Paul McCartney Where? by Anonymous Photographer, Chuck Boyd, Nancy Chester, Larry Delaney, Carol Gwenn, Ken Mansfield, Dick Ray and Judy Sims The Beatles myth has descended upon us again, this time in the person of P.McC. himself. No one could have felt the whole thing quite as deeply as the two pale groupies who stationed themselves in the lobby of the Beverly Hills hotel for a solid weekend. they followed Paul to, among other places, the marina, where they reported (tearfully) that he developed a horrible sunburn, because his shirt was open to the waist. There was also an evening drive through the campus of U.C.L.A. (huh?) where the groupies ran out of gas and walked back to the hotel to continue their vigil. A reporter and photog dashed to the hotel, only to be attacked by the groupies. They were shown (reverently) to the bungalow that Paul had occupied, and were allowed to touch a somewhat mangled bunch of grapes. Grapes? Very simple: "Pauley ate on this morning!" Paul's visit was relatively unexpected; one might say it was an out and out surprise. Capitol Records was holding its annual convention at the Century Plaza hotel with its executives and promotion men from all over the country, all having a good convention time, when in walked ... Paul McCartney??! Celebrities and employees alike lined up to have photos taken with the Beatle, who smiled graciously while signing endless autographs for endless pictures, endearing himself forever and ever to all those conventioneers. Actually Paul didn't fly several thousand miles just to sign autographs (although it isn't the worst idea anyone ever had). He had to firm up the deal between the Beatles' new Apple Records and Capitol, which will be handling the manufacture and distribution of Apple records in this country and Canada, starting with the Beatles' next album. He wanted to meet the people he would be working with, wanted to get acquainted with the business side of things (and also managed to work in a few leisure hours...). The idea of a Businesslike Beatle may be new and strange to us, but we're not about to complain because it will probably mean more Beatle trips to this country, and the more of those the better! Paul arrived on a Thursday night and stayed until the next Monday afternoon. He stayed at the Beverly Hills hotel and was even listed in the registry there. As he walked in, a kid stopped him in the lobby and asked, "Hey, aren't you John Lennon?" Paul answered, "No, I'm Stevie Wonder." Although there was no real attempt to hide the fact that he was here, it was generally known, except by a handful of faithful girls who tracked down the rumor and waited patiently outside his bungalow. At first he was smuggled into places, like the convention, for a surprise effect, but after the first day or two he strolled about in plain view of anyone who was watching, pulling up to front doors (a welcome change; he commented that all he had seen of this country for the past three years was "back doors and kitchens.") His wandering took him to several boutiques, The Whiskey a Go Go (where Albert King was playing), the Factory (a private club) and Billy Graham's yacht. But no sooner did he board the boat and leave the pier than the rudder broke and they had to go back for repairs. Capitol people Ken Mansfield and Larry Delaney spent hours and hours with Paul (being completely charmed by him). "He was always so courteous, no matter how hectic it was," they remember with awe. "He had time for everyone." One night the three of them were sitting in Paul's bungalow and Paul took out his guitar and played some tunes which will be on the next album. "He started writing a song and asked us for help! But he really listens, he wasn't just being polite." Apparently all the songs have been written for the album, but only a couple have been recorded. "They're not exactly straight yet, but the stuff he played for us was fantastic." Here they groped for the right words. "Artistic...pure. More simplicity. How can you describe it? Not a return to rock and roll, in fact more like the opposite. Beautiful..." The Beatles are in the final stages of constructing their own recording studio at 3 Savile Row in London in the basement of an ancient building. "It's a landmark building, so they have to get permission to make any changes in the structure; that's why the studio has to be in the basement." Ken and Larry kept remembering anecdotes form Paul's visit in no particular sequence. Events which stuck in their minds. Here are a few: "Paul couldn't really grasp how the Beatles have affected the American way of life. Every time we'd get into a car after going through a crowd he'd talk about it as if it were a whole new thing to ponder." "When we took him to the convention we went through the basement and took an elevator to the 15th floor. We were walking down the hall when one of our promo men from Atlanta popped out of a doorway, spotted Paul, stopped dead, then ran up the him and gave him a big hug and said, "Hey man, howary, how's it goin'" Paul hugged him right back saying, "Hey, great to see ya, how's it goin'?" When the guy finally went on down the hall, we asked Paul if he knew him. Paul said he'd never seen him before." "One morning Paul went down to the hotel pool. There was a guy there who was determined not to be impressed by a Beatle. He walked past Paul and said very high handedly, "How are you?" Paul replied, "Fine, how are you?" The guy keep right on walking; Paul leaned forward and called out "Hey, you didn't tell me how you were!" Broke everyone up. "A girl reporter for a TV station was giving him a hard time, but he kept smiling. He was never once as rude as he had a right to be." "When we took him to the airport to catch his 1:15 flight to London, there was a 3-hour delay because of a bomb threat on his plane. So we stood by the elevator and ate hot dogs and admired pretty girls and blew every one's mind. I mean, how often do you see Paul McCartney standing at a counter putting mustard on a hot dog???" Not nearly often enough.
teen set magazine article on paul’s los angeles trip, 1968
