Wings live: Pavillon, Montreux – 22 July 1972

Name: Wings live: Pavillon, Montreux
Start: 1972-07-22
Location: Pavillon

July 22, 2026

Wings live: Pavillon, Montreux – 22 July 1972

Saturday 22 July 1972 | Pavillon, Montreux, Switzerland

On 22 July 1972, Wings performed at the Pavillon in Montreux, Switzerland — the eighth and final night of the first leg of the Wings Over Europe Tour. It was Paul McCartney’s first European concert tour since The Beatles had played their last live shows in 1966, and one of the most significant steps in his reinvention as a touring artist in the post-Beatles era.

The Wings Over Europe Tour

The Wings Over Europe Tour was Paul McCartney’s first major touring venture since the dissolution of The Beatles. It opened on 9 July 1972 at Châteauvallon in Ollioules, in the south of France, and ran through two legs across July and August 1972, taking in France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

The tour was deliberately unconventional in its early stages. Rather than playing large arenas, Wings had begun the year with an unannounced university tour of the UK in February 1972 — turning up at campuses without prior publicity and playing to whoever was there. The European tour that followed was more formally organised, but retained a sense of spontaneity and directness that McCartney was consciously cultivating as a counterpoint to the stadium-scale spectacle of late-period Beatles touring.

The Montreux show on 22 July 1972 closed the first leg of the tour. Wings then took a break before resuming in Copenhagen on 1 August 1972, continuing through Scandinavia and the Low Countries before concluding in Berlin on 24 August.

The Interlude: New York and The Rolling Stones

In the gap between the Montreux show and the resumption of the tour in Copenhagen, Paul and Linda McCartney flew to New York City. On 26 July 1972, they attended a Rolling Stones concert at Madison Square Garden — part of the Stones’ celebrated North American tour of that summer, which was documented in Robert Frank’s film Cocksucker Blues. The McCartney presence at the Stones show was a reminder of the interconnected world of the rock aristocracy in the early 1970s.

The Wings Lineup in 1972

The Wings performing at Montreux on 22 July 1972 were:

Paul McCartney — vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Linda McCartney — vocals, keyboards
Denny Laine — vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Henry McCullough — guitar, vocals
Denny Seiwell — drums

Henry McCullough — an Irish guitarist who had previously played with Joe Cocker’s Grease Band at Woodstock — had joined Wings in early 1972, bringing a blues-rock edge to the group’s sound. Denny Seiwell remained on drums, having been part of the group since the founding jam at High Park Farm in July 1971. Both McCullough and Seiwell would depart Wings in 1973, on the eve of the Band on the Run sessions in Lagos.

The Setlist

The setlist performed at the Pavillon, Montreux on 22 July 1972 was:

Bip Bop
Smile Away
Mumbo
Give Ireland Back to the Irish
1882
I Would Only Smile
Blue Moon of Kentucky
The Mess
Best Friend
Soily
I Am Your Singer
Say You Don’t Mind
Henry’s Blues
Seaside Woman
Wild Life
My Love
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Maybe I’m Amazed
Hi, Hi, Hi
Long Tall Sally

The setlist is a vivid snapshot of Wings in 1972: a mix of Wild Life album tracks, new material that would appear on Red Rose Speedway and as standalone singles, a Bill Monroe bluegrass cover (Blue Moon of Kentucky), and a closing run of McCartney crowd-pleasers. ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’ — released in February 1972 and banned by the BBC in the wake of Bloody Sunday — was a pointed inclusion, demonstrating McCartney’s willingness to play politically charged material on a European stage. ‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ had not yet been released as a single at the time of the tour (it came out in December 1972), making its inclusion a preview of forthcoming material.

Montreux in 1972

Montreux, on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud, was already one of Europe’s most celebrated music destinations by 1972. The Montreux Jazz Festival — founded by Claude Nobs in 1967 — had established the town as a magnet for international artists, and the Casino de Montreux had hosted legendary performances before its destruction by fire in December 1971 — the incident immortalised in Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water, recorded just months before Wings’ visit.

The Pavillon — a venue in the town — hosted Wings as part of the summer touring circuit that followed the Casino fire. The combination of the lakeside setting, the festival atmosphere, and the significance of McCartney’s return to European touring made the Montreux show one of the most memorable dates on the Wings Over Europe itinerary.

Wings Over Europe Tour: Full Itinerary

9 July 1972	Châteauvallon, Ollioules, France
12 July 1972	Théâtre de la Mer, Juan-les-Pins, France
13 July 1972	Théâtre Antique, Arles, France
16 July 1972	Olympia Theatre, Paris, France
18 July 1972	Circus-Krone-Bau, Munich, Germany
19 July 1972	Stadthalle, Offenbach am Main, Germany
21 July 1972	Tonhalle, Zürich, Switzerland
22 July 1972	Pavillon, Montreux, Switzerland ★ This show
1 August 1972	KB Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
4 August 1972	Messuhalli, Helsinki, Finland
5 August 1972	Kupittaan Urheiluhalli, Turku, Finland
7 August 1972	Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
8 August 1972	Idrottshuset, Örebro, Sweden
9 August 1972	Njårdhallen, Oslo, Norway
10 August 1972	Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
11 August 1972	Olympen, Lund, Sweden
12 August 1972	Fyns Forum, Odense, Denmark
14 August 1972	Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus, Denmark
16 August 1972	Rheinhalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
17 August 1972	De Doelen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
19 August 1972	Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands
20 August 1972	Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
21 August 1972	Congresgebouw, The Hague, Netherlands
22 August 1972	Kinema Roma, Antwerp, Belgium
24 August 1972	Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany

Montreux, Switzerland — where Wings performed at the Pavillon on 22 July 1972, closing the first leg of the Wings Over Europe Tour.

Paul McCartney: Wings – Band on the Run

The album that followed the tour. Officially licensed Wings tee.

Band on the Run T-Shirt (Black) →

Paul McCartney: Wings Collage

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Wings Collage T-Shirt (Black) →

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Wings play Montreux?

Yes. Wings performed at the Pavillon in Montreux, Switzerland on 22 July 1972. It was the eighth and final show of the first leg of the Wings Over Europe Tour — Paul McCartney’s first European concerts since The Beatles’ last live shows in 1966.

What was the Wings Over Europe Tour?

The Wings Over Europe Tour was Paul McCartney’s first major European tour since the dissolution of The Beatles. It ran from 9 July to 24 August 1972, taking in France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. It was Wings’ first full European tour and McCartney’s first European concerts since 1966.

Who was in Wings in 1972?

The 1972 Wings lineup was Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, bass), Linda McCartney (vocals, keyboards), Denny Laine (vocals, guitar, bass), Henry McCullough (guitar, vocals), and Denny Seiwell (drums). Both McCullough and Seiwell departed in 1973 before the Band on the Run sessions.

What songs did Wings play on the Wings Over Europe Tour?

The Montreux setlist included Bip Bop, Smile Away, Mumbo, Give Ireland Back to the Irish, 1882, I Would Only Smile, Blue Moon of Kentucky, The Mess, Best Friend, Soily, I Am Your Singer, Say You Don’t Mind, Henry’s Blues, Seaside Woman, Wild Life, My Love, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Maybe I’m Amazed, Hi Hi Hi, and Long Tall Sally.

Why was Give Ireland Back to the Irish banned?

Give Ireland Back to the Irish was banned by the BBC following its release in February 1972, in the wake of Bloody Sunday — the killing of 14 civil rights marchers by British soldiers in Derry on 30 January 1972. Despite the ban, the single reached number one in Ireland and number 16 in the UK. Wings continued to play it live throughout the 1972 European tour.