Saturday 9

Saturday 9: London Town (1978)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Have you ever visited London? Nope. 

2) In this song, Paul sings of encountering a London street musician playing the flute. Are there street musicians in your town? When I worked in Chicago's Loop, I saw street musicians all the time. I especially got a kick out of the kids who played drums on empty buckets. But now that I work in the quieter neighborhood I live in? No.

3) It's raining as he wanders around London. How is the weather where you are today? Beautiful! 75º and sunny. Tomorrow, however, it will be rainy and 45º. Welcome to spring in Chicago.

4) "London Town" is one of a handful of songs credited to Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, his bandmate in Wings from 1971 to 1981. They became fast friends in the mid-60s when Denny was with The Moody Blues, the band who opened for The Beatles on their final UK concert tour. Paul has acknowledged Denny's outstanding vocals and guitar playing, as well as his humor and generosity. Share the good qualities of one of your close friends. I'm soon going to see Elaine soon for the first time in more than a month, so she's top of mind. I like how independent she is in her thinking. She recently told me the story of her days as a beauty pageant contestant back in the 1970s. The pageant was to crown the queen who would ride in a neighborhood parade. She was still in her teens and entered as a joke, though her mother was thrilled and took it very seriously. Anyway, she made it to the finals, where the contestants were asked what they would say to Mayor Richard J. Daley, who ruled Chicago with an iron fist. Most of the girls said things like, "I'd thank him," or "I'd be so excited, I couldn't think of anything to say." Elaine said, "I'd ask him why he doesn't hire Black officers to police Black neighborhoods and Chinese officers for Chinatown." She recalls being greeted by uncomfortable silence. She lost and her mother was furious. She had no regrets, saying, "They gave me a microphone and I used it for good." That's Elaine.

5) Wings broke up in 1981 when Paul decided he was weary of touring. His kids were in school, his Beatle bandmate John Lennon had been murdered, and he simply felt more comfortable staying put and working in the studio, rather than performing live. Denny believed this would mean his role, and his financial compensation, would diminish so he quit Wings. Tell us about why you left one of your jobs. I left my first advertising job because I wanted to see what I could really do. I was a copywriter for the Sears Catalog and it was great fun and it had become quite easy, but it was formulaic. I went on to write packaging copy and marketing materials for a hair care company and loved the challenges.

6) Linda McCartney also wrote and performed with Wings. In addition to music, she is known for her photography and cookbooks. Of these three – music, photography and cooking – which do you enjoy most? Photography. I'm not especially good at it, but I do enjy it.

7) Paul's first car was a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. He selected it himself before The Beatles went off on their first world tour and it was waiting for him when he got home to London. He drove it when he shouldn't have, as he didn't get his license until spring of 1965. When did you get your driver's license? I didn't get my driver's license until I was 30. I was always a terrible driver, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could, indeed, pass the test. Once I did, I never drove again. (And you don't want me to. I'm awful.)

8) Speaking of driver's licenses ... Last year someone bought one of Paul's expired driver's licenses at auction for $20,000. When you get a new license, passport, or state issued ID, what do you do with the old one? I have a very, very old passport around here somewhere. It's probably more than 30 years expired and I think it's a neat souvenir. My expired state IDs go into the shredder.

9) Random question – Which do you have more of: dirty dishes in the sink or dirty clothes in the hamper? Clothes.