Paul, Ringo, Elton and the Beach Boys

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

‘He’s from the Sunday People…’
The day that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr sang a new song to me in the Royal Box at Wembley Stadium

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries

Paul McCartney last reunited with Starr, Ono and Harrison in Las Vegas last July for the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil's Love. (Laura Rauch/Associated Press)

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- I’ve just watched the Larry King Live show on CNN in which he interviewed Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison.

The quartet discussed the lasting appeal of the Beatles music and the contributions of the late John Lennon and George Harrison. McCartney, Starr and the women were celebrating the first anniversary of the Cirque du Soleil's "Love" show, a Las Vegas production that celebrates the Beatles' music. They were joined by Cirque du Soleil founder and CEO Guy Laliberté for the interview.

This show brought back memories for me of what turned out to be one of my most embarrassing moments in journalism.

It was June 21, 1975, and Bill Doran, the deputy news editor of the Sunday People, a tabloid I was working for in London, England, had asked me to try and “gatecrash” the Royal Box where Doran said that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would be there to watch Elton John debut the freshly released Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy album in its entirety to just short of 120,000 people.

Elton's support acts on the memorable day included The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Joe Walsh, and Stackridge.

Ringo Starr

I somehow talked my way past the security man station outside the Royal Box and soon found myself in a room full of rock royalty. There was Paul with his wife Linda and their children, and Ringo with his family.

I gingerly walked up to Paul and asked him if he was enjoying the show. As I was apparently the only journalist in the room, his eyes narrowed and he asked pointedly, “Who do you work for?”

“The Sunday People,” I replied.

Paul smiled and suddenly began singing an impromptu song he had just made up which began, “He’s from the Sunday People…” Suddenly, scores of rock talent joined in -- in four-part harmony -- and I went purple with embarrassment.

After a few minutes, I plucked up courage again and approached Ringo and, before I could say anything, he also began singing, “He’s from the Sunday People…” to which everyone joined in including Paul.

I see that Paul has a new album called "Memory Almost Full," which has sped up the Billboard charts, and ranks No. 3. My wife Norma has just got a copy and I was saddened to see that he hasn’t included “He’s from the Sunday People…” in it. Maybe it could be on your next one, Paul!

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Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.

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