Wings UK Tour 1979
On 23 November 1979, Paul McCartney's band Wings began a 19-date concert tour of the United Kingdom to promote their recent album, Back to the Egg.
| Tour by Wings | |
![]() | |
| Associated album | Back to the Egg |
|---|---|
| Start date | 23 November 1979 |
| End date | 29 December 1979 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 20 |
| Wings concert chronology | |
History
Wings' lineup for the tour was Paul and Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Laurence Juber and Steve Holley, together with a brass section from the previous tour led by Howie Casey.
Following the main part of the tour, Wings teamed up with an all-star cast of musicians and took the name Rockestra to perform a series of Concerts for the People of Kampuchea at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

It was originally to have been the first leg of a planned world tour, with further stops scheduled in Japan, Europe and America. However, it became Wings' final concert tour, after McCartney's marijuana arrest in Tokyo the following January.[1][2]
Releases
A recording of "Coming Up" from Glasgow on 17 December 1979 of the tour was released on the single in April 1980 taking the A-side in the United States and becoming a number one hit. The Glasgow show itself was widely bootlegged under the title 'Last Flight'.[3]
Six songs of the Hammersmith Odeon performance, three by Wings and three by Rockestra, were released on a Concerts for the People of Kampuchea live album.
With the beginning of Paul McCartney Archive Collection album reissues in 2010 more songs from a Glasgow show have been released. Band on the Run reissue received "No Words" and "Band on the Run" as pre-order bonus tracks, McCartney included "Every Night", "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Hot as Sun" and McCartney II included "Coming Up" as bonus tracks.
Tour dates
After a live rehearsal at the Liverpool Royal Court attended by pupils of Liverpool Institute, McCartney's alma mater and of John Lennon's former school, Quarry Bank.
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 November 1979 | Liverpool | England | Royal Court Theatre |
| 24 November 1979 | |||
| 25 November 1979 | |||
| 26 November 1979 | |||
| 28 November 1979 | Manchester | Manchester Apollo | |
| 29 November 1979 | |||
| 1 December 1979 | Southampton | Gaumont Theatre | |
| 2 December 1979 | Brighton | Brighton Centre | |
| 3 December 1979 | London | Lewisham Odeon | |
| 5 December 1979 | The Rainbow Theatre | ||
| 7 December 1979 | Wembley Arena | ||
| 8 December 1979 | |||
| 9 December 1979 | |||
| 10 December 1979 | |||
| 12 December 1979 | Birmingham | Birmingham Odeon | |
| 14 December 1979 | Newcastle upon Tyne | Newcastle City Hall | |
| 15 December 1979 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Edinburgh Odeon |
| 16 December 1979 | Glasgow | The Apollo | |
| 17 December 1979 | |||
| 29 December 1979[A] | London | England | Hammersmith Odeon |
- Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
- A This concert was a part of "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea"
Tour set list
- "Got to Get You into My Life"
- "Getting Closer"
- "Every Night"
- "Again and Again and Again"
- "I've Had Enough"
- "No Words"
- "Cook of the House"
- "Old Siam, Sir"
- "Maybe I'm Amazed"
- "The Fool on the Hill"
- "Let It Be"
- "Hot as Sun"
- "Spin It On"
- "Twenty Flight Rock"
- "Go Now"
- "Arrow Through Me"
- "Wonderful Christmastime" (not performed for Dec. 29th's Hammersmith Odeon show)
- "Coming Up"
- "Goodnight Tonight"
- "Yesterday"
- "Mull of Kintyre"
- "Band on the Run"
External links
References
- "Tokyo Officials Hold Paul for Drugs". The Michigan Daily. January 17, 1980. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- Wasserman, Harry. "Paul's Pot-Bust Shocker Makes Him A Jailhouse Rocker". High Times, July 1980. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- "Paul McCartney & Wings – Last Flight Definitive Edition (Misterclaudel MCCD-05/06) – Collectors Music Reviews".
- Wings Average Setlists of year: Wings UK Tour 1979, http://www.setlist.fm/stats/average-setlist/wings-23d68837.html?tour=Wings+UK+Tour+1979
