Ringo's got his Allstar band which when you look at the lineup sometimes it's
40:53
it's amazing he's got Steve Luca in there sometimes Steve VI um at one time he had guys from the band he had Leon
41:00
Helm in the Leon Helm yeah Leon Helm was a Lely I mean anyone anyone will come and play with Ringo um but on the the
41:06
other tracks on the one hand clapping sessions you do a version 11 Let Die which had just I suppose that was that
41:12
year wasn't it that that came out I can't wish hear the uh the movie was R yeah it was all at that time for sure
41:18
yeah it got to number two and it got voted musical yeah that's right great cuz that's nice cuz you drop into the
41:24
sort of Reggae middle yeah yeah well this is it with Paul I mean he you know
41:30
musical 1920s voeville pop country rock he can do it all cuz we do a country
41:36
song Blue Moon of Kentucky yes there's a couple of sort of Standards on use that word standards on there um and I noticed
41:43
he launches into a couple of Beatles Tunes but not all of them just to teas you a little bit you're not you're not
41:49
no no that's all just him on the piano yeah I wasn't there when he did that that that was the day when he he did the
41:55
acoustic stuff and that um for me I wish he'd kept that on one because it's for
42:00
it's a double album or double CD and I wish I wish we'd had all the continuity
42:05
of all the stuff that the band played so you know cuz the other stuff kind of
42:11
interrupts the flow for me cuz one minute It's banging away and really rocking great and then it goes to
42:16
acoustic and it's kind of like ah doesn't for me it doesn't sit right I don't like that as much right and and I
42:23
mean I haven't seen the video but I listened to it and I assume that's Denny Lane doing go now the version you do on
42:28
Denny yeah that was him on the original with the Moodie Blues of course if you see Denny going back to those
42:34
1964 uh beat contest things of the Year poll winners poll winners and uh he
42:40
sings with The Moody Blues and he do have sing well live you know he he really cuts it and good harmonica player
42:48
yeah I think the um the first half of it i' I've watched there's about 40 minutes
42:53
of it on on YouTube so obviously I've been through that and uh there's a part where you're kind of taking direction
43:00
from Linda which we'll come back to her I wonder how you sort of looked at that was it's just part of being in a band or
43:08
would you take I think it was just you came in on a she wanted to come in on a
43:13
beat behind or she spotted something anyway yeah Didn't I come in late maybe yes yeah well to me that's band life I
43:21
mean it's really weird you see um I think I read a comment somewhere though
43:26
being sarcastic when they the guys in the band said one said have you come to play your drums are you going to chop
43:32
them up you said because of the martial arts and and they they interpreted that
43:38
as like sort of sarcasm or belittling was when you're in a band insulting you
43:45
know it's like soldiers it's like you know they you know tough guys really take the mick out of each other and you
43:51
know and if you saw it in print you think they'd hate each other but that's how it is and I think if you're in a good band you don't you know and you're
43:59
confident who you are and what you are then someone can say oh look that's too fast or you're overdoing this and you
44:05
you know you don't shrivel up it's the Robert Mitchum story you know about being told and having the confidence to
44:12
say no no that's okay that's what I can do well if you can I mean if it's some something like that musically and you can then hear it yourself then yeah
44:19
you'll put it right we all make mistakes you Paul makes mistakes coming early or you know oh God start that again I
44:25
fluffed it in fact in fact if you listen carefully to Junior's Farm Jimmy plays a
44:31
bad a bum note on it really and I don't know how that that wasn't taken out I'm surprised that that wasn't mixed out but
44:38
it's there but just while we're talking about Linda as well I mean we've talk said that that version of it's my love
44:44
isn't it you say it's probably the best version of that that Paul's ever done but she's around and you think that has
44:49
an effect that she's there with him cuz they were quite a quite a team of course yeah you see she was she was very very
44:58
vital to him and I mean hope I'm not speaking out of turn here but I mean of
45:03
the ladies in his life I mean she lost her mom when she was young same as Paul
45:09
did and there was kind of like a a Unity
45:14
there it was um and you know Alan Klein The Beatles The Press spin on him uh the
45:22
money was all Frozen in in Courts at the time uh
45:28
Linda was getting slagged off you know at the time you what was she doing working with Paul McCartney it was all
45:33
that but she was really a Pillar of Strength for him she was really support you know she was good for him well she
45:40
wasn't uh any kind of wall flower she was a proper New York girl oh she's hard as nails like that I mean yeah she give
45:47
as good as she gets we were at the um we were doing top of the pops and there's something she wanted to do with the
45:53
keyboards and uh the guy said oh no you can't do that it' be a fire risk and all
45:59
the rest of it and I and I went hang on a minute what's you on about and Paul say Jeff it's okay you watch she'll
46:05
handle it she did yeah yeah I mean she was a tough New Yorker then she'd been
46:11
in the business a long time cuz she was a photographer and that's right little bit of reputation so um you know but you
46:17
think of it how different it was like when we finished at uh on the
46:23
farm they had this uh like shooting break bre this this van no not van state
46:29
car they call them shooting Brak shooting bre yes of course and they got a U-Haul little trailer thing on the
46:35
back so it was Paul Linda and the girls jumped in and then just drove from there
46:41
up to New York took a hotel or whatever just you know imagine that today you know they stopped at a burger bar or
46:47
whatever or Denis and just have a milkshake and a cup of tea or whatever they had just like you you and I would
46:54
do you know and that's that's how life you know the security thing the idiots doing
47:00
things it was yeah it's kind of it's probably what this kind of relationship people strive you know want and strive
47:06
for and they found it yeah I mean they were very natural and very you know I
47:12
think Didn't They isn't there a story they they only ever had one night apart or something I don't know probably there
47:18
is something something like that probably when he was in G in Japan or something like that you know but um but
47:25
there's a part in I mentioned that through jet already from Band on the Run in the studio there in Abby Road and
47:30
where she does her keyboard solo um he's looking around at it and just a big smile on his face and you can tell it's
47:37
just that that team you know so proud of be his tauter you see yeah you know and
47:42
like you know we're doing it live and you know wals and all really
47:47
and that and like you know we didn't have to do her part again you know we
47:52
might say well that didn't feel quite as good let's let's run it again some of them aren't the first take a lot of them
48:00
were quite sort of spontaneous and but some you know you might say take 20 well
48:05
he used to say that as a joke as well you know take take 85 or whatever of course it wasn't but you know no no I
48:12
mean I think well she became Vindicated because you know the wings over America
48:19
they couldn't really criticize it but if they'd released that in 74 as I said previously yeah she would have uh you
48:25
know people would have had to um yeah owned up and thought yeah she did a bit but um overall I mean all of
48:32
that good memories for you fond memories yeah um it's kind of weird isn't it
48:38
because it's kind of like um every now and then I'd look at I'd look at it on
48:44
YouTube cuz it was as you say there were bits of it on YouTube and I'd wonder about it and and also I was in a group
48:50
called the keys yes and the Keys album is is played on on YouTube and sometimes
48:55
at the same moment I'd listened to that and and there's some East of Eden on there as well uh the Paris Olympia
49:03
1970 and uh some nights I do get a bit like what could have been sort of thing
49:09
and like why you know why didn't that make it or how come you know it does
49:16
have um a sobering effect at times other times I look at and think God you know
49:21
and then then you also looking at it critically you know objectively as well you you know energy wise out you know
49:29
and but the certainly with the keys stuff I actually thought the keys could have been a contender and uh and it
49:35
wasn't and when I listened to the I think God that's that stuff is so good and I read the reviews what people say
49:41
about it and I think God yeah I think like that too why but on the one hand clapping stuff you must look back at
49:47
that and think yeah that I did all right there yeah I mean I've got some drumming
49:52
mates and and like the one who told me about uh Jeff the Jeff Emer intervie said you got to listen to it the end and
49:58
you you you'll realize why and and they've done exactly the same as you they founded me out and they've gone uh
50:04
God I just listen to Jet or I just listen to soily and that wow wow what you did it was great and and they're my
50:11
mates and and and you know we there's no false modesty with all of us you know
50:17
and and these guys are they're good players you know they've done well what's been nice with the release of
50:22
this uh one hand clapping is that it's it's not like you've been Vindicated cuz no one was saying you weren't any good
50:28
but it's just it was just that mystery no one knew much about you so now we're getting to see it and you know you can
50:34
see what uh you know what a talent was there some of the uh some of the
50:40
comments some of the reviewers in America I've actually used the word that I've been Vindicated and one some of the
50:47
guys said uh you know that Jeff Britney's BackBeat you know and
50:52
comparing me to the other guys and you know it was nice to hear that because you kind of Wonder you think well you
50:58
know what was there a problem but it's nice to bring it to light because we've
51:04
used the word mystery a lot here but there was a lid off it and now there's the evidence you either like it or you
51:10
don't like it but you can't say it ain't good enough that's the thing yes I agree with you and of course seal of approval
51:17
from Jeff Emer uh Jeff what can you say with the best just a beautiful human
51:22
being and another one of those guys from England just immersed in music and
51:29
everything he do you look at what he's recorded and he's been involved in and you know Paul would be so relling on him
51:36
Jeff I want this sound Jeff I want that effect you know and this guy would stay up all night researching it and getting
51:42
it you know so now this is out with the the one hand clapping we got the the album and I guess there's some video
51:49
stuff to go with as well it's not it's not a film is there I don't do we know that they're talking about cleaning up
51:55
the film yeah uh I think film that Dave Litchfield uh shot I think that's 50 OD
52:03
minutes cuz in the early days I saw the Whole Thing Once on YouTube or or someone sent me a copy of it and the
52:09
whole thing through you know ws and all as it were um but I think because it's 50 years old they've got to kind of
52:17
clean it up which you can do now you yeah they certainly do I put color on a black and white film now so um so I hope
52:25
they do because Dave Lichfield um for his memory as well he did a great job
52:31
and if the music you know is being appreciated then people you know
52:37
certainly all the hardcore cartney fans will want to see the film as well and or own the film which I'd love to see it or
52:44
own it you know absolutely yeah it's a big part of you know his career right in the middle of the the 70s there that um
52:49
you should be able to to see it's on the back of his Masterpiece you know and that's to me
52:57
that period uh for me was the best you know the early stuff did on his own and that
53:05
you finding his feet and then he really hits it with Band on the Run follows it
53:10
up with the next one um after that you know Silly Love Songs and that sort of stuff Emily Armory not my not my S I
53:19
like playing the Baseline on Silly Love Songs that's fun that's fun that's always good yeah the one record that he
53:24
did that I thought was really great especially I don't if you remember seeing the video of it cuz he played all you're going to say coming up coming up
53:31
yeah that was super yeah do you know who they all are I guess once one's Hank Marvin I do you know who the drummer is
53:36
supposed to be is that Ginger Baker is it Ginger Baker or he does a few little things only Ginger did you know he had
53:42
the beard and the thing I thought it might be mck Fleetwood oh no it was supposed to be Ginger Baker okay and then of course he plays himself in the
53:49
as a beetle I mean it's just that M off taken some doing work to do all that
53:55
well if anyone could do it it's you know Paul's got the resources to do yeah well you can play with the instruments I mean yeah you don't have to answer this if
54:01
you don't want to but uh are you likely to see any money from this it's come out well at the moment F all um no I I don't
54:10
know how it works because you're not you're not the songwriter on there right what there is
54:16
now uh and it's something that Hal Blain uh talked about I didn't realize that it
54:23
occurred to all of us if you've played on a record now there is you're not you're not a song or
54:29
publishing royalty but you get a playing royalty and there's a company that set
54:35
itself up that uh recoups that it trouble is it can only go back six years
54:41
so for me that's a bit of a doo because most of my recordings were way back you know Manfred man and stuff like that so
54:48
like their their playing days would have would have diminished with this just coming out so this might get a lot you
54:54
know some of the tracks might get a lot of air play globally cuz this company goes after it globally now in in terms
55:01
of getting any money from MPL uh no one's approached me as Z with
55:06
but I'm going you know I'm I'm debating whether I have the right to sort of say
55:12
look you know um you're going to be paying tax on this why don't you I don't know how it
55:19
works but I I'm kind of thinking well wouldn't hurt them really you know uh
55:26
it's it's I'm a big part of it and uh it's going to generate some do so but uh
55:32
hither two I've been I've been given some merchandise I've got a lovely sweater and a T-shirt and what have you
55:38
and I've got the records sent to me um but as you say nothing else at the
55:45
moment well let's hope that works out for you um because it's as I say it's been nice to have this come out 50 years
55:50
on from those original sessions and it's good to see it and thank you thankfully we got around to doing it eventually
55:56
well thanks for your time Moody it's always great to talk music with you CU you really love music and uh we do go
56:02
off on tangents which we we try not to but it's inevitable anyone watching the final version of this will have no idea
56:09
how long we've been here this is our second string isn't it
56:14
the first one we just went on for four hours or something yeah well I'll mention a musician like um Hal Blaine
56:19
that we've talked about and um you know that'll be us for another 20 minutes you share a lot of the um yeah the same you
56:27
know incredible well I wasn't around I wasn't around at the time but this is this is YouTube you know this is what
56:32
it's done it's it's filled in a lot of holes in my knowledge of various things whether it's World War II or music you
56:38
know yes everything's on there yeah World War II yeah I mean we've digressed did I did I wrap up
56:45
I can't remember if I W up I just don't know it's still rolling it's still recording
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