Something on my mind

This is a year of 50th anniversaries of some significance for me. Not only is it half a century since the first ABBA single was released, as celebrated by my book ABBA At 50, but this year it's also 50 years since I began my oldest surviving friendship, in terms of friends I still hang out with. And, last but not least (drum roll), it is five decades since I went to my first pop music concert: Wings at Gröna Lund in Stockholm.

I was seven years old at the time, a huge Beatles fan, and saw in the paper that Paul McCartney would be coming to Stockholm. "I want to go!" was my reaction, naturally, although I had absolutely no conception of what this would entail. To his eternal credit, my dad, who was not a rock music fan, took me to see the show. It was 7 August 1972 and I sat on his shoulders throughout the entire concert, otherwise I wouldn't have seen anything. I don't remember much about the show, except the absolute thrill at seeing McCartney on stage, right there in front of me. I also had a vague memory of a song that I didn't recognise, but which I really liked, although I never heard it again over the next few years. It wasn't until many years later that I realised that it was 'Hi, Hi, Hi' I'd heard - rhythmically, the arrangement was different, so that's why I didn't connect it with 'Hi, Hi, Hi' when it was released as a single later in 1972.

At one point my dad, who was a professional photographer, gave me his camera and told me to take a picture. I'm sure he had made sure that everything was in focus and so on, but I'm equally certain that I must have managed to fiddle with the lens before I snapped the picture. That's why it's so blurry. I didn't mind too much, I was happy to have that picture on my wall for many years. I could still see that it was Paul.

I will be able to read the full story of Wings' 1972 tour of Europe in December 2022, when a book entitled The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969-73 is published, authored by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Adrian at length in London last week, when we both attended a preview of Mark Lewisohn's magnificent Evolver:62 show. Just from the details Adrian revealed, I know that this is going to be a must-purchase book for every McCartney fan, and I simply cannot wait to read it. In the meantime, I have my blurry photo to keep the anticipation tolerable.