A Look Back ... February 14 - 15, 1990 Paul McCartney Market Square Arena Indianapolis

Part 1

This was originally published three years ago.

In 1964 my parents gave my older brother John the albums “Meet The Beatles” and “The Beatles Second Album” for Christmas. John didn’t care for the music, but I did even at the young age of 5 years old. I listened to both albums over and over and knew the words to every song by heart. About a year later I had this fantasy idea of The Beatles performing at my grade school, Christ The King (Columbus, OH) in the gymnasium on the stage that was built on one side. Little did I know that 25 years later I would have to opportunity to work with two of The Beatles.

Let’s fast forward to November 1989 and Sunshine Promotions confirmed 4 shows (Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Lexington) with Paul McCartney as part of his first world tour in 10 years which coincided with the release of his new album “Flowers In The Dirt”. Paul McCartneys tour began in late 1989 and the plan was to announce the next leg of the tour just before Christmas and get the shows on sale. The show production was very complex, and the seat holds had to be precise. Low and behold as I was loading out The Rolling Stones show on December 7, I received a call from Paul’s production manager extraordinaire Chris Lamb around midnight and we went through the necessary information to figure the stage and projector placement in order to create the reserved seating plan. From there we put both shows on sale and they sold out immediately.

As previously mentioned, the show production was very complex. There was not a stage per se but rather 3 separate platforms that were built on 3 sets of tracks and they moved independently as part of the show. One of the key elements was the three 35-millimeter projectors that were placed behind the stage and they projected onto 3 screens that were suspended at the back of the stage / upstage. The position for these 3 projectors had the be precise and it involved building scaffolding in the seats to create three level platforms. Did I mention that each projector was extremely heavy?

The load in / set up began at midnight and their road crew and local stagehands worked through the night and into the morning to complete the set up. The guys from IATSE Local 30 did a great job and worked diligently to set up the show.

The tour had a strict policy that all meals had to be vegetarian. They even had an internal rule that prohibited their touring personnel from wearing anything that was leather. The motto was if it has a face we don’t eat or wear it. In order to have really good vegetarian food they brought in a catering company from England called Eat Your Hearts Out. Their food was very good and for the most part everybody seemed happy. During my show advance as I was discussing catering with Chris Lamb, he mentioned that he and his wife would sometimes sneak out on a day off and grab a steak. This gave me an idea...

For those that remember Market Square Arena it had a club / lounge on the 6th floor that served cocktails and bar type food. This club also had a private room that few people knew about. I asked management if I could reserve the room for the night of the 14th which is Valentine’s Day between 6 – 7PM and if we could arrange for a special dinner for 2 people with a menu of prime rib and all the trimmings. I also arranged for 2 St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktails. That afternoon around 5:30 I told Chris and his wife that I needed to see them. He said they were just going to the catering room for dinner, and I said they needed to come with me. I led them to the club and into the private room. In the room they had an intimate candle lit dinner along with a wonderful bottle of wine. To the best of my knowledge, they didn’t tell anyone about their dinner experience. It always a great feeling to do something nice for someone!

Paul McCartney did something that many rock stars don’t do, he had a press conference on the day of the first show. All of the local media came, and Paul spoke with the media and answered questions. He was cordial and friendly. This is very rare when an artist does this, but Paul McCartney is very unique. I especially remember Bob Kevoian (Bob & Tom Radio Program) being very enthusiastic and Paul called on him for a question. Bobs day was made!

Prior to the shows in Indianapolis Paul McCartney performed in Cincinnati on February 12 and we co-promoted the show with Belkin Productions. From there Paul and his band party went to Fourwinds Lakeside Inn near Bloomington, IN and

stayed there for the next few days. They asked me if I could arrange for a tour bus to move Paul and his family between the venues and the hotel. I called my good friend Sandi Patti as she owned 2 busses. She immediately said yes to renting one of her busses to Paul and Linda McCartney. The bus was very nice and very clean. Also, nobody had ever smoked in the bus...but that changed. Paul and Linda do not smoke cigarettes, but they did smoke something else. The driver informed me that everybody including their grown kids blazed up as soon as they got on the bus! About a week later I called Sandi to apologize, and she said not to worry. They cleaned the bus, and it was OK. I was relieved as I worked quite a bit with her and cherish our working relationship and friendship.

Paul was very visible backstage. He would arrive at the venue in the middle of the day prior to the press conference and the bands sound check. The band would soundcheck for close to one hour. The arena was completely closed off to all staff and the only people that were allowed inside was the band, their crew, a few stagehands and one promoter rep (me) as I felt was it necessary to be there in case they needed something. That said, I wanted to watch the soundcheck and be close to the stage! The soundcheck was awesome!!! The band would just jam. They played cover songs, mostly oldies and had fun. They joked around with each other and the road crew. It was like everyone was blowing off steam in a fun way.

Earlier in the day I did get the opportunity to meet Paul and Linda McCartney. It was a surreal moment of my life and it seemed like a dream. Paul was very open to signing things within limits and my bosses Dave Lucas and Steve Sybesma had me get several items signed. I included the 2 albums that I borrowed from my brother in 1964. I sat with Paul in his dressing room as he signed the various pictures and items and when he came to the 2 albums, he said, “these are the originals” and I quickly told him my story. He signed one to me and I asked that he sign the Beatles Second Album to my brother John and he obliged...I was in heaven!

Paul was also OK with meeting a few select people and I arranged for him to meet my friend Jim Irsay (owner of The Indianapolis Colts) and his wife Meg. Paul and Linda enjoyed meeting them. Jim and Meg presented Paul and Linda custom Colts jerseys with their names on the back along with an actual game ball that was signed by Eric Dickerson. Meg Irsay is a very health-conscious lady and Linda gave her a signed copy of her vegetarian cookbook.

I will get more into the show and the music experience on part 2 which I will post tomorrow.

Please share your thoughts and experiences about Paul McCartney. Are you looking to book entertainment? If so, please contact me.