The bassist had a planned tour with his band Wings, when he was detained by Japanese authorities.
“Yesterdayplease”. Was January 1980and Paul McCartney He received, as he had done throughout his career, requests from the public. I was going to sing it to acapellabecause he didn’t have a guitar with him. The only detail is that This scene occurred in Kosuge prisonand who asked him for the beautiful song on the album Help! had been a huge subject who belonged to the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.
To understand how the ex-Beatle had ended up in a cell, you have to go back in time. In 1973Paul had received a prohibition in the Japanese country for a drug convictionwhich prevented the visit of his group Wings in 1975 to the Asian continent. However, after months of diplomatic efforts by Japanese concert promoters Uno Music, the government of his country had agreed to enable Paul within the country.
The tour, with 11 dateswould begin on January 16. And since there was expectation for Macca’s arrival, only one favor was asked of him: that does not carry any illicit substance. Of course McCartney didn’t follow orders, and He arrived in Japan with 218 grams of marijuana in his jacket. They even found a little more in a toiletry bag, so they questioned him. There, Paul claimed that they were for personal consumption, and they let him go to the Hotel Okurawhere he was going to stay.
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Paul’s stay in Japan
But when the musician thought it was a minor incident, the police arrived at the hotel and He arrested him and handcuffed him before the incredulous gaze of his wife, Linda, and their children.. As there was no bail, Paul was detained until the investigation was completed. In the middle, Linda He made his position clear on television: “It’s really very silly. People are certainly different here. They take it very seriously. Paul is now in some kind of detention facility and I have not been allowed to see him. As soon as they get someone as nice as Paul, they seem to have fun! I will never go back to Japan again. It’s my first trip and my last!”.
The Yakuza’s fellow prisoner, upon learning of the charges the rock star was facing, He raised seven fingers with his hands, indicating the number of years he would go to prison. Paul replied: “No, ten.” Clearly his sense of humor helped him get through those days, in which he learned that grief was, truly, seven years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
There he was, one of the most important musicians in history, in a cell measuring three by four meters. “My survival instinct and my sense of humor began to come into play. I thought ‘Okay, I’ll be the first one up when the lights come on, the first one with his cell clean, the first one to wash and brush his teeth,’” Macca recalled years later.
Paul communicated with prisoners with Japanese brands: “Toyoya! Kawasaki!” In addition, he sang several songs at the request of the unusual audience. In the middle, The British Foreign Office was negotiating with Japan to free him. Finally, January 25 -and under the excuse of the musician’s repentance, who confessed everything- McCartney released. The cancellation of the tour cost his team £184,000.
From Kosuge, the ex-Beatle was transferred to Narita airport for a flight to Amsterdam. But before leaving, As a reward for all those canceled concerts, he grabbed an acoustic guitar and sang a few chords of Yesterday; then giving a thumbs up, he left. He only returned to Japan in 1990, with six nights sold out at the Tokyo Dome.
Source: Ambito
