Paul McCartney’s psychedelic double-decker bus used during Wings’ 1972 tour up for auction
A PSYCHEDELIC bus used by Paul McCartney during a tour of Europe is set to go under the hammer.
The garish double-decker took Wings on the run across nine countries for 25 shows in 1972.
Wanting to take their family road, the band sourced a 1953 Bristol KSW5G open-topped bus to drive them across the continent.
They asked renowned artist Geoffrey Cleghorn to jazz it up with a paint job inspired by The Beatles‘ Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour album covers.
Along with a good lick of paint, the interior of the bus was also smartened up to allow the group’s children to play and sleep.
It took Wings across the whole mammoth 7,500-mile road trip for the Wings Over Europe tour in 25 cities between July 9, 1972 and August 24.
Beatles legend McCartney previously said: “We knew we were going to tour in Europe and that the weather would be nice, and the idea of being stuck in a bus all the time, going from city to city, hotel to hotel, wasn’t too appealing.
“So we decided to travel around in an open-top bus and get some sunshine as we travelled from one place to another.”
It was then returned to service for several years, having previously been used for Chelmsford bus routes and to take holidaymakers to Butlins.
At one point, the infamous bus was put on display outside a rock-themed cafe in Tenerife.
In 2019, the bus was bought and later restored in 2022, when it was unveiled at the NEC Classic Motor Show that November.
Now the giant piece of memorabilia is looking for a new home and is being auctioned off by Car and Classic.
Wings’ drummer Denny Seiwell even donated his 1972 Wings touring trunk, which comes with the bus, and each band member’s name is emblazoned on the back.
The bus paintwork has been painstakingly restored, and the interior returned to how it was during the tour.
It is just one of three Beatles-related vehicles that are custom painted, alongside John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls-Royce and George Harrison’s similarly decorated Mini.
The auction starts on April 22 – but eager Beatles fans can submit a pre-bid before then.