The embarrassing blunder that caused Paul McCartney to be jailed for nine days
“What goes on tour, stays on tour” goes the old adage, yet for Paul McCartney on January 16th 1980, some secret ‘sustenance’ for Wings' long-anticipated Japanese tour became global news as the beloved ex-Beatle was locked up for a staggering nine days when a sizeable bag of marijuana was found on his possession.
To confound matters even further, Paul’s 7.7 ounce (219 gram) bag of fresh Hawaiian cannabis wasn’t even hidden. It had been naively stuffed within within his carry-on luggage alongside clothes and other essentials. Seemingly, without a hint of subtlety.
As Paul and his wife (and bandmate) Linda passed through security at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, a diligent customs officer opted to be as thorough with his screening of the incoming music legend as he had been with the rest of the new arrivals.
After all, Paul had form.
Having been arrested in Sweden in 1972 and at his home in Scotland the same year for pot-related offences (possessing it, and growing it respectively), simply getting permission to come to the hyper-stringent Japan had been something of a legal hoop-jump, as the country’s rigid laws had zero tolerance for drugs of any sort.
But, after finally being granted the long-sought work visas (which had previously put pay to a mooted 1975 tour of the country), eleven dates were now on the calendars of delighted Asian fans.
This tour was set to take in premiere venues of Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo, with the latter featuring a return to the Nippon Budokan where, over a decade before (and in a previous musical outfit) Paul had previously put on a memorable show alongside his bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. A time when the entire world was gripped by Beatlemania.
But now things were quite different.
Unzipping the suitcase, the customs officer was aghast to find the not-even-slightly concealed bag of marijuana, which had a street value of 600,000 yen.
There was a tense moment when Paul and the officer met each others’ eyes.
Source: musicradar.com/Andy Price
