1972 Wings Tour Bus

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1972 Wings Tour Bus
The tour bus under restoration in 2019
Overview
Typedouble-decker bus
Manufacturer
Also calledWNO 481
Production1953

The 1972 Wings Tour Bus or WNO 481 is a Bristol double-decker bus built in 1953. Originally used in Essex and Norfolk, it was painted in psychedelic colours and was used by Paul McCartney's band Wings during their 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour in place of a conventional bus. After returning to service and changing owner a number of times, it was subsequently repainted as it was during the tour and put on display outside a rock café in Tenerife in the mid-late 1990s, ending up in a garden for many years before being transported back to the UK in 2017 for restoration and sale.

Service use[edit]

WNO 479, an identical bus painted as WNO 481 would have looked in 1966

The double-decker bus has a Bristol Commercial Vehicles KSW5G chassis, with a body from Eastern Coach Works. It was built in 1953, originally had a closed upper deck and was registered with the DVLA in November 1953.[1] It was first used in Essex in the 1950s–60s for local bus routes.[2]

The bus entered service with Eastern National Omnibus Company in Chelmsford, and was painted plain green. In 1966 it was converted into an open top bus, and was repainted cream with a green trim.[1] In this form it was primarily used by Eastern National for regular service routes in seaside areas during the summer months.[3]

The bus was sold to Eastern Counties Omnibus Company in 1968, with the green replaced by a maroon red. The bus was utilised on the 248 route serving Felixstowe town and port in the summer and was mothballed at Great Yarmouth during the winter, although it was also available for hire, as it was with Eastern National.[4] It was sold to a local dealer in Norfolk in July 1971 and was then bought in December by Halls Coaches, painted red and grey, and used under the brand "Valliant Silverline" up until June 1972.[1]

Wings Tour bus[edit]

Rather than using a normal tour bus for the 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour, McCartney hired the bus and had it painted in psychedelic colours,[5][6] with the tour name shown in a blue sky over snow-capped mountains, the band's logo above the windscreen,[7] and with the band members names stencilled on the back. The order was: Paul & Linda McCartney; Denny Laine; Henry McCullough; and Denny Seiwell. It was a similar idea to the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour and Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday from the 1960s.[8]

In a video recalling the occasion, Tom Salter, of the Gear shop on Carnaby Street, who promoted the 1972 tour, stated that McCartney had asked for a double-decker bus, but Salter's business partner and fellow tour promoter, John Morris, wanted Salter to talk him out of it. Salter instead thought it was a "fantastic idea" and painted it "like Magical Mystery Tour", and that he had "gone one farther" by getting an open-top bus, describing the layout of the bus that he had arranged, as a "hippy-heaven come Yellow Submarine type feel".[9]

The seats on the top deck were removed, with mattresses and bean bags for the band and their families to lounge and sleep on (although the band stayed in hotels during the tour), and was also used as a playpen for their children while on the move.[10] The downstairs was carpeted, with four original seats at the front, bunk beds for the kids,[8] a fully-functioning kitchen in the rear[11] and there was a stereo.[12][9] The McCartneys also had a double bed in the bus, which they tried to take into various hotels during the tour.[13]

The Wings logo first appeared on the rear of the bus and was made of wood.[14] It was designed by Neil Dean, who did the work through Tom Salter, who had been asked to arrange the hire by Paul McCartney.[15] The "Wings Over Europe" paint work and other renovations were performed by Salter, Dean, Geoffrey Cleghorn and Charlie Smith, with some assistance from Dean's wife,[16] along with one or two (unnamed) others who performed other specialist work, such as the rolling destination blind with the tour destinations.

Contrary to some recollections and beliefs,[16] the paint work and renovations were applied at the Halls/Silverline depot in Cowley Road, Uxbridge, where the bus was stationed at the time by its owners, and was leased, not owned, by McCartney. The vehicle was noted in the Wings Over Europe tour programme as being provided by "Silverline Tours" (a trading name of Halls Coaches) and was returned to the owners after the tour.[17][6]

"Quite a mad thing to do, to put a playpen on the top deck of the bus and put all the children in there. It's not what you'd expect from a normal band. But we weren't a normal band."

—Paul McCartney, decades later[11]

McCartney wanted to have a good time during the tour,[12] noting as the tour began that "We never had time to do that in the Beatle days."[18] In particular, he liked the idea of being out in the sun while traveling rather than stuck inside a vehicle in the heat of July and August.[8]

The bus visited 25 cities in 9 countries, for 25 concerts in July and August 1972, covering 7,500 miles (12,100 km).[19] The concert locations were printed and displayed in the bus's rolling destination indicator.[8] The bus had a top speed of 38 miles per hour (61 km/h),[20] making it, in the view of author Howard Sounes, "no doubt huge fun ... [but] a slow and inefficient way to navigate the continent."[10] Wings member Seiwell later recalled cars zipping by them on European motorways and said of the bus, "It was quite nice, but it didn't make a lot of sense."[10] The bus travelled in convoy with a crew tour bus. Whenever it looked like the buses would not arrive at the venue on time for a concert, a convoy of other vehicles would be sent from the venue to collect them.[8]

During the tour, the band and their family members stayed in luxury hotels rather than in the bus (with hotel extras costing the band most of their wages during the tour). Most of the adults on the bus also smoked cannabis, but rather than storing the drugs on the bus and risking taking them through customs they were regularly posted from England, which caused problems during the tour as the Swedish police discovered the scheme. This prevented the tour from going on to the USA and Japan, and it concluded in Berlin on 24 August 1972.[10]

Later history[edit]

The bus was returned to Halls/Silverline. Halls Coaches and all associated businesses were bought by Tricentrol around August 1973[21] and the bus was painted mustard gold and moved to Dunstable. The bus continued to be used largely for special event hire, particularly at the Epsom Derby, as well as events such as those celebrating the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee.[22] The bus was recorded as being "out of service" with Tricentrol in 1980.[23]

It was scheduled to be scrapped in 1982, when Roger White from St Albans purchased it for £3,000. He is believed to have repainted it as it had been during the Wings tour shortly thereafter.[4]

In 1989 the bus was painted red and white and was used in the BAFTA Great British London-Cannes Film Rally, the Southend Bus Rally,[1] as well as the 1990 BAFTA Great British Rally, Cardiff-London-Edinburgh, where it was photographed behind Princess Anne. It was repainted with the Wings livery again for a Beatles Amsterdam Convention in April 1993.[24]

In July 1993, the bus was put up for auction by Sotheby's. Its value was estimated as £25,000–£30,000.[4] However, the family of Roger White and Sotheby's themselves advised in private correspondence that the bus failed to sell at auction and was instead sold shortly thereafter in a private and undisclosed transaction.[25]

The man who purchased the bus from Roger White was John "Goldfinger" Palmer.[4]

The bus was next displayed outside of a rock café venue, in Tenerife, known to be owned by Palmer.[2][26] It was later moved to the café owner's garden in La Caldera del Rey, Adeje,[27] where it was left to decay. It was spotted there by Justin James c 2009, who bought it even though at the time he did not know what he would do with it. Moving the bus to Oxfordshire in the UK took eight years, partly due to the difficulty in removing it from the garden, which required the use of cranes.[2] In October 2017 it was loaded onto the Monte Alegre for transport from Algeciras to Felixstowe.[28][29]

In 2017, McCartney tweeted to say that he had heard it was back in the UK, and to ask its whereabouts. A reply from James confirmed that it was in Oxfordshire.[2][30]

In 2019, the bus was put up for auction in Merseyside by Omega Auctions, as part of a Beatles-themed auction,[31] with an estimated selling price of £15,000–£25,000. James's plans to use it for musical children's tours did not work out, and he was emigrating to Australia. He estimated that he had spent around £25,000 on the bus at that point, and said that any profit would go to the charity he was a trustee of, Arms Around the Child.[2] The bus was auctioned with the owner's paperwork, but without a MOT.[7] However, no bids were received and the bus went unsold.[32]

The Wings 1972 Tour Bus after its restoration 2022
The Wings 1972 Tour Bus after its restoration 2022

The bus was subsequently bought by Tom Jennings[33] who set up the 1972 Wings Tour Bus Supporters Club,[34] who fundraised for its restoration.[35] The bus was initially passed to David Hoare of Chepstow Classic Motors to work on[36] before being completed by Bradley Earl of Simon Morris Thorpe Ltd of Thorpe-le-Soken in Essex.[37]

The restoration was completed in November 2022 and the bus went on exhibition at The Classic Motor Show at The NEC.[38] In October 2023, it was announced that the bus would be put up for auction online by Julien's Auctions, on 16 November 2023,[39] with a valuation of $200,000–$300,000, however the bus was not put up for auction on the day, apparently due to not meeting a reserve price.[40] The owner subsequently placed a classified ad for the bus on eBay. After initially asking £175,000, the price was reduced to £125,000.[41]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "More Images and History for WNO 481". 1972 Wings Tour Bus. 28 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Paul McCartney's psychedelic Wings tour bus rediscovered". BBC News. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. ^ Pask, Brian. "Southend Sea Front Bus Services". SCT'61. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Jammor, Radio (19 October 2023). "Wings 1972 Tour Bus For Sale (again)". Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Wings Over Europe Tour". The Paul McCartney project. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Wings Over Europe Tour: The Paul McCartney Project" (jpg image of tour programme page being referenced). The Paul McCartney Project. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Macca's old tour bus ready to pick up for a song at £25k". Daily Express. 7 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e Doyle, Tom (2014). Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s. Polygon. ISBN 978-1846972928.
  9. ^ a b Wings over Europe tour 1972, retrieved 23 October 2023
  10. ^ a b c d Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: an intimate life of Paul McCartney (1st Da Capo Press ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press. pp. 297–298. ISBN 9780007237067.
  11. ^ a b Carlin, Peter Ames (2009). Paul McCartney. Touchstone. p. 221. ISBN 978-1416562238.
  12. ^ a b "Features Guardian". The Guardian. 15 July 1972. p. 10. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  13. ^ "The Gossip Column". The Spokesman-Review. 17 September 1972. p. 98.
  14. ^ Jammor, Radio (12 December 2017). "The Curious History of the Wings Over Europe Tour Bus (WNO 481)". Radio Jammor is on the air... Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  15. ^ Wings over Europe tour 1972, retrieved 17 May 2022
  16. ^ a b "How the Paul McCartney & Wings logo originated". Steve Hoffman Music Forums. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ "More Pictures And A Request For Help". 1972wingstourbus.com. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  18. ^ "On This Day". The Times. 11 July 2001. p. 19.
  19. ^ "Support WNO 481 The 1972 Wings Tour Bus". 1972 Wings Tour Bus. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  20. ^ "WNO 481 – The Upper McCartney Deck". 1972 Wings Tour Bus. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Tricentrol buys Silverline Thousands to become number two in to go independent coaching flexi-time | 10th August 1973 | The Commercial Motor Archive". archive.commercialmotor.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  22. ^ "More Historical Photos". 1972wingstourbus.com. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Bristol K - Eastern National - WNO 481". www.bristolsu.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  24. ^ Bus, 1972 Wings Tour (1 August 1990), The White Album, retrieved 17 May 2022{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Jammor, Radio (12 December 2017). "The Curious History of the Wings Over Europe Tour Bus (WNO 481)". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  26. ^ "LICENSEE AND GOLDFINGER IN BIG BUCKS CLUB DEAL; McGraw buys into nightspot. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  27. ^ Musings, Red Queen's (11 October 2019). "Paul McCartney's psychedelic Wings tour bus discovered in Adeje". Everyone's Favourite Tenerife blog. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  28. ^ "El bus de la gira 'Wings Over Europe' de 1972 embarca en Algeciras". Andalucía Información. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Transporte Marítimo de Canarias a Europa – Transporte Canarias Baleares". www.transportecanariasbaleares.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Justin James on Twitter".
  31. ^ "Hundreds of Beatles memorabilia to go under hammer in Newton-le-Willows". St Helens Star. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Wings Tour Bus Not Sold At Auction". Macca News. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  33. ^ Jammor, Radio (10 August 2020). "Wings Over Europe Tour Bus 2 : The Update!". Radio Jammor is on the air... Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  34. ^ "WNO 481 - Legend Of Rock & Road". 1972wingstourbus.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  35. ^ The 1972 Wings Tour Bus, Indiegogo. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  36. ^ Sinclair, Ashleigh (22 November 2022). "Iconic tour bus reborn". CBW. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  37. ^ "North Essex motor expert restores Sir Paul McCartney's legendary £1million tour bus". Gazette. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  38. ^ "Tour bus used by Paul McCartney and Wings after secret Birmingham gig coming to Classic Motor Show at the NEC". Birmingham Live. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  39. ^ Rolli, Bryan (10 October 2023). "Paul McCartney's 1972 Wings Tour Bus Headed to Auction: Photos". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  40. ^ "PAUL MCCARTNEY | 1972 WINGS TOUR BRISTOL DOUBLE-DECKER BUS". www.julienslive.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  41. ^ "Paul McCartney's 1972 Wings Tour Bus With The Beatles Inspired Artwork". eBay. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
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