Paul McCartney, Wings & WNO 481 travelled 12,072 kilometres, 7,500 miles to do 25 concerts in 25 cities in 9 countries across Europe.
Referring back to July and August 1972 – The Summer Of Wings 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.
PAUL McCARTNEY’S 1972 WINGS OVER EUROPE TOUR
We painted the outside psychedelic, like a magic bus. “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 McCartney
In 1971 WNO 481 was acquired by Paul McCartney for the upcoming now famous 1972 Wings Over Europe Tour.
Paul wanted the bus painted in a Magical Mystery Tour – Yellow Submarine theme and tasked Tom Salter, the Tour Manager and Promoter and owner of the very famous Gear boutiques in Carnaby St. to do this.
Tom thought it was a fantastic idea and enlisted the help of Neil Dean, the well-known artist who was asked to come up with a magical mystery design for the bus. Also enlisted was his pal fellow Ipswich art student Geoffrey Cleghorn, friend of Pink Floyd, The Who, The Stones to paint the bus with him. Georgina Dean, Neil’s wife painted the outlines between the colours.
