On the hunt for Paul McCartney in Regina

No matter where he plays, when Paul McCartney takes the stage he has everyone’s full attention. But when it comes to offstage, fans of the former Beatles star say he can be difficult to spot. Locating him before or after a show can require a lot of sleuthing.

“We saw him arriving in Denver,” said Sally Parsons, who came from Colorado for her fifth McCartney concert with her sister Diane. “It was exciting but we were too far away!”

Lots of fans in Regina were clamoring for a peek at rock royalty ahead of his concert Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium. It started Tuesday night at Hotel Saskatchewan.

Lila Wendling saw the crew arrive from the airport.

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“We waited and waited and waited for Paul, and he never did come,” she said. “It would’ve been a thrill of a lifetime, just a dream come true.”

Joe Walker, from Vancouver, has been to eight McCartney concerts but has yet to spot him outside of the show.

“Never,” he said.

“I see there are people out here waiting now, so I might stick around and wait and see,” as he stood outside the stadium.

Michelle Palmer of Red Deer was waiting with a sign that said “Husband will divorce me if I don’t get your autograph” after hearing McCartney would be by for a sound check.

“It’s something to get his attention,” she explained. “This was just a spur of the moment thing to check off on my bucket list saying I met Paul McCartney and I got his autograph.”

Global News confirmed with Western Cycle that last week some bikes were dropped off at the Hotel Saskatchewan for McCartney and his staff to use. He was later spotted biking around Wascana Park.

The City of Regina Pipe Band will get a chance to hit the stage with McCartney in front of 40,000 fans in their hometown. They will accompany McCartney on his song “Mull of Kintyre”, and the band is excited.

“It’s one of those things that obviously is going to happen once or twice in a lifetime depending on the number of times he might come back,” said the band’s pipe major Iain MacDonald.