PRESERVING PAUL McCARTNEY’S YESTERDAY

In the Summer of ’72, The Summer Of Wings Paul McCartney chose WNO 481 as the 1972 Wings Tour Bus & took it rockin’ & rollin’ across Europe after the glory days of The Beatles. With its world-famous rock superstar on board this amazing family and band adventure the tour was hotly pursued by the world’s media for over 7,500 miles across 9 countries and 25 cities. Paul McCartney’s 1972 Wings Tour Bus WNO 481 became a Legend Of Rock & Road and landed the title “The Most Famous Bus In The World”

The most famous living rock musician on the planet, Sir Paul McCartney recalls how he customised WNO 481 for the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour adventures that lay ahead. “We painted the outside psychedelic, like a magic bus,” McCartney says of their tour transport on that halcyon trip. “If you look at it very straight, very conventionally, it was quite a mad thing to do, to put a playpen on the top deck of the bus and put all the children in there while driving around Europe. It was not what you’d expect from a normal band. But we weren’t a normal band.”

Paul’s Wings Achievements

Paul’s Career Achievements

Once A Beatle Forever A Beatle

Well, we did the University Tour, and Paul said, ‘Well. We’re going to go out and do it now! We’re going to do a tour of Europe. And we’re going to travel around in an old English double-decker bus.’

“I’m proud to say that when The Beatles broke up I was the first drummer that he chose to work with him which was quite an honour. We did the Ram album and he asked me to put the group together. I knew that the music we would be recording was going to be timeless, would be here for a long period of time. It was an honour to be a part of that deal.”

Message from Paul McCartney

“I’m so happy that Denny is being honoured as a true legend. He was always a great pleasure to work with not only for his great skill on drums but also his fabulous sense of humour.”

February 2020 Update: We have received messages of support from the great Denny Laine and his partner Elizabeth. “Denny was very glad to hear you’re restoring the bus as it is a part of Wings early history. Denny has relayed some happy times on that bus. We only wish you the best of luck on restoring the bus and look forward to seeing its wonderful completion! It’s exciting to hear the museums are interested to display the bus. It’s possible that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in USA) may be interested in it too, since Denny and Paul are inductees. Denny and I send our best to you. We look forward to seeing the progress.”

Denny Laine is an English musician, singer, and songwriter known as a founder of two major British rock bands: The Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Paul McCartney and Wings, with whom he played from 1971 to 1981. Laine has worked with a variety of artists and groups over a six decade career, and continues to record and perform as a solo artist. In 2018, Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Henry McCullough began his musical career in the early 60s with the show band the Skyrockets in Ireland. He later moved to London, and with his band Eire Apparent, toured on bills with Pink Floyd, the Move and Jimi Hendrix. From there, he played in Joe Cocker’s Grease Band, even joining the singer at Woodstock. Paul had heard Henry McCullough’s rock guitar on Joe Cocker’s Woodstock version of The Beatles’ song With A Little Help From My Friends and loved the heavier treatment and when the opportunity came for Henry to join Wings it seemed a perfect fit and he played that iconic lead guitar solo on the classic “My Love.”

As well as being a member of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band and Paul McCartney’s Wings Henry recorded in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”, played with Spooky Tooth, Roy Harper, Donovan, Marianne Faithfull and The Beatles guitarist, George Harrison signed him to his record label. Also, his words “I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time” are heard in the end of Pink Floyd’ s song “Time” from “Dark Side of The Moon” album.

When Henry passed away on 14th June 2016 Paul McCartney paid tribute to him, “I was very sad to hear that Henry McCullough, our great Wings guitarist, passed away today. He was a pleasure to work with, a super-talented musician with a lovely sense of humour. The solo he played on ‘My Love’ was a classic that he made up on the spot in front of a live orchestra. Our deepest sympathies from my family to his.”

After the 1970 breakup of the Beatles, Paul and Linda recorded the album Ram and formed the band Wings in 1971. On the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour with sheer hard work, dedication and determination Linda successfully managed to look ever glamorous by the side of her rock star husband, learn her musical parts, rehearse with the band, perform 25 concerts all whilst raising their children and taking photographs. Touring for 2 months on WNO 481 The 1972 Wings Tour Bus must have been tough but she rose to the challenge.

She continued to be part of her husband’s touring band following Wings’ breakup in 1981 up until The New World Tour in 1993. Linda became an animal rights activist and wrote and published several vegetarian cookbooks. She also founded the Linda McCartney Foods company with her husband. In 1995, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died from the disease in 1998 at the age of 56. Source: Wikipedia

PRESERVING PAUL McCARTNEY’S YESTERDAY

In the Summer of ’72, The Summer Of Wings Paul McCartney chose WNO 481 as the 1972 Wings Tour Bus & took it rockin’ & rollin’ across Europe after the glory days of The Beatles. With its world-famous rock superstar on board this amazing family and band adventure the tour was hotly pursued by the world’s media for over 7,500 miles across 9 countries and 25 cities. Paul McCartney’s 1972 Wings Tour Bus WNO 481 became a Legend Of Rock & Road and landed the title “The Most Famous Bus In The World”

Now fully restored 1972 Wings Tour Bus was unveiled in front of 90,000 visitors over 3 days at The Classic Motor Show at The NEC in November 2022. Live Beatles-McCartney bands played on the newly imagined and engineered McCartney Stage, the performance space on the open-top deck. Inspired by The Beatles Rooftop Concert and named in honour of its very own superstar. The McCartney Stage At The NEC

WNO 481, this international treasure on wheels is firmly parked at the intersection of time-capsule art, time-less chart-topping music / rock and roll and classically beautiful automotive design heritage. The importance of this 1953 Bristol KSW / ECW Open-Top Double-Decker bus cannot be overstated. This authentic, iconic, actual living 50 years of rock and roll history on wheels is surely without equal. This is not like a car or truck seen in a movie where they may use multiple vehicles during filming. This is a true ONE-OFF this is THE ACTUAL UNIQUE bus that is in all the 1972 Wings Over Europe tour videos.