
Iconic tour bus reborn
Jeremy Blackmore reports on the rescue and revival of a famous Bristol double-decker once used by Paul McCartney’s band Wings and now destined for a new lease of life as a travelling performance space
The brightly painted psychedelic 1972 tour bus which launched Paul McCartney as a major solo artist in the wake of the Beatles’ split has been reborn as a travelling performance space inspired by the Beatles’ final concert on the roof of the Apple building in 1969. The 1953 Bristol KSW 5G ECW open-top double-decker first entered service in 1953 with the Eastern National Omnibus Company in Chelmsford, and later ran with Eastern Counties in Great Yarmouth, before finding rock and roll stardom during Paul McCartney’s first major tour with new band Wings.